today's update

Today has been pretty laid back. We skipped a museum tour to sleep late since tummies were still iffy. We actually saw a bluish sky out the window today WITH white clouds. It is hard to explain how much different that makes things feel.

As I walk down the street, I'm starting to see more differences in people's faces than I did at first. Some of the faces look more Mongolian, some look more Polynesian, etc. It seems like many of the people who are in service positions (garbage collectors, street cleaners) have a very angular, bony look to their faces. They also seem smaller and darker. Some of the people are very tall, over six feet. There are skinny people and heavy ones. White faces and brown ones. Some of the women are breathtakingly beautiful, and some of the men are ruggedly handsome. I have heard there are over 50 different races within China, and I would love to study the history behind what I am starting to see.

I'm going to see if our guides will tell us which ethnic group Moses looks like to them. Most of China is Han Chinese, but I can't tell if that is his heritage. People in restaurants will make a big fuss over him being especially cute, and of course we think he is precious. But I also feel sort of like they are seeing something cultural that I can't understand.

This morning, I was reading Psalm 131 before everyone woke up. Becuase this process has been so overwhelming (OK, let's be honest... terrifying), I have read this passage over and over again for many months.

O Lord, my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are not raised too high;

I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me.

But I have calmed and quieted my soul,

like a weaned child with its mother;

like a weaned child is my soul witin me.

O Israel, hope in the Lord

from this time forth and forevermore.

It was interesting reading it once more post-Moses. We take it for granted that a child trusts his/her parents. We assume that a baby will be comforted when the parent is near. But watching these adoptive families interact with their new children has shown me a different side to things.

Some of them have rejected their new fathers. (Perhaps they have never seen a man before.) Some of the babies have rejected their new mothers. (Possibly, they have never seen a Western face before.) Our family's situation is not necessarily normal, because Moses just bonded with all of us so fast. Many of the other families are having to take slow, cautious steps toward building trust with their little ones.

Still, as the days pass, Moses' trust grows too. When nap time came today, Moses didn't want to lie in his bed, and I was exhausted. So, I pulled him into bed with me, and he snuggled down like a little bear cub. (He LOVES to snuggle, which is not always the case with institutionalized kids.) As we were lying there, he took his little hand and started exploring my face like a 4-5 month old baby. Moms will know what I'm talking about. Remember how newborns reach up and pinch and poke around on your face, as if they are trying to memorize it? That's what he was doing. Then he reached out for my hair and felt of the curls and tickled his nose with them. It was super cute, watching him catch up on that step he missed as an infant. I could tell something important was happening for him.

(BTW, He did the same thing with Bobby today. He crawled up in his lap and felt his whiskery cheeks, pulled on his nose, and seemed to be studying how everything worked.)

When Moses finally fell asleep, he took a deep breath and just melted into my shoulder. Like a weaned child with his mother. Knowing us better. Trusting us more.

It made me wonder how much easier trusting God would be if we took time to memorize what He's like. Being adopted makes everything new, and so trust does not come easy at first. It was good to learn from Moses how vital a step learning someone is.

Today is our last day in Zhengzhou. Tomorrow we fly to Guangzhou to wait for our consulate appointment. We're super excited to hang out with a good friend from Singapore during that visit. And it will be nice to just have some rest after all of the paperwork.

PLEASE pray for an easy, safe flight. Airplanes are still not fun experiences for me.

Including photos of Moses napping and exploring a pack of Oreos we found. Some things must just be universal.