Home with our Mei Li

Anna Grace (Jeh Jeh) and Mei Li (Mei Mei)

We have been home now for a full day with our Mei Li, and day 2 is looking great! The flight home went without a hitch, and Mei Li was a trooper!! The only drawback is that she was SO excited that she refused to sleep the entire 14 1/2 hour flight until the very last 30 minutes!! That made for a very exhausted Mei Li (and mom and dad!! ;) But, I'm telling you. . . this little girl was dancing around the airport pointing to planes out the window singing a song we made up about "fay-gee-luhs" (airplanes). It was funny to watch ! Geoff got video of this little dance, so be sure to enjoy it as much as we did! It should be appearing in the upper right window of "Our China Videos" as soon as YouTube processes it. Fingers crossed. ;)

We were awake for 31 hours straight from the time we awoke to get ready to catch our flight until we landed in Birmingham. We are still recovering from the jet lag. It is pretty wicked, right now. We try to catch a nap in the afternoon for an hour and a half and then go to bed at a good time in the evening to get back on a U.S. clock. Well, we find it is really difficult to take "only" an hour and a half nap in the afternoon (given that is night time in China). You tend to want to sleep all afternoon and into the night. And, when you go to bed at night, you only want to sleep a few hours. This morning, Mei Li awoke me at 3:23 ready to start her day! We listened to music, I taught her some new English words, we talked about her new pets (which have terrified her until today), and I told her about her doctor's appointment tomorrow to assess her foot and spine. It was fantastic bonding time, and I used my Jibbigo App. on my Iphone to tell her all of these things. She listened and nodded. I believe she understood the majority of what I was telling her. For my friends who are travelling overseas (to adopt or for business or pleasure), the Jibbigo App is a LIFESAVER!!! For $5, it is worth every penny.

Tomorrow, we take Mei Li to Dr. Charlie Law who is a specialist at the Spina Bifida clinic. He is amazing, from what we have been told. He specializes in both children and adults with special needs. We are eager to hear his assessment of Mei Li's back and her foot--and, he'll also let us know exactly what needs to be done for Mei Li's wound on her foot. Before we can correct her turned-in foot, we'll have to get that wound healed. It is a nasty pressure ulcer caused by the orthosis that was ordered for her foot in China. I have been very worried about this wound, as it is like NOTHING I've ever seen before. But, Geoff tells me he has seen this kind of wound in the hospital. It literally is a hole in her foot. The first time I saw it, I gasped. We've been cleaning it daily and using Neosporin ointment on it until we could get to a specialist in the States. I have been so worried infection would set in and cause bigger problems. Let's pray tomorrow will bring good news for her healing and recovery!! :)

(2 SWEET STORIES TO SHARE) :

The night we arrived in Birmingham with Mei Li (after 31 hours of no sleep), my family met us at the airport. Aunt Emmalie and Uncle Scott had a big bag of brand new clothes for Mei Li and pretty hair bows. Mom and Miss Kitty (our dear family friend) had a couple of dolls for Mei Li. It was like Christmas for her!! Of course, Mei Li has never experienced Christmas or a birthday or being showered with presents in any way. This was "HER MOMENT" that she had waited 4 1/2 years to experience. Little Ramsey (my precious niece) was so excited about Mei Li's clothes that she kept pulling them out of the bag for Mei Li to see. Her mama told her to stop and let Mei Li open her gifts. Ramsey got her feelings hurt and went to grandma's lap and cried. Immediately, Mei Li looks up from her gift bag and locks eyes on Ramsey. She drops her presents and walks over to Ramsey. . . wraps her arms around her and kisses her on the cheek. I still tear-up every time I think about this little girl who has never had any material things, dropping her treasure bag to run comfort someone she sees is sad. How about that? I think we could all learn a little lesson about life from this little one!! I know I am :).

Another sweet moment? Tonight, she was sitting at the table eating some Wonton Soup and some dumplings her daddy brought to her from the Chinese restaurant. She's happily stuffing her little mouth, and I'm at the refrigerator pouring some milk and I hear her say, "Womun jiah. Womun jiah". . . translated (Our home. Our home) . I sure do hope our Mei Li loves her new home. We are so happy she is with us!!

New pics coming soon!! Thanks for following :)