1st meltdown... 2nd house call

Hi Everyone,

Oh, what an interesting day... we had to call the doctor again, but this time for Jim. I noticed at the pool yesterday that Bethany said she could swim without her goggles because the water didn't bother her eyes. I made mention that it sounds as though there is not much chlorine in the water. After that, Jim said he was having more trouble than usual hearing and it felt as though he had cotton in his ears. He thought maybe he had excessive wax built up, so the front desk sent up some drops from their pharmacy. It didn't work; it actually burned a little. He tried a few different things up here in the room to clear them out, but nothing was helping. The front desk said that all of us receive free doctor visits, so they sent a doctor to see him. Come to find out he has an ear infection from the pool... lack of chlorine to kill the bacteria. The doctor ordered him antibiotics and had them delivered to our room... again, very convenient.

Other than that the day was going great until around 5:45 p.m. when we decided to leave the pool. Jim told both girls that they could jump once more, but Windy decided to test his authority. She has tested it a few times, but has been fine when we have stood our ground. This time it was not the case; she was very quiet the whole way back to the room and did not want to take a shower. She was introduced to the computer today and absolutely loved it and wanted to play. We told her she needs to shower so we can get dinner. That's when the crying began. Finally after about 15 minutes everything was back to normal... so we thought. When it was time for bed, she refused to brush her teeth. Jim and I agreed that forcing her would be traumatic. The crying began again, but a little worse. She wouldn't tell us what was wrong. Everything we asked her, she said no, that wasn't it. We realized that everything was finally hitting her about the adoption and she was scared. We got Gloria on the phone to speak with her. Through her tears she finally told Gloria that she was scared and wanted me to sleep with her. Once we got through that, she was fine. She brushed her teeth, came to bed, and fell fast asleep.

It's truly hard for any of us to image how these little children feel. All of a sudden they are placed with strangers and they know that they are leaving everything that is familiar to them... their friends, their country, and their language. Tonight was emotionally hard on all of us, including Bethany. PLEASE keep praying for us. We know God has good plans for us; he never said the journey would be without difficult times.

To end on a happy note... Windy did thoroughly enjoy her first English lesson today. We brought out our Rosetta Stone and she did amazingly well. She worked with it two times today and by the end of the second session, she was reading some of the items in English. Not bad... not bad at all.

Yes, Debbie, I'm sorry to say, but this is MUCH nicer than Liberia. Mom, I'm proud to see your first attempt at using the computer. We love and miss everyone; I heard someone singing "God Bless America" tonight on television and it made me miss home. We'll be home before we know it.

Buenos noches,
Kathy