OIympic Torch Victory!

I want to thank everyone who voted for Jenny Bowen of the Half the Sky Foundation to carry the Olympic Torch in China. She got the most votes of all the applicants! This means so, so much to me. If not for this woman, Jade would have had a very different life before coming to us. Click on this link if you'd like to see a tiny glimpse of the "Baby Sisters" program that Jade was in. Her orphanage called it the "Grandma Caring program."
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/olympics/2007-11/01/content_6223176.htm

Below is the email I received from Half the Sky.

To all of our dear, dear friends of Half the Sky - YOU made it happen!
This week in Beijing we got some wonderful news. Thanks to the concerted efforts of our most extraordinary HTS family, I am going to carry the Olympic Torch in Beijing!!
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/olympics/2007-11/02/content_6224493.htm
http://pub1.chinadaily.com.cn/cdpdf/olym/
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/olympics/torch_page.html
I do not yet know if I will be permitted to run with the children. That will be up to the Olympic Committee. But you can be sure of one thing:
Whether or not I am allowed to run WITH the children, the world will know that I am running FOR them.
Thank you, everyone, for helping to share the Olympic spirit with China’s orphans. I know that those children who are old enough to understand will be so proud that they have a place in China’s grand celebration.
With love and thanks beyond measure,
Jenny
Jenny Bowen
Executive Director
Half the Sky Foundation
www.halfthesky.org

PLEASE VOTE FOR HALF THE SKY!

There is an organization in China called Half the Sky Foundation (HTS). They have different programs in orphanages in several provinces. Jade's orphanage was blessed with at least one HTS program. Jade was in the Grandma Caring Program provided by HTS for her last 4 months there. Local women come in to give one-on-one attention to babies. They play with them, sing to them, take them outside, help them try to crawl, stand, etc., all in a effort to help their development along in a way that the nannies just don't have time to do enough of.
The woman who founded HTS, Jenny Bowen, is applying to carry the torch with 8 children from different orphanages in China. I guess the decision is based on the number of votes.
Jade would have been a different child if she had not had those 4 months with her "grandma." We have a few photos of her with her grandma. These are a precious peek into her life before coming to us. If I can get it to work, I'll scan them into the computer and post them here some time.
Please click on this link to vote for Jenny and the children to carry the torch. It only takes a few seconds to do, and it will help bring HTS to more people's attention. Hopefully, people will support HTS in their efforts to bring help to more children in China's orphanages.
http://pub1.chinadaily.com.cn/olympics/torch/members.shtml?mid=212
On behalf of Jade and the children still in China waiting for their families, thank you!

Summertime With Jade

(Click on each photo to see a bigger version. )

We've been strawberry picking twice.
We've made strawberry jelly.


We've planted a garden.


We've been to the beach where Mommy taught Jade
how to build a sand castle (well, we tried, anyway).


We've eaten lots of fudgesicles!


We've gone swimming at a friend's house...


...and had a little picnic, too!


We've tried on hats at Walmart!


We've driven the cart while grocery shopping.


We're exhausted!

Life is so much more fun with a toddler!

To Our Little Treasure

"What a difference you've made in my life
What a difference you've made in my life
You're my sunshine day and night
Oh what a difference you've made in my life"
- not sure who wrote it, but BJ Thomas sang it -

How can it be?

Monday, July 16 was our one-year anniversary of our Gotcha Day...the day that Jade was placed in our arms to stay forever. It just doesn't seem possible that a year has passed. Where did the time go?

We went to Rhode Island for a Gotcha Day reunion with some of our travel group on Sunday the 15th. It was such a great day! The grandmother of one of our families who traveled with us was there, as was the pediatrician who traveled with us. Both were amazed at how Jade has changed. It still amazes me!

We have a 14-year-old from Hong Kong staying with us for one month. Jade thinks she is so great, and lights up when Christie speaks to her in Mandarin.

Since Monday was our actual Gotcha Day, Jade and I had egg rolls for lunch & Christie and I cooked an authentic Chinese meal for supper. We still have leftovers from that meal!

This photos is from our Gotcha Day dinner. You can't see it, but she is wearing the outfit she was wearing on our actual Gotcha Day. It finally fits her! Here she is trying out chopsticks, and quite successfully!

How is it that Jade gets cuter every day???

Jade turns 2!

I can hardly believe that this tiny little sick baby is now a healthy 2-year-old! Jade turned 2 last Wednesday, June 20. We had dinner & dessert & presents with Jeff's parents & my mother that night. Then on Sunday, the 24th, we had a HUGE party! Oh my gosh, there were so many people that I barely said more than "hi" to a few people.
Two families from our travel group were able to come to the party. That was extra-special to us. It was a wonderful, wonderful day.

She's just too cute!

One Year Ago Yesterday

We received our referral for Fu Xiao Zheng one year ago yesterday! How can it be a year already? I've sat here reading our blog of our trip to China. It all makes me so emotional. Everything is so normal, now, that I've forgotten how wonderful, yet frightening our trip was. It's like a whole different lifetime.

Jade will turn 2 years old on June 20! I just can't believe we've had her for almost a year already. And yet, I can't imagine what we ever did without her!

Jade has really shot up in height in the last 2 months. She's grown too tall for all of her pants, so I've been hitting the thrift stores for 24 months-sized pants! It's amazing...things that were a bit too long for her last month are now fitting her perfectly! She is just growing up too, too fast already! And, she is a wonderful, loving little treasure.

Easter

Thought I'd post photos of Easter Sunday. There isn't a bit of this child that isn't adorable!!!

COMPARE THE DIFFERENCE IN THIS CHILD!!!

Here is Jade on July 17, about 15 hours after she was handed to us. She was 13 months old, weighed 13 lbs., and was 25 inches tall. Look how skinny she was!

This photo was taken on November 11, almost 4 months after the photo above. She was 17 months old, weighed 20 lbs., and was 30 inches tall!

God is incredibly good to us! We are more in love with our little girl than ever.

I will try to post more often. I had lots of trouble posting pictures - and sometimes messages - for a while, but it is working better now. Please check back for updates. I'm going to try hard to keep you up to date.

Theresa