Day 6 (Zoo Trip)

Today was probably the best day we've had so far, overall. We had quite a bit of activity to break the day up, and Lacey was really good.

We got another early start, meeting Lillian and the other two couples after breakfast at 8:30 in the lobby. From there, we headed out to he Changchun Municipal Zoo, which was about 20 minutes or so from the hotel. It's been nice to ride around the city these past few days and get a feel for our girl's hometown.

The zoo was a nice experience. Not the nicest zoo in the world - we actually kind of felt sorry for the animals. Many of them looked really dirty, tired, and in need of food & clean water. But we enjoyed pushing Lacey around in the stroller and getting outside for a few hours. While we were checking out some bears getting their Fight Club on, it started raining. We were in a shelter, so it was okay. In the shelter, a middle-aged Chinese couple started talking to me. I did the best I could, which meant I said, "Lillian, help!" So we had a nice little talk. They wanted to know why Lacey looked Chinese - seriously. Pretty funny. They asked if we were going to live in Changchun, if we had children at home, why we adopted a girl instead of a boy. At the end, the woman said she was happy Lacey and the other children were going to have good homes now, which was very sweet to hear.

Also while at the zoo, a random young woman deliberately stopped, held up her cellphone and took a picture of Cindy. Then, when we were walking out of the zoo to eat lunch, a bunch of young girls kept staring at Cindy and Alberta and excitedly talked. Lillian said this as well as the overall staring we've experienced is because Chinese women think American women are beautiful. Well put, although we told Lillian we felt the same way about the Chinese!

Lunch was adventurous. We trusted Lillian, and she took us to a local joint by the zoo. Every ounce of my psyche went into hoping our meal wasn't FROM the zoo! We had some sort of "beef" with tons of spice and pepper. It actually was delicious! Sometimes, you just have to suck it up and go with it. Plus, they had bottled Pepsi, which nearly made me weep.

After a long nap and oatmeal for dinner in the room, we took Lacey for likely her first pool experience. It went about as you would expect. Lots of nervous noises, bodily contortions to keep as much of herself out of the water, etc. I eventually got her up to her chest, but the water was kind of cool so we called it a night.

We were able to video chat back home with my sisters, my parents, and the girls/my mother-in-law. Always great to talk to the homestead! We'll probably have more opportunity to do that in Guangzhou. Also, before heading to bed, Jim (who is a PA), gave Lacey's heart a listen. He stated he couldn't hear any murmur, regurgitation, etc. We were happy to say the least! Of course we'll have it checked out when we get home, but good news indeed.

Lacey was in great spirits today, and continues to get closer to both of us. We greatly enjoyed playing with her - her smile and laugh are beautiful and infectious! She has also become openly affectionate to both of us, hugging our legs, and giving us kisses. Hopefully, the fact is starting to hit home - we're your parents!!

So that's day 7. Tomorrow, Lacey will be leaving her hometown as we fly to Guangzhou. Please pray for us - a four hour flight with Miss Energizer could be interesting.

I keep thinking about adoption as a whole. As amazing as this journey has been thus far, it astounds me to think that God would ever adopt me. Lacey brings so much to the table, but what did I bring? Why would He ever love me enough to send Jesus to die that I might become a child of the Almighty? "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we might be called the sons of God (1 John 3:1)."

Thanks for reading,
Daniel