Annabelle is turning 10. It actually took her a while to grasp the concept of celebrating on her birthday. I don’t know if they didn’t do birthdays at her orphanage, or if it has something to do with Chinese culture in general. But apparently she’s never had a birthday party. Kim’s going to rectify that, in a big way.
With her adjustment into our family and culture going as smoothly as it has, I can tend to forget that she’s had a hard-knock life for most of her 10 years. She’s experienced more than most 10 year olds have, maybe more than most of us, period. She was abandoned by her birth mother, never knew her biological parents, lived with a foster family for a time, then sent back to the home/orphanage for school. She had to care for the babies, rising before 6 to change diapers and clean up the messes from the night. She ate little, and experienced even less. Her knowledge of life has been pretty limited. But we’re trying to make up for lost time! She asks about a thousand questions each day, wanting to know the whats and whys about everything. She’s embraced Christianity, and loves to read and talk about Jesus and heaven. She’s a great sister, a good student, and is learning to overcome her fear/dislike/hatred of “the bug!” She’s still not too keen on spaghetti, pizza, milk, cheese, and bread, but she’s eating well. She says she loves living in America, and loves being part of our family.
Tomorrow night we’ll be partying with Joyce and Evangeline, the two Chinese young ladies who have become part of our extended family. They’ll both be moving on soon, and we want to thank them for all they’ve done for our family. Honestly, I don’t know where we’d be without their help. They jumped right into the mix here, helping Annabelle adjust, keeping her connected with her native language, providing us with translation help and Chinese food, and loving us. I don’t want them to leave, but their time in happy Valley has come to an end.
My brother and his family are heading this way tomorrow, arriving sometime around 11pm. Amanda and the kids met Annabelle when we landed in Harrisburg! Yep, they drove all the way from Durham, hung out for a little while at McDonald’s in the airport, then turned around and headed home. Crazy, right? Scott hasn’t met Annabelle yet, so this is going to be big for him. They have a heart for adoption, too, and we love seeing them. I even got Alex to convince them to stick around for church on Sunday. They’re part of a great church in Durham, one that’s similar to Calvary.
Sunday is Annabelle’s actual birthday. She was abandoned on day 1 of her life. Can you imagine what that’s like? I sure can’t. But she’s got a family now, and is loved like crazy. I don’t know if she fears abandonment anymore. She doesn’t act like it, although she did tell me that she got scared tonight when everybody was out of the house except her. She got a little creeped out and started calling for Sadie. Fortunately, the Sadie-bug was close by, and came to the rescue. I don’t know what the party plans are for the weekend, but Annabelle has already scouted out the Spikes game, and knows that there are fireworks following Sunday’s game. I’m going to see if I can pull off a little Chaplain-magic, and maybe we’ll pretend that the fireworks are for her!
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