Thursday thoughts:

Eliza did wonderful at speech therapy today w/ the use of a bowl of chips as a motivator (1 chip for each successful attempt at a sound). I think the teacher thought I was nuts, but hey, whatever works. Proud of my little girl!

Eliza really enjoyed hiking up Grandfather Mountain (NC). She was very purposeful in her foot placements and even pushed my hand away when I attempted to help her up or down onto some of the high rocks. I thought she'd hold us back from keeping up with the rest of the family, but she really motored along. These were very narrow, windy, rocky trails too! I told her I was proud of her and asked her if she liked hiking...a few minutes later, as clear as day, I heard her say "uh huh". I smiled to myself.

At the top, while waiting for the brave members of the family to return from crossing the Swinging Bridge (no thank you), I met a Chinese female dr. married to an american man. They just returned from Guilin, where Ava Meiying is, 3 weeks ago. She had previously practiced as a dr. working w/ some orphanages in Ava's province, Guangxi. Of course, she told Eliza that she is a very lucky girl. She was excited that we were going to adopt a 7 yo from Guilin. Don't you know I was sitting there wishing Ava was there to experience the vacation with us...and poof, up that man and woman walked! Do you think they were angels sent to tell me that Ava was there with us?

On top of that...10 minutes later, a couple walked up from Amarillo w/ a 6 and 7 yo from China. The younger daughter was adopted in '04 and they adopted the 7 yo last year as a waiting child (she had a brace on her lower leg, but still managed to make the hike). They were sweet and beautiful. They were excited that we were going back to China for a 7 year old too! I wish I had asked if they had a blog.

Eliza withdrew around my brother and his family and was quite content playing w/ Barney and some of the toys we brought off on her own, but overall, I think she had a very good time and had no problem taking in the cabin and change of routine. She thought it was funny that I was up on the top bunk enjoying my a.m. coffee one morning and tried so hard to climb the ladder herself. Once Daddy helped her up, she was full of herself and played up there by herself for about an hour!

Lastly, Hogan was amazing on his first vacation with the family. He was so quiet and well-behaved. He was super gentle w/ my 5 yo nephew who has a great fear of dogs. He even got my nephew to play ball w/ him. He was quite the site whever we went. Everyone had to stop and pet him along the hiking trails. He even had his photo taken by an asian family (ha, remember all the photos we'd take in China that I'm sure they wondered what was so special to merit a photo?); and by many other families. He was an inspiration for many people who were trying to conquer their fear of heights. They would stop and tell us that they saw Hogan sitting and almost looking right at them and it calmed them down as they made the trek. He is definitely going into training to be a service/therapy dog. It's his calling and he was so happy to be top dog for the weekend. You should've seen how sad he was when he came home and realized he was just a dog again. Oh, but we did find one imperfection: he gets car sick...it could've been the twisting road up thru the mountains of NC, but after 4 yacks up and 4 yacks back home...dramamine will be given next time.

The bunkhouse a/k/a cabin

Discovering the fun of the top bunk!

Hiking, having celebrity status and photo sessions is tiring!

Barney, mommy said you couldn't come hiking with us. It's not fair.

I should've had a sign hanging on Hogan that read:
Conquer your fears. Bridge walk assistant for hire!


Finally, back home and showered up...shiney, swinging hair!

And look who was there to greet us...she missed us!