How are you doing?

I think "How are you doing?" is the most common question we are asked.  The answer is OK.  We are settling in to what is our new normal.  Mostly we are over jet lag but it still bites us with needing to go to bed earlier than normal but overall we are recovering.  Brooke seems to be fully recovered and is sleeping though the night.  


Brooke is adjusting to her new life here as well.  It is not without its bumps along the way but she is doing OK.  We had sent her a disposable camera in a care package and we got it developed a few days ago.  We were pleased to see pictures of her and her foster family when we picked up the prints.  We sat down with her and showed her the pictures and put them in a photo album.  She seemed glad to see them.  Our social worker suggested we also print some pictures of us with her for the book and when we picked them up she wanted to put the in her photo album without us even suggesting it.  For the remainder of this school year we are homeschooling Brooke.  Our focus is on language development.  She is doing really well.  When we were doing math flash cards today, she not only was getting the answers right but doing them in English.  


We brought the dogs home on Wednesday.  She was excited for them to be coming home but was a little apprehensive at first.  It did not take long for her to warm up to them.  They are all getting lots of hugs and kisses from her.  They are very tolerant of her affection for which I am thankful to their breeders for committing to breeding dogs who are of good temperaments.


Brooke and I went and got our hair cut this week.  She wants hers to grow out but it really needed to be trimmed.  She loved the end result.


Today we went to play with our friend's girls who were in China when we were to adopt their son.  When we told her we were going to play with their girls, she asked if we were going on an airplane.  The girls all had a great time together.  

Dennis and Brooke in the Tea Cups at Disney in Hong Kong.

Brooke with the furry part of the family.

Brooke at the park in our neighborhood.

I absolutely love hearing her laugh when she plays with Dennis.  He is so good with her and they have a great time together.  Today they went shopping together for my birthday present.  It sounded like they had a good time and from what I am told, a successful shopping trip.


We also took Brooke in to see her pediatrician this week.  He said she is doing great.  He did some follow-up tests because of her positive TB skin test in China and the result of them was negative.  The most likely explanation is that she reacts to the skin test because she was vaccinated in the past.  We are thankful for this confirmation of her not having TB.   


Please continue to pray for us and for Brooke.  I can't even imagine how hard it must be for her to leave everything familiar behind and adjust to all the changes.  Pray for us for wisdom as we help her navigate this time in her life.