Medical Appointment and Shopping

I have not been able to blog like I did for our last trip due to computer issues. Jeremy is ready to get me a new computer. For now we may have it figured out.

Yesterday was Selah's medical appointment for her to come to the US. I don't usually get upset over shots etc. I guess having to give them to Ben every night sort of makes me callous to them. But when it was decided by the CDC that Selah had to have five shots before she would be allowed into the US, I was not a very happy momma. Our poor girl had to get five shots. Two in each arm and one in her leg. 

The reality of Selah's past is now very evident to Jeremy and me. She is so thin. She is thirty pounds lighter than Rebecca and they are the same height. None of the clothes we brought fit her well. She eats whatever is put in front of her. When given the choice (like our buffet breakfast) she chooses American food and uses silverware and eats every bite. 

Her medical appointment is very impersonal. It very much reminds me of herding cattle. She was the only adoptive child there that day and we did get to "cut" in line before any of the Chinese immigrants applying for visas to the US but it was so sad and sterile. They took her blood using a tourniquet but never even felt for a vein in her arm. They just took the needle and saw a vein and went for it. Everything in me wanted to just go and hold her but I also knew she would never allow that. 

I did notice the doctor taking extra time listening to her heart/lungs. She actually made her stand up again and listen. I was told she has a heart murmur and we need to get that looked at as soon as we get home. We also had our suspicions of poor vision confirmed. She is near-sighted.

She never cried or shed a tear. She was so brave. I know that for the past 14 years she has had no one be there to comfort her for these kinds of appointments. And if I was honest, I do not think there were many appointments in her life. She needs 14 vaccinations to be caught up. That is after the 5 she received at the clinic. 

After that appointment we went to a museum. It was so neat. Again, Selah had to read everything! I love that she is like a sponge and trying to absorb it all.

We took many photos inside and maybe I'll share sometime. The building behind the girls is the Guangzhou Library!

After the museum we went to a five star restaurant The Dragon Garden. We treated our guide and van driver to a fantastic meal. We had Peking Duck!

We have never had it before but we both loved it. Becca liked the duck and not much else!

It was a great meal that we will always remember.

Since neither of us ever had Peking Duck before we had no idea that you actually wrap the duck skin in a really thin tortilla shell with onions, green peppers, and cover in a sweet sauce.

Our guide ordered for us and we had some beef, chicken wings, pork soup, and spicy veggies (which our guide kept calling "wedgies" and we were confused).

Obviously Selah is a pro at chop sticks. Selah, our guide Miko and the van driver all laughed at us as we tried. Miko ended up requesting silverware for us! We found out that Selah loves to eat octopus! Very interesting.

From there we went to the police station to apply for Selah's passport. We were early so we waited for a good while but Selah enjoyed looking at all of the photos on my phone. Miko (our guide) was able to interpret. We asked Miko to explain her American name and tell her what it meant (treasured, priceless, valued). Selah grinned when Miko explained the beauty in her name. For now we still call her HuiYi. 

The above photo is at the Chen Family Temple. It was beautiful there. The temple/home has been around for a few hundred years. The carvings were pretty fantastic. We enjoyed ourselves here. We have noticed that Selah is soaking in everything.Once again Selah loved reading all of the signs and her cute sense of humor is evident when she goes to every single suggestion box and fills in suggestions!

The photo above is from the park outside of the Chen Family Temple. We saw so many grandparents with their grandchildren there. It was beautiful! This next photo is of the entrance to the temple.

Becca was quite the celebrity here. Several Chinese stopped her and asked if she would pose with them. She was a great sport!

Selah got a little spunky in one of the shops and asked for her photo to be taken with this gigantic paint brush!

There were beautiful carvings everywhere in this temple!

Here is one of the courtyards.

Compliments of Jeremy.

The beautiful traditional lantern hallway. Right when Jeremy wanted to snap the photo a gentleman walked though. We had to wait until it cleared.

Our priorty for the day was to get shoes for Selah. She refused to tell us that her boots did not fit. I saw her feet at the medical appointment and had tears in my eyes as I saw her blisters. So we went shopping for shoes.

We found the shoes and they were on sale for Buy 1 Get 1 Free. We wanted both of the girls to get two pair. They found two pair each and Selah refused to wear them. Here is Becca waiting for her shoes to try on.

We then wanted to get some clothes for Selah. She was not agreeing to that. She is not used to anyone showering her with this kind of love. Being the parents, Jeremy just told the store owner that we needed two pair of jeans that fit Selah. 

At the next shop we wanted some tops for her. Selah leaned in to our guide and told her we had spent too much money on her and she wanted the guide to help us pay for her clothes. 

Let me just say that I know this is not uncommon in older adopted children but when you actually watch an almost 14 year old girl refuse clothes because she has never received this before breaks your heart. We realized very quickly that God is teaching us that our material possessions are nothing. This precious girl stole our hearts many months ago. Now we have to show her our love in ways she has never even imagined. 

Our hearts are overflowing with love for this teenager that still does not allow us very close. We do see her smiling much more. She is understanding a little bit how we function. She chuckles many times at Jeremy's antics. 

If she only knew that we would give our very lives for her. Time will heal her and show her what love is. We pray that she sees God in us.

Please pray for our girl. She really does not feel well. I think those shots have really gotten to her today. She is currently napping on the couch. She does not have a fever but she is so tired.

I cannot say enough about Rebecca. We owe a lot to her and how she is just so sweet and loves on Selah. We are truly blessed!