Sunday, December 28, 2008

Happy Hallie

I mentioned that Hallie was much happier in the thanksgiving list. I thought I would elaborate. She was not really unhappy to be in China, but sometimes she thought she was. When she was very tired and something happened, she would sometimes say “I wish we were back in America”. Sometimes she would complain and say she missed America. It was starting to rub off on the other kids too. She was not like that all the time, most of the time she was a normal 8 year old girl (that lives in a foreign country). We had to talk to her about her attitude and how important it was that she at least seem happy.
Thanksgiving Day was hard on her. She cried because she missed the Annual Hardin Thanksgiving breakfast (never mind that they did not do breakfast this year). We have had to talk to all of the kids about not dwelling on what we don’t have or are missing, but being thankful for what we DO have. Sometime after that she had a turning point. When we had our Thanksgiving celebration, she said that it was a “great Thanksgiving”, (it might have had something to do with the 5 rice crispy treats she ate).
She has two friends now. One I already told you about, and the other I will write about in another entry.
The other day on the bus, some students asked if she liked China, and she said yes! Before she would only say, it was ok. She says now she is used to China. We are very thankful that she (and the other kids) are adjusting and feeling “at home”.

5 comments:

  1. YEA! So glad to hear that. I had imagined that it was probably harder on her than Eryn & Liam. So I'm glad that she's adjusting well. Hope y'all had a nice Christmas!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I am so glad to hear that Hallie is REALIZING how happy she is. You know what they say - home is where the heart is...I admire you all for doing what you are doing - keep up the good work!!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. So glad she is doing better. I know this makes it easier for everyone! We will keep praying!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm glad to hear about Hallie. I love your profile picture of the family in the matching sweaters!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Glad things are getting better for Hallie. I can only imagine how hard it is to be so far away from what she's used to. You guys are great examples and we love you and think about you often.

    ReplyDelete