Our Road Ahead

We had a very uneventful night, we all slept fairly well. The kids were tired and all were asleep by 7:00 PM. I actually fell asleep by 7:30 but paid for it by getting up at 3:30 and only be able to doze until 5:00 AM. Breakfast was less of an adventure today. Matthew is (mostly) learning to eat with silverware, sit up to the table, take one item at a time and use a napkin instead of his arm. He still belches loudly and giggles but does cover his mouth! He tries not to put his face into his plate but is not always successful. He RUNS everywhere, especially to food.
Dave had an adventure in the bathroom with Matthew this morning when Qingnan grabbed the deodorizer from the bottom of the urinal before Dave could stop him. Needless to say hands were washed VERY well! We know that these behaviors are the result of having no structure and no experiences in the orphanage but boy is it hard when the child is older and your mental expectations are different than if there were a baby.
We went to a Chinese restaurant last night and it was a great experience. The entire staff was there watching us. It was a challenge to order and even more of one to eat without any silverware. BUT, none of us went home hungry! The kids were troopers and tried everything but didn't eat a lot (especially the soup where Sarah said there were eyes in the bottom of the bowl--I had a sneaking suspicion she might have been right!).
Once again we are enjoying most of our time but are getting very tired of being stared at. Last evening, on the way to eat, a young girl looked at QingNan and made a disgusted face. Boy did I become protective. I stared her down and was willing to defend my son. How dare she judge that sweet little boy who has been dealt a terrible hand. All I can say is that he may not be what she thinks as acceptable but he is going to have all of the opportunities she will NEVER be afforded. Success is the best revenge!
Dave and I know that we have a long road ahead of us with Matthew. But, once we get home things will be easier. I hope the physical needs can be handled with as least as much interference in his life. He really is a cute little guy with a great sense of humor. He loves to dance around and mimic others. Once again, God has blessed us with a wonderful child; this one is just going to be a bigger challenge than the others ever were!