Paperchase Blues - another five that arrived!

"Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue, and the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true."
~Lyman Frank Baum quote

Lea & William Harper
LID: January 4, 2007
Toronto, ON Canada



The Gift of Life

I didn't give you the gift of life,
But in my heart I know,
The love I feel is deep and real,
As if it had been so.

For us to have each other,
Is like a dream come true!
No, I didn't give you the gift of life,
Life gave me the gift of you.

~Author unknown

With love from Ron, Bridget, Tamsin, Isaac, and Gabrielle,
waiting for Justin in Guangxi



Let's Go Fly a Kite

Let's go fly a kite
Up to the highest height
Let's go fly a kite
And send it soaring

Up through the atmosphere
Up where the air is clear
Oh, let's go fly a kite
Le's go fly a kite!

We wish for you plenty of sunshine, rainbows, blue skies,
enough wind to fly a kite, and many fun times with your family!

With love from Ron, Bridget, Tamsin, Isaac, and Gabrielle,
waiting for Justin in Guangxi



May I be free from danger,
May I be free from fear,
May I be healthy,
May I dwell in peace.

May you be free from danger,
May you be free from fear,
May you be healthy,
May you dwell in peace.

May all beings be free from danger,
May all beings be free from fear,
May all beings be healthy,
May all beings dwell in peace.
~Traditional Buddhist Prayer

Diane M. Olson
Milwaukee, WI
DTC 1.18.06~LID 2.14.06
Waiting for Baby M



Be who you are,
and may you be blessed
in all that you are.

~Adapted from a prayer
by Marcia Falk

Diane M. Olson
Milwaukee, WI
DTC 1.18~LID 2.14.06

Paperchase Blues - Next Five that Arrived

Always kiss your children goodnight -
even if they're already asleep.
~H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

Carrie in Ohio
LID 12-24-2007



"Imagination is the highest
kite that one can fly."
--Lauren Bacall

Wishing you much joy and laughter in your life.

The Torneten's
Lee, dawn, Jake and Jenna LiFei
Heath, TX



Whatever we are waiting for--peace of mind, contentment, grace,
the inner awareness, of simple abundance--it will surely come to us, but only
when we are ready to receive it with an open and grateful heart.
--Sarah Ban Breathnach

Best wishes
Dimari & Sarah from Ninh Binh
Waiting for Alexander

"Shoot for the moon, even if you miss, you'll land
among the stars...
~unknown

The Hanings
Bloomington, Illinois


"this is my wish for you: comfort on difficult days, smiles when sadness intrudes, rainbows to follow the clouds, laughter to kiss your lips, sunsets to warm your heart, hugs when spirits sag, beauty for your eyes to see, friendships to brighten your being, faith so that you can believe, confidence for when you are in doubt, courage to know yourself, patience to accept the truth, love to complete your life."
~anonymous

The Hanings
Bloomington, Illinois

Paperchase Blues Swap - First Five to Arrive!

Back at the beginning of this year - I was in a funk over how long our paperwork was taking. And being the people-person that I am - I was certain that I was not alone in feeling this way. So on the One Hundred Good Wishes Quilt Group I began a swap for folks to sign up who were having "Paperchase Blues." We swapped blue prints for our quilts. The swap had 19 people making 26 quilts! We swapped a lot of fabric and wishes! And it made going to the mailbox to look for long-lost paperwork MUCH more bearable! The squishes received are all below:

"Listen to the mustn'ts, child. Listen to the don'ts.
Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts.
Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me...
Anything can happen, child. Anything can be."
--Shel Silverstein

Our wish for you is a lifetime filled with laughter, imagination and dreams realized.

Christine & Tim Melloh
Tallahassee, FL - USA
Waiting for Sophie Rose
CCAI - LID 6/15/2006

Harmony

We can rejoice, too when we run into problems and trials for we know that they are good for us...they help us learn to be patient. And patience develops strength of character in us and helps us trust God more each time we use it until finally our hope and faith are strong and steady. - Romans 5:3-4

Wishing you harmony, patience and love!
The Magana Family
Waiting for Mia Hope YiNan
www.dreamingofteafor two.blogspot.com


"Do not be afraid, for I am with you;
I will bring your children from the east
and gather you from the west. - Isaiah 43:5"

God Bless,
The Beaudoin Family
Hooksett, NH

"Have you eer felt a little hand
Grip around your finger?
Or kissed a cheek where the remains
Of a chocolate bar still linger?

Have you ever kissed a boo-boo
To make the pain "go-way?"
Or forgot about the dishes
Just to go our and play?

We are the lucky ones
To cherish these so dear,
So enjoy these little miracles,
That God's placed in our care."

Bower Family
Oregon
LID 9-8-2006


"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for, and certain of what we do not see." Hebrews 11:1 (NIV)

"If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you say to this mountain,'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." Matt 17:20 (NIV)

"I can do everything through him who gives me strength." Phillipians 4:13

By faith, I stepped out into this process of adoption. Doors have opened by which I have created awesome friendships. Never let fear of the unknown stop you from achieving your dreams. Step outon faith. Trust in your creator, and the rest will fall into place. The road may not always be easy...but the end will be worth the struggles to get there.

Kammy Krisell
Sherwood, AR USA
LID 8/18/2006 for Mari-Grace

We're Packing!!!!!!!!!!

At last - we received this beautiful document in the mail from Beijing. We have been invited to come and unite with our son! It is almost surreal at this point. Plans are beginning to become clear and I will post more on those very soon. But I had to take a moment to share this with you all!

And the most amazing thing is happening. My bestest good friend Carol and her husband Cal are going to be in China meeting their son at the same time we are. And the even more amazing part of this is that we have appointments at the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou China on THE EXACT SAME DAY! We started this process months apart and have not requested any favors at all - and we will be there on July 15th to take an oath at the U.S. Consulate together.

Please, do not doubt God's presence at work in your life. This has been such an up and down process - but we've been convicted repeatedly. And now - the plan is revealed. It is beautiful and we are humbled by God's attention to every small detail. I pray that each of you experiences His amazing love - in a way that you cannot doubt. There are not words adequate enough to describe it when it happens to you.

Both of our children have come into our lives in the most beautiful ways. There were people that have struggled and hurt in both situations and it wasn't easy to live God's plan at times -but what glory we see in our daughter's smile and our son's eyes! Life is precious when it is lived for Him.

An Update from Half The Sky

Although this arrived a few days ago - it is the latest from Jenny Bowen on the earthquake in China. Please continue to pray that good comes from this. There is a real opportunity for the Chinese government to improve adoption procedures to allow their own citizens to adopt chinese orphans. Jenny's letter follows:

Hello Friends,

I just arrived in Chongqing from Sichuan. Yesterday was the one month
anniversary of the earthquake. We traveled several hours to a hard-hit
mountain town in Beichuan, Hongbaizhen, and worked with children and
volunteer teachers. I have added many photos to our website:
http://www.halfthesky.org/work/earthquake08-healing.php#part2

A couple of weeks earlier, we braved the rock-strewn roads and broken
bridges of Hongbaizhen to deliver relief goods to the children. The whole
town was in shock. As painful as yesterday’s visit was, we began to see
signs that the town will slowly begin to come back to life.

Our communications director, Patricia King gave me this moving report:

An 8-year-old boy stands in front of the pile of rubble that had once been
his school and explains that he was the last student to have been pulled
out alive. When the earth shook, he was one of the obedient children
sitting with arms crossed at their desks—some naughty boys were still
outside, safe on the playground. For ten frantic minutes, trapped between
a piece of concrete and brick on the second floor, he waited. His cries
couldn’t be heard over the wailing adults, but finally when the crowd
outside the collapsing school quieted down they heard him and came to
rescue him with their bare hands.

In the first days after the quake, he couldn’t return to the pile of
debris that had once been his three-storey school, but with the help of a
volunteer teacher from his tent school, he has visited the site several
times and now is not afraid when he comes back. Today, at 2:28, exactly
one month after his world shattered, the boy and another child from the
tent school placed their hands on their hearts, then bowed three times,
saying goodbye to their friends who died at the Hongbaizhen Primary
School. Finally these brave survivors vowed: “We will live our lives as
best we can.”

In Hongbaizhen, an isolated mountain town where it took three days for the
Air Force to make it on foot past a collapsed bridge while the cries of
children trapped under heavy rubble grew weaker and weaker and then
stopped forever, the pain is palpable. But one month after the earthquake
children and adults are also expressing their grief, working to find a way
to cope with their pain, and taking the first steps to rebuilding lives.

Sitting under a tree outside a tent school only 100 yards from the
collapsed Hongbaizhen Middle School, it took only minutes before a group
of middle school girls, two with their heads bent into their arms and one
sitting up straight, weeping and sobbing, opened their hearts to Vancouver
psychologist Dan Zhang and University of Minnesota psychologist Pinian
Chang, both of whom were also once students in China.

A 14-year-old twin, who aches for her one-minute-younger sister. She
escaped the building, but her sister didn’t. Finally her sister was pulled
out of the rubble, but with no medical care available, her family listened
helpless as she spoke her last words: “I hurt. I hurt. I am so tired. I
think I am dying.” Now her grieving sister refuses to go to any school
with more than one storey—she tried a middle school with two stories and
dropped out after two agonizing days. Still she is trying to take comfort
from “Invisible Wings,” the song she and her sister loved and sang
together. “I know I’ve always had a pair of invisible wings that take me
flying and give me hope.”

Two girls mourning their brother, a 10th grader, and a nimble athlete as
well as a good student, who made it out of the building. But he went back
to rescue three crying girls only to die when another piece of the
building gave way. One of his sisters is tormented by regrets—why did she
brush off her brother, who wanted to talk to her a few days before the
earthquake when she wasn’t in the mood? Both sisters know that their
brother died a hero, but they miss their older brother and cry for him as
an adult volunteer encircles them in a hug to try to ease the pain.

Meanwhile inside a white tent decorated with balloons and tinsel, a crowd
of volunteers hungry for help sit at shiny wooden desks salvaged from the
collapsed middle school. Executive Director Jenny Bowen tells them that
Half the Sky’s greatest contribution to helping in Sichuan will be to
provide training for caregivers. She urges them to identify adults in the
local community who can be trained to provide consistent, long-term help
for the children long after the last volunteers have gone back to their
homes. When she tells them that Half the Sky is committed to working in
Sichuan for “at least five years,” they burst into applause.

It soon becomes clear why the applause is so heartfelt. These volunteers,
some recently arrived and some soon to go back home to their own families,
have bonded closely with the children and they know the children will need
support for a long time. One wears a beautiful shell bracelet made for her
by one of the girls who has become like a little sister. Another favored
volunteer’s arms, face, and t-shirt have been decorated by playful
children using colored markers. Both the volunteers and the children who
cling to them are finding it difficult to even conceive of their leaving.

Psychologist Marleen Wong and psychiatric social worker Suh Chen Hsiao of
the National Center for Trauma & Bereavement tell the volunteers they have
given the children a great gift by providing a school and a routine for
the children. Research shows that children who go back to school soon
after a disaster fare better than children who have no routine for a long
period of time. They also praise the volunteers for developing such strong
bonds with the children and then urge those who are leaving to find a new
local volunteer they trust to work together with the children before they
leave. They also urge the volunteers themselves to get together after they
leave Hongzbaizhen to talk through their feelings among peers who
understand what it is to try to provide comfort to traumatized children
living in a tent school surrounded by rubble and soldiers wearing white
masks spreading disinfectant on the site where so many of their friends
died.

The volunteers, some with tears in their eyes, explain why they are
worried for the children and feel helpless because they cannot help them
more. They worry about a 5-year-old girl with a scar on her back from
being buried by debris who screams whenever she sees a collapsed building,
an unavoidable sight in this mostly leveled town. A thirteen year old
boy, the last to be pulled out of the middle school, refuses to come to
the tent school so close to where he was trapped. A six year-old boy whose
two brothers died, draws a picture with cherries because his brothers
liked cherries, but this volunteer thinks he is too calm, too
matter-of-fact: “I am so worried about him. I ache for him.”

Wong tells them they have done well. “Do not underestimate how much good
kindness can do.” She recommends that they continue to reach out to the
13-year-old afraid to go to school. Visit him at home, offer him some
water, bring him some notes from his friends. For the 5-year-old, try to
have her draw or tell why she is screaming and help her learn to breathe
deeply when she is afraid so that slowly, slowly the screams become less
frequent and finally go away. And for the too-calm child, sometimes
children have a delayed reaction, which is why long-term help is so
crucial: “We have to wait for the child.”

For the Hongbaizhen parents heartbroken by the loss of their children,
there was no delayed reaction—they have expressed their grief since the
day of the earthquake and they still show it in their eyes that well up
with tears even when they express nascent hope for a future life. On this
one month anniversary one tiny mom, her hair flecked with gray, shows
visitors cell phone photos of the two children she lost. She lowers her
arms to illustrate the unthinkable, the collapse of her daughters’ school.
She walks slowly away, but not without first thanking Half the Sky and
everyone else who has come to help. It is that support, she says, that has
recently made it possible for her to start to at least imagine a future
for herself without her children.

And a short climb up one of the mountains that made Hongbaizhen renowned
for its beauty before it became renowned for its suffering, parents are
still trying to comfort their children, who died four weeks ago. At the
four-tiered hillside cemetery with hundreds of children’s freshly made
graves, parents have laid things that their children once loved—a pink
backpack, wrapped candy, spicy Sichuanese snacks, a big teddy bear and a
stuffed monkey. A weeping dad injured in the quake, his arm still in a
sling, burns paper money and incense and apologizes to his child. “I am so
sorry. This is the first time I could come. I hope you don’t mind,” while
his wife wails the lament of every parent who has wished that they could
have saved the life of the child even at the cost of their own: “Mommy is
here for you. How could you go before us? Please wait for us.”

If you would like to donate to Half the Sky’s Children’s Earthquake Fund
you can do so by calling Half the Sky (+1-510-525-3377) or visit our
website:
http://give.halfthesky.org/prostores/servlet/Categories?category=Children's+Earthquake+Fund


If you would like a Canadian tax receipt, please donate at
http://www.canadahelps.org/CharityProfilePage.aspx?CharityID=s86248

If you would like a Hong Kong tax receipt, please call Half the Sky – Asia
(+852-2520-5266) or donate online at
https://www.paydollar.com/b2c2/eng/charity/payInfo.jsp?charityId=4947

If you’d like to view previous earthquake journal entries:
http://www.halfthesky.org/journal/

Thank you!

with love,

Jenny

Ps – For our many new friends - Half the Sky is a global NGO that
establishes and operates programs that provide emotional and educational
support for orphaned children living in government-run welfare
institutions in China

Today from Half The Sky

Dear Friends,

I want first to give you an update on our efforts to get food and shelter
to the 1,000 orphaned and displaced children in Aba. The roads are now
closed. We asked our colleagues at the Ministry of Civil Affairs (MCA) to
see if we can possibly bring the desperately-needed goods in by
helicopter. A couple of hours ago, moments after the latest giant
aftershock, we got good news – a helicopter for Aba tomorrow! More soon -

Yesterday morning, when I arrived in Chengdu, I was invited by MCA to
visit some of the hardest-hit sites. We visited Dujiangyan – very close to
the epicenter. It was a painful day (I’ve put a few photos on our website
http://www.halfthesky.org/work/earthquake08.php - some just too sad to
write about) but I was also heartened to see both how quickly the
government has come in and tried to take care of the basics - building
thousands of temporary shelters and schools – and how the people have come
together to help each other. A sign in one of the tent cities reads, “The
earthquake has destroyed our homes but it can’t break our spirit.”

Today we visited Mianyang Zitong CWI. A 6.4 aftershock struck moments
before we arrived at the orphanage. All of the children were rushed
outside and, in what’s become routine now, they all sat calmly in little
chairs. There were 8 new arrivals – all of them had lost their parents.
It seems they are not brought to the orphanages until officials are fairly
certain that they will not be claimed by extended family. One little boy
told us in a matter-of-fact way that both his parents were killed. Ma
Lang, HTS’ director of child development, after days assisting the
displaced children staying at the Jiuzhou stadium observed, “From the
volunteers’ and counselors’ perspectives, the children’s most common signs
of being traumatized included insomnia, nightmares, tearfulness,
indifference, and refusing to eat. In the first few days, the volunteers
in the stadium’s 'inner circle (a holding place for separated children)
had to search bathrooms and corridors for children who hid there and
refused to eat. The volunteers told me it was heartbreaking to see the
children’s eyes and persuade them that they should eat.”

We visited the “inner circle” at Jiuzhou stadium today. Almost all of the
children who had not yet been identified by family members had been
transferred to children’s shelters. The Mianyang Civil Affairs director
told us that many, many children had been reunited – if not with their
parents, then with extended families. One of our colleagues at the MCA
told us that of the 200 children who’d been brought to shelter at the
Chengdu Medical College, only 18 had not been reunited with extended
family. Today we met a girl who has become famous in China because she
was interviewed on television by Wen JiaBao. It was believed her parents
had died. He tried to comfort her. Soon after, her parents were located.
Although they haven’t yet been able to get to Mianyang to pick her up,
today we met one happy little girl. The media has been making much of the
idea of thousands of orphans. Our friends at MCA are not certain this is
true and, to be honest, the situation is still too fluid to pin down the
numbers. There are certainly many, many children with uncertain status.
And they are traumatized and very much need consistent, caring support.

Provincial CAB (Civil Affairs Bureau) has begun the process of sending
displaced children to structurally-sound colleges, military bases, welfare
institutions, and other facilities. In less-stable areas, where there are
fears of flooding and environmental issues, children housed in some
temporary facilities are being transferred, yet again. Almost every
orphanage has been advised that they should prepare for new arrivals. We
met a few sad little faces yesterday at the Chengdu CWI; they are told to
expect at least 100 more. The director at Zitong CWI told me the same
thing. And so did the director at Guiyang CWI in Guizhou! The truth is,
I believe, nobody yet knows.

These past days, the MCA has been working to draft recommendations for the
care of displaced and orphaned children. I believe they will release an
official statement soon. After two days traveling with MCA officials, one
thing is clear - government is extremely concerned that every effort be
made to reunite children with surviving relatives before adoption by
non-relatives of orphaned children is even considered.

Meanwhile, tent schools are quickly being established wherever children
are sheltered. There is a great desire to give the children the comfort
of settling into a routine and regular attendance at school is seen as
key. I visited a large tent city in Dujiangyan yesterday and the scene at
4:30 pm, with children streaming out of the temporary school toward dozens
of waiting parents, was identical to that taking place in Chinese cities
and towns every day.

HTS is working hard to complete its emergency relief efforts and turn its
attention towards the effort for which it is better equipped – helping
orphaned children begin to recover emotionally. By the end of the coming
week, with your extraordinary generosity and the help of the amazing crew
at Gung-Ho Films, we will have purchased and delivered more than 30 tons
of tents, medicines, food and formula, children’s clothing, diapers and
other infant supplies. With the helicopter to Aba and the purchase today
of an emergency vehicle to transport orphaned and displaced children for 9
counties and one city, we will have answered every urgent request to take
care of the children’s basic needs. Now we move on to try to address
those needs no less urgent, but more elusive in every way.

Tomorrow (Monday, May 26) Half the Sky will launch its Sichuan Caregivers
Training Project. I am thrilled, honored and very, very excited to tell
you that HTS will work under the guidance of the foremost child trauma and
bereavement specialists in the world, the National Center on School Trauma
and Bereavement
http://www.cincinnatichildrens.org/svc/alpha/s/school-crisis/default.htm.
Based at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, but comprising an
international network of child trauma experts, the Center grew from the
tragedy of the Terrorist Attacks of 9/11 and has served as a resource
during hurricanes, school shootings, airline disasters and wars.

Together with NCSTB and MCA, HTS will hold a two-day planning workshop,
June 3-4 in Chengdu. Three experts from the Center will lead the
workshop. Attending will be four volunteer pediatric psychologists and
psychiatric social workers, HTS team of 15 field supervisors, our program
directors and officials from MCA and Sichuan CAB. That will be the start
of what will likely be a long-term project to help children orphaned by
the disaster to recover and rebuild their lives.

I’ll send along further details of the Caregivers Training Project soon.
It’s almost midnight and I’m exhausted. I’ve had two days on the road
through a landscape filled with aching sadness, determination and hope.

More tomorrow!

If you would like to donate to Half the Sky’s Children’s Earthquake Fund
you can do so through Global Giving:
http://www.globalgiving.com/pr/2100/proj2086a.html

Or directly to Half the Sky. You can donate by calling Half the Sky
(+1-510-525-3377) or on our website:
http://give.halfthesky.org/prostores/servlet/Categories?category=Children's+Earthquake+Fund


Many companies have announced they will match employee gifts for
earthquake relief. Please check to see if your company will double your
gift!

If you would like a Canadian tax receipt, please donate at
http://www.canadahelps.org/CharityProfilePage.aspx?CharityID=s86248

If you would like a Hong Kong tax receipt, please call us at
+852-2520-5266 or online at
https://www.paydollar.com/b2c2/eng/charity/payInfo.jsp?charityId=4947

Thank you!

with love,

Jenny

Jenny Bowen
Executive Director
Half the Sky Foundation
www.halfthesky.org

Earthquake Update from Jenny Bowen

This is an image from Shifang of the Luoshi Middle School rescue efforts. Below is Jenny's update today from Half The Sky.

Dear Friends,

Today we were starting the process of wrapping up the major portion of our
orphanage relief efforts. With your help, we have purchased and delivered
or are in the process of delivering huge amounts of medicines and medical
supplies, tents, cribs, cots, bedding, baby formula, diapers, kids
clothing and shoes, rice, noodles, cooking oil, water, powdered milk,
bowls, cups, towels, mosquito repellent and much, much more. As we
finalized plans to ship, then bring in engineers to erect two giant tents
to house hundreds of newly orphaned children, we got an emergency call
from Aba Civil Affairs Bureau.

They are caring for approximately 1,000 orphaned and displaced children,
most of whom are 7-12 years old. There are over 100 infants. They’d been
placing the children in local shelters but had just received news that 70
more children are on the way. There are no more tents and no more beds
for them. Further, they urgently need powdered milk and diapers. And
they need foods that don’t require cooking as most of their cooking stoves
and supplies have been destroyed. They need so much they can’t even give
us an estimate.

The roads to Aba are dangerous but the need is tremendous. We have
obtained the necessary road pass and organized a convoy of three trucks.
Our senior preschool field supervisor, Yang Lei, will be leading the
effort along with Aba drivers who are familiar with the dangers. It’s a 3
day round-trip and they leave at dawn. I am so thankful our Half the Sky
staff are as tough as they are!

Stop presses! -- Just as I finished writing the above, I received the
following email. The situation continues to be ever-changing:

“While everyone has done an absolutely incredible job pulling this urgent
shipment together, it simply cannot leave tomorrow morning as we've all
been pushing for. The road between Chengdu and Aba is simply too dangerous
to travel, based on all the information we are able to gather. While it
hasn't registered on the news, nearly 200 people have died in the last few
days along these roads due to mudslides caused by the early summer rains.
Communications are, of course, sketchy, and we know Yang Lei has her
permit to travel the roads, but all reports are now that it's just too
dangerous and too unsure to risk take such a risk. The Director of the
Aba Institution agrees and the Director of the Chengdu Institution agrees.

“The efforts you've all put in today on behalf of the babies at Aba will
not be in vain. We will monitor the road situation very, very closely.
Civil Affairs wants us to get in, we want to go in, and the moment we feel
it is safe, we will go in. The good news is we've managed to amass
everything on Aba's "needs list" in one day and it's staged at Chengdu SWI
and ready to load on trucks. The items that were scheduled to load on the
Aba trucks will stay at Chengdu, ready to travel to Aba when conditions
allow. THESE ITEMS ARE NOT TO BE USED FOR ANY OTHER PURPOSE IN THE COMING
DAYS, THEY ARE TO BE KEPT TOGETHER, AND SEPARATE FROM ALL OTHER INVENTORY,
AND WILL TRAVEL TO ABA AS SOON AS CONDITIONS ALLOW. This is a very
difficult decision for us to make, but we simply can't risk life to save
life.”

You can see that the relief effort is not quite over. I will keep you all
posted.

Meanwhile, we have spent almost exactly the amount we have raised in
donations (just over US$300,000. And we have not yet really begun the
second critical phase of our operation in Sichuan: training caregivers and
volunteers to care for and address the non-material needs of displaced and
newly-orphaned children. There are billions being donated for rebuilding.
But we need help putting young lives back together.

Here’s a note from Ma Lang, who was at a “model” relief shelter today
talking to newly-orphaned children:
I talked to a junior high school girl. Here is part of our conversation:
Lang: Do you know there are psychologists and counselors there to help
people?
Girl: Yes.
Lang: Would you be willing to talk to a psychologist?
Girl: Yes.
Lang: What would you like to talk about with the psychologist?
Girl: Things that make me happy. Like happy stories and movies.
Lang: What do not you want the psychologist to ask?
Girl: [pause] Do not ask me where my families are!
P.S. There is little coordination among the 10 plus counselor groups at
the shelter. One main method they chose their “clients” was to look for
sad faces. If a child or adult looked sad, the likelihood was that she
would be “counseled” by more than one group of counselors. One concern
that I had was that the children (and adults) might be traumatized again
by the “counseling” process.

And then….

“I met Lei in the “inner circle” at Jiuzhou Stadium. He was a cute and
curious second grader who’d lost his parents in the quake. He approached
me and asked me what I was doing when I was organizing the pictures I
took. We looked at the pictures together, and chatted a little bit. He
told me that after the earthquake, there come aftershocks, and then comes
the epidemic. He said epidemic means you die if you do not wash hands
before and after meal. When I asked him what earthquake is, he said if
you talk loud, earthquake happens. I lowered my voice and asked him if
our voices were loud. He said, I do not know.”

Half the Sky is finalizing plans to work in consultation with an important
international resource for children traumatized by crisis. I want to
thank all of you who have worked to help us locate Mandarin-speaking child
trauma specialists. I think we are assembling an outstanding team. I will
share more details in the next few days. What I hope I can communicate to
you all is that our work is really just beginning. We need more help!

If you would like to donate to Half the Sky’s Children’s Earthquake Fund
you can do so through Global Giving:
http://www.globalgiving.com/pr/2100/proj2086a.html

Or directly to Half the Sky. You can donate by calling Half the Sky
(+1-510-525-3377) or on our website:
http://give.halfthesky.org/prostores/servlet/Categories?category=Children's+Earthquake+Fund


Many companies have announced they will match employee gifts for
earthquake relief. Please check to see if your company will double your
gift!

If you would like a Canadian tax receipt, please donate at
http://www.canadahelps.org/CharityProfilePage.aspx?CharityID=s86248

If you would like a Hong Kong tax receipt, please call us at
+852-2520-5266 or online at
https://www.paydollar.com/b2c2/eng/charity/payInfo.jsp?charityId=4947

Thank you for all you’ve already done for these children – and for what
you will do.

with love,
Jenny

Jenny Bowen
Executive Director
Half the Sky Foundation
www.halfthesky.org

Earthquake Updates

We have been receiving daily updates from Jenny Bowen at Half The Sky Foundation. This foundation supports Chinese Children in the SWI's and CWI's in every way imaginable. An SWI is a Social Welfare Institute and a CWI is a Children's Welfare Institute. Jenny's reports on the tragedy that continues to unfold in China are accurate. From the first day they have only reported on conditions in areas where they made contact. The needs she states and conditions she reports on are true.

We have not heard of any problems in Ty's area. He is around 350 miles or so from the epicenter. In our hearts, we feel he is fine. I will post these updates from Half the Sky on Ty's blog as I receive them. We recieved the following report today and the signs posted at the Zitong SWI were heartbreaking. I know that if you consider a donation to Half the Sky it will be used to best help these children.

Dear Friends,

Our work in Sichuan is in full swing now and it’s becoming harder to find
time to write. Yet I know how deeply concerned you are about the
children, so will continue to grab all the moments I can to tell you what
we've learned.

Since earthquake statistics are so readily available now, I will no longer
include them.

You will see below that there are preparations being made in many
institutions to receive newly orphaned and displaced children. There have
been numerous media reports about the thousands of new orphans; we have
received dozens of adoption inquiries here at Half the Sky (which has no
involvement in adoption!)

I really want to stress that many, many of these children you're hearing
about will be reunited with family – if not parents, then living
relatives. In rural China, especially, workers often leave their children
with grandparents so that they can support their families by working in
more prosperous areas. Many of the children do have parents – parents who
are desperately trying to find their children. The government is keenly
aware of this and, while there are many, many media reports of adoption
programs and applications submitted for domestic adoption of the children,
we don’t believe that any adoption procedures will be put into place
before every means has been exhausted to find parents or other living
relatives.

We, along with Ministry officials, are meeting with the provincial Civil
Affairs Bureau on Monday and may have more information about the plans for
transitional care of orphaned and displaced children. We are exploring
how we can, working with other NGOs, best help care for the children in
the interim and assist the government in its efforts to provide for their
future.

Here is the current situation:

Chengdu CWI has been notified to prepare to receive 100 children; they
expect that more may follow. At the same time, the orphanage has moved
the children out-of-doors out of concern for safety. (photos on our
website http://www.halfthesky.org/work/earthquake08.php) Half the Sky is
working with local government and erecting a giant tent that can serve as
shelter for orphaned and displaced children for as long as necessary.
More news on this early next week.

Chengdu 2nd SWI - 35 senior citizens and 10 preschool-age orphans have
been transferred there from Dujiangyan City. 40~50 more orphans will be
arriving soon. They are in need of 50 beds, sets of bedding, as well as
the same number of clothes for children between 5 and 7 years old. Before
the arrival of those 45, the institution had 100+ children and 500+
elderly people already. During aftershocks, they stayed in tents; but now,
they have all moved back to the buildings.

Chengdu 3rd SWI – Caring for 30 children, all fine, not expecting new
arrivals.

Wenjiang District SWI, Chengdu – Caring for only 4 children, all fine, not
expecting new arrivals

Dujiangyan SWI – All of the children are under good care and there is no
shortage of food or any daily necessity. 12 new children were recently
brought in, but they’ve been having much success in locating surviving
family members and have high hopes for these children as well.

Luojiang County SWI, Deyang City – The children are being cared for in a
shelter, including 6 new arrivals. They are expecting a 2 year-old and
have asked for a crib as well as diapers, powdered milk and rice.

Deyang SWI – Has prepared to receive new children per instructions.

Nanchong 2nd SWI – They are caring for 27 children and are expecting
another 20. They are sleeping in tents due to concerns about aftershocks.
They ask for 10 tents, tarps and beds.

Cangxi SWI, Guangyuan City – They have some building damage. They have
been advised that they may be receiving children from Qingchuan but this
has not yet been confirmed by the provincial Civil Affairs Bureau.

I told you that 13 of the 24 children brought to the Zitong SWI had been
reunited with family. Today I was told there were 12. Two signs hang at
the institution. One says “There are only 20 children from Xiao Ba
Primary School in An'Xian in our institution. There are no children from
Beichuan. If you are looking for those from Beichuan, please go to (name)
Hotel. If you are looking to adopt, please come in 3 months." The other,
poignantly says, "Yan: only her mother was home; XianLin & LiGang are
brothers: only their father was home: Cheng: her father is working in
Xinjiang; Dan: her parents are working in Zhejiang; Jun: about 2 years
old, parents whereabouts unknown; Zhou: about 1 year old, parents
whereabouts unknown. Needs: Books to read; stable place to live. Emotional
needs: their family...their relatives."

Mianyang – The Jiuzhou Stadium that houses 20,000 refugees is now,
considering the situation, well-organized and, beyond trash bags and
disposable gloves, there seem to be no unmet material needs. While there
were, at first, about 1,700 children staying in the “inner circle” of the
stadium (on the first floor inside the building), most of those children
have either been reunited with family or transferred to smaller shelters
in Mianyang. There are only about 130 children remaining. There are
volunteer counselors and psychologists for these children. The “inner
circle” is strictly guarded by police, soldiers, and volunteers. Mr.
Liang JianHua, a volunteer leader and veteran, has been supervising care
of the children in the “inner circle” from the very beginning, with the
help of about a dozen volunteers. According to Ma Lang, he seems to be an
extremely competent, kind, and devoted person.

Meanwhile, for children less well-served, Half the Sky is moving goods
like crazy and working hard to initiate the next, and most important phase
of our efforts – trauma counseling and care for displaced and orphaned
children.

Thanks to help from dozens of volunteers, we’ve delivered about 100 of the
promised tents, cases of blankets, tarps, clothes, diapers, food and
medicines to several institutions. There will be many more arrivals and
deliveries over the coming days. We have received permits to enter and
provide aid to one of the more inaccesible hard-hit areas tomorrow (Aba
County) and are working on helping in Li and Mao counties, also hard-hit.

We have begun the process of distributing to temporary children’s
shelters. We give special thanks to the Sichuan employees of Silk Road
Telecommunications, many of whom helped us load and unload trucks and have
offered to aid in distribution and logistics all around the province.

I’ve got lots more to report but have run out of steam and time. I’ll be
back tomorrow with more, I promise.

If you would like to donate to Half the Sky’s Children’s Earthquake Fund
you can do so through Global Giving:
http://www.globalgiving.com/pr/2100/proj2086a.html

Or directly to Half the Sky. You can donate by calling Half the Sky
(+1-510-525-3377) or on our website:
http://give.halfthesky.org/prostores/servlet/Categories?category=Children's+Earthquake+Fund


Many companies have announced they will match employee gifts for
earthquake relief. Please note, the Ford Motor Company matching pledge
has been met and is no longer in effect, but there are many others. Please
check to see if your company will double your gift!

If you would like a Canadian tax receipt, please donate at
http://www.canadahelps.org/CharityProfilePage.aspx?CharityID=s86248

If you would like a Hong Kong tax receipt, please call us at
+852-2520-5266 or online at
https://www.paydollar.com/b2c2/eng/charity/payInfo.jsp?charityId=4947

Once again, THANK YOU, all of you, who are making this work possible!

with love,
Jenny

Jenny Bowen
Executive Director
Half the Sky Foundation
www.halfthesky.org

Goal + 6

Remember that Red Thread Swap we were doing? This is the last entry in that category and it is a winner! This is from a great lady who currently is residing in Australia! And she was so fortunate and was able to go and pick up her daughter during the swap! It was quite exciting and is certainly well worth waiting for! And did you notice how creatively the fabric was bounded? I loved the Chinese coin and looped through the green ribbon!

Rebel wrote: (yes - she does have one cool name!)

My Dear Child

You are the poem I dreamed of writing
The masterpiece I longed to paint.
You are the shining star I reached for
In my ever hopeful quest for life fulfilled...
You are my child.
Now with all things
I am blessed.

May you always know ho much you are loved.

From the Judge Family ~Canberra, Australia

These are beautiful words and when I read them to myself, my heart spoke them out loud. Thanks Rebel and congratulations on your adoption and your beautiful girl!

Goal + 5

This is another cute squish I received from a member of the OHGWQ group! Of COURSE the O'Rourke's would send this cheerful shamrock print! Kelly wrote:

Irish Blessing

May you live a long life
Full of gladness and health,
With a pocket full of gold
As the least of your wealth.
May the dreams you hold dearest,
Be those which come true,
The kindness you spread,
Keep returning to you.

Wishing you a long, happy & healthy life.
Sincerely,
Kelly & Tim O'Rourke
Federal Way, WA

Goal + 4

This OHGWQG swap arrived with an adorable Christmas card! I LOVE the black and white photo of the Seip family and then their Santa hats being red! Just adorable - you all may get a similar card next year :)

Kerry sent the sweetest moon and stars fabric twinkling on a light blue sky. And she wrote:

"I see the moon and the moon sees me...Over the mountains, over the sea,
I have a love who is waiting for me.
Please let the light that shines on me, Shine on the one I love."
~We See The Moon by Carrie A. Kitze - Kai Lin's Favorite Book

In China, during the Mid-Autumn Festival, families look to the
moon to connect them to loved ones who can't be together.

Your hourney has brought you home,
To a place you never would have imagined,
Filled with warmth and love.
Todd, Kerry and Kai Lin Seip
And now...Li Hong - Fujian Province
Forever a Family November 2007
Pueblo, Colorado

I think this is just the sweetest wish - of course, I'm a sucker for children's books! I don't think we have this book - and I'm leaving the house right now!

Goal + 3

This lovely soft floral print arrived from Denmark! I did an individual quilt swap with Linda and I know she is in the process of adopting - but I'm not sure where she is on the timeline. The One Hundred Good Wishes Quilt Group on yahoo has been such a blessing in helping with Ty's collection. There are so many creative folks out there and it is exciting to see what they are all doing! Linda wrote:

Dear little one,

Enjoy when you can and
endure when you must.
~Goethe

Our best wishes for you and your family.

Bjarne Bertelsen and
Linda O. Henriksen
Fruevaenget 4
7900 Nykobing M.
Denmark

I can only imagine what Ty has endured so far and I hope and pray that there have been many, many moments of joy. I feel that all these children have such stories - especially the older children. It will be such a privilege to have Ty share these things with us - because I know that on the day that he begins to tell his story - it means he loves and trusts us....and we will be his family.

Goal +2 and a Few!

Can't you tell from the picture that this was a fun squish to receive! It was like a Squish Shower! The Walpert family is another military family here in the area that are in the adoption process. Marisa and I signed up for the same swap (on the Chinese provinces...you'll see that later) and when she saw my name and address she sent a boyishly perfect assortment of prints for Ty's quilt. There are jungle animals, a cowboy print, a green farm print and of course....a fantastic military aircraft print! You are so generous and thoughtful!

The Walperts wrote:

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but
by the moments that take our breath away.
~Anonymous

May your life be full of breath-taking moments.

Bill and Marisa Walpert
Montgomery, Alabama
LID 4-11-07

Check your mail soon Marisa - I'll return the good wishes!

Goal + 1

I was so pleasantly surprised to receive this squsih in the mail for Ty! Dr. Dick Oosta actually delivered my brother MANY years ago on the fourth of July (1970)! He and his wife Margaret were good friends of my Grandparents and my parents. And their son Jack accompanied me down the aisle....when I was a flower girl and he was the ring bearer for a wedding! We were pretty cute and charming if I do say so myself!

We have always stayed in touch with them at Christmas and I was very touched when I saw the lovely gold-tone printed fabric and this accompanying note:

Dear Ty,

We are so happy you have come to America. Our wish
for you is for a healthy and happy life with
your wonderful family.

Blessings,
The Oosta Family

And the Oostas wrote the Chinese characters and pinyin for "Welcome" down the side of the card.

Their characters are beautiful and I know they will mean so much to Ty. The literal translation, character by character, is "pleased to welcome your bright arrival." Isn't that beautiful?? This is truly the ultimate welcome in the Chinese tradition!

Thank you so much Oostas! It will be an honor to include you in Ty's quilt.

Wish #100

The Centennial Wishes! I can't believe we've made it to One Hundred Wishes for our precious Ty. I look at all of these fabrics and am so excited to get started and see this gift of love come to life!

These wishes arrived via mail from our good friends the Ogdens. We met the Ogdens in California when we were all stationed at Travis AFB. They were our backyard neighbors. We both lived on the corners of two different blocks and shared a back fence - but to get to each others' front door - we had to walk all the way around to the other street or block. But not for long....within a few weeks...we returned home to find a lovely gate installed in our back yard so that we could just pop in anytime! It was so fun and led to many antics.

I know that there is a mysterious $5.00 bill floating around somewhere between us - and I don't even remember how it got started...but one day I found it stapled to the brand new gate! It has been wrapped around a computer headset, hidden under an ice bucket - and who knows what/where else. I'm not even sure whose home it is hidden in anymore!

We had so many laughs - I'm not sure you can say enough good things about someone who will come and clean up your cat's vomit for you. (I have a phobia - and Tony was deployed and this was EVERYWHERE!) This is just the tip of the iceberg folks - so many more laughs, fun, tears - just amazing friends!

Now Sid is deployed for a year - and I'm not there to help Mary and the kids clean up their "cat puke" or whatever they need. Fortunately - they live near family now is sunny Florida - hmmmmmmm.....Florida.....maybe they DO need help :)

Liz (John and Mary's daughter and sister to Chris "One Dot" Ogden) selected a fun fabric! It is black and filled with bright, neon-colored circles that are interlocking. When I think of Liz - I definitely think of bright colors....it is perfect! She wrote:

May your troubles be less,
your blessings be more
And nothing but happiness
come through your door....

Liz Ogden

Mary selected a simple and beautiful print of muted gold background with tonal vines winding across it. I love the softness of the print and the traveling vines. Mary wrote:

Our Wish for Ty

I wish you not a path devoid of clouds, nor a life on a bed of roses.
Not that you might never need regret, nor that you should never feel pain.
No, that is not my wish for you.

My wish for you is:
That you might be brave in times of trial,
when others lay crosses upon your shoulders.
When mountains must be climbed
and chasms are to be crossed;
when hope can scarce shine through.
That every gift God gave you might grow along with you,
and let you give the gift of joy to all who care for you.
That you may always have a friend who is worth that name;
whom you can trust, and who helps you in times of sadness,
who will defy the storms of daily life at your side.

One more wish I have for you:
that in every hour of joy and pain you may feel God close to you.
This is my wish for you and for all who care for you.

This is my hope for you, now and forever.

Ogden Jrs.
Travis AFB, CA

Beautifully shared my friends! Miss you all.....

Wish #99

Ok - I'm just letting you all know right this moment - that Ty's quilt will be WAY more than 100 wishes! And if anyone wants to be included - I will not leave you out. The more the merrier, bigger is better, can't have too much love! With that out of the way - I want to tell you about this next wish -

Joe and Debbie Wotton are just fantastic people. Tony was so fortunate to meet and work for Joe when we were stationed at Hanscomb AFB - right outside of Boston. Tony absolutely loved this assignment - with much of that credit going to Joe Wotton. He was always so postivie, upbeat and honest....and Tony respects him immensely. We were so over the moon when I received an email from Debbie after Christmas indicating that Ty's story had touched their hearts and they wanted to be part of welcoming him home!

Joe and Debbie sent two squares for Ty's quilt - because they couldn't decide :) One square is very patriotic. It is red, white and blue with gold stars and yellow ribbons, red stripes and hearts. The best part is that each emblem has inspiring words across it - words like success, support, love, protect, loyalty, bravery, courage, strength and home. These are wonderful words for Ty to learn and take to heart!

The other fabric is an aqua blue fabric swimming with a rainbow of fish! Joe and Debbie wrote:

Dear Ty,

We chose two swatches of fabric because we couldn't make a decision. We love the red, white and blue fabric because it reminds us of the privilege and honor it was for Joe to serve in the United States Air Force with your father, which is how we got to know your wonderful parents. The fish fabric is included because we are "water people" who enjoy simming and scuba diving in the ocean. Perhaps because you have crossed over huge oceans while traveling to your new home, you may have a fascination for the sea.

What a blessing you are to your family!

We hope to meet you one day.

Joe and Debbie Wotton

WE hope to meet Ty one day soon, too!!!!! Thanks so much Wottons - for all that you have meant to us in the past - and for being a part of our son's future!

Wish #98

When I was going through my Christmas cards from this last holiday season - I realized that my friend from Travis AFB, Juanita, had slid a lovely piece of teal fabric into her card and I didn't take it out and put it in our "quilt" pile!

Juanita is a really special lady. I met Juanita when I got involved in the Officers' Spouses' Club (OSC). We served on the board of this organization together and Juanita was the representative for the Retired Officers' Spouses. This was a very active group - and many things in the OSC just wouldn't have happened without their assistance and involvement. Juanita was also one of the absolute luckiest people I've ever met. She won prizes at all of our Bingo functions and even door prizes! And I mean - she won the GOOD prizes! We all teased her a lot about this and it was well known (and envied!) The club was auctioning off a TV at one event and they actually auctioned off 5 remote controls and then called all of those folks up - and they took turns seeing which remote worked and that is who won the TV. Well this great gal Becky had won one of the remotes and had Juanita just rub it for good luck - and you know.....Becky won the TV! I'm thinking we should have knicknamed Juanita the Lucky Buddha or something.

She and her late husband Steve were world travelers - and were always going somewhere exciting and often exotic. He accompanied her to so many events - and we all loved him too. He passed away suddenly last year and this was Juanita's first holiday season without her husband. I can't imagine how hard that must be - but her Christmas card was kind and full of Juanita's spirit. She mentioned that she had recently joined the Society of Military Widows and had also completed a computer class!

Juanita's wish for us was:

Best wishes for a healthy, happy New Year. How wonderful to hear about the new addition to your family!

Juanita - thank you for your thoughtfulness! I miss you and will always be grateful for your contribution to Ty's welcome home quilt!

Wish #97

This wish came from another great family that we met while stationed at Bolling Air Force Base. Last May, we all began to scatter to the ends of this earth - and the Harraden family landed in England! Lucky Dogs!

They witnessed the unfolding of how Ty joined our family and were there to share those moments with us. Their daughter and Caitlin were almost inseparable (along with Kara Morris!) during that year at Bolling and are learning to be pen pals now. We were so touched that they sent TWO fabrics to welcome Ty.

The first fabric is a delicious bamboo print on a black background. The bamboo is such a rich, jewel-like color of greens and blues. It is a deep, rich fabric. The second fabric is a very inspiring print of the Air Force emblem. We were happy to see this - since the only one so far is the Navy emblem from the Westbrooks. :)

The Harradens wrote:

Ty -

Please know that you are loved
by many whom you have never met.
We pray for many blessings in your life.
May the bamboo print fabric remind you
of China and the Air Force print
remind you always of Tony.

Love,
The Harradens
Shaun, Vikki and Alyson

Wish #96

This was another wish from an adoptive family on the Guilt group list. They selected a happy, geometric sky print filled with different shades of blue, comets, stars and smiling suns. They wrote:

There is more hunger for love and appreciation in
this world than for bread. ~Mother Theresa

I wish for you to have a heart overflowing with
love and appreciation from those around you.

Jerry, Jodi, Gavin, Dakota, & Shelby Williams
Milan, IN USA
Forever a Family 7/23/2007

This is such a powerful and true quote from Mother Theresa. She was an extraordinary woman with so much insight into the human soul.

Wish #95

This wish comes from some very special folks in California. We met the Hurt family while we were stationed at Travis AFB. Jaye is one of those extraordinary women who cares so much about other people. She is funny and genuine and very thoughtful. Being from Hawaii, she was always bringing us delicious treats - like chocolate covered macadamia nuts! Yummmmmm.......

Her family (especially Catherine) also blessed us with our beautiful and much loved PJaye. Everyone who encounters PJaye adores her - she is the friendliest cat. She is very social and has no bad kitty habits. She is our daughter Caitlin's best friend in the world. I know it wasn't easy for Katherine to give PJaye to us - but we really appreciated it and it came at a time that Caitlin really needed it. Catherine is a very selfless and special gal. Pjaye's picture is below (just for Catherine!)



Their fabric is too cool - it is a lightning covered blue fabric with a motorcycle with flames roaring across it. It is very exciting - and absolutely perfect for an 8 year old boy! We love it!

They wrote:

Dear Ty,

Welcome to America
and to your new home!
We are thrilled for you all.
You are part of a truly
amazing family (ohana, in Hawaiian).
Happiness, fun and love to you always.

Aloha - Dale, Jaye and Catherine Hurt

Wish #94

Top o' the morning to ya! This lucky wish arrived from another gal off the yahoo group for all of us preparing 100 wishes quilts. I don't know how old Monica is, but she is a big sister (Jie Jie)to Reese, a little girl from Shanxi, China who arrived in America in May, 2007. And yes, Monica is the one that made her a quilt. I think this is a neat project for older siblings to do. Monica also "hosts" many of the swaps on the group - like I did the Red Thread Swap. I think she recently did a countries from around the world swap, and last year I think she did a Chinese culture swap. She is a busy gal, but found time to swap with me! She writes:

May love and laughter light your days,
And warm your heart and home.
May good and faithful friends be yours,
Wherever you may roam.
May peace and plenty bless your world
With joy that long endures.
May all life's passing seasons
Bring the best to you and yours!
~An old Irish Blessing

Best Wishes!
Monica Davidson
Big sister (Jie Jie) to Reese Maleah KaiJin (Taiyuan, Shanxi, China, a. 5/2007)
Little Rock, Arkansas, USA

Wish #93

I was contacted by another hopeful adoptive Mom who wanted to know if I would swap squishes with her. We had a couple of nice emails and she sent this soft yellow polka dot print fabric that we can add to Ty's quilt - and it came all the way from the Canary Islands, Spain!

Adoption is such a global thing and I don't know if I ever gave that a lot of thought before we began this process and began interacting with other families online around the world. Foreign families adopt globally, as their countries allow them. In fact, children from the US are adopted by foreigners. The last that I heard from someone, we were number 5 on the list of global adoptees. Interesting to think about.....

Nazareth wrote:

Deseo que la buena fortuna y la felicidad, encuentren simepre el camino
hasta tu hogar, y tengas una vida llena de amor, alegrias y sonrisas
junto a tu nueva familia.

I wish you that the good fortune and the happiness, find always the way
to your home, and have a life full of love, happy moments and smiles
with your forever family.

Nazareth Porras
Canary Islands, Spain

Wish #92

This cute little wish comes from the Petty Family in Illinois. This family is waiting for a little sister (mei mei) in Taiwan and we exchanged from the oft-mentioned One Hundred Good Wishes Quilt Group.

The fabric they chose is a watercolor-ish nature print background with a wagon scene, boat scene and a train scene. The accompanying wish is precious and says:

The Tree Wish

Plant your roots deep,
Keep your branches flexible,
and you will weather
the storms of life.

Take pride in your roots,
they are a part
of who you will become

With love from the
Petty Family
Joliet, IL USA
Waiting for Mei Mei in Taiwan

Wish #91

Who doesn't smile when they look at this sweet, sweet fabric? There are precious red hearts dappled across crisp white fabric. This could come from none other than a friend of the family who lives on Heart Acres. Dianne and Ed are long-time friends of our family. We met them through our church when I was growing up.

I don't exactly remember when we met - but I do remember that Dianne had a cross stitch store and I bought my first stitching supplies there. Those supplies included everything necessary to make my boyfriend at the time a pillow of a mallard duck. He was a duck hunter and boy, I just knew that was the ticket. And it was - for awhile. Let's just say that stitching was the more lasting of the relationships! :) To this day, when I cross-stitch, I think of Dianne, my Grandmother and my Mom. Dianne, you are in some good company.

For awhile, Dianne and Ed lived next door to my folks in the country. Dianne and Ed still live out in the country and Heart Acres is an almost magical place. Charm lurks behind every bush, in every tree and underneath every rafter of their home. I love it there. I'll never forget the love that Dianne heaped on our Caitlin when she first arrived in our lives. And now - they are helping us welcome Ty! Dianne and Ed wrote:

Ty,

We wish you
a "Happy Heart"
in your new home!

Dianne and Ed Roper (with a heart!)

Thank you from the bottom of OUR hearts!

Wish #90

This little wish came from a member of the One Hundred Good Wishes Quilt Group on Yahoo (thank goodness for these folks!) Carrie sent an ivory ground fabric that is daintily sprinkled with daisies (my favorite), bees, butterflies and ladybugs. Now you know how lucky those ladybugs are.....

Carrie writes:

My wish for you...

Luck follows those who
truly believe in themselves.

Carrie in Ohio
LID 12/24/2007

Wish #89

I have to apologize for being pretty tardy in getting these wishes listed on the blog. I know many of you have been waiting and waiting to see them. Now that our dossier is in China and we are WAITING too - I feel your pain! :) And so - I am trying to get caught up and express our sincere thanks for all that are helping to welcome our special guy to his American home.

And among those waiting on me - Catherine and Rich Conley from New York. Catherine and Rich put together the neatest wish. They sent a rich red print adorned in a god lattice pattern. When we opened the envelope, we collectively said, "Wow!" It really is a beautiful print. But the neatest part was the reason they chose this particular fabric. I'll let them tell you in their words:

This fabric remind me
of the red envelopes given
to children on Chinese
New Year which symbolize
hope and wealth. Ty has
hope in you for a family;
you in him for a son and
brother; you all will experience
the wealth of love a family
brings. These are my wishes
for Ty: hope, wealth in
its fullest sense, and
love.


God Bless!
Catherine and Rich Conley

And attached to this wonderful wish is a Chinese New Year's envelope with an American dollar inside! I know this wish will have meaning to Ty and be something exciting for him to see.

We appreciate so much the thought that went into this - the connection that Ty will feel between China and the U.S.A....

We appreciate Catherine and Rich, too! Thanks so much!

Wish #88

This wish came all the way from Japan - just a hop, skip and jump from our Ty. The Morris family is one of those families that you hold very near and dear to your heart. They watched us go through the process to be matched with Ty - every day of it. They watched us smile, become excited, be disappointed, cry and be overjoyed. They prayed for us and held our hands and offered hugs. They are special - and so are their wishes - all THREE of them. You all are such over achievers! :)



Our Wishes for Ty

We send you our love and our wishes for today and always!



Our first wish we send is that of love --- that you may hold tight to your heart the wonderful love of your new and forever family. The word 'koi' in Japanese means love and affection. When you see your little koi fish may you always remember how much you are loved and treasured.



Our second wish we send you is that of peace. Here in Japan, the origami paper crane represents peace. May your family and your home in the United States always give you that peace.



Our third wish we send is that you will continue to grow into the beautiful design that God lovingly and purposefully created. Just as a small fuzzy caterpillar changes into a magnificent butterfly, may God's love nourish you throughout your life as you grow into His magnificent child.

Love, Manson, Heidi, Ben and Kara Morris

We met the Morris Family while stationed in DC - and think of them and miss them daily. They are "good people." :) Thank you so so so much!

Wish #87

Isn't this adorable fabric!? It couldn't be any more "boy" or "all American." One of the ladies that works with my Mom at her store sent this for Ty. Deanna has worked at the store....for a long time. She actually probably knew me when I was Ty's age! Uh oh! She accepted Tony into the fold so quickly - she probably cared about him before Dad did! :) And she and Caitlin are birthday buddies - sharing the exact same date.

Deanna wrote:

Ty,

Welcome to your new
family and new country.

God Bless You,

Mrs. Deanna

Deanna - we love that you will be amongst those special folks that welcome Ty. We love you so much!

Wish #86

This wish came from my great good friend "Dr. E" or Karen. Her fabric could not be more perfect and I smile every single time I look at it. Of course, I also smile every single time we are together - so that makes it even more appropriate! We have always managed to stay in touch over the years - not as often as I would like...but that is really my fault. When we do get together, it is so good for my soul. Lots of laughs, often lots of insight...maybe a martini or two!

Karen is a school teacher/administrator - and specializes in reading. Her doctorate is in reading. And she is a MAJOR fan of the LSU Tigers! Geaux Tigers! So - this purple fabric with the alphabet on it - was a perfect match! Karen, you are awesome - I love it!

Karen wrote:

Jeremiah 29:11
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

My wish for you is that you discover the prosperous future that God has promised you!

Karen (with a smiley face!)

IT WORKED!!! LIKE CLOCKWORK!!!

OK - everything worked almost as planned! Caity and I ran around like crazy people and got those documents certified every which way. We went to the Secretary of State's office and they certified everything right there on the spot (and we even had a front row parking place at the capitol!)

We got money orders for the Chinese Consulate in Houston, zoomed to FEDEX and made 2 copies of all of our documents. Now, I have to brag on Caitlin a bit here - she had a system going for us and organized our documents perfectly. We had the originals and a copy in the envelope for our Houston courier and then a copy for ourselves.

FEDEX'd all - and it arrived. The courier zipped it into the Consulate on Monday a.m. and it was ready to be picked up on Tuesday. She then FEDEX'd it to our adoption agency and they received it and sent it to be translated. Our dossier was done!! And we were DTC (Dossier to China) on 2-27-08.

Our agency called the other day and our dossier was officially logged into the CCAA on 3-10-2008. And on that day - we begin "the wait." This wait will normally take about 100 days. Our timeline is on the ticker on the left of the blog.

What are we waiting for? We are waiting for our letter from China that asks us are we absolutely sure that we still want to adopt Ty. We sign this and turn it around as quickly as possible back to China. And then we wait for our permission to travel. What this means is that in July - we should be in CHINA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Want to join us? :)

After all the fits and starts, I am amazed to say that this phase of the process worked like clockwork - just as it should. Can't believe it - but it is true.

There is so much more to share in this story - which is turning out to be so incredible. I'll share that later.

For the moment - I am going to get back to loading some of the fantastic quilt squares that we have received for Ty!