Stac’s Place

That’s how I would describe our life with Annabelle.  I’m not sure what we really expected.  Kim and I are both very adaptable, and pretty optimistic about life.  We generally have a “go with the flow” kind of attitude about life.  But the past 3 weeks have exceeded our expectations, and life is good!

I was on stage leading worship yesterday when Annabelle and the fam entered the auditorium at the South Building (we meet at the local high school.)  She definitely did a double-take, then she smiled her big smile at me!  I had a blast leading worship this weekend, by the way.  It’s absolutely a source of joy for me.  And Dan’s message was (once again) dead-on.  Several people asked for prayer at the end of each gathering, sensing that Jesus was leading them into something new, something different than expected, something that would take them off the path they’re currently on.

After church, we took a couple of Annabelle’s “big sisters” out to the Big Bowl Noodle House for lunch.  These young Chinese ladies have stepped into our life, helping us adjust, speaking with Annabelle in Mandarin, and showing her the love of Jesus in her native language.  They’re able to ask some of the questions that we have, and help us make sure that we’re not missing anything important that Annabelle needs us to know.  We met another “big sister” Sunday at midtown–she spent last semester working in the Consulate in Guangzhou!  She knew the whole process we went through, and wants to join Team Annabelle.  God’s provision is so cool to watch unfold.

Kim and I met with Annabelle’s principal and the ESL director for the school district today.  Thursday will be the first day for Annabelle to start working in the ESL program.  We love our school district, and feel very blessed to be part of this community.  The resources here are wonderful, and the people we meet continue to impress us with their commitment to our kids.

After school, Kim ran the kids to rehearsals, while I stayed home with Annabelle.  We played a couple of games of Trouble (how does she always win?), then I got out my guitar.  I played a little bit while she worked on the Ninteno DSI, then she meandered over to see what I was doing.  She had fun strumming the strings while I changed chords.  Then she made her way over to the piano.  At first she was just making noise, but eventually she found a melody or two.  She has mentioned that she’d like to learn to play the piano.  That’s going to be fun!   Here’s a picture that she took.  I think she arranged to have her picture on the piano for this shot!

We took the kids to Dairy Queen (thanks, whoever gave us the gift card!) for dinner.  I don’t know if it’s the cold air or her warm heart, but she wanted me to carry her into and out of the DQ!  The young lady working the register mentioned that she’d heard of a couple from her family’s church who’d just come back from an adoption trip to China.  Turns out that we’re that family!  Annabelle had her first diet coke tonight, which made me think of the Roux family.  They’re doing well in Indy, even if the Colts lost the SuperBowl.  Annabelle enjoyed her chicken strips, and the ice cream was a treat.

The big blessing today came after shower-time.  Annabelle took her first shower tonight, and loved it.  I could hear her squealing/giggling with Sadie.  Kim tucked the girls into bed, and Annabelle said, “Pray Sadie.  Pray Annabelle.”  She’s understanding that we pray at mealtime, and when we tuck them in bed.  I know that she has no religious background, that the orphanage didn’t teach any religion.  But she seems to understand how important prayer is to us, and she’s jumping right in.  She even had us all hold hands to pray Sunday at lunch.  After they prayed, Kim started their “goodnight” song–Open the Eyes of My Heart.  Annabelle sang the first line with them, but stopped when she realized that Kim was looking at her!  She swung (swang?  swinged?) her hand in Kim’s, and joined back in when they hit the repeats of “holy, holy, holy…”  Kim came straight downstairs to tell me about it.

We are believing God to open Annabelle’s hear to him, to draw her to his love, just like he’s done for our other kids.  I’m sure that her understanding is limited, but we’re encouraged by her openness.

What a blessing…