I love this photo. I loved it the first time I saw it almost 15 years ago in an LDS church magazine for youth in their teenage years, and love it even more now that it resembles my own family photo. I have it in poster size in my home and have "getting it framed and on the wall" on my list of 1,000 things to do.

If you can't read the print clearly, it says, "God created the races, but not racism. We are all children of the same Father. Violence and hatred have no place in His family." (See Acts 10:34)

You can google... more

"I can't speak English." "I won't speak English". I don't have to speak English." "I hate English".

That is what we have heard --although stated in Chinese--pretty much since the day we met Caleb. He told our guides, he has told Chinese friends here in America, and even told the Mandarin speaking doctor whom we hunted down for him. He told us via our guides in China that English was his worst subject in school and that he saw no need to use it or speak it. They in turn told him that he... more

Caleb has been teaching me quite a few Mandarin words as he points to things we are eating or using and tells me the word and says "Putonghua" which means that he is telling me the word in Mandarin. We play a CD in the computer together where it is Chinese immersion and teaches fun words such as food vocabulary, parts of the body, numbers, colors, etc. through games. The game will tell me four words such as four colors and then repeat one, asking me to choose which one is the correct color. To brag about myself, I don't do too badly...as long as I have just heard the word a few seconds earlier. I am frequently rewarded with a "Good job, Mama!" and a high five. Ask me to repeat it with the... more

part 1

One of our members is the leader for Roots and Shoots-- an ecology focused organization--for our group. For their valentines, her family passed out a snack sized ziploc bag with a peat moss pellet, a gourd seed, a Hershey's kiss, and instructions for planting the seed.

I was explaining to Caleb and Ben on the way home how we would wet the pellet, put the seed in it, etc., and they became very excited. As we were chatting, I heard a dismayed sounding "Uh-oh" from the back seat. Micheline seemed upset and when I asked her what was wrong, she said, "I don't have a seed in my bag." I asked her... more

Caleb experienced his first Valentine's Day in America, and it has been an eye-opening experience for both of us. We've been working on valentines for quite a few days now since we belong to a homeschooling group of families who have adopted from China, and were participating in a valentines exchange of 36 valentines via the U.S. mail. Unlike Ben and Micheline who fizzled out pretty fast, Caleb worked long and hard on his valentines and proudly showed me each one when it was finished.

We also belong to a local homeschooling... more

Erin, on the transracial adoption blog has a category of Wednesday Funnies. I love her stories, so I decided that I would start one called Friday Funnies. It's the end of the week, we're all tired, and I thought readers would enjoy something light on Fridays.

We are starting the phase where Caleb is now trying to speak English, but with his accent, I am not sure whether it is Chinese or English.... more

"What soap is to the body, laughter is to the soul." Yiddish proverb

Ever have one of those days where you say "I will look back on this and laugh someday?" You might as well go ahead and start laughing now, because in my experience, laughter truly does cleanse the soul.

When you and your child don't speak the same language, the frustration level in your home can become rather high and lead to meltdowns. Your child might even have a meltdown as well! :)

Seriously,... more

I have been asked if there are any experiences that Caleb has had since coming to America that have caused him to become wide-eyed with amazement. He relished his first trip to McDonald's, his first airplane flight seemed to be pretty exciting, and he loved the Great Wall, but those all happened within China.

When we adopted Ben he was excited about pretty much everything. Even buying a banana on the streets of Wuhan was like an out-of-body experience for him. As you can see in the photo, it doesn't take much... more

“A, B, C, D, E, F, G” he says…and then there is a hesitation as he draws an H in the air.

“H”, I tell him.

“OK, Mama, H…H san”, he tells me with the number 3 spoken in Chinese with a giggle.

“Awww….hit and sunk!” I say, which causes him to giggle even more.

This was the conversation at my dining room table last night as I played Battleship with Caleb, my son who has only been home here from China for two weeks. He knows how to count to ten in English, but is teaching me how to count to ten in Mandarin.... more

Continue from easing language barriers part 6

We purchased a picture dictionary in China for Caleb to use because Jeff liked that it was in alphabetical order. The only problem was, it was in alphabetical order only in English. This will be great when Caleb knows more English and needs to look up a word, but right now, it is almost impossible for him to use unless he hunts through the pictures to find... more