Humming and Hairclips

Friday was our last day in Hadley’s hometown. We began our day at breakfast and we were thankful to find our friend Merry working this morning. We had planned to give her a red envelope as a gift of appreciation for her helpfulness to us in learning what things to feed Hadley. The wonderful thing about most Asian people working in service jobs is that they really do act as if it is their pleasure to serve you. Merry was very gracious to receive our gift but we could tell it truly was her pleasure to help us and she was looking for no reward for her kindness.

We left breakfast to go shopping for…luggage. We knew we were going to buy one more piece in Guangzhou so we decided to go ahead. We had to take our fancy potty with us and of course our fan and we forgot to plan for taking the care package gifts we had sent to Hadley in her orphanage back home with us (blanket and large bear) so we ventured out. We got “take-away” (to-go) Kentucky Fried Chicken for lunch. They serve an egg drop soup with vegetables in it so Hadley was happy too. We went back to our hotel to begin the huge task of repacking everything to prepare for our 3pm luggage pick-up. We must confess, despite our best efforts, we brought too much stuff with us and we are getting many comments on how much luggage we have. Oh well, when we bring Hadley, Sam, Cole and Gracie back one day, we will know better (who are we kidding, a family of six, now that luggage will definitely draw some choice remarks from some bell men).

Our afternoon spent packing in the hotel room turned out to be Hadley’s happiest afternoon yet. So many giggles, games of hide-and-seek, belly tickles, playing with toys and hair clips and humming! We were so happy to hear her singing her own little happy tunes. We were amazed. She was so wound-up that we decided to give her a bath to calm her down before her nap. She took to it better this time but we made it quick. She did not want to go down for her nap but reluctantly did with only a little crying.

Jane came to bring us Hadley’s passport and we were ready to leave for the airport. We had woken up our sleepy girl and got her dressed and she was ready for her next adventure. She handled the airport check-in well and didn’t tear up at all. She has a solemn expression with strangers but was totally different when she was alone with us. We said good-bye to Mr. Poo (Peter), Eva, and Jane and boarded our plane to Guangzhou.

If Hadley could have ridden on the wing, I think she would have. She loved looking outside. After take-off I had to make her leave the shades down as it was very bright at dusk and the sun was too much on our side of the plane. Fearing a migraine, from the repeated attempts at the bright light coming in, we redirected Hadley’s attention to the “bag of tricks” we had planned for the ride.

I will pause now to ask for prayer for my headaches. I think this bright light exposure triggered the start of a migraine last night that we were able to divert with meds I brought. I am a bit concerned for my return trip home. I feel fine now, but I had to take a lot of medicine last night. Please pray that my headaches will stop. Pat feels great now, but asks that you continue to pray. He can't remember the last time he felt this good!

Hadley fell asleep on the plane about 20 minutes before landing. She got her power nap and was ready for us to get our luggage and head to the White Swan Hotel. We were greeted by our new guide, Lilly, who showed us our room and gave us the plan for the morning. By 10:30 pm we were just getting PJ's on and going to bed. Going to bed tonight was hard because Hadley was just started feeling really comfortable in the last hotel. She did allow me to hold her close and look in her eyes and she returned my gaze for a while. This was a great sign to us that she truly beginning to trust us. We put her in the bed they provided which, to us, looked too small but she had fallen sound asleep in my arms.

About 1 am she woke up crying hard. (This is the first time she has woken up in the middle of the night since we brought her home). We know she was scared and sad but she also couldn't move in that bed. I pulled her in bed with me and she went right back to sleep. At least she slept. I was dealing with my headache all night but I was glad she was comforted enough to sleep through the rest of the night. Tomorrow we will ask for a bigger bed for her. I enjoyed having a sweet girl to snuggle with.