Settling into her new family

Two days ago we took a 4 hour bullet train from Nanning to Guangzhou where we will be for a week. It was refreshing to see the countryside as we have primarily been in big cities since arriving in China. Audrey woke up with a sore throat, fever and headache and traveling was not fun for her. She slept all day until we had to leave at 4pm. She could barely walk, she was miserable! So we took 4 children and 7 suitcases to the train station, rode 4 hours and then had a 50 minute ride in a van to our hotel.

I have to say it is a miracle that we have not been in a vehicle, bike, moped or rickshaw accident yet! The drivers here are absolutely crazy!! Nobody stops for anyone and they are constantly honking! We checked in at our hotel at 11:30pm and the next morning at 8:30 had Ruby's medical appointment. Our guide told us to take Audrey and have the doctor take a look at her too as she was still sick. Ruby checked out great and Audrey has a virus which knocked her down for 2 days. She is on the upswing today but not completely back to normal. Good enough to play with all the other kids though. The medical appointment was quite interesting as we had 4 stations to go to and all the families in our group had their children there at the same time and it was chaos! Scared little kiddos screaming all at the same time. It was quite the music! And none of them speak or understand English.

We have traveled with 10 families, some brought their other children, some left them at home and some are first time parents. Spending time with these families and watching all 11 of these precious children learn to love their new parents and sibling has been such an incredible journey. The 11 children range from 22 months (Ruby is the youngest) up to 5 1/2 years and they all have different special needs. They have all grieved the loss of their other "families" and some are having a harder time than others. We have all shared stories, snacks, medicines and help each other through our emotional breakdowns daily.

Today we went to a place called Shamian Island. It was a beautiful little community with some souvenir shops and restaurants. In the park there were ladies doing "morning exercises" which were different dances and the men, young boys and girls were playing a type of hacky sack game. They immediately asked us to join them so we did. Ruby was fascinated by the music and dancing and loved watching the women 'exercise.' We ate lunch at a restaurant in the park where they had american food. It was a wonderful treat!!

Ruby continues to amaze us every day. After her first two to three days of grieving she has warmed up nicely to her new family. She is beginning to test the limits with what she can get away with. She loves to play with the kids and loves that they think it's hilarious to jump off the bed. She has them wrapped around her tiny little finger. It is so funny to watch her walk and try to pick up items that probably weigh more than her. She loves to eat, but cannot eat much or a variety of foods due to her digestive issues/allergies. She has already learned a few English words such as "Mama," "Dada," and "Hi." She imitates blowing when I blow on her food and she loves to wave at everybody. She is very active and often has a hard time giving into nap and bedtime because there is so much to see in this big world. We have been so blessed with a beautiful little girl and are truly enjoying every minute with her...and perhaps spoiling her a bit!