Rollercoaster;)

Okay, so we are now in Guangzhou and Yun Wei had to have his medical exam. I just found out this afternoon that when the doctor asked him how old he was, he replied that he was ten;) The guide asked him again while we were shopping in the Chinese market and he is still sticking to that age...LOL. They estimated him to be seven, but I really would not be surprised if he was on the younger end of six. He has no vaccination record because of the Alport's Syndrome---he did get a TB skin test done today and was pretty tough about it.

Yun Wei has still been a little fire ball of emotions and he has taken his momma on the ride with him! I thank God that all four of us were able to go because it has taken all of our concerted efforts to get through these days. Chloe and Donovan have been a blessing --I do not know how it would have gone had they not been here. Today we went to a park and the three of them ran around playing tag and laughing up a storm! I cherish those moments--when they are all playing and I can see all the wonderful qualities God has gifted Yun Wei with. I try not to relax too much though, because his emotions are truly like a roller-coaster ride and it might not be long before he is upset again. And it wasn't......about ten minutes after he was playing and having a great time in the park, Donovan accidentally took a drink from his Sunkist....BIG MISTAKE...all of the sudden we took about twenty steps back. In retrospect, it is sort of comical, but right at that moment it was huge. He yelled a little, tossed his bottle on the ground and really just pitched himself a good ol' fit. And there was nothing that we could do to make it better--not even the purchase of a new drink. We are learning that we just have to be consistently calm in our response--but address the wrong behavior as well. I am so thankful for Don because he is MUCH better at this than me.

I have chosen to pray my way through this trip. I am talking flat on my face in the bathroom floor seeking God's wisdom! I have cherished God's Word in these days and have poured over the Scriptures. It is what truly grounds me--what a wonderful gift we have in God's Word. I am discovering it can be hard to sort through all that Yun Wei is feeling--to determine what is normal or to be expected and how to respond.

Right now--they are running around the hotel room with their newly purchased dart guns and back to laughing up a storm. He has such a hearty laugh...I love to hear it. I am so proud of him for being brave--it has to be scary for him. I am proud of Chloe and Donovan for having such a servant's heart this week. I love that Don can help us all laugh about some of the tantrums. (He took a couple of pics of Yun Wei's pouty face and said he'd tease him about the fit he pitched over a Sunkist in a couple of years...;)

We took him to a store after he agreed to stop pouting...lol. We let him pick out some snacks and a backpack. He is so proud of his backpack! It has some popular Chinese character on it---a little lamb. He walked with it on his back all the way to the hotel. It had stuff in it and I kept worrying that it was too heavy for him. I could actually see that it was making red marks on his shoulders. But he wanted to carry it--so I let him.

He tried a Skittle today! That is the first time we have been able to get him to try candy. I know--it is pretty sad that we are trying to force him to eat candy;) We let each kid get some snacks at the market. He brought us this bag of chicken feet...it was hard, but we got it for him. We made him laugh because we acted like we were throwing up while he was eating it;) This is a pic of him chowing down on it-as you can see, he loved it!

I am also learning to take joy in the little things. Like when he asks to hold my hand, or he notices that I don't have my drink and he brings me one. Or when he says momma! If I am looking for big tokens of affection--I will be sadly disappointed. I have to cherish the small stuff for now and know that God is working on Yun Wei and me.

Please keep us in your prayers--we truly need people praying for Yun Wei. Specifically for Yun Wei's outbursts to be less and less and his contentment to be more and more. Pray for us all to enjoy each other through this transition period and that God would give us wisdom in how we address behavior as it comes up.

We love you all!

Philippians 4:6-7 "The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."