In The Wagon

Well, nobody is really smiling in this photo, and in fact this bunch looks flat out unhappy, but we did have a fun walk and wagon ride last evening.

This past Tuesday seems to have been the turning point for Henry, and by extension, for Jenn and me. Something clicked with Henry and he is noticably more comfortable with life. The copious amounts of prayer on his behalf and the intervention of the Hand of God are, no doubt, the foundation of this change.

• he's less stressed about food (though he can still be known to beg and to stuff his face... just with less urgency)
  
• he's better about naptime and going to bed (though there's still some improvement to be made)
  
• he's playing and interacting with Lincoln and Lydia
  
• he's not emotionally breaking down in his car seat (Lincoln has been praying for this aspect of his development daily)
  
• his bath times are more playing and less crying

The client that I mentioned a few posts ago who adopted from Russia told me her son really started to "get it" at three weeks, and that's exactly what Henry has done. It's nice to see this, and it's nice to get back to the feeling that, yes, we actually did do the right thing and that, no, we didn't make a huge mistake. You may laugh or not take that very seriously, but those are the thoughts that go through the mind of parents of adopted toddlers, and it's been interesting to exchange e-mails with our China-trip friends who have expressed similar feelings. It's also neat to "see" some of Henry's counterparts blossoming, such as Lucy, Ethan and Nicholas.

God had/has a plan for these kids. That's one of the interesting things about our answering the question that some ask, "Why China?" There are many answers that we have, but one of them is, "An orphan is an orphan is an orphan, and God knows them all equally, no matter what side of the world they're on." It's amazing to think of kids who were once sitting in poor orphanages in a country of over a billion people and have now ended up in out-of-the-way towns in Ohio, Minnesota, Kansas, Indiana and Illinois, among other places with moms and dads and brothers and sisters and grandparents that love them. Wow. Just... wow.

Lydia's been struggling with her skin, and word is it's eczema. Hopefully this is just a phase. She's been itchy, and sometimes pretty uncomfortable. Jenn and I hate to see her be uncomfortable. The doctor suggested some new strategies, so we're hopeful that she'll respond in time.

Tomorrow will be the Gates Family's second trip as a bunch to church. Never a dull moment! And then next week Lincoln will go with Grandma to Vacation Bible School!