"It was early! Whew! But worth it. When we were leaving Shannons I went to hug the GKids bye. Of course Jadyn was her usual loving self, and Asher was a willing participant in the hugs as well. Eli gave me his usual "love you grandma" with his hug. After I hugged Eli, Annika was standing near, I opened my arms to her and she came in for a quick hug!!! She's amazing and I think her adjustment period will be short. On the other hand, our adjustment period might take a while. The girl loves to talk and does not care one bit that I cannot understand a single word (past "no" that is)."
I am so blessed and amazed at how Annika is blossoming and accepting love. In the last few days, she has really started coming out of her protective shell a little more and allowing more people in. And today, Grandma got the first hug from someone other than mommy and daddy!
We have had some hard moments in the last week and this afternoon especially as Annika is learning what a family is and how to walk in love (not gruffness or being a bully... things she's learned to live by in the orphanage)....but in those hard moments, Jay and I are striving to walk in love and compassion as we show her what it means to have and be a part of a family who loves her. Unconditionally. That it's okay to make mistakes (and admit to them), that sometimes she makes bad choices (who doesn't, right?), but that we still love her. And we aren't going to hurt her for those bad choices. Something I fear she's faced all too often in her short 8 years.
Tonight, we thank the Lord we are all under one roof. Thankful for grandparents who brought us breakfast so we didn't have to think about it, for friends who brought us lunch and helped us with some communication with Annika (they are fluent in Mandarin!), and for friends who dropped dinner off and ran as we were in our jet lag state! We are thankful for kind words and lots of prayer as we learn to be a family of 6 and recover from world-traveling.
God is so good. He is so good to me....
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