Echo slept until 8am this morning. We had to wake her up. Incredible. We had a quick breakfast and then headed out shopping... again. I thought we were going to an outside market, but it was a pretty basic mall. Mistye found a few things. It was hot. Even indoors.
We came back and I redeemed my lunch mistake yesterday by bringing back some delicious pizza. It was fantastic. Echo took a nap, Mistye took a nap and I started working on today's blog entry. We had to be ready by 5:40 to go on the Pearl River Cruise.
The cruise was interesting. It was a buffet cruise and I love buffets. I hope you sense my sarcasm. Anyway, the food wasn't that bad. The cruise was, you guessed it, hot again but what can you do. We saw cool buildings up and down the river, took several pictures. It was fun. We are back down and unwinding. Worn out, but it was nice to have a busy day to help pass the time. Tomorrow is Monday already, so we're more than halfway home.
Echo was pretty good today, but man she is a busy child. Baby "boot camp" as Mistye calls it will go into effect as soon as we are back in the states. Honestly, she is fantastic.
Changing the subject...
Since we announced our intent to adopt over a year ago, a single question has been posed over and over. And now that we are in China, the same question has surfaced during every converation. There are several versions of the question, but it basically boils down to one word - WHY? Why did you guys decide to adopt?
I've heard Mistye answer this question many times and I enjoy hearing her describe an incredible journey of heartache, yearning, and faith. It's beautiful to see the emotion and hear her passion as she describes the experience. Please get her to tell you the story some time. Me on the other hand... I botch the answer every time. It's not that I don't know the story. Heck, I lived it with her. But for me, it was less of a journey. It was simply a decision. Were we going to adopt or not? The answer was a resouding yes. But why?
My time here in China has helped me better answer the question. As I mentioned earlier, I now find myself asking this question to the couples that we meet. Why would a couple from Oklahoma adopt seven children when they already have three? Why would a couple from Vancouver adopt a Vietenamese girl and then come to China two years later for another little girl. Why would a little people couple from Wisconsin adopt a 5 year old little person Chinese girl? Why would a couple from Alabama with two healthy boys adopt a little girl? Why? The stories are all very different, but there is common thread. And that commonality is the real answer to the why question.
Back to our story. Why would Mistye and I with three wonderful, healthy and happy children decide to expand our family through adoption and risk a shock to family dynamics? Why would we move outside of our comfort zone and commit to adopting a child with special needs? Why, when our youngest is literally a few days away from shedding the nighttime pullups, would we voluntarily add a baby who needs frequent diaper changes? You laugh, but that conversation has come up several times. WHY?
Well, the answer to the question is quite simple in retrospect. In every story, including ours, there is a point where they all converge. Leading up to this point, the stories are interesting, different, neat, inspiring, you name it. But, it's uncanny how they all end up in the same place. I call it the "God Thing" moment. Every story has that moment stamped on it. So, for me, the answer is simply this. God spoke, we listened and now we're here... it's a God thing.
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