Crooks Family, A bakers Dozen :): Very Thankful in Guiyang!

We have so much to be grateful for this Thanksgiving! I have been wanting to blog for the last few days but time isn’t easy to come by this week, and it’s so hard to accurately portray the feelings and emotions of the week. Jade came to us Monday morning bouncing and smiling, as well prepared as a 6 year old can be… Then the reality of the situation hit her…. How TERRIFYING! She shut down and wanted not much to do with us, became non responsive, had had some behaviors that were very hard to watch… We were all scared, most of all, our sweet Jade.

She is teeny tiny (wears a 4T at 6) and the effects of institutional care are clear. She is at about a 4 year old level developmentally, which is right on given the fact that studies show every 3 months of institutional care takes a month off development. So, 6 years of institutional care would be a 24 month delay, so really she is quite normal given her past. Her CP is a new challenge that we are learning how to deal with at rapid speed! She doesn’t know how to play with toys; thankfully she has many teachers ;) She is such a strong-hearted little girl; she works so hard and doesn’t give up! Her physical progress in 3 days is amazing to see… Yesterday she walked over a mile and down 15 flights of stairs at the water fall, all the while grinning and giggling, SO pleased with herself, and all the clapping she was getting from her sisters and brothers! She really is making gains hourly! At first she would not acknowledge us at all, she totally shut down emotionally… now she responds when we call her name, and seeks out my hand, gives me hugs and kisses, and lets me snuggle with her. She hugged Ruby today, and is playing ball and balloons with Sophie (thanks to the HUGE amount of time and effort Sophie and Ruby are putting into their new sisterJ). She and Ciara have a high five game that makes Jade grin, and she loves to chase Jonah around. She says Mama and Baba, and No and Yay! She LOVES the water, and her wonderful Daddy swims with her daily. She is stubborn…. If she doesn’t want to comply, she lets you know loud and clear by yelling “Ah dja!”, we have no idea of the real meaning of the word she is saying, but we know what it means to her! Her progress is amazing to see, and makes my heart so full of gratitude… We are truly blessed by this teeny tiny miracle….

We started Thanksgiving Day at a local Buddhist Temple, lighting incense and candles and giving thanks for all the blessings in our lives… We then hit the square where we bought and flew kites with the local kite flyers, pretty fun I have to say! Then an afternoon swim and an AMAZING American Thanksgiving dinner prepared specially for our family by the WONDERFUL staff at the Guiyang Sheraton, complete with Turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes. cranberry sauce, AND apple and pumkin pie’s! (ok, we really missed Kevins butter beans and Loni’s pumpkin risotto but we can’t complain…) The staff here try so hard to make us welcome and comfortable, we are so grateful to them and their terrific leader Sebastian who checks in with us daily to see if we need anything and gave us his cell number just in case! Any other Guiyang families should stay here for sure!

Now as I type, I hear the giggles of little girls flowing out of our hotel bathroom as Ruby and Millie teach Jade the joy of water balloons in the bath, Jade has the best giggle… it makes me feel so thankful for my wonderful family and village… So grateful….

Happy Thanksgiving from Guiyang!!!