More of Beijing...

On October 12, 2008, we went to the Forbidden City and Tian An Men Square. We then flew from Beijing to Nanjing, Jiangsu, where we waited...

Totally exhausted after day 2...
A more Official version of Day 2
and of course, Tim's version

Stay tuned - Tomorrow is Family Day!

BTW, I am especially enjoying reading everyone's comments from last year. You all have been so encouraging:)

"I Knew I Would Have a Great Life"

Some of you may remember this quote. Will made this comment on his descent from the Great Wall, which incidentally was exactly one year ago.

Here is the link to what we were up to that day: Our first full day in China! - October 11 (2008)
And be sure to look at Tim's blog too. His even has video: China in review (so far)

I hope all of you are having a great life too:)

Has it been a year already???

One year ago today, I was in Beijing, China. Looking back, it was truly one of the best experiences of my life. The past few days I have enjoyed looking back on our journey, reliving the excitement, anxiety, and joy.

Because it's my blog and I want to (and because I'm feeling a bit lazy in the blog department), I am going to be posting links to the blog posts that I wrote while we were in China. So, for the next two weeks, don't be surprised if there isn't much around here that's new:) Let's face it, my life isn't that exciting anyway. The only blogworthy upcoming event on my calendar is Kate's birthday, so hopefully I can work up enough energy in the next couple weeks to write about that. In the mean time, enjoy!

We're Here!!! This post was actually written on the morning of the 11th in China, but it was still the evening of the 10th here, so it counts, right?

My Little Baby

(Kate in the cool new skirt that Bunk made for her:)

In about two weeks, Kate NaNa will be three years old. Which means that she has been a part of our family for almost a whole year. Sometimes I can't believe how fast it has gone. Other times it feels like she has always been with us.

Three years old is a big deal for her for several reasons. First, it will be the first time she understands what this birthday thing is all about. We had cake and ice cream for her last year, but I didn't want to overwhelm her with a party. This year, all she can talk about is her Mickey Mouse birthday cake. She is so excited.

Second, on her birthday she will age out of the First Steps program that offers her speech therapy to her. At that point she transitions to the local county preschool, where she will attend two mornings a week, receiving speech on one of those days. (She will only be at school 6 hours a week, but Will is at school those same 6 hours, so who know what trouble Mommy may get into:) We have met her teacher, and Kate and Will have tested out the classroom, and it has met with our approval. Kate is so excited, and she keeps asking when she will see "Miss Wo-ahh" again. (No, that's not her real name, but that's how Kate says it.)

That is the very grown up side of this little girl. On the flip side, she has recently started wanting to be a baby. She isn't whiny about it. In fact, she is very straight forward. She comes over and says, "I'm a baby. Hold me." So I (or Tim) pick her up and hold her like she is a tiny baby. She has this little babbly voice she uses, and she sometimes pretends to cry. It is very different from her normal babble and crying. It is all in her baby voice. We act like she really is a little baby, rocking her and talking to her like she is an infant. Today she even wanted a sippy cup to enhance the experience.

Again, please don't think we have lost our minds. The thing is, we have no idea how much of this kind of attention she got when she really was a baby. We don't know if her caretakers held her or sung to her or anything. She needs this time. And so do we. Tim said that he has gotten more eye contact in lately than he has in months, just because she is willing to lay in his arms and look up at him. (FYI, eye contact is very important for attachment, which is a constant process.) I am so thankful that she is asking for this "baby time" with us. I mean, who doesn't need more cuddling in their life?

Sometimes Ben Makes Me Cry

This past weekend we went to our church's revival. Before it started, there was a concert where we heard a lot of wonderful praise music. Ben really doesn't like singing (even though his mommy loves to hear him sing). So we found him a notebook, an ink pen, and some coloring pencils. This is what Ben created.

At the top, it says "From Ben to God". It is a drawing of one of the stained glass windows in our church.

And then he wrote this poem:

Let me translate:

Poem About God

I love You

I Squeeze You

But most

I praise You.

Example -(In the first frame, Ben is saying "I love you God". In the second frame, God says "I am God" and they hold hands. Last (I think) they are hugging.)

(Honestly, I'm not sure what is written at the top.)

Anyway, there are always those people who are critical of the way kids behave in church. And while I want my kids to be respectful, I'm really not that interested in the opinions of others. The whole time he was sitting there, he didn't look like he was paying attention. He looked like he was goofing off. But in truth, he was worshipping. Like I said, sometimes he makes me cry.

Waiting Children and Show Hope

I am still working on my book, but I wanted to stop in to let you all know that A Helping Hand Adoption Agency just received a new list of Waiting Children. These children are waiting for their forever families to find them. Some of them have been on the list more than a year, some of them have just been added. Whether you are considering adoption or not, please stop by their website and pray for these precious children.

I also just received my monthly newsletter from Show Hope (formerly Shaohannah's Hope). They have recently opened their new facility in China, Maria's Big House of Hope, named after Steven Curtis Chapman's daughter. Click on the above links to learn more about this awesome project and more about adoption.

Please leave a message at the tone...

Amy is unavailable to take your calls at the moment. She just went to the library and picked up a brand new copy of An Echo in the Bone. This is a BIG FAT historical adult novel with lots of mystery, time travel, and other fun stuff, so she will not be on the computer for a few days. Maybe even weeks. It is the seventh in a series of big fat books called the Outlander series, so she has been waiting a long time for this. She also thinks it is quite fortuitous that the publication falls on the same week as her birthday, because that way she can say that the reason that she isn't cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, or communicating with anyone except about An Echo in the Bone and other Outlander related things is really because it is her birthday, not because she is obsessed with fictitious characters in 1776 and 1980 (remember, I said there was time travel:).

We will return to our regularly scheduled adorable children, either when Amy finishes the book, or it is due back to the library, whichever comes first.