The Worship of a Child

"I had fun at church. Now, I'm home and I'm STILL wired and excited!" (and holding my FAVORITE baby doll. Her name is "baby")



One day, I'm going to remember to take the camera to church and get a picture of Hannah's face during the music part of the worship service. It is priceless! Let me describe our latest church venture to you. This is from tonight. (We have a Friday night service in addition to Sunday for those of you wondering). We pull up in the parking lot and Hannah sees the building and immediately her eyes light up and she lets out a squeal. We get in the building, and she greets a couple people she knows. After taking care of the essentials (a trip to the bathroom and then a brownie - we happened to have some set out tonight), Hannah literally takes my finger and pulls me into the worship room to find a seat. We're actually quite early, but she is ready to go. Once the music begins, she is captivated for a full two songs. She stares at the musicians, claps her hands, sways back and forth, and grins from ear to ear! Then, we get to the announcement time and as the announcer tells everyone to fill out the registration card on the back of the bulletin, you hear the sound of perforation rips. Everyone is tearing off the card. Well, Hannah grabs her bulletin and RIPS (LOUDLY) all the way down - of course not even noticing such a thing as a perforation line! This may not sound like much, but it struck me as absolutely hysterical at the time and I almost couldn't stop laughing. So, then the musicians do some background music while someone does a dramatic reading of the beginning of Genesis. The lights are out as he's talking about the void and darkness. When, acting as God, he speaks 'light' and the lights come on - there is silence except for one two year old voice clapping and cheering "yeah!!" (Want to guess which two year old that was?). As a prayer is said, Hannah decides she needs to tell me something apparently very important. While she does know how to whisper, this is not the occassion she chooses to do so. As a couple folks start collecting those registration cards people have passed to the aisles (remember the RIP?), Hannah realizes one of them is our close friend Suzanne and decides she MUST speak to her. Of course, Suzanne is clear on the other side of the church. No matter, Hannah is frantically waving and screaming "hi!! hi!! hi!!". More music - accompanied by some cool nighttime solar-system type scenes on the video screen. Hannah points and says "WOW! WOW!". (You know, part of the point of the message tonight was about the glory and magnificence of God's creation...Hannah didn't hear the sermon, but she got the message!) So, then the music starts winding up and I take my sweet girl to the nursery to play and rejoin the service for the pastor's message. At the end, I pick her up in the nursery and stand with her in the back of the worship space for the last song. I'm holding her and she's clapping and enjoying the music, when she notices a bunch of candles in the shape of a cross in the back of the room and loudly proclaims "WOW!"

You know, she notices all the things we adults take for granted. She is captivated, mesmerized, awed, and so excited about the entire experience! What a reminder to me to take time to be awed at God's creation and to really experience worship and not take it for granted. And I'm so thankful that God has placed her here, where she can worship freely. Even if freely for her means a little louder than her neighbors!

Skating Fun!

As many of you know, one of my pre-adoption hobbies was rollerblading. So, you shouldn't be too suprised that I've now introduced that hobby to Hannah! I got her one of those beginner skate sets that fit over shoes. She loves it and isn't a bit afraid. Of course, she also falls a little...and I have the wheels locked where right now she can't go backwards. Mostly she walks with the skates rather than actually pushing off to roll. But for 2 days trying, I think she's doing great. When she gets tired, I put her in the stroller, put my skates on, and my friend Suzanne and I enjoy skating for a while while pushing the stroller. Well, mostly Suzanne pushes the stroller for me! What a friend!

The other big event from this week was that Saturday some friends from church hosted a shower for Hannah and I. We had a great time and appreciate everyone's thoughtfulness so much. One of the things I really enjoyed was that several other little girls were present. Hannah had a great time playing with Abby, Joy, and Mary.

We also had a fun dinner Tuesday night with several friends. We went to celebrate one of their birthdays (Debra). Hannah wore her princess dress and tiara. I wonder if that's why all the people in Wings were staring at us? No..it must have been because Debra was also wearing a tiara (and she's not a child). We had fun!

New Friends at the Park

Here's some photos Lisa just e-mailed me of the girls playing in the park (see previous post).




1. "1, 2, 3...Go"
2. Aimee, Hannah, and Ana Claire
3. Ana Claire and Hannah

What a Week

PHOTOS:
1. Every builder needs appropriate safety gear such as a lifevest.
2. Painting Fun!
3. Mom says the painting has to stay outside until it's dry. Okay, I'll wait and watch it.
4. What do you mean playing in flour is not a "typical summertime activity"??

It's been a fun, although bit crazy, week here in our home. We started the week off Monday with a doctor's appointment. It was our follow-up visit to the adoption clinic and it went very well. They all said Hannah was doing great. The biggest concern is her speech and that's something that will be addressed after her surgery. She is picking up sign language so fast now though. I'm going to have to start looking signs up - we've about exhausted the ones I know! Yesterday I taught her the sign for "excuse me" because she was a little gassy and kept burping. Well, my 2 year old has now learned to burp on purpose because she likes using that sign!

Tuesday we visited my school to attempt to get a little work done. Well, I didn't really get anything done, but Hannah and I enjoyed playing there. That afternoon, I decided to let her play in the sandbox. The only problem is - we don't own a sandbox. So, I decided that little pool we had would make a great sandbox. Another problem - we don't have any sand. So, I did what anyone would have done (right!), I used flour instead. I know it sounds crazy, but Hannah had a blast playing with the sifter in the flour. And, since I had her wear her swimsuit and the big pool was right there - all I had to do to clean her up was dip her in the water!

Wednesday, we met Beth (who went to China with us) for lunch at the Galleria and Hannah rode the carrosel. She loved that. Oh - and the escalator and elevator too! That afternoon, we painted. Maybe it's the preschool teacher in me, but I was all about doing messy things this week. That's not my normal, everyday activities just so you know. Anyway, Hannah had a great time painting. The masterpiece is now hanging in the kitchen.

Thursday (today) we had Hannah's pediatrician appointment. It went well, but they gave my poor baby 4 shots and pricked her finger, so she wasn't too happy about it. She pointed out her purple band-aids to anyone who would pay attention for the rest of the day. She was a little pitiful as everytime she tried to walk up or down the stairs at home, she would touch her legs (she got 2 shots in each leg) and then hold her arms for me to pick her up and carry her (which I did of course!). But, those legs must have been better this evening because she ran and played hard at the park. We met Ana Claire and Aimee there - 2 girls close in age to Hannah who were also adopted from China. The girls had a great time, and I enjoyed getting to meet Lisa and Teri (their mothers) and talk to them for a while. Lisa and I have followed each other's blogs for a while - so it was great to finally meet.

Also, for those of you who may not keep up with the latest fashions, let me fill you in. Dora panties and Barbie lifevests. And that syle is versatile enough to be worn either barefoot or with yellow sandles. That's been the clothing option of choice for Hannah this week. Remember - you saw it here first!!

Playing, Playing, and more Playing!

PICTURES:
1. Okay, I think I've got it. I've got all my ducks in a row.
2. Noah likes me. (I like him too). We are teaching each other new tricks. He taught me to turn a somersault. I taught him to cross his arms and pout at his mother!
3. Joy and I love playing dress-up. Aren't we beautiful!!

Hi. Well, for those of you who have told me "I check your blog every day" - first of all, thanks for checking on us. But second, I think I'm going to try to start updating weekly unless there's major news. I love keeping up with this blog - but can only do it after Hannah goes to bed at night, and well, some nights there are other things that need to be done. :-)
But, do keep checking in with us.

Hannah's had a couple playdates with friends lately and I'm happy to report they both went well. She was shy and hesitant for a while on both, but by the end had made new friends and cried because she didn't want to leave. She also had an eye-doctor appointment this week. (It wasn't as much fun as the playdates though). It was her most "uncooperative" doctor's appointment yet, but they dilated her eyes and that just made her mad. She decided right then and there that she did not like these otherwise very nice people. :-) The good news is, we made it through and her vision is completely normal. We have 2 doctor's appointments next week - her follow-up appointment at the Adoption Clinic as well as her first visit to her regular pediatrician.

For the 4th, we spent the day at home swimming in our new pool. (yes, I decided the other pool was too small for me to get in and it's awfully hot sitting outside watching her in the water. So, now we both cool off on those hot summer days!). We had a friend come over for lunch and ice-cream sundaes afterwards. That evening, we met 3 friends of mine for dinner. We thought about going to see fireworks, but ...bedtime prevailed for my happy but very tired little girl. Oh well - that will give us something new to experience next year.