The Girls Get a Sandbox

Anna and Lily have been asking for a sandbox for some time, and thay finally have one. Dad and Chloe were the primary carpenters and Anna was a helper. And when it was done the girls had a 6 x 8 sandbox that has provided hours of fun.

The carpenters at work

Fun in the sand

With sister Chloe

Dad's three beautiful girls

Our Vacation in the Sun

We had a wonderful time on our vacation aboard the ship Star Princess visiting seven islands in the Caribbean.  This is the first opportunity we've had to vacation with our girls and we all had a great adventure.  Anna and Lily travel so well.  They had so much fun in the ship's play area and on the days we spent on the white sands of some of the world's greatest beaches.

Anna and Lily decorate cookies in the playroom



Playing in the white sands of Barbados

John's eye candy

"Is that an iceberg!?"

"This water is so warm!"

Anna after getting her corn rows.

The three most beautiful girls on the ship.

Easter Sunday

Sailors three.

Loving sisters.

It's fun to dress up!

Two beautiful sisters.

Watching the ocean roll by.

Life After the Orphanage

Life after a Chinese orphanage consists of many different experiences.  In Lily and Anna's case here are a few:


Saying the Pledge of Allegiance taught us by Nana.  But note that the Chinese flag is also represented.

 

Spring is here and it's time to do Spring cleaning on our playhouse.



Until Summer comes. it's fun to swim in the hot tub.



Anna loves to cook!  Here she is slicing onions for the salad.  Note that Anna can use a sharp knife!



Two favorite passtimes- coloring and computer games.  Lily has mastered the computer mouse.



Now I Know What Love Is

Every night we have routine when putting the kids to bed where we sing songs.  Pamela has written two little songs - one for each girl - that she  made up in China to help calm the girls down.  For Anna, it was a song with the lyrics, " Close your eyes and go to sleep, go to sleep, go sleep... Close your eyes to go to sleep....know that Mommy loves you."

Tonight when Pamela was singing the song, Anna stopped her and said, " Mommy, when you picked me up in China I didn't know what love means but now I do."   Pamela asked, "Anna what does love mean ?" and Anna answered in her matter of fact, sweet little voice,  "It means that you care about me and you want me to be safe." 

Pamela came downstairs with tears in her eyes and said. " It's been a great weekend and we have two amazing little girls."

She's right.

Lily the Ballerina

Lily has become quite the dramatic little lady.  Her days are filled with make believe, dress-up, and role-play.  She's at one moment a fairy, the next a princess, the next an actress, the next a ballerina.

Each Saturday morning she joins her classmates at her ballet class.  Three and four year old girls are fun to watch as their teacher tries to keep their attention for more than a few seconds.  It is fun because they are still free from being directed, free to act on their momentary impulses, free to just be what they want to me.

Don't we all wish we could be three or four again?

Lily Is Four!!

Lily is four years old!  How the time has flown since we picked her up in China when she was only 14 months old.  She has blossomed into an incredibly happy and interesting little girl.  Her flair for the dramatic keeps us laughing and amazed.  She brings us such joy!

Chloe was here this weekend which made the celebration of Lily's birthday all the more special.  Anna and Lily love their sister Chloe and don't leave her alone while she is here. 

In addition to the cake and gifts, we went to see Rango the movie and also went bowling this weekend.  Lily and Anna thought the bowling thing was especially cool!  

Nana Barbara helped Lily and Anna build an incredible Easter egg tree.  She creates so many interesting projects for them every day.  They look forward to every day wondering what Nana has in store for today.



Opening presents






Blowing out 4 candles




  
 

With sister Chloe



Visiting Snaqualmie Falls with sister Chloe



Anna going for a strike!



Lily going for a strike!



"I just love the world!"

Lily was twirling around the family room this evening and suddenly she just blurted out..."I just love the world! And I love the world of me!"  The demonstrations of joy she and Anna express are always so much fun to watch.  Anna is not quite as dramatic as Lily, but her huge smile and her loud laugh are her way of expressing her joy with life.

Observing this joy helps us through the times when we question whether we are up to the challenges of being parents at our age (John certainly thinks about that the most!) and how we can be good parents with all the other demands in our lives.

Anna experienced a life moment yesterday when she lost her first tooth.  She was both excited and a bit scared at the same time.

Anna Has Successful Surgery

It's been almost exactly a year since Anna had her major surgery; the surgery that changed her life.  This week she had to have surgery to remove a calcium stone from her bladder.  It was successful, and she only had to spend one night in the hospital.  Dr. Grady and his team at Seattle Children's Hospital did a great job again.

Anna will have two urine bags strapped to her legs for a week or so, and then she will be able go about her life as before.  She's feeling a bit of discomfort but has been a real trooper during this ordeal.  Her sister Lily has been helpful in keeping her spirits up since she got home.  These two girls have a joyful bond that is amazing to behold.

Our Christmas Miracle - One Year Later

Christmas 2010 has been a time of reflection for our family. In a little over two years we have grown from empty nesters to raising two energetic and joyful little girls. Last year we stood in the Nanjing Civil Affairs office holding the small hand of Chu Fang Ran and vowing to love and cherish her as our 2nd Chinese born daughter. The journey to Anna was exhilarating as well as exhausting. In five short months to the day that we first saw her picture and learned her story, Anna found her forever family.

I remember the trip as if it were yesterday. On December 23rd, 2009 we left Seattle on a non-stop flight to Beijing arriving at 4:20 PM China time on Christmas Eve. We were scheduled to have a two hour lay-over in Beijing and then fly on to Xuzhou to arrive at 6:30. A delayed flight caused us to miss our connection to Xuzhou by 10 minutes. I was devastated. After fruitlessly pleading with the gate agents to hold the flight, I called our orphanage director (Ms Tang). She arranged for a friend to come to the airport and help us get to a hotel in Beijing close to the train station. Thirty minutes later a young man showed up, lead us down a flight of stairs, and put us into a taxi. It was Christmas Eve in Beijing and we tried to get some sleep.

Christmas Day 2009 in China
After some sleep we got up Christmas morning, had breakfast, and hired the bellman at the hotel to help us get to the train station. I am not sure why we only had two tickets. Perhaps that’s all they had, or maybe Ms. Tang was trying to save us money. Whatever the reason, we endured a six and half hour train ride from Beijing to Xuzhou with Lily bouncing between laps. There wasn’t a ‘business class” car on this train so we were riding with normal everyday people. I’m sure they were very entertained as this little Chinese girl strained the patience of two exhausted white-haired Caucasians.

As lunch time passed and we all got very hungry, John went looking for something to eat. He discovered that the available snacks were mostly unrecognizable, and those he did recognize weren’t something that he thought we would find appetizing. Many were packaged meat products, including a whole Peking duck. There were large cups of noodles-like cartons containing ingredients that he couldn’t make out. But he did finally settle on a bag of peanuts and some warm juice drinks. It got us through to Xuzhou.

We arrived at the train station around 5:30 in the afternoon. Two nice strangers helped us drag our luggage up the stairs and out of the station. As we came up out of the station tunnel, our eyes scanned the hundreds of faces for familiar ones. After about 20 very nervous minutes, Ms. Tang and Ayi (Lily’s nanny who speaks English) came running up to us. We were so relieved and happy to see familiar faces in this unfamiliar place. We were taken to their van and told that we’d be going directly to the orphanage. During our drive they prepped us that there would be media cameras and newspaper reporters to greet us. They also shared with us that everyone had been waiting since 2 PM that afternoon for our arrival. We had worked so hard trying to get to Xuzhou that we hadn’t had time to reflect on the enormity of the occasion.

We were lead into the reception room of the orphanage to find a decorated Christmas tree with presents and a low table with lots of food. And the media. Reporters immediately surrounded me and spent 10-15 minutes asking questions. The reporters had been told that I wanted to be able to spend Christmas with Anna and all the orphanage children. Ms. Tang shared with us and the reporters that our desire to spend Christmas at the orphanage had warmed the hearts of the orphanage directors and the city dignitaries and a special concession was made for us to visit on Christmas day. We were given several gifts from the City of Xuzhou as well as the orphanage, and a special plaque from the City of Xuzhou. We were humbled by the gratitude being shown to us. During all the media attention I couldn’t help but wonder where Anna was. By now it was dinner time. Would we be meeting her today or had we arrived too late?

And then suddenly I saw her in the doorway. Ms. Tang motioned her to come in and she quietly and slowly walked across to room toward me. She and I never took our eyes off each other. I was sitting on my knees with my arms reaching out to her. When Anna got to me, she fell into my arms and sobbed. She wrapped her arms tightly around my neck and her body melted into mine. Her whole body trembled as we held onto each other cheek to cheek. I looked over at Ms. Tang who was sitting on the floor next to me and she had tears streaming down her face, as did everyone else in the room. The three of us then hugged as Ms. Tang told me that Anna had been waiting so patiently for us to come, and had not slept the night before anticipating our arrival. We are blessed to have a copy of the News cast that will forever capture our first moments with Anna. Xuzhou SWI, Christmas 2009.wmv



The Christmas tree at the orphanage



Anna has a Mommy

 

Anna's First Christmas tree with her family



Thanksgiving and the Holiday Season

The holiday season has been extra special this year since it is Anna's first with us.  As the holidays approached, she was both excited and a bit perplexed and overwhelmed.  Lily has had two holiday season's with us, and she got right into the spirit.

Thanksgiving was spent at home with a traditional feast.  Chloe spent the weekend with us, and Nana Barbara and her friend Ann joined us for Thanksgiving.  Zoe learned about and experienced our tradition of giving thanks for all our blessings for the past year.  She also learned about the tradition of "Black Friday" as she and Pamela headed for the mall.

We all enjoyed the Seattle Symphony and Chorus' presentation of The Nutcracker.  Lily was especially mesmerized by the ballerinas, and had been twirling on her toes since getting home.

As Christmas approaches, we are reminded of what we and Anna were doing a year ago...she waiting for her new family and us getting ready to make the trip to China.  As we look back at the pictures, we are amazed at how much Anna has changed...how she has become fluent in English, how she has adjusted to her new life, and how healthy and happy she is since coming home and since having her surgery.

We have so much to be grateful for.



Thanksgiving with Zoe, Nana Barbara, Chloe, and Ann

 



At The Nutcracker





All dressed up at The Nutcracker



Zoe cooking Chinese dumplings



Visiting Grandma

Over the last week Anna, Lily, and Dad spent 7 days with Grandma Ethel in Ohio.  We had the opportunity to meet some of Grandma's friends.  We also were able to see Auntie Lin and Aunt Sara and cousin Hannah.  It was a very fun time for Anna and Lily.  They even had the opportunity to play in the sand on the shores of Lake Erie as the weather was very warm.

Traveling home proved to be more challenging as Seattle was hit with winter weather. Our flight to Seattle was cancelled and we spent a night in Denver. But on Tuesday we got home and Anna and Lily were so happy to see Mommy and Zoe.

Dancing with Grandma Ethel

Reading with Auntie Lin



Doing puzzles with Cousin Hanna



Grandma makes such good meals!

Halloween 2010

Anna chose to be a mermaid on her very first Halloween.  Lily was Ladybug Girl this year.  They ran and giggled their way through the neighborhood.  At each door that would argue over whose turn it was to ring the doorbell, and then loudly announce "Trick or Treating!!".   Then it was time to go home and answer the door.  They seemed to enjoy this even more.

Look at those smiles!

Ready to go.

The whole trick or treating gang... Zoe, Chloe, Lily, Mommy,
Misha, and Anna.