Our local butcher

As Sydney and I are on our morning stroll. We saw the butcher outside
our apartment complex.

Orphanage Visit

This week I had the wonderful opportunity to visit a local orphanage with some other moms from Madison’s school.  Of the 9 of us that went, one has 2 adopted daughters from China, and 4 of us are in the process of adopting from China and Ethiopia.  Even though we live here, it is usually fairly difficult to get to visit the orphanages.  Thankfully the school has had an ongoing relationship with this orphanage.  Several families at the school have actually fostered (and later adopted) children who weren’t thriving there.  It was a small orphanage and so we just went in and played/held the kids for an hour or so.  Most of the children there were over 3 and had a variety of special needs.  I really pray that they will be adopted into loving families.  

My friend Cary & I held these little boys the whole time we were there.  It was cool to sing “Jesus Loves Me” to these little ones and pray over them while we were holding them. 

It was a pretty emotional day to know the grief their biological parents must feel in having to bring them to the orphanage.  I’m sure each of them thought they couldn’t give their child the proper care they needed.  In China, it would have been much easier (and culturally acceptable) for them to have aborted them.  I’m very thankful that their biological parents chose life for these precious ones. 

The Urban Life

When you live in a huge city there are some things that you do in your house that you just wouldn’t do if you lived in the suburbs.  A few examples are that you pot plants in your house, you BBQ on your balcony (instead of your backyard), and your kids ride riding toys in your small apartment.

The newest addition to that list is that when you live in an urban area with no outside/backyard space, you can have a swing in your bedroom.  I think you also have to have a pretty cool dad who will, not only allow it, but will spend several hours getting it drilled into the concrete ceiling. 

Here are some picture of the girls swinging on their new swing. 

Hailey was especially excited about that swing, since she LOVES to swing and there are very few swings in our city.

Sydney getting in on the fun!

Only in a city of 10 million people will you see this

I was just walking out of my office and just saw this and thought it
was funny.

People live in the city but most are from the farming areas. So they
still keep roosters and chickens around that wake us up at 5am.

Neighbors

We have the cutest little couple who live in our complex.  They walk around every afternoon and have started looping down in our circle (to see the foreign kids, I think ).  I think they are so precious.  The man is 98 years old and his wife is 90!  I can’t imagine all the things they have seen in their life time.  I think they look great for their age, which is usually the opposite of what I think of the locals here.  Because of their hard pasts, usually I feel like people usually look much older than they are, but not this little couple.  I have a difficult time understanding them when they talk since they speak the local dialect and in very soft voices.  I hope to find out more of their story in the future, because I know they must have some amazing stories. 

Here Madison is with them.  Notice how little clothes Madison is wearing compared with their clothes.  Typically Chinese are “scared of the cold” where I think Americans are more afraid of the hot.

NOTE: To Be Used in Sydney’s rehearsal dinner powerpoint

My dear friend Ashlei is in town with her son Grady.  Last night we went on a stroll with her and the Sorrel’s.  Here are the younger kids riding in their strollers.  Grady (who will be 2 this summer), Sydney (who will be 3 on August 23), and Gunner (who will be 2 on August 23).  We love both of these families and I would be more than happy to be able to use this picture at Sydney’s rehearsal dinner one day.