Thursday, September 18, 2008

Returning to the Land of their Birth

My DH emailed me the link below of a slideshow of 3 adopted children from China. They are now teenagers and returned to China to work in an orphanage there. It brought me to tears…and made me realize how I will never fully comprehend the hearts of my children. How they live here, have family here, but part of their hearts will always remain in China and Ukraine…where their birth family resides. I pray that I can bring them up “right” and do their birth families justice. I hope you enjoy the slide show as much as I did.

http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/specials/083008orphanage/

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Last September

Last September we met Jenna face-to-face for the first time. What an amazing experience! It seems just like yesterday...no where close to a year ago. We took the kiddos out for dinner and ice cream to celebrate Jenna's first Adoption Day tonight. Jacob and Julia were super sweet to Jenna...they sang "Happy Gotcha Day" (to the tune of Happy B-Day) in front of everyone at Bruster's, without prompting. What great kids! What blessed parents we are to have these three beautiful children!

Friday, September 12, 2008

Neat Artwork

I found the artwork below while surfing the net...it's pretty neat. The words read, "The first gave you a need for love; the second was there to give it."

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Never Forget

September 11, 2001 is a date that we, as a nation, should never forget. I remember where I was, how I heard, who told me, what my first thoughts were and what my prayers were like that day in history. No matter what your thoughts are about the tragic event, please remember the families and friends of those who were lost today. I'm sure this is a very hard day for them.

Friday, September 05, 2008

Question & Answer

A friend has these questions on her blog and I thought they were cute. So let's give it a try here too...post your answers in the comment section! :)

Spender or saver? I think I’m a saver, but might be a spender…just ask DH! ;)

What is your favorite type of ethnic food? Which dish? I love Chinese (which is laughable since I wouldn’t touch it when I was a kid and all through College!). I guess having tried the original stuff in China really changed my mind. Favorite dish would be vegetable stir fry and spring rolls here…in China, the homemade noodles stir fried in “brown” sauce was the best!

Guest or host? I’m an uncomfortable guest…never quite sure how to mingle and make small talk. I prefer to host, that way I know everyone and I’m comfortable in my own home!

Are you still friends with anyone from high school? Elementary school? Yes, but most do not live in the area anymore. We communicate via email the most.

Do you save cards and letters from your spouse? What about from friends or old boyfriends? Used to, but I got the notion that saving things I never look at any more just collected dust around the house…and I’m allergic to dust. So, I don’t save them anymore. I will scrapbook the cute handmade ones from my kids though.

What is your favorite fall activity? The pumpkin patch with my kiddos. Very fun!

When you were growing up, did your family eat dinner together or whenever you had time? What do you do with your family now? Then...dinner together every night, it wasn’t negotiable. Now…the same rule applies, we eat as a family, not negotiable.

You have just inherited a vacation home. Where do you want it to be? I can’t pick a location, I’ve traveled to too many beautiful places. I would say as long as there is a mountain view with a lake close by…and lots of land to preserve nature…that would be ideal.

“Brevity is the soul of lingerie.” ~ Dorothy Parker Do you like to wear sexy lingerie? Depends on your definition of sexy lingerie…does shorts and a t-shirt count? :)

Thursday, September 04, 2008

Wednesday, September 03, 2008

New Referral

Our friends from Julia's travel group in 2004 just got their referral of daughter #2. Her name is Madelyn Grace and she was born in Guangzhou Province. We had hoped to travel with them and tried to coordinate our paperwork for #2 when we started...obviously that didn't happen. The thing is that their paperwork was logged in on Feb 6, 2006. They were approximately 3 months behind us in the paperchase and wound up waiting a full year after us to get their referral! I am sooooo glad they now know what their baby girl looks like, where she is, and when they might be able to travel to bring her home. She was born on October 29, 2007....10 months old like Jenna was at referral time...wow!

If their journey goes anything like ours, it will be God-filled and joyous....a trip of a lifetime. I'm sure once they meet Madelyn they will know that she was intended to be their's from the moment she was conceived in her birth-mother's womb. What a blessing! I am so happy for them!!

On another note, a close friend of mine just started the paperwork for a domestic adoption! She has struggled with infertiliy for at least 5 years...I'm so happy that her journey to parenthood has some definates now...not as much sorrow and agony over infertiliy. Praise be to God!