Camping part II

Well, like a lot of other things I have forgotten lately...I forgot to post these other pictures from our camping trip. We are actually getting ready to go camping again at the same place with different friends this coming weekend. This will cap off our summer as the next week school unofficially begins for the boys with schedule pick-ups and sports practices, while it officially begins for me with meetings...uhgg! I love my job, but feel like my brain is still not in full gear yet...hopefully that will come back sooner than later!
These pics show what a beautiful day it was he mountains and how fun to be able to play in the snow in your shorts when it is 80 degrees...very cool, but hot too!!

"How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of him..."

We just got back from our camping adventure in the mountains. I will have to post some of Rob's beautiful pics he took some other time, as the views were just spectacular. The weather was perfect...cool enough to snuggle in your sleeping bag at night and warm and clear enough during the day to hike in shorts and enjoy the gorgeous views. Matt did awesome for his first time camping. He thought hot chocolate and smores were the best!! If you could have seen his messy little face and body each day...you would have chuckled as he usually had some display of chocolate mustache, plus pine needles, plus general camp dust spread far and wide between cleanings:O) I think he also enjoyed bedding down each night as a family...all cozy in our one room quarters...echos of "goodnight John Boy" come to mind as we chatted before dozing off.

Everyone slept well (PTL)...I'm sure from the fatigue of full days and mountain air! I just love being in the mountains! I will end with a scripture that was in my journal reading this morning that caused me to reflect on His wonderful creation and His desire for our hearts...

Is 52:7 "How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, 'Your God Reigns!!!"

Pool time fun

So, the Coscto pool has been a big hit this summer. Matt has gotten to the point he leaps from the little ladder with his life jacket on and just plunges under and comes up grinning. With Matt's inspiration, Esther is starting to put her face in the water. We are staying home most days and just trying to keep life simple and establish routines...so this pool has made for great afternoon fun. Everyone is sleeping and napping pretty well now!!! Yippee!! We head off for our first camping trip this upcoming weekend. Matt will get to experience some mountain air and smores...a must in our family:O) He is really doing so well. He is eating well, gaining much better large motor control with all the new things he is trying, and probably has about a 30 word vocab in English now...and like any 3 year old...has me read Go Dog Go at least 3-4 times per day:O) He and Essie are starting to get used to each other...Matt usually hunts her down in the morning to wake her up...and when she wakes up enough...she often has a sweet little hug for him. The other kids get a real kick out of both of them and have been really big helpers too! Our lives have radically changed...Rob and I are both pretty tuckered most of the time...don't have too many moments to ourselves...but we feel blessed beyond compare...we praise His name and thank you all for your prayers and continued love and support!!

A sweet little face...

Caught this sweet picture while we were doing some errands and took an eating break. Esther's cheek is just on the edge. These two are never very far apart. Matt is really adjusting quite well. He is a 100% sort of kid. When we were in China he grieved 100% percent for his foster mama and foster brother. We would look at the albums of our family and his foster family and he would cry himself to sleep many nights. Since we have been home he insists that I lay in bed with him and he snuggles in and goes to sleep. He wakes up happy, takes a good nap and is busy...did I say busy...let's say extremely busy all day long. He is learning boundaries as well as picking up new words in English each day. The part I praise the Lord most for is he has 100% percent given us his heart. I have no worries of attachment issues as we did with Esther. I know the struggles of attachment issues as we prayed through the heart of them for 18 months with Esther and still pray over her in regards to fears and internal struggles that my love and hugs can't fix. So, Matt giving us his heart 100% is truly a gift I am thankful for...maybe that is one of the many reasons the Lord gave us his name...Matthias...gift of God:O)

Delay in Japan...God was watching

Since we were not able to blog often during our trip, I thought I would take a moment and share some of the stories you might not have heard about our adventures. During our homeward journey we were delayed on the runway for almost two hours (that was fun...not!) Because of that, we missed our plane in Japan...well sort of. We arrived just in time to be escorted across concourses to arrive at our gate sweating and panting to have them pull the chain across and quaintly look us in the eye and say "so sorry...gate is closed". It was very frustrating to see our plane sit there for another 10 minutes and not be able to get on.

You may note some frustration and fatigue in our looks in the photos as we had to go through Japanese customs. This was a hastle as Matt still has a Chinese passport...so you have to go through separate lines and fill out different forms (which of course we didn't know). Then they were not going to pay for our stay and told us we were on our own. Thankfully, we found someone who could help and we were tranferred to a very compact style (with kimonos included) hotel. The yen and the dollar do not see eye to eye very well and we ate some fast food at the equivalent of about $80 US dollars...YIKES!

The next day, however, when we returned to the airport...we were ever so thankful for that delay. As the flight we were supposed to be on flew out for 45 minutes and they couldn't get their landing gear up. So, then they had to turn around and come back to Japan and land. All those poor folks got in very late at night and couldn't rebook until they got to the airport the next morning so they had to stand in long lines and be rerouted...where as we were all ready guaranteed seats on that day's flights.

I regret to tell you that I did not praise the Lord when we missed our plane and say something spiritual like "I know He has a reason for this". Truthfully, I grumped inside and felt a little hopeless and at one point almost cried when they weren't going to let Matt have a VISA to get in. But the next day when I heard the news about what would have happened had we been on that flight...I repented for my response and thanked Him for watching over us and providing us with a much better scenario than the one that could have been.

This is just one of the many examples where God was watching over us during our trip. The prayers of the many have covered us and still are as we are adjusting to our new normal:O)

Thanks for prayers...sleep and harmony still needed!

So what do a new brother and sister do when they first meet and are both 3? The answer is they copy every thing the other one does:O) Some influences they have on each other are quite nice...others will need to be retrained!! Our days are filled with lots of activities going from one to the next as Matt is a pretty busy guy and his territory has expanded in his new home and he is determined to investigate every bit of it. Our guide in Guangzhou who got such a kick out of Matt's personality told us "Melissa call mother at home and tell her to put everything up high in your house before you get home". It made me laugh at the time...but now that I am on the homefront...she was right I have had to do a bit of rearranging and strategizing.

Watering flowers and then watering themselves...a brilliant stroke on a hot day!

There is nothing like a big brother gadget guy teaching the little guy who loves to push buttons how to play the game. Poor Matt cried ever time he had to give up his turn to someone else. Evan is by far the favored sib. Matt says his name with a sweet Chinese tone added and runs to him when he sees him with big hugs!

No sleep or very little...

So how do you tell a 3 year old who thinks it's time to get up at 2am that it is really not time yet? Especially when you really don't speak the same language yet? Well, that is our story on day 3 home...up in the dark...tired during the day...but continuing to make strides on bonding...family relationships...but could sure use some prayer on the sleep front!!! My Mom departs tomorrow and Rob back to work...help!!! Matt and Esther are really doing quite well I think...we are pretty much staying put except for excursions to the store and a short trip to church for the 4th (shown below). Thanks to all for the prayers during our trip...I could tell we were covered...especially on our trip home...I will have to tell a recap story about that later...and other recaps and blessings along the way that I couldn't include because of our trouble blogging. Please continue to pray for us as we adjust...Matt's continued bonding and security...SLEEP....did I mention SLEEP...Esther's security too! Thanks and love to all!!!