Settling In

If the motto of the Crown Plaza Hotel in Zhengzhou is "The Place to Meet" then the motto of the White Swan Hotel in Guangzhou should be "The Place to Settle In". Not only will this be our longest stay (I actually unpacked the suitcases here) but I believe once we arrived John Asher decided he would keep us. Each day he peels back another layer to show us a little more of his personality and each day we figure out another one of his quirky ways. For example, he only likes to take his bottles slightly warm and sitting straight up. He prefers to sleep on his stomach rather than his back. He LOVES to be held and fed - the good stuff! He is a quickly learner and a funny little guy! He still prefers men over women and nights are the hardest. He will let mommy hold him IF daddy or papa are not around. He likes to play peek a boo and for you to use your finger to vibrate his lips. He has the cutest little grin and we have all decided the most stylish hair! For some reason this long Elvis like hair style has grown on us and we think we'll keep it, at least for a little while. We might have to get Papa's permission to cut it, as it seems he is especially fond of it.

We visited a Buddist Temple today. For our family, it was a personal decision not to have our baby participate in the blessing ceremony done by the monks. We sat outside while the other families went inside for the babies to be blessed and light the incense. The temple was just beautiful with a very traditional Chinese Pagoda on the inside. I had talked with the girls about Buddism before we came and I was very proud of how they handled themselves around these false idols. They were respectful towards others that wanted to participate, but made it clear to us that this was not in their comfort zone. Gracie overheard our guide say that we have to bow before Budda three times and she got very upset thinking she would be required to do it. We put her mind at ease and told her that no one was required to bow before Budda and that our family only worships our Living God. Madilyn went to see many of the Buddist statues and came out saying it was scary and she was glad our God is not scary. It was such a great learning experience for them, an experience to reinforce what they learn about in church and at home. Thanks Sunday School Teachers and Mrs. Pam! We also visited a very beautiful, ornate home (The Chen Home) and an arts and crafts market. Tonight we apply for John Asher's Visa into the United States and tomorrow we visit the pearl market! Our days go by quickly and they keep us very busy! It seems we have little down time, but that's ok, we like to be kept busy. Helps us miss home a little less.

We are so grateful to our amazing God and how he has brought us through the last week! It was a difficult but rewarding road, as we went through the dark but now see glimpses of light in who John Asher really is! We know he was created by God, destined to be a part of our family and our prayer is that we can raise and teach him in such a way that he will want to be a part of God's family! His adoption is such an example of our adoption into God's family. Just like our son came to us, we come to God dirty, smelly and sometimes, with a not so pretty past. But God takes us in, loves and accepts us just as we are and starts his cleansing process. Over time we strive to be more like Christ and even though we often fail, God picks us back up, loves us and is patient with us. We've made so much progress with John Asher, but even still, he has his setbacks and we pick him up, love him and are patient with him as he continues to leave his past behind and learns to love us too!

Gracie has become quite proficient at using chopsticks! I'm not nearly as good as she is!

John Asher loves Papa and having his lips vibrated with your fingers - part of his play!

a little ice cream made everyone perk up!