Prayer Request

Hi all, sorry there are no updates this morning but Dan has been horribly sick and trying to sleep whenever Mia does.

He and Mia would love your prayers. Dan has a fever, horrible cough and aches. As you know being sick is hard enough not to mention having to care for your child, be in a foreign country without access to a doctor you trust.

Mia also has a horrible cough and ear infection. They are both asleep right now and when they wake up they have to fly to their last city before coming home. If you could pray that they both get a good night's sleep and that their bodies would heal in their sleep. And please pray that Mia's ears don't hurt during the flight tomorrow.

I ask for your prayers because we have seen how God is answering our every prayer for Mia. Thank you all for being with us on this journey.

Just in a Week...

I realize that I'm bordering on a collage fetish (and, no, I don't do creative memories)....but above is a picture of Mia for each day since Gotcha, beginning from left to right. The pictures don't lie.

Dialogue Exchange of the Week:

Mom has been an incredible wingman for Mia and me. She loves Mia so much but knows how important it is that the first female she attaches to is her Mommy. So, with great restraint, she makes sure that I care, nurture, comfort, and play with Mia the most. It's about a 95%/5% ratio in care, I'd say. She also truly lets me parent, follows my lead, and goes with whatever I decide - not to mention that she preps all the bottles, washes all the bibs, and fetches all our needs. It's pretty dang amazing.

However, the minute HER BOY gets sick, as I did yesterday,...suddenly, we see the Sallie we all know and love. The Sallie that I and my 3 brothers affectionately call "BUZZSAW". At my first cough, she sprang into action - pulling out more remedies and concoctions than a witch doctor - Airborne, Ecclanesia (sp?), Tylenol, Sudafed, tea, water, and the like. I mean, she is watching me like a hawk. (I also just picked up what appears to be cough medicine at the local pharmacy. Nowhere on the box's label could I decipher the words "cough medicine" nor did I see a diagram of a person coughing....But after mimicking a cough and rubbing my chest four times in a circle the pharmacist nodded and handed me the goods. Hopefully, it will heal me. Perhaps it will only soothe me. In the least, I could be in for one nice Asian ride.)

Anyhow, given my Mom's new resurgence into motherhood, I offer you the below conversation from last night.

Mom: Dan-boy, I think you feel hot.

Dan: Yeah.

Mom: Let's take your temp.

Dan: Okay.

Mom: Where's the rectal....?

Dan: RECTAL! I think you're taking the 'Mother-Son Adventure' thing a little too far!!!

Editor's Note: in fairness to Mom, she was just wanting to make sure that I did NOT get the rectal thermometer.

"The Shame Was Unbearable..."

We are both feeling better today and toured the countryside. Unfortunately I only took footage from the camcorder and cannot upload it from here. So this cute little "naptime" shot upon returning will have to suffice.

We drove out into the rice paddy fields and a little "neighborhood." Not unlike the times I've visited parts of the "3rd world," our visit quickly brought me great perspective. What seemed like absolute poverty to me, this neighborhood was later described as being "affluent."

Man, just a half hour there and, thankfully, I can now better distinguish between true "needs" and "wants." I call it the "Haiti Effect" - which is where Elise and I first got to know one another. Whenever we spend hours deciding, say, which couch to buy...one of us will look at each other and say, "You know, it's time to go back to Haiti." Thus, the Haiti Effect. Which I think we all kinda felt....ourselves each being exposed a bit. Someone from our group asked the question we were all awkwardly wondering: "Is this alright??? To be taking pictures of these people and their homes like gawking tourists with $500 cameras in our hands?" I readily agreed with her tension and was glad she asked. Then snapped away undeterred - deciding to live in the tension versus run from it, you see.

Perspective has a shelf life, you know...

As our bus pulled into the middle of town, we were flocked by the local villagers. When I stepped off the bus into the frigid cold, an old lady rushed up to me and began to bark incessantly in mandarin - all of which I missed except the general sense that she was not real pleased. She pointed at Mia's legs and grabbed Cindy (our guide) and gestured frantically. Apparently, three layers on my little girl did not suffice to the local village standards. Old men shouted at me as they passed by, other Moms shook their sticks, and one dog in particular really wanted to let me have it. The shame was unbearable. I mean, they acted like I had her clothed in a 2-piece.

Now, in fairness, I was warned about this. My wife warned me before leaving. Cindy warned us upon arriving. The first morning in Nanchang, in fact, she even scurried me back up to the hotel room b/c my outfit selection did not meet her approval. I can't remember exactly why but it had something to do with Mia showing some leg.

So, today, after the villagers tore their robes and beat their chests in protest, Cindy turned to me, rolled her eyes and kindly snorted, "I told you so!"

"How do you translate: 'But I'm just a dad!'" I cried, to no one in particular.

She's Got an Eye for the Camera!

Mia is simply a different girl. She is "alive", vibrant, and now starting to demonstrate her own will. For example, she won the nap battle 3-1 this afternoon. Her cute little whimper has found a new courage and her eyes now have light. She is more fun and...more work.

I'm grateful.

This video shows her "reading' the little Deeble photo album that her Mommy packed just for her. It isn't her most active work (for she's nearly crawling out of the room now), but it's my favorite.

Sick Day....

Mia and I are both a bit sick (cough, congestion, unsettled stomach, etc - nothing too major) so we agreed to opt out of today's activities. So nothing like being couped up in a hotel in Nanchang to spur on such thoughts as:

* When the room service lists on their menu a hamburger as a "BEEF Burger" is that to help remove all doubt?

* I now have my next 10 Mother's Day sermons prepared in my head

* The smell of baby formula makes me gag.

pray for health and Mia's continued joy.
d

Mia's First Laugh

As it always happens, this video picks up the "scraps" of Mia's first real laugh.
We really began to see more of her personality today. She was more active, alert, and engaging with me (and everyone). It truly is amazing to see how quickly she is rebounding from the trauma and shock of it all. Love astounds me.

Free Day for Mia!

So we watched some Sumo Wrestling, went to McD's, took our first bath, forced out our first poop, and had our first real laugh!!!

It was a big one.