Increasing Our Hearts and Home: Merry Christmas From China

Last Christmas we kept saying - next year we will have our new little girl, and guess what? WE DO!! Last night was Christmas eve, and probably one of our best nights. Due to the holiday a lot of the restaurants had raised their prices and/or would be already booked, so we stayed in and ordered room service. We sat around, had dinner, talked about our year, sang songs, and just laughed. It was the first time Rae really played with BaBa. We were slightly sad that we were not at home, but we made the most of our family time together. We also allowed the girls to Skype a friend last night. They were happy to call and hear from home. Rae tried to join in a little on the conversation too.

This morning, we had some little gifts for the girls to open. It was not much, but they enjoyed them. I think Rae was a little amazed. The biggest hit - jump rope and stacking cups. After breakfast we were able to attend a church service on Shaiman Island. The service was in Chinese and English which made it a little easier to understand. As I sat in the church service listening to the children perform their little Christmas program, I thought about Rae. Knowing this is her first church service and hearing about Jesus. I almost just sat there and cried. We were also happy she sat there and behaved fairly well.

We had a fun afternoon at a nearby park before meeting the other families for dinner. We did find a food she doesn't really like - iceberg lettuce. Also at dinner, she was putting us to shame with her chopstick skills, but Hannah and I didn't give up like Noel and Emily. I was happy I tried my first sushi - a beef roll. I know maybe not too adventurous to some, but if you know me - it was.

We hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!