Over the past week

A week ago today, Christy and company returned from China, and Lucy stepped foot in NC for the first time.  It seems like Lucy has been with us for a lot longer.  Anyway, I'll try to summarize the past week and how everyone has adjusted.

Last Friday evening, the plane arrived at around 7:30pm.  Lucy was smiling, yet subdued, as she met her family for the first time.  Anna Claire, Lily, and their 3 cousins were a lot more hyper than Lucy and the fatigued traveling party.  Since several folks hadn't eaten, we left the airport and headed to (surprise) China Buffet.  We were interested to see what Lucy would eat.  As it turned out, she chose rice and lo mein with a few pieces of chicken.

When we got home, Lauren, Anna Claire, and Lily were excited to show Lucy the house, particularly her room.  She smiled and seemed to enjoy the tour.  Although it was late, Lauren and Lucy pulled out gifts they brought from China, and everyone tried to share all their stories about the previous 2 weeks in about 15 minutes.  We finally got everyone settled down, said prayers, and in bed.  No problem with everyone falling asleep, especially after Christy, Lauren, and Lucy took sleep aids to help them adjust to US time and make it through the night.

On Saturday, Nana and Papa (Tom's parents) came up to spend time with their new granddaughter.  We went to a Thai restaurant for lunch, then down to Topsail beach to see how Lucy would react to it.  Apparently, she had seen the ocean before.  She enjoyed the beach and running around with her sisters.  After that, we went to Dairy Queen for ice cream.  We ordered in pizza for dinner which Lucy doesn't really eat.  When she left China, Lucy packed an entire suitcase full of Chinese food that she could enjoy in lieu of American food.  When she opens something, she always offers it around for everyone to try.  The girls typically refuse, so Tom usually is a good sport and tries everything.  Anyway, we are slowly discovering American foods that she likes while still allowing her to fix her Chinese food to eat alongside them.

On Sunday, Christy and Lucy stayed home from church to unpack some of the suitcases and rest for the welcome home reception that would be later that afternoon.  The reception was held at Scotts Hill Baptist Church and was a joint reception for the Jaski's and Lucy and also for the Leggetts and their new daughter, Natalie.  It was a great time for friends and family to meet the 2 girls.  There were loads and loads of kids there, too.  It was neat to see how many kids who've been adopted were among the group.

Sunday after the reception, we packed to leave for a week vacation at Atlantic Beach.  This is an annual convention that Christy's dad and brother-in-law attend and where we rent a beach house and stay for the week.  Other than leaving a mess at the house where we didn't have time to unpack the China suitcases, the timing of this trip couldn't have been better.  Rather than throwing Lucy into the busy schedule of our life, we could spend a week at the beach, relaxing, getting to know her, and letting her get to know us.  The week has been really good.  Lucy gets along great with the other 6 girls.  She has been a good sport and tried some American foods while continuing to rely on her noodles.  She has played well with everyone.  And her English is slowly improving.  She is reluctant to play games at first, but after she learns how, she will join in.  She probably feels like everyone is looking at her anyway.  But don't misunderstand - there are plenty of challenges.  The communication hurdle is huge.  We have an electronic translator that we can use to communicate with Lucy, but it still makes communication slow and awkward.  There have been glimpses of attitude, but we realize this is probably due to lack of discipline at the orphanage rather than directed specifically at us.  Whenever we do correct or discipline her, she is always quick to oblige.  Overall, she has a very sweet spirit.  We try to put ourselves in her shoes and imagine what she's going through, but we know we can't.  We realize that this will probably be one of the most difficult things we've done, but we welcome the challenge.

The next challenging phase of this journey will begin Monday as we try to settle into our regular daily routine of school and extracurricular activities.  Please pray for our family during this time.  I don't know if we will be updating the blog much now that Lucy is here in the States.  Most updates will probably come through Tom and Christy's Facebook pages.  Thanks so much for those of you who've been praying and will continue to pray.  We are thankful to God that He providentially brought Lucy into our lives, and we look forward to the rest of our lives with her.