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

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.”

On August 26, 2009, we submitted a 

Letter of Intent 

to the China Center of Adoption Affairs;

In a nutshell, the Letter of Intent says: 

"Please give us pre-approval to adopt Liu Chun Tian into our home and hearts, 

we promise to take care of her and love her and we will never abandon her"...

(If only you will say yes.......and grant us the waiver we require...

since we are married for only one year and you require five years in our circumstances...)

Then I took off to Chicago for a few days to spend some time 

with Jakey and Ava Rose before school started...

We saw the dolphins at Shedd's Aquarium

And while we were watching a performance of 

Cirque Shanghai on Navy Pier...

...something incredible was happening...

...back in the hotel room I checked my email 

and saw this note from our agency:

Dear Marla: 


Guess? I just received your PA!! 


Congratulations! 


Xiaoqing

Pre-Approval!