Charm Giveaway!

Directly translated, Jiayin reads beautiful and graceful sound in Mandarin.

When put together, they mean good and beautiful news. And, it's the same phrase used in the Chinese Bible for the phrase "the mystery of God."

About a week ago I ordered a custom charm with Karleigh Mei's Chinese name. I'm very excited about this!! Kelly is hosting a giveaway for one of these charms. Go check it out by clicking on the picture above! Aren't they beautiful!?

{Wordless Wednesday}

{That's The Way God Made Me}

Everyone agrees that our girl is beautiful. She's SO beautiful! And the best part is, she is beautiful on the inside too! Her two middle names "Mei" and "Qian" both mean beautiful---so there you go! 

As beautiful as she is, it is inevitable that some child will ask, "What's wrong with your/her eye?", as they stare at it like they've never seen anything like it before. We've been trying to think of the best response for her to give, because as much as we'd like to answer this question for her, there will be many times we won't be there. She'll be on her own. The best response we've come up with is, "That's the way God made me!". 

We've been practicing with her and having her respond. I would love to hear anybody else's ideas/responses they have given their children as well!

We also have been talking about being different. We are all different, and I want her to realize that we all are. Here is a list of some of our differences that we talk about:

Karleigh Mei:

adopted

born in China

her eye was formed differently

Daddy:

Part Italian

one leg is shorter than the other

born in Texas

Mama:

Part French

born without a hip socket (hip dysplasia)

born in California

And the list with our other children go on, including the fact that Daddy also adopted Katie!

We also talk about being the same. We are all American! We were ALL adopted by God! We are all family! We all love ice cream! And the list goes on!

I love this silly, crooked glasses, sweaty haired girl!

{Wordless Wednesday}

Adorable

Our girl got some glasses about a week ago. Of course they are a hot pink/fuchsia color. What other color is there?

She's been really good about keeping them on most of the time. There is a little bit of a correction for her seeing eye, but they are mainly for safety. 

Last week we also went to visit a team of doctors to have her ears checked, speech evaluated, and her nose looked at. She will be needing nose surgery to correct the cleft that is in her nose. We love her cute little nose, but we know that one day, she will want that cleft fixed. Now is the best time to get that done. We are planning on doing that in early fall. When we heard she would have to stay out of the water for 3 weeks during recovery, we knew we had to wait until after the summer. Priorities people!! :)

While we were seeing alllll the doctors, every time a new batch would come in, they'd gush over how irresistibly cute she is (it's completely true--she is!!). On the way home I saw her pondering over something and then she said, "I'm adorable!". Yes, Baby, you are!!!

Look at this adorable girl!

Message from and Unknown Chinese Mother

I have just finished reading a book that has left me changed. I believe that this is a book that all mothers of adopted Chinese children should read. I am so very grateful to Xinran for having the courage to write this book, and for telling the stories of these mothers. It left me wanting more. It left me feeling full and yet empty.

Here is an editorial review:

Heartbreaking, shocking stories of Chinese mothers who have lost or had to abandon children and are still searching.

Message from an Unknown Chinese Mother is a collection of stories from Chinese mothers whose daughters had been wrenched from them, whether as a consequence of the single-child policy, or destructive age-old traditions and hideous economic necessity. Here, too, are the voices of adoptive mothers from different parts of the world.

Some of these women had to give up their daughters for adoption, others were forced to abandon them — on city streets, outside hospitals, orphanages — and others still, in the countryside, even had to watch their baby daughters being taken away at birth and drowned, like kittens. They are stories that Xinran could not bring herself to tell previously — they were too painful and close to home.

These vivid accounts, full of harrowing, tragic detail, yet not without tender and uplifting moments, are true stories from the heart.

This is a book that I will save for Karleigh Mei to read one day. For in it gives a tiny glimpse of what it *might* have been like for her mother. But it also encourages these Chinese daughters to continue on with their lives, to love and to live their lives to their fullest.

I love what Xinran wrote at the end:

"So, dear children, that you are alive and thriving today is because your mother challenged social conventions, oppression and ignorance to give you that gift of life. Valuing your own life now is a way of paying her back; fulfilling yourself is a way of thanking her."

Thank you to Shi Qian's birth mother. Wherever you may be. Thank you for giving our Karleigh Mei Qian Qian the beautiful life that she has. I think of you every day and pray that you know she is happy and living life fully! I will be eternally grateful for you.

I see you in the shine of her hair and the sparkle in her eyes. I feel you in the sweet embrace of her arms and the weight of her sleeping body. I hear you in the delight of her laugh and in the songs that she sings. I smell you in her sweat as she plays and in her breath when she yawns. You will never be forgotten. You can never be forgotten.

I have to mention that this book is not yet published in the US and so may be a bit harder to get. I was able to order it off of Amazon through a private seller though.

The Dancers

Get ready to be amazed! :) And you can quiet my music on the side first if you'd like. :)

{Wordless Wednesday pat-a-cake style}

The Runaway Bunny

We just recently bought "The Runaway Bunny", by Margaret Wise Brown, for Karleigh Mei. This book was one of my favorites as a child. If you are not familiar with the story, it's about a little bunny who has decided to runaway. He tells his mama that he's going to runaway, and then she tells him of all the ways and heights she will take to find him...because she loves him oh-so-much! I just love this!!

One of my most favorite songs is sung by Brooke Fraser and is called "Hymn". I was listening to it today, and realized it's almost like "The Runaway Bunny". 

These are the lyrics to the song: (I also have the song playing on my blog. Turn up the volume.) :)

"Hymn"

If to distant lands I scatter 
If I sail to farthest seas 
Would you find and firm and gather 'til I only dwell in Thee?

If I flee from greenest pastures
Would you leave to look for me?
Forfeit glory to come after
'Til I only dwell in Thee

If my heart has one ambition
If my soul one goal to seek
This my solitary vision 'til I only dwell in Thee
That I only dwell in Thee
'Til I only dwell in Thee

Our Father in Heaven loves each one of us so much, and He has gone to great lengths to show each one of us! Let Him find you!