Well, as many of you are aware, Christopher was married last October, and along with the marriage came a new granddaughter named Lexi. It's okay, though, because she's a great little girl, and to be honest I was getting a little bit burned out on the name anyhow (It's been our girl name since we were married 12 years ago). At any rate, we need to find a name we both love and can agree on, as we have very different tast. At this point in the game, I really like the name Claire, and so do the boys. Don, however, doesn't like it at all. We both like the name Sammi, but not Samantha. He likes Kathryn, but I don't. So, there you have it...we need suggestions.
The middle name(s) will most likely remain the same. Louise is going to be there for sure, as this honors both my Mom and Stepmom. MaLi is Chinese for Mary, and it's not that I really love the name Mary; it's more a good omen. All the Marys (how do you spell that without turning it into Marie?) I know are fabulous women, so I just think our daughter could only be blessed by having it as one of her names as well. There is always the slightest possiblity we could end up using her real Chinese name in lieu of that, though.
What do you think?
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Silent Tears: A Journey of Hope in a Chinese Orphanage
I want to win this book in the worst way. It has fantastic reviews on Amazon written by those who have already had the opportunity to read it. I believe it will give us some insight into what our baby girl's life might be like inside an orphanage in China. Thank you, Kay Bratt, for pouring your heart and sole into this informative read for us. Check out the book here:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/blog/post/PLNKES2RCQLKM67G
http://www.amazon.com/gp/blog/post/PLNKES2RCQLKM67G
WE ARE STILL WAITING!!
For those of you who have checked our blog and have seen nothing for the last couple of years, I thought it would be a good idea to give you some information. Since we began our adoption process, the wait has greatly increased. As of April 4, 2010, we have waited three long years, and we are likely to wait that long again before we get our referral. There is a lot of speculation in regard to reason for the increasing wait times, but we are assured that we will have a baby in the end if we just stick it out. So, we are keeping busy and living life in the meantime. As of early last week, the China Child Welfare Center (There is a new director and a new name in place since we began) has made child/parent matches through April 17, 2006. Just to give you an idea of how much longer it is likely to be, those referrals were for adoptive parents logged in between April 12 and April 17, 2006. This means there were five days covered, and since referrals are only issued once a month, it is taking a minimum of six months or so to get through one month's worth of waiting parent files. So, those are the current wait times, four years and growing. Now, that can change a bit as parents turn to other programs and/or drop out of the program completely. Truthfully, I believe that the attrition rate over the next couple of years will get much greater, thus moving us closer to the front of the line. Anhyow, it doesn't really matter what I believe. We'll get our baby girl when it's our turn and in God's time.
Friday, June 8, 2007
100 Good Wishes Quilt
A couple of months ago, I began a quilting project for Lexsi. I've become addicted to shopping for fabric and swapping quilt squares with fellow adoptive families and cannot seem to stop. Each day, the boys voluntarily (yes, that's right, they actually want to do it) go down to the mailbox in anticipation of new squishes (squares + wishes). THANK YOU to everyone who has already contributed!! This will most definitely be one special quilt!
We've already collected over 180 squares, and we haven't even gotten friends and family members involved yet. I'm pretty sure we'll have something more on the lines of a 300 Good Wishes Quilt. I'm thinking at this point I might make it reversible so we can use our quilt squares on both sides.
We've written a letter to our family and friends to invite their participation, but I must admit that I've been so busy sending out quilt squares for swaps that I haven't gotten around to mailing them just yet. I need to get on the ball. I'm posting it here on the blog so they can have a preview of it and for others who may need ideas for their letters.
Look in the near future for pictures of some of our fabrics and wishes!
Following is the letter we will be sending out to our family members and close friends:
Dear Family and Friends,
As many of you are aware, Don and I began the process several months ago to adopt a baby girl from China. I recently came across the tradition of the “Bai Jia Bei” or “100 Good Wishes Quilt.” To welcome and celebrate a new life, there is a tradition in some parts of Northern China to make a Bai Jia Bei. When a baby is born, family and friends donate to the child’s mother fabric scraps from old clothing with a wish for the baby. She makes a quilt for the child from the scraps. It is said that the luck, energy, and good wishes from all of the family members and friends who contribute the fabric surrounds the child when she is wrapped in the quilt. The quilt becomes an heirloom, being passed down from generation to generation.
Although I’ve never quilted before, in the spirit of tradition, I’m going to give it a whirl. There are so many good reasons to make this quilt for our “Baby Sister.” We are hoping to find many ways to keep Baby Sister connected to Chinese culture. Another great reason is that our daughter will someday be able to see how much she was wanted and thought about even before she came into our family.
ABOUT THE FABRIC:
Please send an 8”x 8” square of pre-washed fabric. Any 100% cotton fabric will work, with the exception of flannel or stretchy knit. You may choose a fabric that has some kind of meaning to you or one that is merely something you like. You might want to use a scrap you have in your craft box, a piece cut from old clothing, or a newly purchased piece of material.
Collecting 100 squares may be a challenge. If each family member would like to contribute individually, that will help my effort. Just do not forget to add your good wish for each square.
ABOUT THE WISH:
On a 3x5 or 4x6 card, write your wish for our daughter-to-be. It can be anything - your hopes for her, a verse, thoughts on the adoption, a prayer, a poem, a favorite saying, or a line from a song. Don’t forget to include your name and relationship to her. Also, you will need to attach (with glue, staple, tie on, etc.) a small scrap (perhaps 1 to 3 inches) of the fabric you are contributing to the front side of the card. The cards will be placed into a special Good Wishes Memory Book which will later help identify who sent which fabric and what their wish was for Baby Sister.
The wish may be relative to the fabric, if you so desire. You could send a piece of fabric with musical notes and include “I wish for you a love of music” or a smiley face printed fabric and a wish for “a lifetime of happiness.” You get the idea…
We know everyone is super busy…and we appreciate the time you take to do this. We have no clue who our daughter is yet. She more than likely has not yet been born, but think of how special it will be for her later on to see how many people loved her before they even knew her! I want as many of our friends and family as possible to help create this quilt. Your continued love, support, and friendship will be symbolically woven into it.
Please send your fabric and wishes to the address below in the next couple of months, preferably by the beginning of August, so we can begin assembling the Bai Jia Bei. Please let us know if you have any questions, and feel free to pass this along to others who might be interested.
Love,
Wendy, Don, Jarred, Seth, and Caleb
P.S. Check out our blog at http://www.lovetolexsi.blogspot.com
We've already collected over 180 squares, and we haven't even gotten friends and family members involved yet. I'm pretty sure we'll have something more on the lines of a 300 Good Wishes Quilt. I'm thinking at this point I might make it reversible so we can use our quilt squares on both sides.
We've written a letter to our family and friends to invite their participation, but I must admit that I've been so busy sending out quilt squares for swaps that I haven't gotten around to mailing them just yet. I need to get on the ball. I'm posting it here on the blog so they can have a preview of it and for others who may need ideas for their letters.
Look in the near future for pictures of some of our fabrics and wishes!
Following is the letter we will be sending out to our family members and close friends:
Dear Family and Friends,
As many of you are aware, Don and I began the process several months ago to adopt a baby girl from China. I recently came across the tradition of the “Bai Jia Bei” or “100 Good Wishes Quilt.” To welcome and celebrate a new life, there is a tradition in some parts of Northern China to make a Bai Jia Bei. When a baby is born, family and friends donate to the child’s mother fabric scraps from old clothing with a wish for the baby. She makes a quilt for the child from the scraps. It is said that the luck, energy, and good wishes from all of the family members and friends who contribute the fabric surrounds the child when she is wrapped in the quilt. The quilt becomes an heirloom, being passed down from generation to generation.
Although I’ve never quilted before, in the spirit of tradition, I’m going to give it a whirl. There are so many good reasons to make this quilt for our “Baby Sister.” We are hoping to find many ways to keep Baby Sister connected to Chinese culture. Another great reason is that our daughter will someday be able to see how much she was wanted and thought about even before she came into our family.
ABOUT THE FABRIC:
Please send an 8”x 8” square of pre-washed fabric. Any 100% cotton fabric will work, with the exception of flannel or stretchy knit. You may choose a fabric that has some kind of meaning to you or one that is merely something you like. You might want to use a scrap you have in your craft box, a piece cut from old clothing, or a newly purchased piece of material.
Collecting 100 squares may be a challenge. If each family member would like to contribute individually, that will help my effort. Just do not forget to add your good wish for each square.
ABOUT THE WISH:
On a 3x5 or 4x6 card, write your wish for our daughter-to-be. It can be anything - your hopes for her, a verse, thoughts on the adoption, a prayer, a poem, a favorite saying, or a line from a song. Don’t forget to include your name and relationship to her. Also, you will need to attach (with glue, staple, tie on, etc.) a small scrap (perhaps 1 to 3 inches) of the fabric you are contributing to the front side of the card. The cards will be placed into a special Good Wishes Memory Book which will later help identify who sent which fabric and what their wish was for Baby Sister.
The wish may be relative to the fabric, if you so desire. You could send a piece of fabric with musical notes and include “I wish for you a love of music” or a smiley face printed fabric and a wish for “a lifetime of happiness.” You get the idea…
We know everyone is super busy…and we appreciate the time you take to do this. We have no clue who our daughter is yet. She more than likely has not yet been born, but think of how special it will be for her later on to see how many people loved her before they even knew her! I want as many of our friends and family as possible to help create this quilt. Your continued love, support, and friendship will be symbolically woven into it.
Please send your fabric and wishes to the address below in the next couple of months, preferably by the beginning of August, so we can begin assembling the Bai Jia Bei. Please let us know if you have any questions, and feel free to pass this along to others who might be interested.
Love,
Wendy, Don, Jarred, Seth, and Caleb
P.S. Check out our blog at http://www.lovetolexsi.blogspot.com
Friday, April 6, 2007
IT'S POSITIVE! WE'RE PREGNANT!!
Paper pregnant, that is! We've just received word that our dossier has been logged in by the CCAA. Our log in date (LID) is April 4, 2007. We received word of this on the actual date on which the log-in occured, just two and a half weeks after our dossier was sent to China (DTC) on March 16, 2007.
As many of our family and friends know, our paperchase was horrendous, and as we've been running the race, the wait times from LID to referral have dramatically increased. When we began last May, they were approaching 12 months, and now that we're officially waiting, they are very close to 18 months. There's word that the wait could go over 24 months, but of course, no one really knows what will happen. We're in for the long haul. I'm afraid we have a very long wait ahead of us, but there's plenty to keep us busy. There's daily life, of course...one teenaged boy and three younger ones definitely keep us on our toes.
As many of our family and friends know, our paperchase was horrendous, and as we've been running the race, the wait times from LID to referral have dramatically increased. When we began last May, they were approaching 12 months, and now that we're officially waiting, they are very close to 18 months. There's word that the wait could go over 24 months, but of course, no one really knows what will happen. We're in for the long haul. I'm afraid we have a very long wait ahead of us, but there's plenty to keep us busy. There's daily life, of course...one teenaged boy and three younger ones definitely keep us on our toes.
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