Okay, I have hit exhaustion! We are ready for some "reboot" time. I don't even have time to journal. It has been like receiving a newborn and then having to run a marathon with her in your arms. Well, not that bad. We are good, just tired. I am resting when she is resting, or I am engaged in meeting a need or interacting with her. Joel and Jack get ready to help mommy ALOT!! I did not anticipate Libi being so "infant-like". It is actually a sweet thing for bonding, because she needs me for everything, but do you remember all the things you need to do and remember? All the hours I spent packing...oh, what a waste! I was so unprepared. Lesson learned for the next one. Tomorrow will be more time just here at the hotel. That will be good.
We went to the Panda zoo today. Interesting. Maybe I should just leave it at that. There were 3 pandas. We weren't there long. We then went to a tea ceremony which was very interesting and enjoyable. We also went to a Christian church. It was very beautiful. It was in the heart of Fuzhou. There are 10,000 people that come to that church on Sunday! What was so beautiful was the steeple...it said, Jesus Loves You on top. I don't have the pictures of that stuff yet because we were without our camera. Our friends took all the pictures today. Once again, such a blessing to be with them!
The cameras...somehow our battery charger for our good camera is at home. Bummer! The great thing is that we were able to get a charger this evening. It was an interesting purchase. We received a "special" price...$80...sounds reasonable huh? There was no receipt and the money went into a pocket, not ours. Anyway, we are grateful to have it.
Libi is doing so great! She continues to amaze us! She has begun to eat more and getting better at it. I did switch to soy today and took all of the advice to heart about possible reflux. It seemed to help a lot. She enjoyed therapy with daddy today. I was blown away at what she did! Brad would hold out his fingers and she would get a hold of them and he would count to 3 and pull her up. It did not take her long before she knew "3" and was using those ab muscles to pull herself and not depend on Brad. By the end of their time she had 2 new amazing "tricks".
We took the girls to have Mandarin dresses made tonight. They were so sweet getting measured! We got Izzy and Libi red dresses that are being hand sown tonight and delivered to our room tomorrow. The amazing thing is, probably the most inexpensive thing we have done since we have been here! The shop we were in was precious! The ladies were adorable! They were having me try on all kinds of dresses. It was fun. I am sure they were having more fun than I was though. They did talk me into purchasing one. Irene, I am sure your wardrobe holds a beautiful Asian gown, so we will have to take our boys out on the town in them together! Again, I am just loving the people and the culture here. I do think it is best if I don't shop. I cannot say "no" especially to these sweet people of China. I know, I have sucker written all over me! That is why I had better just stay home!!!!
We had Pizza Hut and Haagen Dazs tonight. Our guide explained to us that only the "wealthy" people would have ice cream there. I can understand that. Our ice cream was more than our dinner. I think we are still learning about how to navigate China on a budget. At pizza hut there was a"one trip" salad bar. Our guide demonstrated how people here get the MOST out of the salad bar. They build these towers of food...you will have to see the pictures. We had a lot of fun with it. Our guide, Catherine is a riot!! We are having a blast with her and our friends.
A lady approached us tonight and reiterated to us what a gift we held in our arms. She works with "un-adoptable" orphans here in China and she was so blessed by the sight of Libi in an adoptive families arms. I am telling you and will not stop...this little girl is A MIRACULOUS GIFT!!!!! We are in awe of what the Father has done and we rejoice greatly with each of you in this. We miss you all. I am ready to be back home with my boys. We are one week away from coming home. It seems like a long time, but since we have gotten Libi the days seem to go faster. Some of the slides I am putting in this post are older. I tried to label them for you...pray us through this last week, and may the Lord return the blessing to each on you 100 fold!!!!!
11 comments:
Brad, Amy, & Jacob -
I am praying that the Lord will strengthen you for this second half of your trip. May He fill you with His Word and His presence.
The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song. Psalm 28:7
Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me. - Psalm 54:4
Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done. Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice. Look to the LORD and his strength;
seek his face always. I Chron 16:8-11
And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen. - I Peter 5:10
We are upholding you in prayer! We miss you dearly!
((((HUGS)))) - Sherry :)
Oh my goodness those pictures at the end couldn't been any cuter! She is a precious gem!
Jacob, How do you like China? Im so excited for you that you had the opportunity to go with your mom and dad. Im sure that you will never forget it!
I hope that you are soaking in as much of the culture as you can. There is so much that we can learn from other people and cultures and their way of living. I think that we can see a little more of God and who he is by spending time with people from other parts of the world. How's your Chinese coming? I bet it's Hen Hao (very good!)
Arnolds,God brought these Lyrics to my mind this afternoon and I thought of you guys and wanted to share them:
Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord,
We will wait upon the Lord
We will wait upon the Lord
Our God You reign forever
Our hope, Our strong deliverer
You are the everlasting God
The everlasting God
You do not faint, You won't grow weary
Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord,
We will wait upon the Lord
You're the defender of the weak
You comfort those in need
You lift us up on wings like eagles
Our God You reign forever
Our hope, Our strong deliverer
You're the defender of the weak
You comfort those in need
You lift us up on wings like eagles
God, You are everlasting
Thinking and praying for you guys! Love, Alyssa
Your words here again remind me so much of our trip just a few months ago to get Daniel. I can SO relate to the mixture of joy, excitement and exhaustion that you are feeling. I am praying for you all!!! Remember - God will give you exactly what you need each day. He is faithful!! THANK YOU for sharing your hearts with us in your posts and all the pics of sweet Libi Faith. I am praising God for all the progress she is already making. Just one week left... it will go so FAST and before you know it, you will be home with your new daughter. We love you and will continue praying for you constantly!
There's nothing cuter than a naked baby with a big bow in her hair!
Love, Jill
Brad, Amy and Jacob,
So great to hear from you and see that more than precious face again. Amy, that last one is going to have to be one to blow up bigger. Too cute.
You have all been through so much in this last week. Being delivered this little bundle of JOY can be more than overwhelming. You have so much to take in and learn. You are doing an amazing job. No wonder you are feeling tired.Keep coming to Jesus for everything. Rest in the comfort of his Presence, and remember that nothing is impossible for Him.
You know that God is able to do far beyond what you ask or imagine. He, is already in this one week, doing so much.
He is your shepherd. He is taking care of you and your every need.
No one ever said adoption would be easy. We are praying for special blessing over you as you sleep that you would wake up feeling refreshed and ready for the next day.Keep trusting in him for your every need.
We , your army, are so proud of you and the progress Libi is making. You are an amazing family and just want you to know what a wonderful job you are doing loving your baby!
Love you, LIsa
I giggled when i saw the grumpy face pics of Libi! She is SO cute! I'm excited to see the dresses you bought! My mom is doing okay now. She went to the ER last night and got back really late. She's still sick but doing better. Love you all and can't wait to see you!
Girlfriend! I've got an Asian dress as well so we MUST take our boys out on the town!! I am laughing about the towers of food-it is so true. The sights we saw still make me giggle at times. It is true about the ice cream being expensive, that and Star Bucks are full price and very few Chinese go there!
I know the Lord will strengthen you dear friends. I remember lying on my bed, my whole body aching from carrying Sarah Beth. Every morning there was always a new desire and strenth to keep going. He is knew every morning! She will seem somewhat less babyish once she is home. Something about being in their "home" does miraculous things for them. Makes you realize again how God desires us to take these precious children and give them a home!!
Jack and Joel were over here playing today. I told them their sister is gorgeous and they said in unison, "we know." Oh, we can't wait to welcome you home. This last week will go much quicker than you think, I promise. Even in the midst of your exhaustion, take in as much as you can for Libi. When you are finally home you will at times wish you had more time to soak in her culture even more.
We love you much and are always keeping you in our prayers.
Melissa
I forgot to tell you I had the a dream last night about Libi learning to crawl. She was moving!!
Also, I talked to Connie Dunn today and she was asking how you guys were and if you were ok from the earthquake. I thought it was sweet of her to be thinking of you all.
Love, Sherry
Hey guys how are you doing?
Libi Faith is so cute.I love to read your blog.I can't wait to see you guys and Libi.
Abby
Arnolds,
I hope you guys are having a great time in China. I know that I did. I love reading your blog and seeing all of the pictures of cute little Libi. So glad your mupdating your blog so often. I know that we had a hard time trying to update as much as possible. But I'm so glad you guys seem to always find the time because it keeps us all updated. So what's been your favorite part of the trip. China showed me how blessed we are living in the USA. What with all of the poor people and such. Well I'm coming to an end. Can't wait till your back with Libi. See you then
Josh
Arnold Family,
How wonderful it has been to read your thoughts and see pictures of wonderful Libi. She is so adorable. She is so blessed to have such a wonderful family, and you are to have her.I pray for you all the time. I can not wait to see Libi in person. Have a wonderful rest of your trip in China. I am off to bed for now, but I can't wait to read your next post!
Sydney S
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