Once In A Blue Moon

There's a blue moon this year on New Year's Eve


What are the chances of a blue moon and our log in date both occurring on New Year's Eve?


Log In Date: 12-31-2009
 New Year's Eve!

What a wonderful way 
to begin the new year

2010

Video Update!

December 26, 2009

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Fun times on the slide at KFC

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Like cold water to a weary soul is good news from a distant land.

She Smiles!!!

Mei Mei and the Colonel

One thing we know for certain about our little girl...

She loves French Fries...

...and KFC!

We made a photo book with these photos

look how much we have in common

Jie Jie and Ge Ge like KFC too

Here she is, holding an empty carton,

down to her last french fry!

D.T.C.!

DTC

Documents To China

As of today the dossier we were compiling for the last several months is complete and on it's way to China. All the paper chasing and scrambling to get our dossier prepared is finally over!

If this is what it looks like outside today...

How can there be one of these on the wall across from my desk?

 Little ladybug on a snowy day

What's all the fuss about lady bugs?
In the China adoption community lady bugs are said to bring good luck!

You Must've Been A Beautiful Baby

Finding Ad Photo:

Since 1999, the orphanages in China are required to run a provincial newspaper advertisement for children that are found and brought to their orphanage. 

We call them "Finding Ads." 

These ads contain information about where and when the children were found and which orphanage is caring for them. 

Originally these were text-only ads, but most provinces now include photographs in their ads. These photographs are usually the earliest available pictures of the children, some from as young as a few weeks old.

The ads are placed in fairly small newspapers (usually police or legal papers) which have very small circulations. Each ad is published only once, and is contained in a group of ads from the same orphanage. Each orphanage publishes ads a few times a year. Since each orphanage publishes ads anywhere from two to six times a year, depending on size, it is possible for up to six months to go by before a found child's ad is published.

This could be the oldest photograph we will have of Chun Tian.

If you would like the finding ad for your child contact: 
www.research-china.org

A Little Song And Dance

Please join us for a performance in the park:

 Xiao Bai Tu 

"Little White Bunny"

by Tian Tian

xiǎo báitù, bái yòu bái

小   白兔,    白 又 白，

liǎng zhī ěrduǒ shù qǐlái

两    只   耳朵   竖   起来，

ài chī luóbo hé qīngcài

爱 吃  萝卜 和     青菜，

bèngbèng tiàotiào zhēn kěài

 蹦  蹦      跳 跳    真    可爱

xiǎo báitù guāiguāi, bǎ mén kāikāi

小白兔乖乖，把门开开，

māma huílái, wǒ yào jìnlái

妈妈回来，我要进来，

kuàikāi kuàikāi kuàikuài kāi

快开快开快快开，

māma huílái le

妈妈回来了，

wǒ lái bǎ mén kāi

我来把门开。

English translation:

Little White Rabbit, white and white

With two ears standing up.

Loves eating carrots, loves eating cabbage,

Jumping around, so lovely.

My cute little white rabbit

open the door for me

Mom returns home, I will come on in

I will open the door in a hurry

Mom returns home,

I will open the door for you.


See the bunny ears?

Our precious bunny in the park

Liuzhou, October 31, 2009

Encore? 

Click Link Below:

http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XOTQxNDA0NjA=.html

Enjoying Autumn

Sweet Inspiration

Meet our lovely niece
and her beautiful Mommy 

Soon she will have a new cousin named Tian Tian

How very special for our families 

Why do we mention these people in particular, when there are so many friends and relatives waiting to meet Tian Tian?

Our niece's story was an inspiration to us and sparked the beginning of Tian Tian's journey home.

"The ancestor of every action is thought". 

Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Waiting Child

I saw you meet your child today
You kissed your baby joyfully
And as you walked away with him
I played pretend you'd chosen me.

I'm happy for the baby yet inside

I'm aching miserably
I want to plead as you go by,
"Does no one want a child of three?"

I saw you meet your child today
In love with him before you met
And as I watched you take him out
I knew it wasn't my turn yet.

I recognize you from last year!
I knew I'd seen your face before!
But you came for a second babe.
Does no one want a child of four?

I saw you meet your child today
But this time there was something new
A nurse came in and took MY hand
And then she gave my hand to you.

Can this be true?  I'm almost five!
And there are infants here you see?
But then you kissed me and I knew
The child you chose this time was me.

By Debbie Bodie

Where In Guangxi Is She?

Click Link Below:

http://english.liuzhou.gov.cn/vof/

Tian Tian lives in the south of China,

in the Guangxi province,

(Gwang-She)

in the city of Liuzhou

(Lee-Ooo-Joe)

Guangxi province

GUANGXI PROVINCE is home of famous limestone formation of Guilin and several ethnic minorities. Situated north of Vietnam and east of the Yunnan Province, it for the most part is rural and poor. Some people still live in caves. Farms are worked with water buffalo, horses and non-mechanical water pumps. Children swim naked in the rivers. The whole region is very green the year round. Han Chinese outnumber the local ethnic groups in Guangxi. 

Guangxi Province

City of Guilin

There is a saying in China that the mountains and waters of Guilin are the best under heaven. As far as the eye can see in all directions are limestone formations riddled with caves, covered with lush vegetation and shaped like animals, mythical beasts and other objects. Weaving through the cliffs and rocks are placid rivers and streams surrounded by a patchwork of farms, rice paddies, villages and ponds. The otherworldly beauty of the region was showcased in the movie the Joy Luck Club . 

The Guilin area is is one of the most beautiful places in the entire world. 

 City of Liuzhou

Liuzhou, also named the Dragon City (it is said in folklores that eight dragons appeared in the Liujiang River), is a comprehensive territorial city center and communication hinge with industry as its pillar industry as well as a historical and cultural city commanding unique sceneries. 

Liuzhou is an industry base in southwest China.

By late 2007, the number of companies and factories in the Liuzhou city has amounted to 2,875, including 9 large-sized industrial companies, 651 companies with certain scale and 5 listed companies (Liuzhou Machinery, Liuzhou Chemicals, LMZ, Youlian and Liuzhou Steel). Now a complete industry system dominated by automobile, machinery, metallurgy and supported by chemical industry, sugar refining, paper making, medicine, building material and chemical etc has been in form. There are four name-brand products (LMZ toothpaste, Liugang Loader, Wangshan Sugar, Golden Sea stannum), three well-known trademarks (LMZ toothpaste, Golden Throat lozenge, Huahong pharmacy). Automobile is the first pillar industry in Liuzhou. Leading automotive producers like GM, Nissan, Saicgroup, DFAC, and FAW etc have invested in Liuzhou for business cooperation. Liuzhou has been a national manufacturing center of automobile spare parts as well as a national export base of automobile and spare parts. 

Introducing Our Daughter and Little Sister !

My Name is

Liu Chun Tian,

and everyone calls me Tian Tian,

pronounced 'Tee-ehn Tee-ehn'

I have always had very cute eybrows

.

I've been living with my foster parents

for two years.

I have a foster sister too, 

she's 27 years old.

My foster sister gave me the red necklace I'm wearing 

with the jade charm on it.

These photos were taken about a year ago.

Now I'm about 3 years old.

Here I am wearing my favorite Teletubby dress

Look, it's the same dress,

just a little shorter on me now

I live in the south of China,

in the Guangxi Province,

in the city of Liuzhou.

(You can see I do not typically smile and say "cheese" for the camera, but I do like to smile and laugh a lot).

I am a little shy at first. 

I really like to play with 

other kids, especially older kids.

I also love music and most of all I really like to go to my preschool. On the weekends I grab my shoes and put them next to the door, hoping someone will take me to school.

I love to shop and pick out my own food at the market.

I love to go down the slide at the park.

See you soon