A Wonderful Christmas!

Hi Everyone, This is the first chance I've had to sit and update the last several days. Julia is doing very well and has had some bouts of homesickness which is to be expected. It seems when she sees pictures/videos of her Chinese home, homesickness sets in. We don't want her to forget about her Chinese home, but maybe some time needs to pass before we show her those pictures again. It's too fresh for her.
We took her to the opthamologist two days before Christmas and she will need to have outpatient surgery to loosen the muscles between her eyes. The doctor said they are pulling too hard causing one of her eyes to turn in somewhat. She had lost some vision already in that eye, but wearing a patch on her strong eye will help her regain that vision. She will need to wear the patch for two to three hours a day for the next six months. If she had been eight years old or older, the doctor said she wouldn't have been able to regain the vision in the weak eye. God is so good!
We had snow on Christmas Eve! The Dallas area hasn't had a white Christmas in 81 years! It was so cold that night; I thought I was in Hohot again! The church was freezing because every time the doors were opened the blast of cold air would rush in. Our sanctuary is in the shape of the cross so two sets of very tall doors are on each side of the cross. There's no outer room to enter before opening those doors so if it's cold, the air comes rushing in!
We celebrated Christmas Eve with my parents at the Adams' house and as always, they were the most gracious of hosts. I think Lindsay held Julia the majority of the evening and Julia loved it! It was scary driving home because the roads were pure ice. We just don't get ice that often so we aren't used to driving in it!
Julia loved opening her presents on Christmas day and her favorite was the Nintendo DS from Santa Claus! Lydia's favorite was the scooter from Santa. Fortunately, the snow and ice melted by the afternoon so they could play outside.
We are so appreciative to everyone for the gifts and cards that you have sent. We received a very special package on Christmas Eve from a family we haven't had contact with in a while, but they are always in our thoughts. Thank you Tarter family; the girls loved the DVDs! Another very special gift came from the Adams in collaboration with Carrie and Amber at New Day. It was a very beautiful book of pictures from Amber's photo journal of Julia's foster family and Julia's every day life over nine months. She took pictures of us meeting Julia in person for the first time and when we had afternoon tea with her foster family. It was so so very special. Thank you again to all our family and friends! We will continue to update so keep following! Until next post.....................blessings,Michelle,Mark,Lydia,and Julia.