We're in CHINA!!!!

Hi from Chongqing:

getting very excited, as we will be getting our little girl tomorrow.
Our hotel is very nice. We walked in and there was a wedding going on
in the lobby. They all stopped and stared at us, especially Mana with
her amazing red hair. She took a picture with the bride and groom and
they were psyched.
I bought Mana a calligraphy set with a "chop" which is a stone stamp
with a person's name on it. Mana told her to make it Luli and she
wrote out the chinese characters for Lu and Li and said that was a very
nice name. So I'm feeling very good about her name. She said it means
pretty and she pronounced it with the accent on the second syllable.
very cute.
Mana also took a picture with two little girls in the lobby, part of
the wedding party, and also with an old woman in Tiannanmen Sqare.
Everybody stands around and giggles at Mana, she's like a superstar.
People take cellphone pictures of her ALL THE TIME.

China is so cool. It's a totally different world. Everyone is very
polite and helpful. We can't wait to meet our Luli.

At the wedding the groom was handing out cigarettes and the bride was
lighting them. Old chinese custom.

________________________________________________________________________
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Tomorrow we fly...

"Anyone who truly loves God travels securely."
--St. Theresa of Avila



The Ecstasy of Saint Theresa, by Bernini

Luli, here we come!

Our agency emailed us today that our TA has been mailed from China. This is our Travel Approval. This means Luli will be in my arms in 3 weeks! I can't wait. Next week we will book our travel.

UPDATE:
We've bought our plane tickets. Adriana, Grazie and I leave September 13th for Beijing. There we will tour for one day, so we can see the Great Wall and the Forbidden City. Then we go on to Chongqin where we will meet our Luli. From there to Guangzhou. We leave Guangzhou on the 29th, through Beijing.

The Feast of the Assumption

"My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour. Because He has regarded the lowliness of His handmaid; for behold, henceforth all generations shall call me blessed; Because He who is mighty has done great things for me."

Her orphanage, Yunyang Chenxiang SWI, Chonquing

The pictures above are of our litle girl's orphanage. She was found near a hospital in Chongqin and estimated to be 4 days old. She was brought to this orphanage where she has been ever since. By all accounts it is a good orphanage. The children from there are well cared for and adjust quickly to their new families.

DRUMROLL, PLEASE!!!!!!!!!

I am overjoyed to introduce our new daughter,

Yang Fu Lin
Born 12/26/06, Just 7 months old!!
Yunyang County Chengxiang SWI, Chongquing, China


At 5 months she weighed 13 lbs and measured 24 inches in length. She is a moderate sleeper, likes to suck her fingers, laughs readily and prefers her caretaker.
I hope to travel next month, September, to bring her home.


******OUR CUP RUNNETH OVER**********

Information from her newly translated Growth Report:
When she was found, she was wearing a suit and a yellow sweater, wrapped in a blanket. She weighed 8.14 lbs and was 19.31 inches long. She was found 12/29/06 at a nearby hospital and estimated to be 4 days old. She is described as having a beautiful face, good and white skin. She eats and develops well. She has an easy going and gentle personality. She is active and lovable. She is so sensible.

THE STORK HAS LANDED!!!

Just got an email from our agency. They have our daughter's information and will be calling soon! AS IN TODAY!!!!!!!!!!

Ok, I'm in labor!!!!! Don't forget to breathe, Grazie!

Check back later today for info! I'll post as soon as I have it.

Could the stork be flying?

According to rumors, a certain package may be heading to the States from Beijing. Could our little girl's picture be in there? Fly, stork!

Around the corner??

Ultrasound Picture of Our 5th Little One

Well, according to the rumors bouncing around the internet, and according to simple math, our referral SHOULD be here the first week of August. Am I holding my breath? No, because with China, anything could happen. It may just as easily be the first week of September before we see our new child's face.
It is just the oddest feeling, knowing that right now, I may have a child, already assigned to me, on the other side of the world. I pray so hard for her, every day. That she may be safe, and comforted, and tenderly cared for, until she is in our arms. She'll never know how much we have loved her, before we knew her, and how anxiously we waited for her.

Virgencita, Cuidanos, Plis!

"Am I not your mother? Are you not under my shadow and my gaze? Am I not the source of your joy? Are you not sheltered underneath my mantle, under the embrace of my arms?"
--The Virgin of Guadalupe, to San Juan Diego.

I want my children to be happy!

I hear this phrase all the time. I hear parents praised with these words, "She just wants me to be happy." It is the ultimate in parental desires, it seems. One day, not long ago, I revolted against that statement. Some friends of Steven's asked me, "Don't you want your children to be happy?" "No!", I replied, and shocked them. Steven spoke up for me, saying that I had a whole theory behind that. Recently on the First Things blog I came accross this:

Hans Urs von Balthasar’s theology of the vows states: “Remember that it is nothing to do your duty. That is demanded of you and is no more meritorious than to wash your hands when they are dirty. The only thing that counts is the love of duty; when love and duty are one, then grace is in you and you will enjoy a happiness which passes all understanding.”

Yes, EXACTLY. Now that I am older, and the mother of a large family, I have found out what is the happiness I wish for my children. Not the happiness of the good mood and the lack of strife, of material plenty, and admiration and respect from those around you. I have found myself that when one has duty, and loves that duty, and attempts to fulfill it with love, that is true and lasting happiness. Love alone is not enough for happiness. Do not we all know many people that are deeply loved but not "happy"? Don't we know many people who love deeply, but aren't "happy"? But the person who identifies her duty with wisdom, accepting the onerous duty gracefully, and then performs it with love, that person enjoys "a happiness which passes all understanding".
I think it is only through prayer that one can clearly see one's duty. Prayer is a place of intense honesty. If you pray with faith, then you truly believe that God can see into every corner of your mind. All the trappings of self-delusion and egotism fall away when we pray, and all that is left is the shining question: "What is my duty?", and if we persevere, the answer.
This is the happiness I wish for my children. Not the easy false one, of rapidly fulfilled desires, but the lasting one, of wise discernment and warm compliance.

New Year, new baby???

So a new year has come. We're still expecting and it's been a looong pregnancy. But, no nausea, insomnia, or body morphing. Not that I begrudge the children those discomforts. The latest from our agency is a suggestion that we renew all our paperwork (ugh) and an optimistic plan for a referral in April.

That is really around the corner. And the truth is that this past year has been very useful to all of us. We are all better for a little waiting, I think. I suppose, now, finally, a little girl is alive that is destined for us. I pray that she is being well cared for and feels some tenderness.
VIRGENCITA, CUIDAMELA, PLIS!

Thank you for not abandoning me.

Letter from Lukie (6), on the occasion of Thanksgiving, written in school:

Dear Family,
Thank you for not leaving me in the hospital, like Tio Jaime's parints.
love,
Lucas


He asked his teacher the other day, who told the class that she was adopted.
"Are you from China?"

I love my kids.

I'm not a doctor, I'm the baby!

Little Grazie said to me the other day, "Mami, will you tell the new baby she is adopted when she is Nene's age?"
" Well, yes, " I replied. "But she won't understand. Watch: Hey, Nene, you're adopted"
"I not a doctor, Mami, I de Nene!"

I love my kids.

To Nico, on the occasion of his 12th Birthday

Here's a hand to the boy who has courage
To do what he knows to be right;
When he falls in the way of temptation,
He has a hard battle to fight.
Who strives against self and his comrades
Will find a most powerful foe.
All honor to him if he conquers.
A cheer for the boy who says "NO!"

There's many a battle fought daily
The world knows nothing about;
There's many a brave little soldier
Whose strength puts a legion to rout.
And he who fights sin singlehaded
Is more of a hero, I say,
Than he who leads soldiers to battle
And conquers by arms in the fray.

Be steadfast, my boy, when you're tempted,
To do what you know to be right.
Stand firm by the colors of manhood,
And you will o'ercome in the fight.
"The right, " be your battle cry ever
In waging the warfare of life,
And God, who knows who are the heroes,
Will give you the strength for the strife.
--Phoeby Cary

November here, and NO referral

So, my last hopeful estimate of when we would see our new daughter's picture was this month, November 2006. But things over in China have slowed to a crawl. Good news is that we have been officially approved by China, our dossier passed review. Also good news is that there is no danger of adoptions stopping completely. If things go on more or less as they have been in the last 2-3 months, we should be getting her referral in February or March. Things could suddenly speed up, of course. Or they could slow down some more.
It has been a fruitful time for us, in any case. Little Nene, who we call our Divino Tormento, has grown up A LOT. He is still spectacularly loud, but can be reasoned with, most of the time. Nico started his new middle school, and has transitioned very well. The other day I was at the pharmacy and I found myself buying Clearasil and diapers. Isn't that great? I have one with pimples and one who wets the bed. Although, in his defense, the diaper is mostly for my peace of mind. He spends most of the night in our bed! This whole family bed concept started making sense recently when we got a king size bed. When we had a queen, I thought all those people were crazy.

If you really want to know why

Check out this video, of a rather nice orphanage that does international adoption in China. I'm assuming it's a rather nice one, because otherwise they wouldn't have an adoptive parent roaming around with a camera.

http://www.dropshots.com/day.php?userid=97713&cdate=20060517&ctime=002610

Don't you want to go and get several?

Everyone wants to know why

The question I've been asked so many many times is why. I give a different reason every time I'm asked. You see, I have lots of wonderful reasons.
For instance, I believe in big families. I feel that children are best raised in large families. It makes perfect sense to me that children with lots of siblings are more generous, helpful, empathetic, and kind. Wouldn't they have to be? There is always someone who needs more, whose needs must be met first, and the others learn to wait, and take their turn. They also learn to help and to be reliable and diligent. We are lucky to have more than enough material goods. If I only had 2 or 3 children, these would be very spoiled children. Now by force the children lead more measured lives, with some care as to what is spent, and on what. The older children know not to ask for spending money, and have learned to be frugal. If we must sacrifice some leisure time, if our vacations aren't spectacular, if the children must share their bedrooms, I think we will all be the better for it. As my decorator friend says: Less is More.
And if we want a large family, doesn't it make sense to take a child from an orphanage, who would never know the love of a mother and father and the riotous joy of an army of siblings? I once read a terribly sad report from Unicef on the plight of children growing up without families. The world is full of them, sleeping on pavements, working long hours for scant wages, at the mercy of any and all potential abusers. One time I saw a picture of abandoned little children sleeping on the floor of the airport in Singapore. And airline passengers stepping around them, unconcerned. One shouldn't be unconcerned, right? Yes, money given in charity does a world of good, but one child given a family is also a whole world of good.

Me and our youngest