My friend shared her childhood dream with all of us. When she was a teenager, she would dream of people leaving babies on her doorstep. Quite often, when she awoke in the morning she would run to the front door and open it to check. Of course, no one ever left a baby on her doorstep; she didn’t live in a convent or an orphanage. Now she has six children between the ages of 20 and eight, two through the miracle of adoption. Recently, her sixteen-year-old daughter shared a dream with her. Mom, we need to go to an orphanage and take care of children. Of course,... more

The day before we received Ai Rong (Gracie), we decided to eat at an authentic Chinese restaurant in China. I had no idea what to order since all the items were written in Chinese. I decided, hey I like chicken. I’ll have sesame chicken. I told the waiter I would like chicken and he replied, “Oh, we have no chicken,” (because of the bird flu) in his Chinese accent. I looked at my dad and he could tell I had no idea what to order. I also love fried shrimp. Ah! The shrimp with its cornbread crust over it. I knew that was what I wanted so I ordered... more

When we flew to China, uh, the plane trip was so long and boring. I could not fall asleep and when I did sleep, it was either for a few hours, or when I was really tired, I fell asleep on the edge of the armrest… when it was still up! I ended up waking up to a dent in my head! When I could not sleep, I was able to watch some of the in-flight movies and TV channels but I still longed for something to do. Fortunately, I pack my backpack for the long twenty-nine-hour journey through airports and airplanes.

Before we headed off to China, I packed some things... more

China. It was a place like no other. I am a photoholic so I took photos in China everywhere we went.

In this photo, we were in a park called Friendship Garden. All around this park were many people and many statues like this one here. I remember in this park, there was Chinese karaoke and the man and woman who sang were horrible! But it was so funny! It’s amazing how one picture can bring back so many memories.

I strongly encourage you to bring a camera to your sibling's birth country if you are able to go. If you aren’t, ask your parents... more