Getting Tian

Tian is sleeping in her foam bed on the floor as I write. Just before she went to bed, I walked out of the bathroom from the shower. She turned to see me and started to laugh excitedly just seeing me. And she laughed and laughed. It was so sweet! The shopping here around this beautiful hotel is really fun. We bought Tian her first pair of shoes - squeaky shoes. They are made to encourage kids to learn to walk. They squeak when you step down in them. The shoes are made of leather and just precious. Not sure if she will be able to wear them to church. There may be a sign with "No Squeaky Shoes Allowed in the Building" by the time we get back to Asheville.

A note for my fifth graders...Because I have to deal in Yuan, I have to be really good at dividing by 8's. I keep thinking about how we have been learning that 1/8 of anything is 12.5%. So if something is 100 yuan, I know it is $12.50. Like dinner tonight! I had sweet and sour chicken, Steve had beef and mushrooms over rice, and Tian had mashed potatoes. We had Coke and Ginger Ale to drink. The total was $12.50.

It's hard to believe we have been a family for over a week already. I can't even imagine how we lived our lives without Tian. She is pure joy, a sweet "sprout from heaven." We had her name interpreted here from the characters and found her name "Tian" is definitely heaven, and "Meng" is sprout.