We're in Wulumuqi!!!

We're in Wulumuqi and finally have decent internet service (after the hotel computer guy came and helped us get connected)! Neil is laying with Daniel right now, trying to get him to take a nap but so far is not having much luck. Daniel is so off his normal schedule and in such a new environment that he is exhausted but too tired to sleep if you know what I mean. But Neil is pretty quiet over there so I think he may be sleeping even if Daniel isn't. :) Wow... so much has happened since we last posted, it's hard to know where to begin. As Shannon said, we took Daniel to church with us on Sunday and I'll be honest, I cried through practically the entire service. It was so emotional to see Daniel watching everything with such wide amazement and I just couldn't help but think that the angels were rejoicing to finally see Daniel in God's house of worship. And it was a blessing for me to have one-on-one time with the Lord. The service was great and the message inspiring and it was a great time of refreshment. Ah, Neil just came to join me - Daniel finally fell asleep which is exactly what he needs. Anyway, back to Sunday, after church we went to a western-style restaurant called Pete's with some other foreigners from New Day. Again, that was refreshing to me (to have western food) as I was getting a little tired of Chinese food. (Neil wasn't but he relented and agreed to western food. I think he knew I was in need of something familiar, from home). After that we headed back to New Day. That evening his nanny said her goodbye to him and that was so emotional for all of us (well, not Daniel, as I'm sure he had no idea it was the last time he'd see her, but the rest of us). Again my heart went out to her.

We left New Day on Monday at 6 a.m. Two of Daniel's friends Savannah and Jeff were awake and came to say goodbye to Daniel and that was heartbreaking. Savannah was like a little mother to Daniel and gave him a kiss goodbye. Please pray for those two kids especially. They are two of the oldest kids at New Day and really need forever families. As we drove away Daniel waved and said bye, bye. I had such mixed feelings. I knew this was probably going to be the last time he would ever see the foster home and his friends there.

Getting through the airport was VERY stressful and we think we probably got ripped-off on the overweight fine, but we were running late and just paid whatever to get out of there. Daniel was really great on the airplane, however he didn't fall asleep until we were taxiing in at Wulumuqi. We met our guide, Celine, and she is very nice and very helpful. Neil forgot one of our bags at the airport and Celine managed to get it picked up and brought to the hotel, which I think is amazing. We had a very, very busy afternoon getting pictures taken, going to the civil affairs office to fill out paperwork and get interviewed. We met the director of the orphanage who gave us some pictures of Daniel as a newborn, before he had his surgery. She remembered him and was amazed at how he was walking around the tables and stuff. She told us that the doctors had said that Daniel had only a 5% chance of ever standing. Praise God for the miracle He has done in our little boy! Then we had to go to the notary office and wait what seemed like hours. Daniel fell asleep in the car at one point and then woke up a few minutes later a total mess. In other words he had a meltdown. I know how he feels. I have not been this sleep-deprived since Shannon was born and if it weren't for Neil's support (and God's grace, of course) I would not be making it right now.

We were a little nervous about how bedtime would go last night, but it went really well. We tried to follow the same routine that Daniel has been used to at the foster home and amazingly he laid right down. Of course he wanted his Baba to lay with him, which Neil did until Daniel fell asleep. Daniel fell out of bed once in the night, but didn't even wake up when I put him back to bed. Today has been a little more relaxing. We had just one official thing to do at the police station and the rest of the day has been free time. We had a nice lunch and then, as I said, we came back to the room for a nap. Later we will go to a park near-by.

We want to THANK YOU so much for all your prayers and comments. Your love and support is so encouraging to us. Please pray that we can follow Daniel's therapy schedule as closely as possible. We want to try to be as consistent as we can with him but it is difficult with all the travel, etc. We love you all.

From Neil: It is evening now and Daniel and his mama are in bed and I think that Lora is almost asleep but Daniel is still awake for now. Today was pretty laid back and we took a long walk in the park. I can't tell you enough about what a great kid Daniel is. Don't get me wrong, he has a stubborn streak in him like any 4-year-old, but he has a very sweet side to him as well. He has made us laugh a lot and is bringing us a lot of joy. For the most part he does well while we are eating but when we eat late he will start acting up some. We ate dinner with our guide tonight and one thing we noticed is that he will act differently towards us when our guide is around. He doesn't listen to us as well and seems to forget alot of English that he understood earlier in the day. We are ready to get him home and into a more normal lifestyle. I also can't say enough about Lora. She has been unbelievable in caring for Daniel. It is stressful enough under normal circumstances but she is doing a great job. I was going to catheterize him tonight but he wanted his mama to do it instead! I know that I will get my turn but it is nice to see the bond there.

One last thing before I quit for the evening. Many people have heard how bad the traffic is in Beijing and how bad the drivers are but I am (luckily) here to tell you that the drivers in Wulumuqi are even worse. It is so bad and there have been quite a few times when I thought we were all going to meet Jesus! We can't seem to get any pictures on our blog yet so we have sent a few to Shannon to post for us so keep checking back. Goodnight.