Ellie awoke today and started sobbing. I asked Lisa to bring a warm wet wash cloth and we wiped her face gently. Lisa combed her hair. Ellie was still wearing the clothes from yesterday, including the Backpack which we hadn't seen off her back. It was winding up into another difficult day. We went to the breakfast Buffet, and met the Willis' by the elevator and Ellie seemed to brighten up a little at seeing Faith, her six year old Chinese Buddy here. Faith is a real firecracker (although when Ellie gets past her grieving, I think she will give Faith a run for her money).
We got up to the Buffet and Ellie and Lisa went towards the American food end, but I turned hard left towards the Asian foods. I piled on small amounts of a huge variety of funky things. At the table, I took chopsticks (surprisingly, Ellie took up the fork) and started to put little samples of foods on the edge of her plate. Some she would nod for and some brought a shake of the head. she has very well formulated opinions. She has a Cantonese taste; not as hot & spicy as the Szechuan diet we ate in China four years ago.
Now the best part, I asked her in Mandarin if she wanted a Lichi fruit and held one up on my chopsticks, her mouth just popped open, and in it went. This was a huge milestone! She liked eating food off my plate, except for the hot peppers; she is in agreement with Lisa on that one!
The first 24 hours after receiving a child in China is called the "Harmonious Period"; during which time you are allowed to back out of the adoption. These Chinese really have a wild sense of humor to call it the Harmonious period! Unfortunately, to sign the papers concluding this period and therefore finalizing the Chinese side of the adoption, we had to return to the same government room we were in the day before! I was afraid it might be traumatic for Ellie, bet she did quite well.
Gotta go, Ellie is busy drawing pictures, and wants to show me!
Jim
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So glad to hear she has a friend to share this time with! Do they speak the same dialect? Hope things continue to improve. Your family is in our prayers!
ReplyDeleteI am glad that the 2nd day went better. You all look great in the picture. I continue to pray for you all as you get to know each other better. Enjoy every minute! Love to you all I can't wait to meet Ellie on the 9th! Denise
ReplyDeleteShe is adorable! You all look great. We'll continue to pray for you during this transition. I hope you find times to laugh together and just have fun. Can't wait to hear more. Thanks for the update. (sorry that I'm signing in as anonymous- I'll have to look for passwords, etc)
ReplyDeleteDawn