Don't worry it's not the girls - it was the train! Never take the train in China with 7 people and 18 pieces of luggage! I am counting all 4 girls backpacks, the stroller, 3 computers... okay okay, we over packed! - Honestly it was quite a sight with all of us and all that luggage. Our luggage lined the walkway- I think everyone had a good laugh and thought we were crazy. The girls did very well on the train- we took very few pics (if any). The 7 of us were crammed into 6 seats surrounded by our stuff (yes I will be visiting Linny blog post regarding purging and simplifying)! Photography was not high on the list at the time, survival- yes- that was way up there! The train left at 2:23 pm and arrived at 8:15 pm. It was long- and I was not very prepared for it but the girls entertained themselves with their things in their backpack and somehow we made it through! Poor Anna had to go potty the last 2 hours- she refused to use the squatty potty on the train. FYI- you could only use it when the train was moving... hmmm... are ya gettin how it works!
On the way to meet our daughters we found out that for the past year we have said their names wrong- I tried to get it right before meeting them but couldn't. So we quickly went to their new names- they are already answering to them (Emma and Ellie) and even calling each other by them!
Before leaving for China I did say in a much too overly confident manor to my friend Diane- I think our most challenging adoption was Sarah...Ha... I was wrong! I am eating my words. Although the girls are doing great it is challenging. It is also bringing back memories of being in China with Sarah. She has come so far that so many of her behaviors in China are nothing but a distant memory. Well not anymore- it's all come back times 2! Actually knowing how far she has come gives me hope for our two new daughters- they have so much to learn.
We had their personalities all wrong. Emma was supposed to be quiet and shy, she is not quiet or shy! She is a handful! The first day we had to pull her out of the water fountain in the hotel lobby. She thought she was quite funny! After BKF as we were leaving the table I looked down- the girls had left a nice little pile of bone and cartilage that they had spit out when eating their favorite food- Chicken feet! I cleaned it up and made sure to tell them to spit on a plate next time- of course using charades to tell them all this! Ellie likes to please and she has a good attention span. She does like to get her way and was not happy with me when I wanted her to share the bubbles. But after I spilled the water on the bed and sat in the puddle which then made me look like I wet my pants everyone seemed to forget their feeling and started laughing... at Mom!
I would love to keep writing but I have to stop now and go to bed. I will end this post by saying that they are making baby step progress with each day and I am feeling more and more like they are our daughters with each day! It was not love at first sight. It was tenderness at first sight and we are all growing in our feelings for each other!
I will download pics tomorrow and tell you about our time in Nanning! It is late now and we are going on the Li River cruise tomorrow morning at 8:00 am.
Thank You Jesus for the gifts of your children, that we have been blessed with!!
