Oh good god!! I posted the wrong link!! ACK! I meant to post this one!!!
http://www.cnn.com/video/player/player.html?url=/video/world/2007/02/19/vause.china.lost.in.translation.cnn
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Happy President's Day!!
Allo!
Just thought you'd like to celebrate with a little quiz! :-) Oh yeah, we are not neglecting Chinese New Year!!! We are celebrating Tuesday night and I will post pictures of our dinner and celebration!!
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Friday, February 9, 2007
My Stuff a Friend site
Hey everyone! After talking with my friend Sharon about her Stuff to Love site, she convinced me that I could set one up too. So I did! I had purchased 3 animals from Sharon and loved them so I decided it was worth a shot. I'm not trying to get anyone to buy anything. But...hey, if I can make a little extra money by doing this, then it's worth a try. :-) Here's the direct link or you can click on my tab on the right that says, "Melissa's Stuff a Friend"
http://www.stuffafriend.biz/members/chopsticks_n_eggrolls/
Cheers!
http://www.stuffafriend.biz/members/chopsticks_n_eggrolls/
Cheers!
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
Wagner in Chinese?
I found this really cool website that changes English names into Chinese. I thought it was pretty cool so I translated our family. Here's the link if you want to try! http://www.chinesenames.org/
WAGNER
JULIA
WAGNER
WAYNE
MELISSA
CAMERON
ANNA (Annie)
JULIATuesday, February 6, 2007
Give a little bit...
I've been hearing the Goo Goo Dolls version of this song so I decided to download it, not knowing there was an ORIGINAL version by Supertramp. Soooo...I downloaded that one too!
GIVE A LITTLE BIT
Give a little bit
Give a little bit of your love to me
Give a little bit
I'll give a little bit of my love to you
There's so much that we need to share
Send a smile and show you care
I'll give a little bit
I'll give a little bit of my life for you
So give a little bit
Give a little bit of your time to me
See the man with the lonely eyes
Take his hand, you'll be surprised
Give a little bit
Give a little bit of your love to me
I'll give a little bit of my life for you
Now's the time that we need to share
So find yourself, we're on our way back home
...going home...
...don't you need to feel at home...
...oh yeah, we gotta sing
GIVE A LITTLE BIT
Give a little bit
Give a little bit of your love to me
Give a little bit
I'll give a little bit of my love to you
There's so much that we need to share
Send a smile and show you care
I'll give a little bit
I'll give a little bit of my life for you
So give a little bit
Give a little bit of your time to me
See the man with the lonely eyes
Take his hand, you'll be surprised
Give a little bit
Give a little bit of your love to me
I'll give a little bit of my life for you
Now's the time that we need to share
So find yourself, we're on our way back home
...going home...
...don't you need to feel at home...
...oh yeah, we gotta sing
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Swimming and more Snow!
I loved this picture of Julia sleeping in Wayne's chair.
Cam saying hello from underwater!
Julia and her Poppa in the hottub.
Anna and the goggles!!!
A very snowy Riley Jean!
A just as snowy Wayne!
Wayne snowblowing with our mini-snowblower!
A side view of the house with Riley as it's snowing.
A view of the neighbor's house (looking east).
Monday, January 29, 2007
Saturday, January 27, 2007
MADE IN CHINA...an adoptive mom's view
Made in China
What do those 3 words mean to you? Do they represent inexpensive products that don’t work very well? Does it mean jobs lost to a country that can provide cheaper labor? Do you grow tired of seeing it on everyday items you use? I have encountered people who throw out comments about China without knowing that I have a daughter who was “Made in China”. They comment about all the junk that is poorly or cheaply made, they talk about American jobs that went overseas because ‘those people will work for nothing’, some even go as far as to derogatory words to describe Asian or Chinese people or culture.
Well, “Made in China” means something totally different me. When I think of China, I think of a very friendly country where everyone was curious about why we were in there and when they found out they were very grateful. When I think of China, I think of the all the beautiful buildings and architecture. I think of a country where people are very proud of whom they are and work very hard. “Made in China” isn’t a bad thing, I want my daughter to grow up being proud of her “Made in China” title. I want her to understand the struggles and the ability to over come those struggles that her birth country has endured. Having grown up in a country where freedom is an everyday luxury, I can say that I don’t always agree with how China has treated its people or the situation that lead us to adopting one of their beautiful children. However, I do feel as though it’s important for Julia to know where she came from and what her birth country is all about. For now we can sugarcoat the stark reality of how she came to be our daughter. I have no desire to tell her the honest truth about why she was abandoned or why her birth family chose to give her up. I can speculate and put my spin as to why she was left at the gate of the orphanage. There will come a time when she wants to know and we will give her the truth about the one child policy, about how children with special needs are viewed in China, about the financial situation of most average Chinese families. Those are some tough topics and I can only ask for the guidance and strength to know what to say when the time comes. Who knows, maybe things will change and ideas of the past will only be just that….the past. Wouldn’t it be great for children in China to no longer be abandoned, for there to no longer be a need for orphanages or foster care, for there no longer to be a need for international adoptions? Alas, it is only a dream for now.
So the next time you see “Made in China” on something in your home, think of Julia; think of what a beautiful country China is and what China means to her. Think of China as a place where the osmanthus flowers grow, where buildings are decorated in the brightest hues of red and blue, where our precious daughter was born. I can only hope that in her lifetime that the perception of the “Made in China” labels will be something to be proud of.
Xie Xie (Thank you)
What do those 3 words mean to you? Do they represent inexpensive products that don’t work very well? Does it mean jobs lost to a country that can provide cheaper labor? Do you grow tired of seeing it on everyday items you use? I have encountered people who throw out comments about China without knowing that I have a daughter who was “Made in China”. They comment about all the junk that is poorly or cheaply made, they talk about American jobs that went overseas because ‘those people will work for nothing’, some even go as far as to derogatory words to describe Asian or Chinese people or culture.
Well, “Made in China” means something totally different me. When I think of China, I think of a very friendly country where everyone was curious about why we were in there and when they found out they were very grateful. When I think of China, I think of the all the beautiful buildings and architecture. I think of a country where people are very proud of whom they are and work very hard. “Made in China” isn’t a bad thing, I want my daughter to grow up being proud of her “Made in China” title. I want her to understand the struggles and the ability to over come those struggles that her birth country has endured. Having grown up in a country where freedom is an everyday luxury, I can say that I don’t always agree with how China has treated its people or the situation that lead us to adopting one of their beautiful children. However, I do feel as though it’s important for Julia to know where she came from and what her birth country is all about. For now we can sugarcoat the stark reality of how she came to be our daughter. I have no desire to tell her the honest truth about why she was abandoned or why her birth family chose to give her up. I can speculate and put my spin as to why she was left at the gate of the orphanage. There will come a time when she wants to know and we will give her the truth about the one child policy, about how children with special needs are viewed in China, about the financial situation of most average Chinese families. Those are some tough topics and I can only ask for the guidance and strength to know what to say when the time comes. Who knows, maybe things will change and ideas of the past will only be just that….the past. Wouldn’t it be great for children in China to no longer be abandoned, for there to no longer be a need for orphanages or foster care, for there no longer to be a need for international adoptions? Alas, it is only a dream for now.
So the next time you see “Made in China” on something in your home, think of Julia; think of what a beautiful country China is and what China means to her. Think of China as a place where the osmanthus flowers grow, where buildings are decorated in the brightest hues of red and blue, where our precious daughter was born. I can only hope that in her lifetime that the perception of the “Made in China” labels will be something to be proud of.
Xie Xie (Thank you)
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Love
I was reading Cindy Champnella's book "The Waiting Child" awhile back and found this quote from another adoptive mom. I loved it and wanted to share it.
"Love is mighty powerful thing to fight. I have loved, been loved and been in love. The one thing I know about love is that either it wins or you're miserable. There is no compromising love. There is no 'make a deal' with love. It wins or you lose. Love is not logical. Love doesn't care if boys like wiggly things. Love is not practical. Love doesn't care if you have the money or not. Love is not reasonable. Love doesn't care if you have the time or the energy or not. Love doesn't care if you are already exhausted. It doesn't care who needs therapy. It doesn't care how full or dirty your house is. Love doesn't care if you are old or afraid. How can you fight love and hope to win?"
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
A real grass roots campaign
The kids and I have started a campaign to convince Wayne that we need a little brother from China. My mom got the kids these Grass Head people for Christmas and then we added the signs to them. :-) A friend of mine said hopefully Wayne doesn't get us a little Grass Head brother!
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
The starfish story revisited
Way back in May of 2005 (has it been that long?!) I posted a entry about the starfish story. I was thinking it was a good time to bring that back and repost it. Enjoy!
There was a young man walking down a deserted beach just before dawn. In the distance he saw a frail old man. As he approached the old man, he saw him picking up stranded starfish and throwing them back into the sea. The young man gazed in wonder as the old man again and again threw the small starfish from the sand to the water. He asked, "Old man, why do you spend so much energy doing what seems to be a waste of time." The old man explained that the stranded starfish would die if left in the morning sun. "But there must be thousands of beaches and millions of starfish!" exclaimed the young man. "How can you make any difference?"The old man looked at the small starfish in his hand and as he threw it to the safety of the sea, he said, "It makes a difference to this one!".
Author unknown
There was a young man walking down a deserted beach just before dawn. In the distance he saw a frail old man. As he approached the old man, he saw him picking up stranded starfish and throwing them back into the sea. The young man gazed in wonder as the old man again and again threw the small starfish from the sand to the water. He asked, "Old man, why do you spend so much energy doing what seems to be a waste of time." The old man explained that the stranded starfish would die if left in the morning sun. "But there must be thousands of beaches and millions of starfish!" exclaimed the young man. "How can you make any difference?"The old man looked at the small starfish in his hand and as he threw it to the safety of the sea, he said, "It makes a difference to this one!".
Author unknown
Friday, January 12, 2007
Congrats to Tim and Kristy!!!
I wanted to do a quick shout out to our friends Kristy and Tim in Denver. They just got PA (pre-approval) for their son, Dawson. Kristy and I have become quick friends as they are using AAI to adopt Dawson. What an exciting time for their family!!
The Dash Movie
Just wanted to pass this along. Our pastor had talked about, "What are you doing with your dash?" a few months back. Enjoy the little movie and think about the meaning.
http://thedashmovie.com/
Much love!
Melissa
http://thedashmovie.com/
Much love!
Melissa
Thursday, January 11, 2007
And you thought your drive was bad!!
The M25, central London, the Autobahn...if you thought these roads were traffic-congested then take a look at this picture. Hundreds of cars queue aimlessly for the chance to actually get to their destination in Xiamen, south China.
The country has experienced a massive increase this year in the sale of cars, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers
The country has experienced a massive increase this year in the sale of cars, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers
Anna and the earrings!
Here she is!! Anna got her ears pierced over Christmas break. Please don't mind the lip fungus. She struggles with it constantly! Everything is good, she's on meds for it. But don't ya love the earrings???
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Saturday, January 6, 2007
The best quote of 2007
This is from a friend of mine from one of my adoption groups. I love it and wanted to share it with all of you!
We don't adopt perfect children. We adopt children who are perfect to us. We fix what we can and love what we can't fix.
We don't adopt perfect children. We adopt children who are perfect to us. We fix what we can and love what we can't fix.
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