Visit to Nanning SWI and foster mom

October 13, 2005

Ni Hao again,
The morning went great at the SWI. Ling Ling's foster mom was very sweet and brought us a picture of her that was taken the morning she came to us. She asked us to send her lots of pictures, and we assured her that we would. Ling Ling was thrilled to see her, and gave her lots of hugs and kisses, but also seemed eager to tell her goodbye at the same time. Derek posted several pics of them together in today's folder. A group of children (mostly boys) with various special needs came by to say goodbye to Ling Ling and they were so precious. Of course, the sight of them started my tears (and Mom's too) and we pretty much didn't stop crying the rest of the time we were there. The foster mom started to cry as we neared time to say goodbye, and that was difficult for me. Ling Ling just happily yelled goodbye to her as she ran off to play in the playground nearby. She didn't shed a single tear, and almost seemed relieved in the van on the way back to the hotel. I guess today was her first true realization that she is staying with us forever.

The Nanning SWI is located in what seemed to be a very poor area of Nanning. The SWI itself was pretty nice, and the caretakers were all very kind to us. We got to see the classroom where Ling Ling went to school and several of her classmates. She seemed very happy while we were there and was eagerly telling everyone she saw goodbye. Her foster mom had given her a bag with jelly candies in it, and as we left, she passed out the candies to all the children who had come to see her off. She was careful to be sure she did not miss anyone and it was honestly the most precious display of kindness I think I have ever seen. Of course, that made me cry too, so I was practically a blubbering idiot by the time we left. :) I am so thankful that we were able to visit the SWI and most of all that her foster mother saw how happy she was with us. It was difficult to even come up with words to say to her, how on Earth do you thank the person who has cared for your child and loves her as much as you do? We will be forever grateful for her kindness and love for Wen Ling and hope that we can stay in touch with her for many years to come.

We opted for lunch in the hotel today and Ling Ling, Daddy and Popo all had burgers and fries (I went for the pizza!). Ling Ling ate every fry on her plate and even some of Daddy's and Popo's too, but wasn't too impressed with the burger. She also ordered a Coke (a habit that will soon need to be broken) and we had a difficult time getting her to lay down for a nap. She's going to be quite shocked when she gets home and sees that her choices of drinks and snacks have narrowed considerably. ;)

I hope you all are enjoying the pictures, Derek is doing a great job of getting them downloaded quickly for me. As you can see, Ling Ling is not at all camera shy and insists on a "peace" sign in almost every shot. She inspects each picture on the digital camera as we take them and most of the time even directs who is going to be allowed to be in the picture with her. We can tell she is used to being in charge and are in for some interesting times when we get home. Though we never understand exactly what she is saying to us, often her tone and mannerisms are such that she gets her point across with very little difficulty, especially when she is unhappy with something we've said to her. We battled a bit over what she was wearing today and I wish I had a picture of the look on her face when she finally gave in and put on the dress I picked out. I had to really work hard at not laughing out loud when she rolled her eyes after I told her how pretty she looked.

We don't have anything really planned for tomorrow except the flight to Guangzhou in the afternoon. Derek leaves about an hour before mom, Ling Ling and me, and then he will head for LA at 9pm. Please pray for safe travels for him, and that Ling Ling isn't too upset by him leaving. She and I have definitely bonded more in the last few days, she even wanted to lay next to me for a while before she went to sleep last night, but I think Daddy is still her favorite.

Thanks for all the support, we love your messages!! And yes, I think a road trip to Texas will be in order for several of you very
soon. :) Also, Lorrie, we dropped off Alycia's gift today at the SWI, so hopefully she will get it very soon!

Love to you all,
Marla

Love this picture of Jacey and her Mumu