AHH Reunion

This past weekend was the Family Reunion for A Helping Hand... the adoption agency I used when bringing Lillie home. What made it extra special was that three of the 7 families we traveled with last July were able to attend! It was wonderful to see everyone and to see how different the girls were from a year ago! To say these families play a significant role in my journey to Lillie would be an understatement. Each of them holds such a special place in my heart and to spend time together was such a blessing. I was so amazed at the changes each of the girls have gone through in the past year...they are bigger, their eyes are brighter, their smiles are quick and their love for their families is obvious. God is good!



What a difference a year has made!

Dinner with our Travel friends!

We had a chance to get together with 3 of the 7 families in our travel group at Dinner on Friday Night! It was so amazing to see the girls and the changes in each of them..even as they were getting re-acquainted. Here are a few pictures from that night!

Lillie Mae

Serine

Bella

Lillie Elizabeth

Earthquake Update

It has been three weeks since the devastating earthquake hit Sichuan. Fuling, where Lillie is from, was at one time part of the Sichuan province, until Chongqing became a municipality. I have looked for informaiton and updates, but am surprised how little I hear about it. ( I know that is a generalization, but with the statistics, it seems there would be more about it on the news)

Here are the numbers of people affected by this devastation as related by Love Without Boundaries:
71,000 dead
5 million homeless.

In an effort to really grasp the magnitude of the devastation, LWB made some comparisons:

71,000 people dead:
That is 6,000 people less than the population of the city of Melbourne, Australia.
The war in Vietnam claimed the lives of 58,217 American soldiers.

5 million homeless:
That is two-thirds of the population of New York City..that is two-thirds of all the people in NYC suddenly without a home!
The population of Finland is 5.2 million...almost an entire country homeless.


Please keep all of the affected people in your prayers and remember to be thankful for all of the blessings in your life

An Earthquake in China

MMonday, there was an earthquake in southwest China that measured 7.8 on the Richter scale. The area around Chengdu in the Sichuan Province was the hardest hit, with thousands of lives lost. The area where Lillie is from, Fuling, is around 200+ miles from there. As you can imagine, there are a number of waiting parents who are terrified for their children and awaiting news. Reports from Fuling are that the new orphanage has sustained some structural damage, but that all children are safe. There have been hundreds of aftershocks, one reported to be as strong as 6.0. Relief workers have arrived in the epicenter, Wenchuan, and are still checking on Social Welfare Instututes in that area. Please keep these children, their homeland, waiting parents, releif workers, etc. in your prayers. There are organizations that will be taking donations to help with emergency relief in the area, including Love Without Boundaries (LWB) and Our Chinese Daughters Foundation (OCDF).

Thoughts of China

Three years ago today, my beautiful daughter was found by the gatekeeper at the Fuling Social Welfare Institute. As you can see, she was dressed in a pink outfit and wrapped in blankets. Though paperwork said nothing was with her, the pictures show a small plastic bag with formula inside.



My thoughts over the last several days have gone to a woman in China who had to give up her child three years ago today. I don't know why she made the choice...whether it was because of the one child policy, because of limited resources, because of Lillie's limb difference.... but I feel certain that it was painful to leave the child she carried 9 months. I can't even begin to understand the pain that must go along with not knowing the future of your baby. I have cried a few times, feeling the overwhelming joy I experienced since Lillie's arrival...knowing she must feel the same overwhelming pain. I pray that she can feel a sense of peace. That she knows Lillie is loved. That she will somehow know that she is included in our prayers, along with the others in China who love Lillie.
I am so thankful for the pictures I have of Lillie's first day at the SWI because I think they will help Lillie know she was loved, even as she was beginning her life at Fuling SWI.

Lillie's First Home!

I thought I would take a quick minute to share a bit more about Lillie's first home. I have been trying to find more information about the new building and found an article by the adoption organization La Vida. The New Fuling Social Welfare Center is being funded by the City of Fuling, and the Chongqing municipal government and private donors like La Vida and FulingKIds. I was surprised to find out that it is expected to be the first specialized rehabilitation center and medical clinic for handicapped children in all of China.
There are currently 14 social welfare institutions located in Chonqing province. All of these institutions provide adoption services to its children and the vast majority of those adoptions are of healthy children. However, like most institutions throughout China, nearly all of the children with special needs remain residents of their social welfare institutions with much less of an opportunity for rehabilitation, special care, or the chance to be adopted into a family of their own. Upon completion of the new Fuling Social Welfare Institution, all children with special medical needs residing in the 14 social welfare institutes in Chongqing municipality will be moved to live in the new Fuling Social Welfare Institute. The new Fuling SWI will be a facility for both healthy children and children with special medical needs.
The City of Fuling has donated over 16 acres of land upon which a 450,000 square foot facility is being constructed. Primary funding for the building has been donated by the Central Chinese government and the government of Chongqing. The new social welfare institute will include a rehabilitation and health care center for children, a preschool, and sleeping and play rooms for up to 800 children of all ages and abilities. Half of this 16 and 1/2-acre plot of land is to be devoted to parks and play places for the children.
La Vida also shared that one of the reasons they are involved in the project is the excellent care that children have received for years in the current First Fuling Social Welfare Institute under the direction of Director, Yang Peishu. Director Peishu is educated, experienced, innovative and very well respected in China. She has been voted "One of the ten most outstanding woman in China" due to her innovative care of children and advocacy for women’s rights. She has provided outstanding leadership to her staff, and has taken the level of care of children at the current facility to new heights. It is for this reason that she has been selected to spearhead this innovative, first of its kind project in China.
As a mommy of a waiting child, a preschool teacher and a huge proponant for early intervention, I was so excited to learn all of these things about the place Lillie will always know as her first home!
There is a video of the new SWI in process, a visit to the existing SWI and some info from the guy from La Vida. It was pretty interesting...if you want to check it out go to: http://www.lavida.org/fulingproject.mp4

The Weather in China

I have had people ask me about how the weather in China is effecting Lillie's first home. Snow, unseasonably cold temeratures, etc. are wreaking havoc on the country and are effecting orphanages at different levels. Presently, Director Yang has let us know that they have heat in all of the baby rooms so they are doing okay. People in town are not doing as well...many are freezing since they have no heat in their homes. Hats, coats and gloves are an all the time thing!
Other orphanages are not doing as well.Some are without heat and clean water, several are in desperate need of blankets, and all are in need of prayers. There are ways to contribute money to help in these situations. One is through Half the Sky. The link is:
http://www.halfthes ky.org/work/ littlemouse. php
Please keep all of these little ones in your thoughts and prayers!

Then & Now Scrapbook

I had the pleasure of delivering a scrapbook of pictures of Fulingers when they were at the SWI and pictures of the now. It was great to see how much the Vice Director and other staff loved the children and enoyed seeing the changes. It was clear that the Fuling SWI staff loves our children, and for that I will be eternally greatful.

Travels Home

What an adventure! Needless to say I am glad we survived and I don't want to do it again any time soon. Lillie had a hard time, especially with sleep. She slept very little, ate even less and coughed a lot! She even got sick at one point....poor thing. Plus, we had the misfortune of getting off the long flight from Tokyo to Detroit only to spend over 2 hours in a line waiting for immigration! we almost didn't make it to our flight to Lexington! All this to say we are home, and trying to get back into a schedule. (Lillie's time clock is completely off, so we are trying to get her used to the change in time) It is great to be home!

Little Swimmer

Our Last day in Guangzhou we spent time swimming! Lillie has become quite the little fish! It was especially nice at the hotel swimming pool, complete with a waterfall! It was a nice way to relax before our long flight home.

A River Boat Ride

Yesterday, we spent time swimming and shopping in the earlier parts of the day. I had to be in the room from 11 to 12 am in case the consulate had any questions, but all went well...things are almost done! Today (Tuesday) we go to take the Oath and then once she steps on US soil, she is a citizen! We had Pizza Hut for dinner (Lillie isn't a fan of pizza yet)then off on a River Boat Cruise. Lillie loved looking at the water. We finished the day with a quick play session in the Mattel playroom. The countdown to our arrival home has begun...China has been great but we are ready to be home. Hope and prayers for good travels for Lillie!

Red Couch...and so much More!

Today, we started the day with breakfast and the Swan Room...a big playroom here at the White Swan. We started in our overalls and again Lillie found the pockets to be quite handy. Next we were off to church at the Shaiman Christ Church...Lillie lasted about 45 to 50 minutes before preparing to melt down, so we returns to our hotel(outfit #2). After our nap, we put on one of her new dresses to have pictures made on the red couch! She looked beautiful and actually handled it fairly well, but I must say 7 toddlers on a couch is not an easy feat! We survived and took a walk afterward (outfit #3) On a side note, Lillie also decided she needed a purse to carry things around in! What a girl. Finally we went to dinner with the group and came back to the room to play and get ready for bed (outfit #4 and later PJ's) Can you say fashion queen!

PS...Aunt Judy, I think we have another Bare Escentials girl...thats what she is doing in the pictures with me...using my Kabuki brush!