Day 5

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MADELYN!! We love you and miss you so much! We loved seeing you and Caroline on Skype this morning and is sounds like you have a great day planned for your birthday!

May he grant your heart's desire and fulfill all your plans. May we shout for joy when we hear of your victory, flying banners to honor our God. May the Lord answer all of your prayers. Psalm 20:3-5

Sorry for the late post about our day yesterday. It was a very long day. I woke up at 3:00 am and could not go back to sleep. I'm having a really hard time adjusting to the time change! We had breakfast at our hotel and then left at 10:30 am to head to Tiayuan. We got here around 3:30 and went to the civil affairs office to fill out some paperwork. Then we finally made it to the hotel around 5:30 or 6:00. During all of these hours, we had 1 potty break and no food. Needless to say, we were exhausted, needed to potty and were starving!

Our guide for Datong/Tiayuan is not good. I hate to complain, but her English is very lacking and she is not helpful. She does not help us find food and does not understand if we ask for help. Our travel partner called and expressed concern, so hopefully things will be better today. I'm not trying to make it sound like we are not having a good trip, yesterday was just long and hard!

Silas is doing very well. He was great yesterday morning. He woke up happy and ready to play. We got our first giggles and laughs which were so cute! After we left the hotel yesterday he totally shut down. The entire bus ride he sat on my lap and did not move or make a sound. Everything is so overwhelming for him! He did nap on the bus and took his bottle. He is such a good baby. Once we got into our room last night his little personality came back out. He loves to play with his toys and likes to bang them!

Bedtime was a little rough. He did NOT want to sleep in his crib which was fine. I was scared to use it anyway it is so old and creaky. He finally went to sleep beside me. This morning he woke up sobbing. He was so sad he was still with us! Poor baby. He cried anytime I moved more than an inch away from him. Quickly he became more comfortable and now that we are back from breakfast (he eats a ton by the way!) he is happily playing on the floor with his toys. He is the sweetest boy.

Today we are officially adopting him and will have many pictures later. I'll do my best to post them tonight if I can keep my eyes open. Prayer requests: Sleep! I am so tired and have trouble sleeping past 3 am. Please pray for rest. Silas' continued transition - he is doing really well so please continue to pray.

Tidbits about Silas:
He loves to eat. So far he has eaten everything we have given him!
He likes to bang toys and make loud noises with his toys.
He likes to organize and clean his things - Jason is hoping this continues! : )
He likes to cuddle and be held.

Blogger is not letting me upload my pictures, so I'll keep trying.