Day Two: Seeing God's Hand!

So this is our full second day with little "Lucy" Rui Yuan and all things considered,everything is going very well.  I am finding it challenging here without Stan (as well as a little lonely despite being in the company of three of my amazing children!)  The kids need constant attention and care not to mention still feeling incredibly jet-lagged, sleep-deprived, and just completely out of my element.  There are so many emotions and feelings that I would love to process and share more fully with everyone but for now it has to be enough to just try to convey some of the "God moments," mostly through the pictures, that are happening all around me and that I am trying to focus on!.  Rui Yuan seems every bit a Krol:  she loved the pool (big thank you to big bro Peter for going in with the girls), even doing a semblance of a freestyle!!!, she adores ALL screens (especially enamored with the ipad and we've had a couple meltdowns when I had to take it away), and she definitely has a mind of her own (very opinionated about everything!)  She LOVES her big brother , Peter, often lifting her arms up for him to carry her...this melts my heart EVERY time!  She is so bright and curious and constantly chatting away to us in Chinese.  Occasionally Peter understands a word or two, and some things are universal like "NO" and "Up."

Yesterday the adoption was official, and I received the all important red book with the official Chinese stamp and our picture.  Much to my surprise, they also gave me a "Life Book" with pictures chronicling her time in the orphanage!  It is so bittersweet to see our sweet daughter growing up without us, but also a beautiful keepsake of her heritage which will be so special to her as she grows up.  

Today we head to Guangzhou for the last leg of our journey to complete her Visa at the US Embassy.  We will be there one week and praying the time goes fast; however, I also don't want to wish it away.  Please pray that we can all savor these moments of our great God at work even in the difficult times both here in China and at home.