Giving Thanks for Lily Mei and Anna Lin

We learned that Anna Lin was admitted to a Xuzhou hospital this week, which caused us great concern for a few hours.  After quickly sending inquiries to our agency we learned that it was only a minor infection.  We were very relieved, but this latest occurance increased our desire to get her home as soon as possible.

We later recieved pictures of Anna in the hospital, and it was clear she wasn't in distress. These pictures along with the several others we've  received from other families who've recently traveled to Xuzhou have put our mind at ease. It was a Thanksgiving gift to know she was doing well.

Our other gifts were to have Eric join us for dinner and, of course, having our second wonderful Thanksgiving with Lily.

Anna's 4th birthday was October 30th.  We sent her a box with gifts, pictures, and party favors, and the orphanage had a very nice party for her.  The picture of Anna holding up her birthday card and a picture of Lily and her mom in the pumpkin patch is really special for us.  What a wonderful smile she has!!  We can't wait to hold her in our arms!

Halloween Fairy and her Ladybug

Lily Discovers That Boys are Different

Lily has had her share of challenges with potty training, the only area of development that was a bit slow for her. But recently she has made great progress and rarely has "accidents" any more. And she has taken an active role at school in supporting younger children in their use of the potty.

She came home this week and exclaimed..."boys have peanuts". When asked what girls have, she didn't hesitate..."Girls have bagines".

A Message to Anna

This past week has been filled with excitement for Xuzhou families. Three families are currently in China with their new Xuzhou daughters and son and many more are preparing to take the trip in early November and the coming months. For the families waiting it means we get updates of our precious children with whom we are getting to know and love through pictures and stories of the families who have just hugged them half way around the world.

When we traveled to bring home Lily in May 2008 we had a list of waiting families and were able to talk to and hug the children at their families request. It’s become a tradition that when a family travels to Xuzhou, we try to meet with all the children and send “special messages” to let the children know their families will be coming for them shortly. Many of these kids are home now and we’ve had the pleasure of watching them blossom and flourish. Now that I am once again waiting, I understand how special the orphanage visits are to the waiting parents.

Our Anna has been at the SWI for the past two years and has witnessed many of her friends become united with their forever families, including Lily who was her Xuzhou sister before we even knew it! Anna’s best friend April and her family visited the orphanage last week to say “goodbye”. The girls hugged and Mark promised Anna we would soon be coming to take her home too. You can read the story on Lisa’s blog.

http://ourmishpacha.blogspot.com/2009/10/day-6-nanjing-trip-to-xuzhou-orphanage.html

John teases me that I when I want something, I put my whole heart and soul into it. And I want to get this little girl home with all my heart.

10 weeks ago today, we were told by the China Center of Adoption Affairs that we were pre-approved to move forward with the adoption of Fang Ran. I moved mountains and raced through the paperchase in record time. As of today, we are DTC!!! - our paperwork is in China. Our paperchase is over and now the wait to travel begins!

It's Pumpkin Time, Lily!

During Lily's second annual trek to the pumpkin patch, she helped us pick pumpkins that represented Daddy, Mommy, Nanny, Grandma, Eric, Anna, herself, and Misha. She helped us arrange all these pumpkin characters on the front porch next to our straw-filled scarecrow. Every morning, as Dad backs out of the driveway to take Lily to school, she waves goodbye to all the pumpkins and to the "silly scarecrow".

Lily and the Moon Festival

Lily continues to amaze us. Today is a good example. As Lily and her mom were heading to the bathroom, her dad said jokingly, "Say hello to the potty for me Lily." Lily stopped, turned around, and responded, "The potty can't wave hello daddy, it doesn't have hands."

Last weekend we celebrated the Chinese Moon Festival with Lily. After Chinese New Years, it's the biggest holiday for the Chinese. We went to Chinatown in Seattle and had a wonderful Chinese dinner. Lily is especially fond of noodles. She tried chopsticks, but decided she could get more noodles with a fork.

On the way home, Lily saw the festival moon rising over Seattle. We thought about Anna who hopefully saw the same moon halfway across the world. And on the next Moon Festival she will be looking at it here with us!

At home Lily helped her mom make a moon cake, which is one of the traditions for the Chinese at Moon Festival. It was different from the traditional Chinese moon cake, but it was delicious. Yellow cake, buttercream frosting, and decorated with the moon and stars.

Lily constantly surprises us with her joy for life, her curiosity, and her intelligence. But Lily has also developed an incredible sense of humor. One way she expresses that humor is by making faces. She goes from being a serious (and very cute) young lady to a major pucker mouth to whatever silly face she can think of...and then she cracks herself up!

A Special Name with Many Red Thread Connections

John and I have settled on what we believe to be the perfect name for Fang Ran. When John first saw her picture, the name that came to mind was Anna. John’s Grandmother on his Father’s side was named Anna and my Great-grandmother (who I adored) on my Mother’s side was also Anna. And John loves the name. We’ve gone down many lists and Anna keeps coming back to us. Also, when I look at Fang Ran's beautiful face it fits the classic name.

Now onto the middle name. My mother's middle name is Lynne and John's sister's name is Linda (although everyone calls her Lin). Lin in Chinese means forest and Fang means nature so we feel like we’re honoring her Chinese name.

I was struggling with finding the meaning of Ran and my friend Erin, who lead us to Fang Ran, learned that Ran is a Japanese girl name. The meaning of the name is `Lily, Purity’. I later realized that Erin’s daughter from Xuzhou whose picture has been on my mantle since Lily’s first birthday and who is also pictured with Fang Ran in several pictures also has been given the middle name Lin.

So many Red Thread connections….. this is meant to be. It’s official. We’ll be calling our 2nd Xuzhou daughter Anna Lin.

Fun with Family & Friends

We had a great weekend with family and friends. Lily had the opportunity to meet Pamela's brother and sister-in-law. Jeff and Cindy fell in love with Lily and she really enjoyed all the attention. On Saturday, we met our friends for lunch and then took a boat ride on Lake Washington. Lily had fun riding in the dingy with our close friend Tim and Aunt Cindy. Uncle Jeff played with her in the back yard. She took to him immediately and loved showing off. This afternoon, Lily attended her first birthday party for a little neighbor girl. She was a little shy at first, but after a while joined in all the fun.

Jeff & Cindy with Pamela and Lily

Tim takes Cindy and Lily for a dingy ride

Heading to the birthday party

That's My Sister!!

Lily is so excited about sharing her life with her new sister. She looks at her pictures often and when anyone asks "Who is this?" Lily promptly replies, "That's my sister!"

I wanted to share some pictures of Fang Ran that have been shared with us from other Xuzhou mommies. Some of the pictures were taken during their wait to bring their beautiful little ones home. Others were taken during the family visit to the orphanage to say their "good bye's" to the friends they leave behind as they begin their new life with their families. We will be counting the months and days until we are able to wrap our arms around Fang Ran and bring her home.

Kathleen's sister meets Fang Ran when visting the SWI with Marika

At Maia-Cai's birthday party

Trena gives Chu Fang Ran a hug and LilaLee says goodbye to her friend

Fang Ran riding her trike

Yep, We're Doing It Again

The most amazing thing has happened. As many of you know, the families that have adopted children from our orphanage have a very active and supportive Yahoo group. A couple of weeks ago Erin, one of the other Xuzhou mommy's, sent out an email with a picture of a beautiful little 3 1/2 year old girl. My heart skipped a beat. First, her name was so close to Lily's that I thought the post was about her. And second, the resemblance of her face made me do a double take.

I have seen this beautiful little face many times before and for many months. She’s in all the pictures of the other adoption families who have visited our orphanage. Most of the time her photo had the caption “little girl” as we couldn't identify her. We have all wondered when her family would find our group and share the news that she has found her family and will be soon going home.

Something made pick up the phone and call the agency and my friend who sent out the email. Both of them told me that another Xuzhou mommy was already looking at her file. I was crushed but happy that she had found a home. I was encouraged to reach out to the family that was reviewing her file and we talked at length about this little girl and our hopes that her dream of a family would be fulfilled.

Two days later I received an email from Robyn. It came in a 4 am. She had been up all night researching Fang Ran’s rare condition and learned that one the world leading surgeons and specialists was located in Seattle. Her email to me said “So my thoughts, hopes, and prayers are that Chu Fang Ran is meant to be your daughter. She deserves only the best medical care. After reading up on Dr. Grady I think she would definitely find it with him. Let me know what you think!" Robyn and I both felt this was a sign that she was meant to be mine and John's.

On Monday morning as I was boarding a plane to Miami for business, I locked her file. During my business trip and in between meetings , John and I had a consultation with Lily’s pediatrician (an adoption specialist) and Dr Grady, the surgeon who specializes in this rare condition.

Coincidentally Robyn, who had selflessly given up this referral in the best interest of Fang Ran and who happens to live in Florida, agreed to meet me. I had the wonderful opportunity to meet her family and spend time with Adam, her son who is from Lily’s orphanage.

I came home Thursday night and John and I spent the weekend reviewing Fang Ran’s files, researching her rare condition and looking at her pictures. By Sunday evening we made the decision and took the leap of faith to move forward. We sent in our Letter of Intent to Adopt and then waited.

When I got to work this morning, an email from our agency was waiting for us. We had been pre-approved to move forward with the adoption of Fang Ran. We are so happy and still in shock. It all happened so fast. To quote John, “Yep, we’re doing it again. Taking another little girl into our hearts and into our home. Yes, we are nuts, but nuts with more love to give.”

We are pleased to introduce our new daughter…..

Lily Reaps What She Sowed

Remember when Lily was planting garden in April? Well look what her garden has produced! She has turned out to be quite the gardener!

Sowing in April

Reaping in August!!

The Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

Kathleen brought her two beautiful daughters Mia and Marika to go boating with us a couple of weeks ago. Marika and Lily were in the same orpanage in China. The chances of their both ending up in Seattle is amazing. John spent lots of time in the water helping the girls enjoy floating in the "donut". Kathleen and Pamela got to share lots of stories of their adoption experiences.




Marika and Lily

Having fun on the donut

Enjoying lunch on the boat

Chloe Comes to Visit

Chloe visited us this weekend, which was so very special. Lily bonded with her instantly, seeming to sense how loving Chloe is. And that she was her half sister. Chloe is on her way to the University of Oregon this fall after achieving a very high grade point average at Lakeridge High, the toughest high school in Oregon. What an incredibly beautiful young lady Chloe has turned out to be!