Then and now -- Beach edition

Sisters in the pool, June 2007:

June 2008:

Goofing around with Papa

Ting Ting enjoyed time with her grandfather (Papa).


(Credits: Swimsuit from Target's spring line, hair styled by Lauren, photography by Lance).

Ask a stupid question . . .

SCENE: Saturday afternoon, Atlanta airport. Mama and Ting Ting are leaving the women's restroom. For no apparent reason, Ting Ting stops walking and begins kicking the wall.

MAMA (exasperated): Ting Ting, what are you doing?

TING TING (happily continuing to kick the wall): I'm doing dis.

Goofing around with Aunt Kay

So how's it going?

Ting Ting's description of her first day at the beach:

"Payed in dah sand, went in da waaader, Ting Ting swim (with dramatic pantomine), den waaader mouf: Pffft, pfffft, pfffft."

Yep, that about covers it.

We're on vacation!

Ahhhh, the annual family vacation at the beach!


It's a whole week of enjoying the water, the sand, the sun . . .

. . . spending time with loved ones . . .


. . . getting advice from our elders . . .


. . . thinking big thoughts . . .

. . . doing a little dance . ..


. . . enjoying "see-food" . . .


. . . and just hanging out.




(And just in case you thought I forgot:)

Aw, shucks

Beverly was kind enough to name The Rachel Chronicles as one of five (well, OK, SIX) blogs that make her day. She said some very sweet things about us in this post. She suggested that as a displaced Southerner I needed some Southern hugs, but in the days following that post, I think Beverly needed the hugs herself! Thankfully things have settled back down and she's still posting photos and stories about her absolutely adorable daughter, Glenys. Beverly's blog, "Motherhood and Other Ramblings," is a blog that makes my day, too.

Now I'm supposed to list five other blogs that make my day. That's a tough request because I read many different kinds of blogs regularly. So for this post I'll stick with blogs that made my day this week.

Not Just Pigtails and Polka Dots Anymore made my day Tuesday when I saw Michelle had posted new photos of her TWO children, Olivia and Owen. Michelle and I met online when we were both waiting for our daughters. Now Michelle and Eric have just returned from their second trip to China, where they adopted a son. I'm so happy to see them all home safe and sound.

You'd think that Wendy's blog would be depressing as her family waits -- and waits -- and waits to adopt a son and daughter from Guatemala. If anything could go wrong, it did (sometimes two or three times!) But little Levi keeps the family entertained, and teenage daughters Katie and Ashley keep things real. Today, Friday the 13th, they received the joyous news that Ahren will be coming home at last. He's 10 days older than Ting Ting, and Wendy and her family have been staring at his picture since he was just a few days old, so they're more than ready. And maybe, just maybe, they close to bringing home Peri Brynn soon, too

I stumbled on Breed 'Em and Weep a few months back, just when Jenn and her husband had decided to separate. Some of her posts have been emotional and raw, but others have been amusing or hopeful. Always they are riveting. (If you need a laugh, check out this post, in which her daughter embarrasses her in public but Jenn and her mother can't stop laughing about it, which makes it even worse. You absolutely have to read the comments, too, for dozens of other stories that had me in hysterics).

I used to love to read a blog called The Naked Ovary. At first it chronicled Karen's battles with infertility, then her process of adopting a daughter from China (I later discovered she was in my online DTC group, too). Karen stopped writing her blog while we were in China a couple of months later, though, and I really missed it. So you can imagine how it made my day recently when I stumbled upon Cheek, her new blog. And it really made my day when I found out she was pregnant! She just delivered a daughter this week.

And speaking of women who got pregnant after adopting from China, I really enjoy reading Dusty's blog. Dusty and Chet brought Mary Joyce home from China shortly before we traveled for Ting Ting, then they discovered they were going to have a second daughter, Katherine. Mary Joyce is a beautiful and funny little girl who is a lot like Ting Ting, and 10-month-old Katherine is a real sweetheart. I loved this video that Dusty posted the other day.

So, if you're keeping track, I listed three blogs of people who were members of my July 2005 DTC yahoo! group, two of whom later gave birth to daughters. (And even thought it is a MYTH that women "always" get pregnant once they adopt, I know of a third, too -- she just doesn't have a blog). The other two blogs are by complete strangers whose blogs I found by following a link and another link and maybe another. All of them "Make My Day" quite often, though.

Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy!

NEWS FLASH: At last, Lance has replaced his broken camera. The angels rejoice as we return to our regularly updated blog

On Saturday, Lance and I took Ting Ting to a picnic sponsored by our local Families With Children from China group. We had a great time.



Ting Ting had lots of good food to eat:


She got to ride the choo choo train,


and a horsie

(the wooden kind, that is).

She did a lot of running around:


(with Mama fast on her tail).

And, best of all, we ran into our travel mates Erik and Jennifer and their daughters Katie and Leanna. Leanna is two months younger than Ting Ting and is one of her Ba sisters -- they were under the care of the same Social Welfare Institute in Yueyang County, Hunan, although they lived in different foster homes.

Ting Ting taught Leanna a new game she had just invented.

It involved stooping down, picking a bunch of grass, and then standing up and putting it on Mama's (white) pants.


See, like this.


Leanna caught on pretty quickly, and both girls thought it was absolutely hysterical.

I guess you really had to be there . . . oh, wait, we have video!



Three cheers for Lance and his versatile new camera!

Get a clue

Sunday afternoon I came home from running a few errands to find Ting Ting (freshly awake from her nap) snuggling on our bed with Lance watching an episode of "Blue's Clues." (That's a TV show for young children that features a puppy named Blue who tries to help his human sidekick figure something out by marking clues with big blue paw prints that the kids in the audience must help the human find). Ting Ting has only seen the show a few times, but she enjoys it when she does. When it was over, I took her into her room and she looked up, pointing excitedly, and shouted, "Mommy! A clue!"


Are you ready?


Here's what it was:

This and that

The other morning I was making breakfast and Ting Ting went upstairs.

She's not supposed to climb the stairs by herself and she knows that, so as soon as I realized she was doing it, I followed her. I got to the top of the stairs just as she was disappearing into her room.

I fussed at her, then asked, sternly, "why did you do that?"

She came out of her room clutching her doll and her blanket and thrust them up at me.

"I needed my dis (this)," she said.

Then and now -- Memorial Day edition

Memorial Day 2007 -- Playing on a slide at the local playground:


Memorial Day 2008 -- Enjoying food and family:

Eyeroll anyone?

Scene: Daddy and Ting Ting watching an episode of "Dora the Explorer." Dora and Boots have three items, but one is taken away.

Dora: How many do we have now?
Daddy: How many do they have now, Ting Ting?
Ting Ting: Dos.
Daddy (a bit surprised that she answered in Spanish): Dos?
Ting Ting: TWO.

(Please, Daddy. Everybody knows what 'dos' is.)

Cinderella

I wrote last week about the tragic death of Maria Sue Chapman. Her father, Christian singer and songwriter Steven Curtis Chapman, has just released a video of his new song "Cinderella." It's a beautiful song about treasuring moments with our children, made even more poignant with the news of Maria's passing.

Be sure to keep watching after the song is over for his story about how the song was inspired by Maria and her sister Stevey Joy.

(Warning: If you're at work and haven't seen this, you might want to wait until later, unless you have a private office and a big wad of tissues).




Now go dance with your daughters.

One reason we adore Dora

Too much gloom and doom here lately, so I'll tell you a story.

We were on board a flight to Nashville a couple of weeks ago and I broke out a new deck of "Go Fish" cards to amuse the 2-year-old.

"Eight!" Ting Ting said, holding up a card.

"That's right! That's an 8," I said. Then, looking for a way to keep the game interesting, I added, "Can you count the fish on that card?"

She bent her head down over the tray table and began saying something as she pointed to each fish, but it didn't sound like counting to me. I leaned closer just in time to hear her finish with "Siete, ocho!"

No, I didn't teach her to count in Spanish. Neither did her day care provider. Did you?

Then and now

Ting Ting, April 2007:


Ting Ting, April 2008:

No words

This is Maria Sue Chapman, 5-year-old daughter of Christian singer Steven Curtis Chapman and his wife, Mary Beth. She was killed Wednesday when she was struck by a vehicle in the driveway of their home. Compounding the tragedy was the fact that her teenaged brother was driving the car. It's simply too awful for words.

Many people were following this story all day, from fans of the singer to parents of children of all ages. But those of you who haven't adopted children might not be familiar with the Chapman family's strong support of international adoption. The Chapmans adopted three daughters from China and set up a foundation, Shaohanna's Hope, to help Christian families fund adoptions. According to the singer's website, more than 1,700 families have received grants in the five years the fund has been in operation.

Lance and I decided in the fall of 2004 that we wanted to adopt a daughter and began preparing our application. I went to Target one Saturday afternoon in November, not realizing it was Adoption Awareness Month, and innocently picked up a sweet little book called "Shaoey and Dot." It was a children's story about a baby found abandoned in China, taken to an orphanage and adopted by a family. The baby is accompanied by a ladybug, Dot, who tried to explain what was happening to Shaoey, telling her, in part:

"But, then, there's a cry that's the saddest of all.
In fact, it's unlike any other.
It comes from a deep, empty place in your heart
That can only be filled by a mother.

And after today, I will never again
Hear that sad song coming from you . . . "

The book was written by Mary Beth and Steven Curtis Chapman.

I began crying, right there in Target. I bought the book. To this day I can't read that passage without tearing up.

Ting Ting has shelves full of books now. Some of them are about adoption, some are about China and some are about green eggs or brown bears. But Shaoey and Dot will always officially be The Very First Book I Ever Bought Specifically for my Daughter.

I said there were no words, but I seem to have written quite a few. You can visit a special blog the family set up in memory of Maria if you want to learn more or offer condolences.

But just in case you don't go, I wanted to share this video that's posted there:

Chinese wanting to adopt quake orphans?

I've been wondering about the children in orphanages in China, but the earthquake has created thousands more orphans. According to this article, the Chinese people are reaching out to bring these children into their homes. The story also talks about attitudes that previously kept the domestic adoption rate in China low. It's an interesting read.

Reflection

My heart has been breaking all week as I read the stories of the death and devastation in China.

Every day brings reports of more horrors, from the hundreds found dead in the rubble of schools or apartment buildings to the individual tragedies, such as those told in today's newspaper by my colleague, Evan Osnos. The ramifications of China's one-child policy have only added to the tragedy as parents and grandparents are left with no one to carry on the family name or to care for them in their old age.

Ting Ting is from a city called Yueyang, in the northern part of Hunan province, far from the epicenter of the earthquake. But Sichuan province is home to many social welfare institutes caring for other babies and children waiting for families. Our friend the Rumor Queen has been collecting information on those children and institutions; so far we've seen no major loss of life there, but information is not yet available on many of the SWIs closest to the epicenter. Some of the institutions have had to evacuate the children and need supplies like formula and diapers; some have lost their water supply or power.

China is a very old, beautiful, proud country that gave our family its greatest gift, and now the people there need our help. Please remember them in your prayers.

Happy Mother's Day

As I sat down to take a couple of minutes to wish everyone a Happy Mother's Day, I found out through another blog that Teleflora apparently considers me a "non-Mom" -- or at least they did before all the angry phone calls and emails. Sheesh. Good for them I was too busy the last couple of days playing with my 2-year-old (who keeps throwing her arms around me and exclaiming happily, "MY mama!") to add my voice to the angry chorus. Instead, I'm simply going to do what I had planned to do today and post a link to this beautiful Mother's Day column.

Happy Mother's Day to all.

Sunday afternoon in the park

It was a little chilly last weekend, but we went to the park anyway. We were really tired of being cooped up inside!


Even though we had to wear jackets, it was worth it.

Ting Ting spent most of her time climbing fake rock walls and going down slides taller than me. I don't have photos of that, though, because I was too busy helping Lance supervise her so she wouldn't fall and crack her head open just because she insisted: "I do it MYSELF."



(Don't tell her that Daddy was holding her in this photo).