Angels on Earth, Documents, and a Rat

We were able to talk to the boys and family on Skype this morning. The boys seem to be having a ball and enjoying themselves. Just hope that grandparents are having just as much fun having them (ha!).
We took Bella swimming for the first time today. She loved it!!!

We did not bring floaties, but if we had them, I think she would have taken off. You have to wear a swim cap while swimming here, so we had to buy one. I think I will sport one every time I go swimming from now on.
We had to go back to the Civil Affairs Office today to sign more paperwork. We are not exactly sure which day she became a Garland officially (either yesterday or today), but we know she became Isabella Garland the first moment we saw her.
We have told some people a little more about her story before, but I just thought we would post about it now. Even though Isabella is 3 ½, she is much more like 2 years old right now. For a child who is adopted, being delayed is quite common. We have learned that at the age of 2 years when the foster family brought Bella into their home, she could not hold her head up, sit up or roll over. She only weighed 12 pounds. She was very much like a newborn at the age of 2. From the point the foster family brought her into their home, loved her and gave her the care she needed, she has progressed wonderfully. It is almost like she was really born on the day they got her. So right now, she is your typical toddler exploring, testing her boundaries, trying to figure out how things work. If we show her something, she will try to do it herself. She has even tried saying some new words. So, the question is, “Do we think she will catch up to her actual age?” We aren’t sure. But do we think she will progress right on track as if she were currently 2? Yes, we do. She is very smart. And we think once we get her palate repaired, she will take off with eating and talking. Our prayer is that we can provide the love and care for her, just like her foster family has given her unselfishly for the past 20 months.

Tonight we went to Jin Li Street which is a really neat historical street. It has been restored with lots of shops and street food.


We met up with Bella’s foster family there. It has been a wonderful experience getting to know them and spend time with them while in Chengdu. They are angels on earth. God has completely orchestrated us getting to know them and placing our daughter with them until He was ready to bring us together. They are family and will be part of our family forever. We are so blessed to have them in our lives.
Jin Li Street was beautiful all lit up at night. We saw a lot of beautifully made Chinese souvineers. Michael tried some fried squid on a stick. It was very good.

I can't figure out how to turn the picture and it is late, so I am just going to go with this (turn your head to get the full picture). We also could have had our ears cleaned out with these extremely long swabs on a stick. We passed on that; pretty gross. We went to eat at a nice Chinese restaurant. It was on the second floor of a building and had all of the windows open. Excellent food. However, while we were sitting there eating, a rat (yes, I said a rat!!) came up on the seat behind my head. I was immediately warned and we moved very quickly out of the restaurant. I never saw the rat, but then again, I did not try to stick around to see the rat. Yuck!!!
Tomorrow is a busy day, so am not sure if I will get to post or not. Going to the Panda reserve. Will post again as soon as I can. Love to everyone!