Ups and Downs

Today was a day of ups and downs.

Our day started with a trip to the Chen Ancestral Hall for some site-seeing.  It was absolutely beautiful, and full of so much history.

The building had amazing carvings and artwork all along the roof line.  Stunning!  

The entrance to the house was guarded by two lions, one male and one female.  No, we didn't check! ;)

An old, traditional Chinese bed.  No mattress, and the pillows are ceramic!  Not what I would consider a comfy night's sleep.  However, the ceramic supposedly helped keep you cool at night with no air conditioning.

Carved Ivory.  Absolutely amazing!

While the site-seeing was wonderful, we were also dealing with a low point for Eliana.  She was having a particularly difficult morning.  For the last couple of days, she has not said anything, she has not cried, and she has had a constant look of shock on her face (except for two moments of smiles, which were amazing).  Well, this morning, all of that changed.  She was fussy, crying, and testing boundaries.  But I held her close, and I kept trying to reassure her.  When she would cry, I would start singing "Baby Mine" to her, and she would magically stop crying while I sang.  I must have sang it a hundred times this morning!

We then headed back to the hotel for lunch, playtime and nap time.  And what happened next was nothing short of a miracle!  We saw the walls that had stood so strong and had guarded Eliana's heart for so long begin to crumble.  She became a different child!  She spent the afternoon playing, smiling, laughing, and she even said a few words!  She became confident and curious!  She is every bit of a two year old, and we couldn't be happier!

You can check out an adorable video of her playing here.

She has even decided that she likes to feed us!  So cute!  What a sweet girl she is!

We also got a great treat today...pictures of Eliana over the last two months!  Back in March we were able to send Eliana a care package, and in the care package we included a disposable camera for the nannies to use to take pictures of our little girl.  Well, the camera was returned to us on "gotcha day," and we took them to be developed.  Today was the day to pick them up, and the pictures are wonderful!  They took pictures on several different days of Eliana doing many different things.  These pictures are such a blessing!  We will always treasure them.

Tomorrow is a big day for us.  Tomorrow we will make the trip to visit Eliana's orphanage.  It is a 4.5 hour drive one-way, so we will be in the car for nine hours!  We will likely be at the orphanage for about 2 hours.

Please pray for us as we take this journey.
*Please pray for travel safety, and for our ability to keep Eliana happy and entertained on the long car ride.
*Please pray for Eliana's heart!  Pray that she understands that we are her mommy and daddy forever, and that we love her very much.  Pray that this is a sweet time of closure for her and for the orphanage workers who love her.  And please pray that when she leaves that orphanage with us tomorrow, that it helps her to move forward with us in the bonding and attachment process.