有哭，有笑 Laughter and tears

We had another video chat with the kids last night. They brought Kai Wei and Sarah Grace in separately this time, which we thought was a good idea. Kai Wei was happy to see the Christmas tree. He really seems to be thinking about how next year he will be able to be a part of all the Christmas celebrations. It snowed here on Wednesday, and when we told him that his whole face lit up. Tim went out and made a snowball to show him, which Daniel started to eat. He was REALLY excited to see that. It was cute. We really hope there is snow when they get home so we can take them sledding and make snow-men and snow angels and eat hot chocolate. It is so special to be around older children who are experiencing their first snow storm. On Wednesday it started to snow while I was teaching my reading class, so once I got to a transition, I let all the kids go ad look out the windows while I put away their supplies. Their little transfixed faces were priceless, and hearing my second grader from Cambodia say with excitement, "this is the first time I see snow!" and later commenting on how much faster it was falling brought a smile to my face. I can't wait to share the beauty and excitement of snow wiht my own little sister and brother.

Kai Wei was so cute after his part of the call was ended. He leaned back in the chair and stretched, and visibly relaxed. He doesn't look stressed during the calls, but apparently they must be a little stressful for him. He's doing really well with his English pronunciation, but I think that's one of the things that makes the chats hard for him.

(If you click on any of the photos in the slideshow, it will pause the slideshow and enlarge the photo. These are all from last night).

Sarah Grace was cute and happy at the beginning of the call. She showed us her toy gun, which Daniel was excited about. I think he was thinking, "now that's my kind of sister!" She also liked the Christmas tree and looked really excited by the snow ball. But, all her smiles disappeared when my Mom asked if she was excited about coming here. Her face fell and she shook her head no. It was so heartbreaking to see her sorrow written all over her face an din her body language. She is really missing her foster family. We all wished that we could reach out and comfort her. It must be so hard to be 7 years old and go through such a big change. I am praying that God brings healing to her sadness and that she realizes with time that she can love our family, while still remembering and loving her foster family.

At the end of the call, she was quietly playing with the sticker book that we sent the other week. It was so neat to see her playing with something we sent. It makes her a little closer, if something my Mom and I were just looking at (and being tempted to play with) is now in her hands and she's playing with it. She was so cute, choosing dresses and accessories for each of the dolls.

Lest I forget, Daniel was disappointed the other day that no one ever commented about him, so of course, I told him the blog wasn't about him. So, he asked for his own blog. Being the nice big sister that I am, with nothing better to do since school let out early during the snow storm, I did. He would be very delighted (his word) if you visit his blog and leave a comment.