Every once in a while, Leah will suddenly say something about China. Last week, when she came with me to pick the corn in the garden, she saw what it was and exclaimed, "Daddy, we had corn in China, I think!"
Yesterday, as we were sitting outside at the fruit stand in West Salem having peach shortcake and ice cream, Leah suddenly told me, out of the blue, "Daddy, there aren't any daddies in China."
She was obviously thinking about her life now, and her life then. Some gentle inquiries revealed that she was missing China, and her friends. We agreed that I would take her back to China some day when she was older, if she still wanted to go, but we also explained that many of her friends aren't in China any more - their families came and brought them home too!
We had a big snuggle tonight.
9/15/09
6/14/09
Gotcha Day - One Year Later
Tommorrow, June 15th, is Gotcha Day!
It's hard to believe that, a year ago, we were in Zhengzhou, China, nervously waiting for the next day to arrive.
The little girl who had never met us a year ago is now a part of our family as if she's always been here. The child who spoke no English last year is ready to start kindergarten in the fall. It's been an amazing year.
Here's a video I put together to celebrate Gotcha Day.
It's hard to believe that, a year ago, we were in Zhengzhou, China, nervously waiting for the next day to arrive.
The little girl who had never met us a year ago is now a part of our family as if she's always been here. The child who spoke no English last year is ready to start kindergarten in the fall. It's been an amazing year.
Here's a video I put together to celebrate Gotcha Day.
8/9/08
First month
Leah had a busy first month in her new home.
She continued to do an amazing job of adjusting to everything. She's a good sport and she fits right in.
Mid-July saw us traveling to Washington for a family reunion. We weren't sure before we brought Leah home that she would be ready for that, but after we saw how well she was doing we went. She did great and she had a blast. She got to swim, play with her cousins, swim, go tubing, and swim some more.
Did I mention that she got to swim? She's obviously related to her brothers because she LOVES the water like they do. She took a week of parent-tot swimming lessons and she's almost swimming by herself.
We camped one night on the way to Washington, and Leah thought it was a big adventure.
Leah got to visit the pediatrician, the eye doctor, the pediatric ENT doctor, and the doctor at OHSU's adoption medicine unit, and she got a clean bill of health. We have an appointment with the Craniofacial team at OHSU in October, where we'll find out what's in store for her in the future as far as surgeries, etc. for her cleft lip/palate.
Everyone wants to know how we communicate with her, and we can't explain it; we just do. By now she is understanding a good portion of what we say to her. She is speaking more English words every day, and she is putting some simple sentences together (i.e. "Leah swim!").
One of her biggest accomplishments has been overcoming her fear of dogs. The little girl who hugs and pets our chocolate lab is a far cry from the one who would scream at the sight of him a month ago.
Molly has been loving her time off, but it's going by too fast. We're going to try to get a couple more camping and boating trips in before the summer is over.
Some photos from July:
Making herself at home at Uncle Duane & Auntie Jen's house:
First time tubing:
Our water girl:
Grandpa Ed:
Grandma Vi:
Swimming lessons:
Bunny ears from the dress up box. She thought they were hilarious:
Her new best friend River:
She continued to do an amazing job of adjusting to everything. She's a good sport and she fits right in.
Mid-July saw us traveling to Washington for a family reunion. We weren't sure before we brought Leah home that she would be ready for that, but after we saw how well she was doing we went. She did great and she had a blast. She got to swim, play with her cousins, swim, go tubing, and swim some more.
Did I mention that she got to swim? She's obviously related to her brothers because she LOVES the water like they do. She took a week of parent-tot swimming lessons and she's almost swimming by herself.
We camped one night on the way to Washington, and Leah thought it was a big adventure.
Leah got to visit the pediatrician, the eye doctor, the pediatric ENT doctor, and the doctor at OHSU's adoption medicine unit, and she got a clean bill of health. We have an appointment with the Craniofacial team at OHSU in October, where we'll find out what's in store for her in the future as far as surgeries, etc. for her cleft lip/palate.
Everyone wants to know how we communicate with her, and we can't explain it; we just do. By now she is understanding a good portion of what we say to her. She is speaking more English words every day, and she is putting some simple sentences together (i.e. "Leah swim!").
One of her biggest accomplishments has been overcoming her fear of dogs. The little girl who hugs and pets our chocolate lab is a far cry from the one who would scream at the sight of him a month ago.
Molly has been loving her time off, but it's going by too fast. We're going to try to get a couple more camping and boating trips in before the summer is over.
Some photos from July:
Making herself at home at Uncle Duane & Auntie Jen's house:
First time tubing:
Our water girl:
Grandpa Ed:
Grandma Vi:
Swimming lessons:
Bunny ears from the dress up box. She thought they were hilarious:
Her new best friend River:
7/10/08
First week home
Leah's first week home was full of new things, and she did great.
The kids seemed to recover quickly, but Molly and I pretty much felt awful from jet lag for a few days after we got home.
Leah does NOT like River the dog or Shadow the cat; she pretty much melted down the first time she saw them. We're working on it, and she's slowly getting better.
She's definitely my daughter - she's very organized and likes to have everything in its place. Molly got out some crayons and coloring books for Leah and the boys the other day. The boys colored happily, but Leah spent most of the time going through the box of crayons and taking out the broken ones.
Leah has done great meeting new people. She's been to church and she and Mommy have been all about town since I went back to work.
She had one significant grieving spell a few days after we got home where she cried for 45 minutes. We'll see if that's it or if there's more to come.
She loves her room, and she loves girly things like shoes and clothes. She got her first pair of Nordstrom shoes within a few days of being home. I wish I'd taken a photo of her with her Nordstrom bag - I'm afraid it's the first of many.....
Some photos from Leah's first week at home:
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Her first breakfast at home, a healthy meal of Cookie Crisp:
Jet lag:
Clothes we brought home from China:
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Helping make Daddy's world-famous pancakes. Leah is telling us what to do:
First haircut from Cathy:
Saturday Market with Grandma Bonnie and Grandpa Bill:
Watching a concert by the South Salem High School Wind Ensemble, which will be performing at the Olympics in Beijing:
Picking Grandpa Ed's straw- berries:
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Independence Day as a U.S. citizen:
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With our friend Madison:
Leah giving directions on how Mommy should teach her to ride a bike:
Grandma Bonnie and Grandpa Bill:
The kids seemed to recover quickly, but Molly and I pretty much felt awful from jet lag for a few days after we got home.
Leah does NOT like River the dog or Shadow the cat; she pretty much melted down the first time she saw them. We're working on it, and she's slowly getting better.
She's definitely my daughter - she's very organized and likes to have everything in its place. Molly got out some crayons and coloring books for Leah and the boys the other day. The boys colored happily, but Leah spent most of the time going through the box of crayons and taking out the broken ones.
Leah has done great meeting new people. She's been to church and she and Mommy have been all about town since I went back to work.
She had one significant grieving spell a few days after we got home where she cried for 45 minutes. We'll see if that's it or if there's more to come.
She loves her room, and she loves girly things like shoes and clothes. She got her first pair of Nordstrom shoes within a few days of being home. I wish I'd taken a photo of her with her Nordstrom bag - I'm afraid it's the first of many.....
Some photos from Leah's first week at home:
.JPG)
Her first breakfast at home, a healthy meal of Cookie Crisp:
Jet lag:
Clothes we brought home from China:
.JPG)
Helping make Daddy's world-famous pancakes. Leah is telling us what to do:
First haircut from Cathy:
Saturday Market with Grandma Bonnie and Grandpa Bill:
Watching a concert by the South Salem High School Wind Ensemble, which will be performing at the Olympics in Beijing:
Picking Grandpa Ed's straw- berries:
.JPG)
Independence Day as a U.S. citizen:
.JPG)
With our friend Madison:
Leah giving directions on how Mommy should teach her to ride a bike:
Grandma Bonnie and Grandpa Bill:
6/8/08
We're leaving...
We are all packed. We'll leave home this afternoon at 6 pm, and we'll fly out of Portland at 9 pm tonight to Seattle, where we catch a flight at 2:10 am for Taipei, Taiwan.
As I write this, we will meet Leah in 7 days. Our Gotcha time is 1:30 am PDT on Sunday, June 15, which just happens to be Father's Day.
The boys are excited, we're excited, and Molly and I wonder what we're forgetting.....
As I write this, we will meet Leah in 7 days. Our Gotcha time is 1:30 am PDT on Sunday, June 15, which just happens to be Father's Day.The boys are excited, we're excited, and Molly and I wonder what we're forgetting.....
MORE documents
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We called upon our friend Tracy TWICE in the last couple of days to notarize the final documents that we'll need in China.
Although not as many as our dossier, there's still a big stack we'll be carrying with us.
Tracy was amazing. She was always willing to drop everything and spend an hour (or more) with us. On Friday, we realized that we had two more documents that needed to be notarized. Molly called Tracy and she came right over. She is one of many people we are so grateful to.
When we were done, we counted up all the signatures in Tracy's notary book. She has notarized 75 signatures for us over the course of the last year!
5/31/08
5/24/08
Stars
We have a white board in our office, and I've been using it to count the weeks, first for our Letter of Confirmation and then for our Travel Approval.
Molly was on the phone yesterday when Logan began drawing stars all around where I had written "TA."
When she got off the phone, Molly asked him what he was doing.
He replied, "That's how happy I am that our letter came!"
5/23/08
5/20/08
We have our Visas
Our Visas came today, so we're one more step closer.
Although unlikely, our Travel Approval could come this week; probably more likely will be next week or the week after.
Although unlikely, our Travel Approval could come this week; probably more likely will be next week or the week after.
Signing the visa applications:
5/18/08
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord...
A cool email from Kate at AGCI regarding God's perfect plans:
Hello China Families!!
Hui Chengli has found her family! This little girl was one of the 10 that the CCAA placed in our care in the beginning of April, and immediately we started to share her pictures and information with families on our waiting list.
She is a darling little girl and Tiffany and I (as we always do) thought, " of course she will find her family right away." But families looked over her medicals and considered her, and over and over they would tell me that this just wasn’t their daughter. In some cases that would be all that they could tell me…and, as in every case, I worried that the child will find a home.
Yesterday the family who had been considering Hui Chengli called me to tell me that she was theirs!!! I was so joyfully overwhelmed – the Lord has these things all figured out. Other families said no simply because she did not belong to them.
I don’t know when I will be able to hand to Him the protection that I want to hold over each of these children and believe that His love for them is greater than mine. His plan is greater - he would not have this girl with anyone but the family that He constructed for her.
There are days when I get to work and sit down at the computer, answer the phone, and process the paperwork, and even something as remarkable as adoption starts to feel “everyday.” But there are moments (and I was given one yesterday with this family's call) when I get to see a glimpse of the beautiful goodness of adoption and that the Lord is at work in all of these things.
As a word of encouragement, don’t every be worried about your placement on the waiting list; don’t fear that with this wait you will miss your child – The Lord has this all perfected orchestrated and you will be exactly where you need to be to meet your child at the most perfect time.
Thank you for walking with me in this journey.
Blessings to you all!!
Kate
Kate McDodson
China &Vietnam & Ethiopia Case Manager
All God's Children International
Hello China Families!!
Hui Chengli has found her family! This little girl was one of the 10 that the CCAA placed in our care in the beginning of April, and immediately we started to share her pictures and information with families on our waiting list.
She is a darling little girl and Tiffany and I (as we always do) thought, " of course she will find her family right away." But families looked over her medicals and considered her, and over and over they would tell me that this just wasn’t their daughter. In some cases that would be all that they could tell me…and, as in every case, I worried that the child will find a home.
Yesterday the family who had been considering Hui Chengli called me to tell me that she was theirs!!! I was so joyfully overwhelmed – the Lord has these things all figured out. Other families said no simply because she did not belong to them.
I don’t know when I will be able to hand to Him the protection that I want to hold over each of these children and believe that His love for them is greater than mine. His plan is greater - he would not have this girl with anyone but the family that He constructed for her.
There are days when I get to work and sit down at the computer, answer the phone, and process the paperwork, and even something as remarkable as adoption starts to feel “everyday.” But there are moments (and I was given one yesterday with this family's call) when I get to see a glimpse of the beautiful goodness of adoption and that the Lord is at work in all of these things.
As a word of encouragement, don’t every be worried about your placement on the waiting list; don’t fear that with this wait you will miss your child – The Lord has this all perfected orchestrated and you will be exactly where you need to be to meet your child at the most perfect time.
Thank you for walking with me in this journey.
Blessings to you all!!
Kate
Kate McDodson
China &Vietnam & Ethiopia Case Manager
All God's Children International
5/13/08
Earthquake update
Good morning all,
We do not have any specific news about the 5 children matched with our families, yet. Our staff and contacts in Beijing are working tirelessly to get the most up to date information for us and will pass it on as soon as they can.
We do know that after a 6.0 aftershock, the Chengdu orphanage was briefly evacuated but the children and staff are now in a safe area of the building. They have water and electricity but no natural gas so are finding it difficult to cook. They emergency crews are focusing on the epicenter that is 159 km west of Chengdu and so they have not yet reached the orphanage to restore the natural gas. They have experienced 1,950 aftershocks since the first quake hit. There have been 3 over 6.0 and 14 between 5 and 6 on the Richter scale. I am sure there will continue to be many more aftershocks.
We will keep you as updated as we can and will call the 5 families as soon as we hear about their individual children.
Please continue to hold all the people of the Sichuan province up in prayer, especially those close to the epicenter in Wenchuan County.
We are holding you and your children up to God!
Praying constantly,
Emily
Emily House, MA
China/Vietnam Program Director
We know of two organizations working specifically to provide relief supplies to the affected area of China. For more information, see Half the Sky and Love Without Boundaries.
We do not have any specific news about the 5 children matched with our families, yet. Our staff and contacts in Beijing are working tirelessly to get the most up to date information for us and will pass it on as soon as they can.
We do know that after a 6.0 aftershock, the Chengdu orphanage was briefly evacuated but the children and staff are now in a safe area of the building. They have water and electricity but no natural gas so are finding it difficult to cook. They emergency crews are focusing on the epicenter that is 159 km west of Chengdu and so they have not yet reached the orphanage to restore the natural gas. They have experienced 1,950 aftershocks since the first quake hit. There have been 3 over 6.0 and 14 between 5 and 6 on the Richter scale. I am sure there will continue to be many more aftershocks.
We will keep you as updated as we can and will call the 5 families as soon as we hear about their individual children.
Please continue to hold all the people of the Sichuan province up in prayer, especially those close to the epicenter in Wenchuan County.
We are holding you and your children up to God!
Praying constantly,
Emily
Emily House, MA
China/Vietnam Program Director
We know of two organizations working specifically to provide relief supplies to the affected area of China. For more information, see Half the Sky and Love Without Boundaries.
5/12/08
Earthquake
China experienced a 7.9 magnitude earthquake Monday afternoon (11:28 pm Sunday, PDT), centered in Chengdu, Sichuan province.
Chengdu is about 600 miles southwest of Luoyang, where Leah is.
The news reports that the earthquake was felt as far away as Hong Kong and Taiwan.
We've heard from both our agency and from the New Day coordinator in Luoyang that Leah is fine.
Here's Emily's email from AGCI:
Hello families,
Okay, a last ditch effort to reach Beijing before leaving the office was a success! Benjamin shared that the building where our office is swayed and that they felt in way up in Beijing. So far the destruction is centered around the epicenter with no damage outside of Sichuan Province. Benjamin assured me that the children are all safe in the other provinces.
Since we have one family in Chengdu right now we are sending the coordinator to the orphanage to check on the 5 kids that are matched with our families. I am hoping to have an update for you tomorrow. I will be in touch with our Chengdu families tomorrow by phone and the rest of you by email.
God is with you and your children!
Emily
Blessings,
Emily House, MA
China/Vietnam Program Director
Here's Mike's email from Luoyang:
Mark -
Everything is ok here, we felt some very minor tremors (level 1 or less)from the earthquake, the epicenter was more than 600 miles from Luoyang. As of now there are no reports of damage or casualties here in Henan.
Thanks for the concern and hope everything goes well with the upcoming travel.
Have a great day,
Mike
AGCI did have one family in Chengdu, and they are fine. Here's their report:
Hello Everyone,
We are ok and safe! We were at the Civil Affairs office and had just met Elijah when we felt the earthquake. At first no one knew what it was. When the Civil Affairs Officer figured it out, we all ran outside into the middle of the street. It lasted for a couple of minutes. It was definitely a bonding experience. I just grabbed Elijah and ran. He was screaming and crying, but eventually calmed down. The traffic was horrible while we drove back to the hotel. People were everywhere. No one was really panicking, but people were walking. When we got back to the hotel, we had to sit in the lobby for about 21/2 hours. Elijah fell asleep in my arms.
I know the day was a traumatic, but he is incredible. Eventually opened the elevators and we went up to our room. Elijah has done amazingly well today. He has been giggling and laughing. When we got on the elevator, he got a little scared and grabbed Scott's neck. It has been incredible. God is so good!
Please continue to pray for this area. We are just starting to find out what happened and how big the earthquake was. It was not as strong here as it was west. As far as I know, no one was hurt in Chengdu. Thank you for your prayers. Elijah is very active and likes to stay up late.
Talk to you soon!
Love,
Kari, Scott and Elijah
Chengdu is about 600 miles southwest of Luoyang, where Leah is.
The news reports that the earthquake was felt as far away as Hong Kong and Taiwan.
We've heard from both our agency and from the New Day coordinator in Luoyang that Leah is fine.
Here's Emily's email from AGCI:
Hello families,
Okay, a last ditch effort to reach Beijing before leaving the office was a success! Benjamin shared that the building where our office is swayed and that they felt in way up in Beijing. So far the destruction is centered around the epicenter with no damage outside of Sichuan Province. Benjamin assured me that the children are all safe in the other provinces.
Since we have one family in Chengdu right now we are sending the coordinator to the orphanage to check on the 5 kids that are matched with our families. I am hoping to have an update for you tomorrow. I will be in touch with our Chengdu families tomorrow by phone and the rest of you by email.
God is with you and your children!
Emily
Blessings,
Emily House, MA
China/Vietnam Program Director
Here's Mike's email from Luoyang:
Mark -
Everything is ok here, we felt some very minor tremors (level 1 or less)from the earthquake, the epicenter was more than 600 miles from Luoyang. As of now there are no reports of damage or casualties here in Henan.
Thanks for the concern and hope everything goes well with the upcoming travel.
Have a great day,
Mike
AGCI did have one family in Chengdu, and they are fine. Here's their report:
Hello Everyone,
We are ok and safe! We were at the Civil Affairs office and had just met Elijah when we felt the earthquake. At first no one knew what it was. When the Civil Affairs Officer figured it out, we all ran outside into the middle of the street. It lasted for a couple of minutes. It was definitely a bonding experience. I just grabbed Elijah and ran. He was screaming and crying, but eventually calmed down. The traffic was horrible while we drove back to the hotel. People were everywhere. No one was really panicking, but people were walking. When we got back to the hotel, we had to sit in the lobby for about 21/2 hours. Elijah fell asleep in my arms.
I know the day was a traumatic, but he is incredible. Eventually opened the elevators and we went up to our room. Elijah has done amazingly well today. He has been giggling and laughing. When we got on the elevator, he got a little scared and grabbed Scott's neck. It has been incredible. God is so good!
Please continue to pray for this area. We are just starting to find out what happened and how big the earthquake was. It was not as strong here as it was west. As far as I know, no one was hurt in Chengdu. Thank you for your prayers. Elijah is very active and likes to stay up late.
Talk to you soon!
Love,
Kari, Scott and Elijah
5/5/08
What next?
Our Letter of Confirmation has been returned to China. Now we wait for China to issue our Travel Approval.
Once we receive our TA, our agency requests a consulate appointment at the US Consulate in Guangzhou.
Once we know the date and time of our CA, we can book our flight.
TAs have been taking three weeks or so, and we should be getting on an airplane 3-4 weeks after our TA arrives.
Our itinerary should look something like this:
Day 1 (Friday) - Leave the US
Day 2 (Saturday) - Arrive in Zhengzhou, Henan Province
Day 3 (Sunday) - GOTCHA DAY!!!
Day 4-7 - interviews, get Leah's passport, notary, etc.; possibly travel to Luoyang, where Leah is from
Day 8 (Friday) - fly to Guangzhou
Day 9-11 - physical exam at the US embassy clinic, get immigrant visa for Leah, oath ceremony
Day 12 (Wednesday) - leave for home!
Once we receive our TA, our agency requests a consulate appointment at the US Consulate in Guangzhou.
Once we know the date and time of our CA, we can book our flight.
TAs have been taking three weeks or so, and we should be getting on an airplane 3-4 weeks after our TA arrives.
Our itinerary should look something like this:
Day 1 (Friday) - Leave the US
Day 2 (Saturday) - Arrive in Zhengzhou, Henan Province
Day 3 (Sunday) - GOTCHA DAY!!!
Day 4-7 - interviews, get Leah's passport, notary, etc.; possibly travel to Luoyang, where Leah is from
Day 8 (Friday) - fly to Guangzhou
Day 9-11 - physical exam at the US embassy clinic, get immigrant visa for Leah, oath ceremony
Day 12 (Wednesday) - leave for home!
Traveling buddies
We will be in China with four other AGCI families. They are all adopting from different provinces, but we will all meet up in Guangzhou for the second half of the trip.
It sounds like at least two families are bringing brothers and sisters along with them on their trip.
They are from Georgia, Florida, Ohio, and Texas.
It sounds like at least two families are bringing brothers and sisters along with them on their trip.
They are from Georgia, Florida, Ohio, and Texas.
Celebration
Our community group from church meets at our house on Sunday nights.
Last night they surprised us by showing up with Chinese food to celebrate the arrival of our Letter of Confirmation! They also came around us and prayed for us, for the boys, and for Leah.
It was pretty cool.
Last night they surprised us by showing up with Chinese food to celebrate the arrival of our Letter of Confirmation! They also came around us and prayed for us, for the boys, and for Leah.
It was pretty cool.
5/1/08
LOC!!
Our "Letter of Seeking Confirmation from Adopter" (LOC) arrived at All God's Children this morning.
We left work, picked up the boys early, and made a run to Portland to sign it - it went out on its way back to China late this afternoon.
The LOC is a one page form that requires us to confirm that yes, we really want to do this. All we had to do was check the "yes" box and sign the bottom. Our LOC took almost exactly 13 weeks to arrive; the average is 11-17 weeks.
Next we will be waiting for our Travel Approval, which should arrive in 2-5 weeks, and shortly after that we should receive the date and time of our Consulate Appointment in Guangzhou. Bottom line is that we'll be heading to China around the first of July.
AGCI has four other families who are on our timeline, so there is a very good chance that we will be in Guangzhou together with them for the second half of our trip.
We are thrilled, and we are both happy and sad for Leah. Sometime in the next eight weeks she will be removed from her foster family and placed back in the orphanage in preparation for her adoption. We hurt for her and all the changes she will be facing, and we also hurt for her foster mother, who loves her very much. We know that God has placed her in our family, and His plans are perfect; it'll just be hard.
But, we're excited! We're about to be parents again! The last minute preparation frenzy is about to begin.....
We left work, picked up the boys early, and made a run to Portland to sign it - it went out on its way back to China late this afternoon.
The LOC is a one page form that requires us to confirm that yes, we really want to do this. All we had to do was check the "yes" box and sign the bottom. Our LOC took almost exactly 13 weeks to arrive; the average is 11-17 weeks.
Next we will be waiting for our Travel Approval, which should arrive in 2-5 weeks, and shortly after that we should receive the date and time of our Consulate Appointment in Guangzhou. Bottom line is that we'll be heading to China around the first of July.
AGCI has four other families who are on our timeline, so there is a very good chance that we will be in Guangzhou together with them for the second half of our trip.
We are thrilled, and we are both happy and sad for Leah. Sometime in the next eight weeks she will be removed from her foster family and placed back in the orphanage in preparation for her adoption. We hurt for her and all the changes she will be facing, and we also hurt for her foster mother, who loves her very much. We know that God has placed her in our family, and His plans are perfect; it'll just be hard.
But, we're excited! We're about to be parents again! The last minute preparation frenzy is about to begin.....
4/27/08
National Geographic article
National Geographic magazine’s May 2008 issue is devoted to China. Some of the facts from the article:
1. China’s one-child policy created a generation of only children that numbers 90 million.
2. 119 baby boys are born for every 100 girls.
3. The number of unmarried young men is predicted to be 30 million by 2020.
4. Forty-five percent of Chinese women surveyed say they do not want to give up their careers to get married.
5. Three in ten Chinese families have grandparents living in the same household.
6. Beijing enforces a one-dog policy that prohibits pets more than 14 inches high.
7. China is expected to overtake the U.S. as the world’s largest economy in ten years.
8. China has the world’s highest number of annual deaths caused by air pollution.
9. Urban Chinese earn more than three times as much as those in rural areas, the highest income gap since the start of reforms in 1978.
10. Public protests rose by 50 percent last year.
11. One in four residents of Beijing is a migrant from the country.
12. China has the world’s largest number of Internet users - 220 million – surpassing the U.S.
13. Authorities have added 171 new pop-culture phrases to China’s national language registry.
14. Thirty-one percent of Chinese 16 or older say they are religious, four times the official estimate a decade ago.
15. The number of cell phones in China has grown from 87 million in 2000 to 432 million today.
***
1. China’s one-child policy created a generation of only children that numbers 90 million.
2. 119 baby boys are born for every 100 girls.
3. The number of unmarried young men is predicted to be 30 million by 2020.
4. Forty-five percent of Chinese women surveyed say they do not want to give up their careers to get married.
5. Three in ten Chinese families have grandparents living in the same household.
6. Beijing enforces a one-dog policy that prohibits pets more than 14 inches high.
7. China is expected to overtake the U.S. as the world’s largest economy in ten years.
8. China has the world’s highest number of annual deaths caused by air pollution.
9. Urban Chinese earn more than three times as much as those in rural areas, the highest income gap since the start of reforms in 1978.
10. Public protests rose by 50 percent last year.
11. One in four residents of Beijing is a migrant from the country.
12. China has the world’s largest number of Internet users - 220 million – surpassing the U.S.
13. Authorities have added 171 new pop-culture phrases to China’s national language registry.
14. Thirty-one percent of Chinese 16 or older say they are religious, four times the official estimate a decade ago.
15. The number of cell phones in China has grown from 87 million in 2000 to 432 million today.
***
4/20/08
Happy Birthday, Leah
Today we celebrated Leah's birthday. We prayed for her and then we each had a chocolate cupake with a candle in it, and we sang Happy Birthday. Leah's next birthdays will be spent with us!
***
***
4/14/08
Leah's March update
From Leah's foster mother:
On February 5th Leah received a package (refers to the first package we sent) from her adopting parents America. She was so happy, and began asking, “Who are the people in the pictures?” I began telling her that it was her American mother, father and two brothers. I then began telling her about the other things in the package: the calendar, books, toothpaste, toothbrush, notebook, coloring crayons, two pairs of socks, a spring time jacket, also a small outfit and blanket, and some candy. Also a letter saying, “Hope to bring you home soon.”
Leah then said, "I will use the toothpaste and toothbrush soon, and the book I will read daily." And she said a special thanks to her two brothers for the wonderful pictures they drew for her. Then I began explaining about her China home is for just a little time, but her America home is her forever home. Then she asked if she could come back to her China home after she goes to America, then I told her that America home is her forever home and must listen to her parents, and she was quick to promise me that she would be a good girl.
***
On February 5th Leah received a package (refers to the first package we sent) from her adopting parents America. She was so happy, and began asking, “Who are the people in the pictures?” I began telling her that it was her American mother, father and two brothers. I then began telling her about the other things in the package: the calendar, books, toothpaste, toothbrush, notebook, coloring crayons, two pairs of socks, a spring time jacket, also a small outfit and blanket, and some candy. Also a letter saying, “Hope to bring you home soon.”
Leah then said, "I will use the toothpaste and toothbrush soon, and the book I will read daily." And she said a special thanks to her two brothers for the wonderful pictures they drew for her. Then I began explaining about her China home is for just a little time, but her America home is her forever home. Then she asked if she could come back to her China home after she goes to America, then I told her that America home is her forever home and must listen to her parents, and she was quick to promise me that she would be a good girl.
***
4/7/08
3/9/08
Made in China
Logan was putting on his shoes this morning when he said, "Daddy, these were made in China."
He was quiet for a minute, then he said, "A lot of things are made in China. The people in China get on a big boat and come to Salem and give away all their old stuff."
He was quiet for a minute, then he said, "A lot of things are made in China. The people in China get on a big boat and come to Salem and give away all their old stuff."
2/28/08
Leah's February update
Leah's foster mother wrote this report.
Leah has now been in her home over two years. Other than her speech needing a little improvement, she is a completely normal and healthy little girl.
Leah likes to eat meat of any kind. She doesn’t really like vegetables. She loves all kinds of fruit and also candy of course. She loves playing with her dolls and stuffed animals. She loves her Barbie the most. She likes brushing the hair on her Barbie. She is a very calm and quiet girl, she also has a very good temper. She cries easily if she is scared, but with a little attention and care she cheers right up. She is very scared of needles and getting shots, but a piece of candy can always cheer her up. She is very receptive to hugs. She responds very well to encouragement when doing something or trying something new.
She is so smart and lovely, we love her very much!!
Go to Leah's page for her February photo.
Leah has now been in her home over two years. Other than her speech needing a little improvement, she is a completely normal and healthy little girl.
Leah likes to eat meat of any kind. She doesn’t really like vegetables. She loves all kinds of fruit and also candy of course. She loves playing with her dolls and stuffed animals. She loves her Barbie the most. She likes brushing the hair on her Barbie. She is a very calm and quiet girl, she also has a very good temper. She cries easily if she is scared, but with a little attention and care she cheers right up. She is very scared of needles and getting shots, but a piece of candy can always cheer her up. She is very receptive to hugs. She responds very well to encouragement when doing something or trying something new.
She is so smart and lovely, we love her very much!!
Go to Leah's page for her February photo.
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