Swimming and the amazing power of our God

So today we went swimming with all the kids and staff from SHIP. The above picture is of us with the view from SHIP. It was a really great day.

We started our day slowly, which was nice, and I got to make breakfast for us all. The rest of the family had pancakes and I also made eggs for myself, Hanna, and Steven (have I mentioned how nice and strange it is to have a child who will eat just about whatever I put in front of her?). After breakfast, we all got our swim gear on/together and headed out to SHIP to pick up the kids and caregivers.

It has been so interesting to see how Hanna reacts when we pull up to the house where she has lived. We have done it 3 times now and each time has been the same - she "koala bear" clings to whomever of us is holding her. The first time it was Steven. Today (both times) it was me. This morning, we were switching cars to ride on to the waterpark, and when she and I got out of the car, it got worse! She even TURNED AWAY from a caregiver she has known for her entire life (one of her primaries) and clung to me, burying her face in my shoulder. I was simply amazed. Shocked almost seems a better word, but that would not be accurate. If I were shocked, it would imply that I do not expect my God to do the things that I know He is more than capable of doing. That is not so. I KNOW that my God chose my Hanna before the foundation of the world to be my daughter and Steven's daughter, and Caleb's sister. I KNOW that he does not do these things to make our lives worse, but to make them better - better in His estimation. His plans and paths may be hard, but they are always better.

So I will say that I am amazed.
Amazed at the power of my Mighty God.
Amazed that He is "mindful of me" (Ps 8:4).
Amazed that He, in His lovingkindness, has inclined His ear to the prayers of the saints all over the world (literally) for this precious little girl and has prepared her heart for adoption in ways that leave all of us here with her simply in awe of the HUGE GOD we serve.

When we got to the waterpark, the kids were SO excited, especially Caleb!

I'm pretty sure that Hanna had never been swimming in a big pool before and she was, naturally, a little hesitant, but that did NOT last long! She is a strange mixture of hesitant and fearless in the water. As long as "Mama" has got her or is a least close enough to touch her, she will walk right off the bench in the water, stepping into water too deep for her to touch the bottom. She LOVES to "jump" off the side to me (really just pushing off the bench from a seated position, but BIG fun to Hanna!). She just kept saying "Again!" "Again!"

We had only one moment of "backslide" in the bonding department and I'm not sure it was a totally bad thing. It gave me an opportunity to see something about her I had not yet seen. After snack time, we were just getting back in the pool, and she got mad that Caleb was playing with a float she thought of as "hers" - even though she wasn't playing with it (yeah, I know. That started fast :) ), and when I told her "No, ma'am. We share." She LOST it. After she had calmed down I decided to let her down to play in the water again. BIG mistake. Once I let go of her, she would not come back to me and when one of her previous caregivers was nearby and said "hello" to her, Hanna lunged at her to go with her. I stopped it immediately and we went to another pool to remove temptation, but it was interesting to see that when she's mad at me, she WILL try to go to someone else to get what she wants or needs or just to get away from me.

We had lunch with some of the staff from SHIP (not the caregivers, they were with the other kiddos) in the restaurant at the waterpark and that was really fun because Jing, one for the Filipina staff members, sat next to me and helped me order "gluten-free" food. I got to eat something that I can honestly say I would NEVER have tried if she had not suggested and ordered it for me. It is called "bangus". It is a fish. It was pan-fried (no breading) with soy sauce and onions and was absolutely the BEST FISH I'VE EVER HAD IN MY LIFE!!! And the best part - it cost the equivalent of about $3 US.

Our afternoon was uneventful. We came back to the room, put Hanna down for a nap, watched a movie with Caleb and then had dinner with the Piets.

All in all a GREAT day!