This painting by Greg Olsen is one of my favorites. It's titled "Be Not Afraid", and it gives me courage and inspiration whenever I look at it...especially when I hear comments like this:

"Eleven years old? That's the age where I start to want to get rid of my boys! I can't imagine bringing home an 11 year old boy!"

That's what a friend told me when I announced our adoption to her, and I assure you she wasn't alone in her comments. I heard quite a few along those lines... more

Just had to share our extended family's joy with all of you that our new niece, Makenna, is home! She arrived with her parents late Wednesday night a bit tired and jetlagged but every bit as beautiful as you saw in her previous pictures.

As we were anxiously waiting, a woman who had been on the same flight and saw her brothers holding a "Welcome Home Makenna! We love you!" sign, walked past and said, "I already saw... more

part 4

After we left the classroom, the kids played outside on the playground for a bit and Caleb chose to be rather obnoxious. Everything was "my school was better", "our playground was bigger", "we had flowers and they don't", "we had more exercise equipment", etc. Taylor decided to put him in his place and said via our guide, "Well, their English was sure a lot better than yours." Caleb thought that... more

part 3

Our first stop was an elementary school that was in the neighborhood of the hutong that we were pedaling through. This was the best part of the tour, because we were able to visit a fourth grade classroom. Since Caleb was in fourth grade in China as well, it was nice to see what his education might have been like.

About five children stood and spoke for us in English and it was very cute... more

Before I was distracted by the politics involved with the destruction of hutongs in Bejing I was starting to tell you about our own hutong tour. I had this blog half done only to have Internet Explorer crash on me before I had hit save, which did not make me a happy camper. Let's try take two...

part 1

part 2

January 12, 2007 With Jeff staying back at the... more

I know it isn't just hormones...these pictures made me cry this morning when I pulled them up on my email. I wrote a post here about Makenna, my new niece who will be coming home from China next week with my brother-in-law and sister-in-law.

I just got pictures this morning from my brother-in-law and I think she is the most beautiful baby in the whole world! She is doing very well and even gave her new mom kisses! I can hardly wait... more

Part 1

Sadly, other than the hutongs that have been preserved for tours, many of them are being torn down in the name of modernization. There are pros and cons to Beijing having the Olympics in 2008. I like to think that having the Olympics there will open the country to more scrutiny from outsiders and that perhaps some of their human rights issues will improve. One of the huge cons in my mind, however, is that the hutongs and siheyuans or courtyards that comprise the hutongs are being torn down and hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced.

I'd... more

January 12, 2007

Since Alyssa was running a fever and feeling just generally awful all over, Jeff volunteered to stay at the hotel with her and read a book while the rest of us went on the hutong tour in Beijing this morning. It was probably a very wise choice as she slept most of the day away. Before we left for China, people told my children that they were going on the trip of a lifetime; one they would always remember. I'm sure Alyssa will always remember this trip, but I'm not so sure it will be with the fond memories... more

"One plus God is sufficient." This is an idea that was shared with me at a church meeting this week and one that has caused me to ponder.

When David slew Goliath, the odds seemed to be against David. He was small, a mere shepherd boy--not a trained soldier, and he didn't even have any armor the right size to protect himself. All he had was a slingshot and 3 small stones. He had God on his side, however, and one plus God is sufficient.

When we decided to pursue all three of our adoptions, it was with nudging... more

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

When we arrived at the bottom of the toboggan run, these two men were dressed up as Mongols and wanted to take a picture with you. Of course there was a fee. 10 yuan. After you took the photo, they clarified that they wanted 10... more