1. You see all these cute pictures of Luyana and you think, "Oh, she is so loved and happy! She will adjust so quickly and everything will be wonderful." No. The reality is that emotionally, she is much like an infant. Developmentally, about a 12-15 month old. Energy level and independence, exactly her age at almost 2 1/2 years old. This is not an easy combination and honestly, everyday gets harder with her. We have a long road with a lot of hard work ahead of us.
2. THANK YOU. Thank you for all of your prayers. I can't imagine what this trip would have been like if it had not been for all the support, love, and prayers we received while we were here. A few days I started to feel like I was barely hanging on, but then I would get a surge of energy and optimism, which I know had to be from all of the wonderful people back home praying for us.
3. We still need you. We need you to pray for all of us as we adjust to being a family of 4. Pray for Luyana as we find out what all is going on with her medically and for her heart (emotionally) to be healed. We also need you to understand that it will take us some time to adjust. For starters, if you have never experienced a 12 hour time change and the subsequent jet lag, it is indescribable. We will be in survival mode, for sure, for at least a week or two. After that, we will need some serious time to "cocoon" with our family. Meaning we will be staying in a lot to establish a new routine and help Luyana get settled and adjusted before we expose her to the big, crazy American world! We are excited to show her off and have her meet all the people that already love her, but we will need to do it at her pace. I hope people will understand that this is about her need to adjust to a new life and not about our desire to keep her from anyone!
Thank again, from the bottom of hearts. This is the last time you will hear from me in China! Zai jian!
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For our last day here, we went to a little playground. The girl loved it! Made me wish it was summer back home instead of snowy winter!
Loved the slide:
I see you!
She wanted to hang like the other kids:
Being cute for the Chinese Grandmas.
"I will sit here for your dumb picture, but I will not smile."
Thanks for all the posts. It was a privilege to ride along. I will continue to pray for your family. Camden will need our prays. At his age he doesn't really comprehend someone else has stepped into his mommy and daddy's heart. Keep us informed.
ReplyDeletePraying and I truly understand as Haleigh was an "infant" in so many ways at the age of 4 1/2 but physically at an older age which is very difficult and challenging! You will be in our prayers and you are right in "staying in and sheltering her" for awhile. We did that as well, but I wish we had done even more of that as I look back. Praying for a safe trip home for you!
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