Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Avery Day 2





What a difference one day makes!!!!

Yesterday was so incredibly heartbreaking!  It was completely devastating to hear the pain and anguish in Avery's voice as she cried out in Chinese for her nanny. How do you comfort a child who does not want you??  How do you reassure your precious little girl that all will be alright when you have just taken everything she held dear away from her??  How do you look at her sweet little face and bear the heartbreak that is going on inside of her soul????  How do you do it????  Only through the grace of God!!!! I took comfort in the fact that He was with us last night...helping me help her!!!! And your prayers.....what a blessing!  Thank you dear friends and family!!!!

I know that all her intense grieving last night signifies that she was well loved.  That is a blessing beyond belief!
And as I have gotten to know her better these past 24 hours, it is obvious as to why she was so greatly loved and cherished.

Let me share some of the things we have discovered about her.....

She is very gentle & sweet.
She loves to laugh & play.
She is trusting.
She is left-handed!
She loves bubbles.
She loves stickers.
She is a quick learner.
She is already saying mama, daddy, sister, bye-bye, hi, banana.
We just started teaching her colors....she is a sponge!
Oh yeah, she loves to eat!!!!

Yesterday and this morning Avery hardly touched a thing.  Well, today she certainly made up for it!

Here we are heading for breakfast. It was pretty uneventful....she just picked at her food.  However, I just had to post this picture.....

Check out the red and white Hello Kitty shoes!
These are the shoes she was wearing when we met her yesterday....
These are the shoes she would not take off....
These are the shoes she slept in last night!

Next stop: Office of Civil Affairs.





Dave and I were rather worried about going back to the place where she experienced such loss.  But this is where we needed to be in order to finalize the adoption.  (BTW, she is now officially our daughter!!! wooo-hooo!!!)  We were interviewed twice.  Once by the head of that office and the other interview was with the Notary official. Both interviews were quick and painless!!!

When we first arrived, Avery a happy camper.  As other families and their children began to arrive, she became more and more apprehensive....finally to the point where she crawled up in my lap, grabbed onto my shirt, and buried her head on my chest.  It was time to go!!!!  Luckily, we were just finishing up our last interview! Whew!!!

We arrived back at the hotel, did a quick run to the 7/11 for some noodles, milk, chocolate (yes, we are a huge chocolate family), and water.

Up in our room, our sweet little girl ate like there was no tomorrow.

She ate a huge, I mean huge container of noodles, one banana, and drank two little bottles of milk.  She also had some M&M's, and an Oreo cookie, and some Koala Bear treats!!!!  Oh, and her absolute favorite food (at the moment) is jello.  This interesting treat comes in little....ummmm, I hate to say this...... shot containers. You simply peel off the top, and then proceed to squeeze out the contents into your mouth.  She love, love, loves this!  We finally had to cut her off, we were afraid of a tummy ache....a huge, jello-like tummy ache!











She easily laid down for her afternoon nap.  Eating like that is hard work!!!!

Later we went outside for a walk......

had to take this picture.......



...it's a classic shot here on Shamian Island....but, who can resist?????

15 comments :

  1. YEAH!!!! Praise you Jesus for giving Avery a spirit of trust and love for her Mommy!!!! God is so cool!!! Avery looks so happy today, wow what a difference. Chris, you such a person and wonderful Mommy...your stories make me want to crawl up onto your lap as well! LOL! Im getting so emotional watching your journey. Again, I am so proud of you. Im praying for you constantly and anxiously wait to meet Avery!! Love your lil sis, Jenifer

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  2. Hi Chris!
    I think Vivi and Avery may have the prettiest Ruby Red lips in all of Guangzhou right now. I am so happy to hear you had a positive second day!
    I am following closely, since Avery and Sienna are close in age. You are giving me so much hope that God will equip us too!! I know He will..
    I will continue to pray for Avery and your family. And, I also hope Shea is doing wonderful. Ruby Mei is staying home too!
    Blessings to you!
    Diana

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  3. Oh my gosh, what a pretty little girl! She looks like a sweetheart! Thank you for all the pictures, I check it each morning and read every word! What an exciting time in your life! Enjoy it! Heather M.

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  4. Oh, Avery is such a pretty, pretty girl! I have to say that Mya refused to take her shoes off for almost a week in China...so very sad. Only Mya came iwth some really ugly orange high tops - not cute hello kitty shoes! It broke my heart into pieces.

    Mya also r-e-a-l-l-y love those jello shots and when we got home we went to EVERY Asian food store in town and searched ALL over the internet & could NOT find them. SO, my advice - PACK some for a TREAT when you get home for a few weeks :-) It will be nice for the transition!!

    Thanks for the update!! Enjoy GZ!

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  5. I can NOT get over how beautiful she is!! Her smile is heavenly. You are so blessed. Thanks for letting me follow along on your journey. I am SO stinkin jealous! Hugs to you~

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  6. I am so very thankful to God for a fabulous day! He is so GOOD! I'll keep praying your days get even better! She is adorable!

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  7. What a cutie!! And I saw Uncle Dave's silly monkey impression on facebook...I would have been laughing like crazy too. Congrats again, I'm so happy for you guys and I cannot wait to meet her.

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  8. So glad to hear she's feeling better!!
    She IS beautiful - what a gorgeous smile!
    I'm so happy for you.

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  9. The whole thing is wonderful, amazing, inspiring, and a bunch of other words too deep for me! Love yall!

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  10. Sister in Christ,
    We prayed and laughed (I cried) tonight as we gathered at the river.
    You were there with us in spirit and we are rejoicing that your LORD is working in you, Faith, Dave and Avery.
    We are amazed that you are so far away; but yet very close in our prayers.
    The picture of Avery and the statue reminded me of the hymn, "Let us ever walk with Jesus."
    I can see your growing family "full of faith, hope and love as you DO your Father's bidding."
    Keep walking on this journey and continue to let Christ shine in you, to all that you meet....
    Julie

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  11. It is such a joy to hear how your trip is going. The pictures are adorable. As we all know Every good thing comes from the LORD. Hey! Avery is just one letter short of every. It has been Sooo much fun following your journey.

    Geri

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  12. I'm glad this has all worked out for you -- I know you have been waiting a long time for Avery. What a beautiful girl!!

    Karen B.

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  13. She is so gorgeous! Congratulations! I hope you continue to have a nice stay in China and then a safe trip home to WI.

    Love,

    Amy Kearns

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  14. I'm so glad today was a better day! Your daughter is beautiful, and that smile just melted my heart:)

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  15. I remember another little someone who wouldn't take off her shoes...

    I'm glad today was a better day. We've been following your journey EVERY day, waiting to hear how things are going. Hugs and prayers.

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