Trick or Treat

Begging for candy

It takes a real man to be a flower....isn't he tutu cute!!

These 5 are together most of the time. They are the best of friends. I am enjoying this year so much. I love it when they are all over the house, laughing and having fun. After they begged for candy they decided to watch a scary movie together. They are great kids, I am so blessed Hayden has such wonderful friends.

What will Hayden do without his girls???

Katie plans to go to Rice University and become a pediatrics physician, she said she will be Vivi Jo's doctor. Erica loves fashion and has an eye for style(can't you tell by the hair), she is thinking about going to Chicago to a fashion school. Caitlin will also be leaving Hayden, she is going to the University of Georgia and plans to be a cheerleader. She is the best I have ever seen so I'm sure she will make the cheer team.

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Austin, Hayden, Katie, and Caitlin

FAVORITE FOTO FRIDAY

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Lil Miss Britney

This picture was taken when she was about 8 years old. It is one of my favorites. I love this girl so much, she was amazing at 8 and is amazing at 23. I am so blessed to be her mom.

FAVORITE FOTO FRIDAY

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Mark's One of a Kind Haircut

When Mark was in 3rd grade Nike was the big thing. Nike shoes, Nike shorts, Nike shirts, we decided we would take it a little farther so we had Nike hair. I have always cut my boys hair and one day Mark decided he wanted something different, so we decided to shave a Nike check out of the back of his head. This caught on like you wouldn't believe. Kids were going to their hair dresser asking for the Nike check. There was an entire baseball team that all the boys had a Nike check shaved in the back of there head. I think we should have sent pictures and maybe we could have made a little $$$ for endorsing Nike.

Traditions and Terms

IMPORTANT TRADITIONS AND TERMS FOUND IN THE CHINESE ADOPTION COMMUNITY:

• The Red Thread - " An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place, or circumstance. the thread may stretch or tangle, but will never break." - An ancient Chinese belief.
• Ladybugs - Believed to be good luck in the adoption community. One spring while everyone waited for their referrals, there was a hugh infiltration of ladybugs across the nation and immediately following these sightings a flood of referrals came. Or so the story goes... We personally do not really feel that there is such a thing as "luck", but only what God provides for our lives.
• 100 Good Wishes Quilt - To welcome and celebrate a new life, there is a tradition in the northern part of China to make a Bai Jia Bei, or "100 Good Wishes Quilt." It is a custom to invite 100 people to contribute a single square patch of cloth. The 100 patches are sewn together into a quilt that contains the luck, enegry, and good wishes from all the families and friends who contributed a piece if fabric. The quilt is then passed down from generation to generation. ( waiting families often collect the wishes along with a sample of each fabric square into a scrapbook for their new child.)
• Dossier - The set of documents that represents the adopted family. It includes the medical reports, birth certificates, employment verification letters, police clearances, financial statements, home study, ect.
• DTC - Dossier to China.
• LID - Log in date. This is the milestone day when the Chinese government logs in the receipt of a dossier to adopt a child. This represents the end of the "paperchase" and they beginning of 'the wait" for a referral of a child by th Chinese government.
• CCAA - China Center if Adoption Affairs. That's where the dossiers are processed and the children, who live in China's SWI's (Social Welfare Institutions) and/or foster care, are matched with families.
• Referral - Notification from the CCAA that they have matched a family with a child. Referral information usually includes the child's chinese name, date of birth, height/weight, a medical report, one or more photographs, and a few notes about the child's nature.
• LOI - Letter of Intent. This is a letter that the adoptive family writes to China stating their intent to adopt a child on the waiting Child list.
• PA - Pre-Approval. This is what the family receives from China after they have reviewed the LOI from the adoptive family. It means they give the family pre-approval to adopt the child.
• TA - Travel Approval. This is received when China gives the family travel approval to come to China to bring home their child.
• WC - Waiting Child. A child is put on a WC list because of a medical condition or age.
• HS - Home Study. A home study is done by a licensed social worker who says whether a family is capable of adopting a child.

FAVORITE FOTO FRIDAY

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Hayden Takes His Vitamins

One morning while I was taking Britney and Mark to school, Paul and Hayden thought they would give me a laugh. I walked through the door and there was my 4 year old Hayden the size of a 40 year old man. Hayden was holding a bottle and said Mom I remembered to take my vitamins. Paul had stood him on a stool, Hayden was standing on the waist of the pants, shoes at the feet and Paul's robe wrapped around him. I laughed and laughed. Hayden was an actor from an early age. I never knew what to expect out of those two.

Psalms 127:3

Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him.

4 MONTHS!!!!

4 months since our LID......who knows how many more to go. But we are 4 months closer to holding our baby girl!!! And the thought of that makes me smile :-)

FAVORITE FOTO FRIDAY

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Hayden and Mark

My boys! I was so happy to get this picture, Hayden went to the Texas Tech / A&M football game with Austin and his parents and Mark and some of his friends drove to College Station to the game. He goes to school at Tech. They called and met up, they haven't seen each other since mid summer and Mark won't be coming home until Thanksgiving, so they were really glad to spend

time together. I sent the camera with Hayden and gave him instructions to take lots of pictures. It's so good to see pictures of Mark, he looks so good. It makes me miss him that much more. I can't wait to have him home during Thanksgiving break. I plan to spoil him big time and cook all his favorites.

Psalm 139:13-16

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were were written in your book before one of them came to be.

Why China?

People ask.......

Why China???

Because that's where our

daughter is!!!!

Quilt Letter

100 Good Wishes Quilt

While we are waiting for our daughter, Vivi Jo, I am working on a project with which we need your assistance. I am creating a "100 Good Wishes Quilt."
What is a 100 Good Wishes Quilt?
A quilt made to welcome and celebrate a new life, there is a tradition in the northern part of China to make a Bai Jia Bei, or 100 Good Wishes Quilt. It is a custom to invite friends and family to contribute a patch of fabric along with a wish for the baby. The square for fabric goes into the quilt, and another smaller piece of the same fabric goes on a note card with a wish for the child. Then the note card will be placed into a memory book. The Chinese believe when the 100 pieces of fabric are sewn together, the quilt will contain the energy, luck, and good wishes from all the family and friends who contributed. The quilt will then be passed down from generation to generation.
I have made some changes to this Chinese tradition. I am calling it a "100 Blessings Quilt." Instead of writing wishes to our daughter we are asking for you to write blessings to her in the form of poetry, scripture, favorite quote or saying, or a note, as long or as short as you like, whatever your heart desires. When she is older and looks at her quilt and asks who gave a specific fabric square, we can go to her memory book and find the note card with the matching fabric and read what blessing was written to her and who wrote it. This is a way she will know how much she was loved and wanted, even before she was here, not only by her family but also from our friends and the community we live in. We love the idea of welcoming our daughter into our home with a quilt that holds the blessings from you.
Thank you, Paul and Kim

WHAT IS NEEDED:
1 - 12 inch square of washable fabric of your choosing, the fabric can be meaningful to you or just fabric you like, here are a few examples, Mark goes to Texas Tech so I will find Raider fabric for him, my sister in-law loves cats, hers will probably have cats on it, or my nieces will probably pick their favorite color in polk-a-dots, or checks, it can be from clothes that you no longer wear that you just like the fabric. Make it easy on yourself. It is whatever you want.
On a note card, stationary, typing paper, ect. You can make it as elaborate or as simple as you like. Write your blessing and attach the matching piece of fabric. Please be sure to date and sign your name.

If you would like to participate, you can email me and I will give you my mailing address and telephone number.

kcles@suddenlink.net

Thank you for helping us with this project that our daughter will treasure for a lifetime.

When I start getting fabric squares, I will take pictures and post them.