The last time I took Sarah to America she was only 4 years old. She had been with us for 4 1/2 months and she had RAD (Reactive Attachment disorder). I needed to keep her in a routine. That made her feel somewhat safe. And she was not really attached to me. She still cried for hours every day. Jürgen was the only one she trusted. But Philip was her 2nd best friend. For this reason I brought Philip with me on this trip. I had to go to clear up adoption/ visa issues.
On September 19, 2007 (9 days before our trip) I wrote
“Sarah cried again when I picked her up from the kindergarten. At least she stayed in her car seat. I brought cookies and yogurt drink. She would not stop crying until after we got Philip (my poor nerves)! I offered Philip the cookies and drink first. Then I asked Sarah if she wanted some too. She said yes, and I said OK...just stop crying!
We made this calendar together this afternoon. It's sort of like an advent calendar. I taped small pieces of candy for each day leading up to the day we travel to Grandma & Grandpas house (9 days). Then we made another calendar to take with us. With this calendar we will mark the days until we return home. Sarah has no concept of time. I'm hoping this calendar will help her grasp the time we go...and the time we will return! I think the daily kindergarten is also helping. She is disappointed to go, but she will come back just like I said.
I'm thinking about my own relationship with God. The longer I know him, the more I see him act faithfully. The longer I know him to be faithful, the deeper my trust. I'm praying about this trip. I cannot trust in the character or behavior of Sarah. I hope she will learn to trust me. I do believe that good or bad, God will give me the help I need to get through it! I trust him!”
Another thing I did was make a story book (23 pages long). In this book I explained to Sarah what we would be doing, and what she could expect, and that we would come back to her papa. Nicole drew the pictures. I read this book to her every night for a month.
When we got to Oregon, my mom met us at the airport. Sarah remembered her from our time together in China.
And the trip went really well. She felt loved by her big new family.
On September 19, 2007 (9 days before our trip) I wrote
“Sarah cried again when I picked her up from the kindergarten. At least she stayed in her car seat. I brought cookies and yogurt drink. She would not stop crying until after we got Philip (my poor nerves)! I offered Philip the cookies and drink first. Then I asked Sarah if she wanted some too. She said yes, and I said OK...just stop crying!
We made this calendar together this afternoon. It's sort of like an advent calendar. I taped small pieces of candy for each day leading up to the day we travel to Grandma & Grandpas house (9 days). Then we made another calendar to take with us. With this calendar we will mark the days until we return home. Sarah has no concept of time. I'm hoping this calendar will help her grasp the time we go...and the time we will return! I think the daily kindergarten is also helping. She is disappointed to go, but she will come back just like I said.
I'm thinking about my own relationship with God. The longer I know him, the more I see him act faithfully. The longer I know him to be faithful, the deeper my trust. I'm praying about this trip. I cannot trust in the character or behavior of Sarah. I hope she will learn to trust me. I do believe that good or bad, God will give me the help I need to get through it! I trust him!”
Another thing I did was make a story book (23 pages long). In this book I explained to Sarah what we would be doing, and what she could expect, and that we would come back to her papa. Nicole drew the pictures. I read this book to her every night for a month.
When we got to Oregon, my mom met us at the airport. Sarah remembered her from our time together in China.
And the trip went really well. She felt loved by her big new family.
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