What A Difference A Day Makes!

Friday proved to be our most difficult day by far. Hudson woke up looking a little grumpy and although the morning went well, it went downhill from there. Hudson became irritable at lunch time and refused to eat his Rammen noodles. He fell asleep on the way to the airport. Initially at the airport, he just had a frown and refused to make eye contact. However, his mood escalated to full blown temper tantrums including one where he literally banged his face into the airport floor resulting in both a bloody nose and lip. That was the worse fit of rage, but there were many others - not what you want when you are a foreigner in the midst of a crowded airport surrounded by Chinese people who are already curious about your presence. At this point, Hudson would have nothing to do with me - only wanted David. That was hard for me as Lilly and Ellie never did that - if anything they wanted Mama. I suppose it was my turn for rejection, but it hurt nonetheless. Add to that a huge, slow-moving, intense thunderstorm that caused a 4 1/2 hour flight delay - no landings and no take-offs for hours. When I was about at my breaking point, the airport gate staff answered my question of "Where is our plane?" with points to the runway - Praise God our plane had arrived. We boarded around 8:30PM and had to wait a while on "air traffic control" (I thought of Chris Rickenbaker then!) and finally took off around 8:45. After a long and emotionally draining day, we arrived in Guangzhou around 11:45 and all went right to sleep shortly after 1 AM.  Ethan did great during our difficult circumstances and that we are so very proud of him. I am so amazed with his behavior! It's been really good having this special time w/ him. He and Hudson have not interacted much, but overall I think they like each other.

Fast forward to Saturday. . .

We love our hotel and enjoyed a great breakfast buffet. Then we rushed over to Shaiman Island to have Hudson's picture taken for his Visa. Of course he cried when I had to sit him down in a chair - by himself, but the good news is he recovered much quicker than he has been doing. Progress! Then off we went to the medical clinic to have his exam and unfortunately, thanks to the Hague, a TB test and 4 immunizations. It was a rough morning as Hudson like most of the children cried - alot - but it was also good for bonding as he came right to me as soon as the many doctors were finished examining him. Thankfully he only needed 4 shots - some children have to have 7, but if you know me well, you know I am extremely cautious with immunizations. I always limit the number of shots my children get to 1 or 2 at the most per visit, and I elect not to give them some of the newer ones. This was difficult for me to watch, and I did argue with the doctors trying to get out of 1 or more shots but that was all to no avail. No shots, No Visa, No USA! He even had to have the MMR even though the orphanage gave him a measles shot and a rubella shot just not a mumps shot. We covered Hudson in prayer. David literally prayed aloud over Hudson, and I was silently praying as I held him. It was absolute torture holding him down for 4 shots and a TB test after all the trauma he has endured emotionally - all in only 6 days - that's a lot for a 2 year old.

After all of that, we picked up Subway for lunch and came back to our room. Hudson did so well - he has been pitching fits if you do something he doesn't like - for instance putting him down when you walk into the room or offering him juice when he doesn't want it - this afternoon has been so much better as you can see from the photos. He enjoyed his lunch - especially the Lays chips. He smiled and even fed me. I have been trying to get him to feed me like after I feed him a goldfish cracker - he would laugh and like the game of me trying to put the goldfish in his hand in my mouth (if you are wondering why this is so important - bonding) but would not willingly feed me. Well, today at lunch he initiated it all on his own. Progress! Then he and David put the puzzle together, and he just clapped his hands and smiled his huge smile when he finished. As the title says. . .What a difference a day makes! Praising God today in Guangzhou for Progress!