It's A Wonderful Life

There has been a lot going on here at home while Doug and the boys have been in China. Great opposition and darkness have surrounded us. It might have been good to list all the things that have happened on the negative side of life just so I could remember but I got to the point that I had to just forget it and move on to the next challenge. I began to get very overwhelmed and I don’t do that easily. Many voices of fear and negativity continued to pound my soul. The things that would normally have been just something to take care of became insurmountable obstacles. Some days I could just barely hold on. Unlike the proud person I am, I cried out for help. Family and friends came to my rescue and kept my head above water. People checking in on me. Others stopping by to visit and invite me to get out of the house. I had people come to my rescue in so many different ways. There are no words to express my deep gratitude for the kind words and acts performed on mine and my families...

More festive photos of last night.  Bubble machines and LED light toys were everywhere! The part of Guanzhou called New Town accross the river from the Canton Tower.  It's definitely the hot spot of the city. There are about 8 new high rise buildings still under construction.  The new US consulate is in the middle of this area. Statue in front of a building.  Fat chinese ladies in a tug-o-ward.  Scott stepped right up for this photo. The new US consulate building.  It took me a minute to realize where we were and that the American flag was out of place. Guangzhou library. The spaceship looking building is the Guangzhou Opera House. Just a cool building. We had to buy one of the more traditional Chinese toys.  Scott made it look easy. The museum.  We actually went back to this area specifically to go to the museum, but there were hundreds of people in line to get in, so we...

Scott has been very smiley the last couple of days and has had a lot of fun teasing Creed and Pierce.   Of course, he is having a hard time with limits and boundaries, so it is hard to be patient when he takes things a little too far once in a while.   I have had to remind the boys he has to learn how to be in a family and we need to not get frustrated or annoyed with him.   It’s a balancing act to know how to set the limits with him and tell him when to quit without throwing him into an emotional downer. He is very easy to take care of on his personal needs.  He takes showers twice a day and changes his underwear each time.  I have to recycle some without him knowing.  If he doesn't unroll them  himself after I give him a new pair from the package, he is suspicious of them and will smell them to see if they are clean.  The ones he wears just for one night after a shower still smell clean so I just roll them up and fake him out....

Deanne had heard that a camera would be a great thing to give to an older adopted child.  Holy cow, was that right! Scott is just short of 1,000 pictures with his camera in less than a week.  The follpwing 16 photos are obviously just a fraction of the 1,000.  Many of them are blurry (between not being able to hold the camera steady and not waiting for the autofocus to kick in) and sometimes there are 10 of the same thing.  But here are a few glimpses into the world according Scott....    Creed opening a bag of dried mangos.  Scott's soda. Self portraits are common. The sink drain.  I am sure if the right person painted this piece of art, it would be worth millions. Brothers. I don't know if he realized there was a mirror in back of the cabinet where we keep the snack food.  But it worked well to catch him in the act. He gave Pierce his camera to record his good looks. ...

The hotel room comes with 2 breakfast buffets.   The 2 extras we need would cost about $20 a piece.   Scott has two bowls of noodles and maybe some juice and a piece of bread.   Those are some pricey noodles, so I send Creed and Pierce down to the hotel buffet and I have been staying in the room for oatmeal, fruit and juice.   My oatmeal is vanilla flavored and I put pieces of peach in it.   Scott likes the chicken and beef flavored oatmeal.   I didn’t know there was such a thing until Scott picked it off the shelf at the grocery store.   He loves it.   Tomorrow I will take him to McDonalds to see how his taste buds will do with an egg mcmuffin. I did take him to breakfast a couple of mornings ago when Creed and Pierce went to McDonalds.   We sat next to a 35ish black guy who said hello when he sat down by us.   He sounded pretty accent free, so I ventured into a conversation with him.   He is from Kenya.   His name is Raym...