Da Ming Lake & Mollie's First Boat Ride

Last night Michael took us and the Roeske's to an authentic northern Chinese restaurant. It was a couple blocks from our hotel. It was different. No rice, only noodles and a little spicy. It was nice to get a taste of the local food. Mollie enjoyed the noodles. Lots of food and very inexpensive!



This morning we met in the lobby again and headed off to Da Ming Lake. This is a beautiful park on the lake. We took a boat ride to an island in the middle of the lake. It was just a very nice place to walk around. Very peaceful. The architecture of some of the buildings were very traditional Chinese, very colorful, older buildings. We saw 2 little boys there, about 9 or 10 years old. They asked Michael if they could see some of our American currency. David gave each of them a dollar to keep and they went wild. You would've thought they had given them $100. They were so cute.



We decided to take a break in a little local restaurant in the park. I fed Mollie and we got something to drink. When we were leaving, Mollie spotted an older woman eating something and was determined to get some of it. It looked like some sort of bread, very dense with some sort of seeds on top. She threw a fit. I walked away with her and the woman came running after me to give me a piece of it for her. It must have been something she ate at the orphanage.



Tomorrow we visit the orphanage. I am a little worried about how she will react to the nannies and going back. I am hoping that things will go well. I really want to go and see where Mollie spent her first 2 years. I want to meet the nannies that cared for her. I want to see where she played and where she slept. I have a lot of questions for the nannies that I am hoping to get answered. I am also looking forward to meeting some of the waiting children and getting some pictures for their mommies and daddies. Please keep us in your prayers tomorrow as I think it might be kind of a tough day for all of us.



Now a little about Mollie. Her first smile of the day comes earlier and earlier each day. She slept last night from 9:30 to about 9:00 this morning (we had to wake her) and didn't wake up at all through the night. We are seeing that she might have a little temper. She is walking very well but always wants to hold my finger. She will go up steps but is afraid to go down steps. She is still eating great! I think she has gained a little weight since we've had her. She is a very busy little girl when she plays. She loves all her toys. We've started teaching her sign language and today for the first time she signed "more" when she wanted more water! She did it more than once. It was so exciting to see that! We have a little genius! :-) Overall she is a happy little girl. There are times, especially in the morning, when she is a bit more serious and cries. This may be when she is missing the orphanage and possibly grieving. It's hard to see her like this but there really isn't much we can do but to try to console her. It gets a little better each day.



She is a perfect fit for our family. It's already getting hard to remember what life was like with our her. God knew, since the beginning of time, that she would be part of our family. I am looking so forward to being her mama for the rest of her life! I feel blessed beyond my imagination.



Mollie is napping right now. We are thinking we will meet the Roeske's at the pool a little later today. The girls both seem to enjoy the pool.



~ 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. Psalm 105: 1-2



Love,

David, Barb & Mollie