Here’s Nadia’s first little “dance video” that Louanne just finished. It’s a little under two minutes, and I can’t stop laughing at it…and Nadia wants to watch it over and over again. Enjoy!
The Kind of Birthday I Like
I know everyone is used to Louanne posting, but I thought I’d take over for today.
Today is my birthday, and anyone who truly knows me knows that the last thing I want…ever…is to get presents or have attention brought to me. I have a great life, the best wife and daughter anyone could hope for, a great job making a decent living, and too many other blessings to list. I don’t need anything, and if I really want something I can afford to go buy it myself. The only thing I ever truly “want” is for children who need help to get the help they need. So, whenever someone wants to get me a present, I don’t hesitate to tell them that the BEST thing they could do for me…the thing that I would like the most…would be to take whatever money they were going to spend on me and help a child with it, like through World Vision or some other good charity. People frequently look at me strange when I say that, and I think they usually don’t really believe me, but it is true nonetheless.
So, that little bit of info about me will help you understand why a day like today is the kind of birthday I truly like. We are interested in getting involved with some charities or orphanages here in China, and we wanted to make sure that we visited at least one while we are here. So Louanne arranged for us to go to the New Day Foster Home today, just outside of Beijing. Our school helped us to arrange a driver to take us, and then the VP’s wife and little son decided to go too. We loaded up 400 diapers, a bunch of baby wipes, and my camera equipment and took off this morning for the 90 minute trip to get there. Louanne managed to come in contact with a couple of sets of parents who are waiting to adopt two children from there, so one of the things we hoped for was that we would be able to get some photos of their children for them. I know what those three little pictures of Nadia meant to me before we got her, so I really wanted to be able to get some picture for those waiting parents.
Anyway, the place is fantastic! They are doing a wonderful thing, and helping lots of children. Getting to see the children, play with them, take pictures of them, and get familiar with the place was wonderful. We won’t hesitate to sponsor their children or try to find other ways to help them in the future. Oh, and both of the children (Emma and Aaron) that the two couples are waiting to adopt were there–they are with foster parents, so there was no guarantee they would be there–so we got to take lots of pictures of them. Getting to take a bunch of picture to give to two waiting families made me very happy. Click on the picture at the top to see some of the pictures we took today. There are so many pictures of Emma and Aaron that I didn’t post all of them in that album; they have their own albums on our photo page: one for Emma and one for Aaron. There is also an album for another child called, Jade.
Later in the day after we got back to the apartment, and after Nadia had a much needed nap, we took her down to the playground that Louanne has visited and posted about a few times before. Nadia had a great time and orbited the whole playground like a little Sputnik for about an hour…and I got a lot of great pictures of her (click the top picture below to see the set).
So, all and all, this was probably one of the best birthdays I’ve ever had, because it wasn’t about me. I got to see some great kids, found a new charity worth supporting, got to do something for some waiting parents, and got a bunch of pictures of the greatest baby in the world, whom I’m privileged to have as my daughter. What more could I ask for? I can’t think of anything better.
…and Louanne just reminded me that food has to be mentioned in every post, so…after leaving the playground we stopped by the New York House again to grab some awesome burgers and fries to go.
There, that should cover it.
Nadia Goes Mobile!
We’ve had Nadia four months now, and it has been about the most wonderful four months of our lives. She has come a long way in that time, from not being able to sit up on her own to walking. When we got her she was nine months old, but from a mobility standpoint she was only at about five to six months equivalent in development. In the first month she caught up to most children her age, and now at thirteen months she even exceeds most of the “norms” for her age. What a blessing! She’s now a little monkey running around everywhere…we couldn’t be happier.
Here’s a nine minute video of her three-and-a-half month journey to walking. We hope you enjoy it.
Our Guide in China
This is Michael holding Nadia just before we left China. Michael is the guide provided by our agency, Great Wall China Adoption. I don’t know what GWCA pays their guides, but it he earned every penny of it. He was invaluable every step of the way. Not only did he get all of us wherever we needed to be at any moment, but he managed all of the many procedures and bureaucracy that we had to go through while there, constantly getting the appropriate documents from us to translate them if necessary and get them where they needed to be…and he even found time to take us on tours, order pizza for families when they wanted it, take me on a funny two-hour adventure to get a Chinese laptop, and a host of other things. We are definitely thankful for his help and don’t know if we could have got through it all without him.
Mike