Thoughts about family, children, adoption, organizing, living more simply and following my heart.
Please join me in my adventures. Have a wonderful day!
Warmly, Linda
I was thrilled to open my e-mail today and find these new photos of Shanna!!!
Ann, of Red Thread China, told the orphange that our care package was on its way, and asked for some updated photos and they sent these. We are so thrilled, especially to see her perpetually happy disposition, and her beautiful artwork.
This month has gone by in a blur. With all the excitement and tasks that went along with Shanna's adoption, the daily stuff of life filled in all the gaps and made for a busy and wonderful spring.
Our church went on a field trip to the farm. Megan loved riding her horse. Mary Alice is taking riding lessons each Saturday, now, and Megan has been wishing for her turn.
The girls got to hold the new baby goats. Mary Alice was thrilled.
On Mother's day, I received a breakfast of cinnamon rolls and lovely fruit salad, and these beautiful flowers, which are still gorgeous. Matthew took this interesting shot.
One of my main wishes for Mother's Day was to have a picture taken with everyone smiling (at the same time) so I could have it put onto a T-shirt and send it to Shanna. This was taken by our social worker, who came for our final home study visit on Mother's Day.
I need a haircut, and Megan is smiling her "grimacy" smile, but all in all, it's the real us.
During church, our children sang this song to their mothers.
One of my organizing clients gave me these cool magnetic shape things. I barely had mentioned it to Matthew before he dug in and whipped up this shape.
and these..........
and Eric made this, just now......
And this is it in motion..... the engineer that he is......
and finally, here is Megan reading a book, "My Home". It ends rather abruptly, as someone came to the back door and distracted her!
Today, I sent a care package to Shanna, via a service call Red Thread China. Ann will receive our package, add in a package of 5 pairs of PJs to donate to the orphanage, a disposable camera and repackage it and send it on the the orphanage. We have to do it through a 3rd party like this because due to US regulations, we cannot have any direct contact with the orphanage. Ann can ask for updated photos and sometimes they will send a photo of the child with the items parents send.
Here is a photo of what we mailed to her. I just love the dress and hope she does, too. She is in Southern China, where it is very warm and tropical. The book is a photo album/story about us and the picture is for her to put under her pillow. Ann at Red Thread wrote notes in Chinese about these things for us and translated a letter to the nannies from us.
A very wonderful, Chinese-speaking friend translated this special book for Shanna. I printed it on card stock and another special person helped me to laminate and bind it so she could easily carry it around with her and enjoy looking at it with her friends and nannies.
She just turned nine years old, and is living at the Shantou Social Welfare Institute, Guangdong Province, China. She is a happy, healthy little girl who needs a family. She is a good student, loves to giggle, sing, and play with friends. She is hard working, helpful, caring and brave. All of this we have learned from her reports and the nannies that care for her.
She has captured our hearts and we are going to be her family.
Eric and I decided that we have room in our hearts and our home for one more child. China has approved us.
It will be two years ago on May 13, that Megan Ling joined our family. We cannot imagine our life without her. People frequently say to us “she is lucky to have you”. That is no doubt true. To grow up as a parentless child is a fate no person should ever have to know. To have an adult (or two) come into your life and choose you, give you hope, love you, cherish you; that is a wonderful gift. But she is not the luckiest. We are. We have been blessed beyond belief with the joy of loving her. She is such an amazing child each and every day we are so thankful to have had the chance to be part of her life.
Dear Shanna, we are coming. Stay well, be happy, and dream of your new family. We love you. Mommy & Daddy
It is such a simple concept.
But yet, when two or more must join together in a common goal, it requires the deepest of skills. Faith, openness, compromise, vision, tolerance, flexibility, trust.
Our gerbils model this behavior every time their sky opens and a paper tube is dropped in from the heavens above. They lose no time in their quest to immediately begin to chew their tube. They each begin at an end and "chew, chew, chew" until they meet in the middle and their entire tube is gone; shredded into a million bits. Five minutes later, they dust off their little paws, feeling satisfied that they have completed thier mission (and a job well done, indeed). They then retreat to their hide-a-house, pile on top of each other and settle in for a well deserved nap.
We could learn a lot from gerbils.
Mary Alice, driven by her inner artist, created this beautiful bird house for the lucky birds in our garden, with the help of Daddy, who cut and drilled wherever she said and drove her to get the perfect materials to realize her vision.
Happy 94th Birthday to my stepfather Guy, who has made an indelible stamp on my life. We are grateful for each year with him and are so pleased that he enjoys good health and mind. Thanks to my mom, Judy, for taking such good care of him, always.
