More Mei Mei......

Today we left at 8:00 a.m. to go visit our sweet angel one more time. When we first got there, she cried a little....maybe because we were there or maybe because Russel was talking Donald Duck.....all the other kids go crazy over it....but for mei mei the jury is still out on that on . She was quickly back in play mode though and we took it easy with her. We got to go on a little stroll with some of the kids in a little garden area and it was very fun. We picked flowers and Meili let me hold her for quite a little while. At one point, the director (whom the kids call baba) was talking to her and she took off and ran straight to Russel. It was a pretty touching and encouraging moment and oh so sweet. Of course, those moments are few and fast. I think she had a hard time today just not really knowing what she wanted. One minute she was okay with us playing with her and then like the flick of switch, she was done......and that's okay. She has far surpassed any expectations we had and we are so grateful she is doing as well as she is. Today was the hardest day for me because it hit me hard how difficult the next coming days will be......taking her away from everything she's ever known and not being able to explain anything that is happening to her. We pray she will be patient with us and that our love will carry her through the hard times.
We then arranged to take a few of the kids to McDonald's and that was quite the treat. Meili gets a little nervous leaving her home and being in a car but she seemed to be fine She of course wouldn't sit by me at all but I made sure inside I sat by her and helped her eat. She was very sweet and we played peek-a-boo and some other little hand games. It was truly priceless to see her little shell come down for those few moments and really just play with me. But then she ran out of juice and we decided to give her a little taste of pop. Well, needless to say she wouldn't have a thing to do with me after that. She spit out all her food and moved to the other side of the table with the nanny. Which is actually pretty funny, and kind of not at the same time. She did begrudgingly let me carry her out to the car but definitely wasn't going to sit by me. As we took the kids back in, we had our last goodbyes. She was so dang cute, just a waving that little hand off.....maybe a little too cute. lol!! We gave her hugs and kisses and told her we loved her. We got big hugs from Enoch and the other kids and we told the nannies how much we appreciate all they do. It was hard to say goodbye to Meilin....she, along with Lisa, have been our angels. So many emotions today. After our goodbyes, I got in the cab and just cried. We love her with all our hearts and know she is meant to be with us......we pray and hope our Heavenly Father continues to prepare her little heart as we say our final goodbyes tomorrow to those who have loved and cared for her so deeply. She has such a strong spirit and we feel that every time we are around her but she has a very tender heart and we know it will not be easy for her.

This afternoon Meilin suggested we go up to Summer Palace and spend a few hours. It was awesome. It's actually similar to Forbidden City in that the Royal Family would stay at the Forbidden City in the winter and at the Summer Palace in the summer. It is surrounded by a lake which is spectacular. There was a lot to see....here are a few glimpses of what we saw.