Miracles

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What a day! Gracie was up very early crying and pretty upset. We were bracing ourselves for another tough day with her.. We did some shopping this morning, and thanks to the heat she drank quite a bit of juice for us. On all of our reports for her orphanage, it was stated that her favorite toy was bells. We were in one of the shops & Erin found this little bell bracelet that has quickly become Gracie's favorite thing. It must be every similar to what she played with at her orphanage. OK...it's definitely not the safest, well made toy on the planet, but we were shocked that she wanted it. We were actually getting worried that we may be dealing w/ some sensory issues. Up until this morning, Gracie would not touch or hold ANYTHING. We didn't think she could feed herself & even wondered if she had played with many toys at all. We are realizing that it was probably still some of the shock of her two traumatic days wearing off. She was also still very limited with her eye contact and trust, and was drinking no formula at all. After lunchtime today Brian bought some Chinese formula & we were thrilled that she actually drank it. Bless her heart!

After her nap, Gracie cried and screamed for literally an hour. I've never seen anything like it. I had read about grieving, but wasn't prepared for this. Brian & I just held her and prayed the Holy Spirit's Presence and peace over her. When she calmed down, we felt like we witnessed a miracle. She started playing with toys on the bed, and imitating her sister's every move. We also found out that she could feed herself (cereal snacks)! Erin showed her her baby doll & pretended that the baby was crying. Gracie started patting her on the back and head - Exactly what Brian and I had done for the last hour. Amazing.

We walked with our travel group to dinner at a great restaurant. (If you can get past all of the live seafood upon entering!) Dinner was great, and Gracie came to life even more. She ate and ate and was being a little ham for everybody. - Smiling, clapping and waving.

She's sleeping soundly right now, and we are so grateful to God for His grace and peace today. He's such a good Father, and we are so humbled to be a part of His plan for this little girl. Tomorrow Ali, Erin & I will go to the pearl market, so we're off to bed!

1. Finally drinking!

2. Dinner choice

3. Would you prefer alligator?

4. Our "safe" dinner

5. She can actually feed herself!