Happy Spring!! It has been a long winter here in New England, so it is nice that spring is officially here. The girls are both very excited that the warmer weather is coming. Lianna is asking to go to the beach, and doesn't quite get it that the beach would not be as much fun with temperatures of the water in the 40's. Katelyn is very excited that soccer starts again next month. I am just excited to be able to open my windows to get rid of the winter air!

The holiday festivities have officially begun! We spent the day at our dear friends' house today with four little girls all preparing for Christmas by baking treats. It is our yearly tradition to go to Shelby and Paul's house, to bake (and eat!) Christmas cookies. And, tonight we actually came home with treats to share! The girls made much less of a mess than in years past, although Katy dog may have had a little share in that. The girls are beyond excited for Christmas, and with lots of celebrations and busy times in the next few days, I certainly can understand why. For me, I'd like to be able to sit back a bit and enjoy watching my two beautiful girls laugh and play together with building excitement, and share with them the grace, wonder, and hope that Christmas truly represents.

It's hard to believe that it is almost the first day of winter. Time sure does fly! We have been having a wonderful fall. Lianna had her cardiac clinic appointment where she had an echocardiogram, EKG and exam. She is doing so well that we do not have to go back for 2 years!!! The girls have been playing well together now, although we do still have some kitten fights. Lianna adores her big sister Katelyn, who loves showing Lianna how to do all sorts of things.
Katelyn is now in Kindergarten and is the only child who can read in her class. She learns things so quickly! Lianna is in preschool and is a social butterfly. Both girls go to Chinese school and AWANA together, and love keeping me on my toes.
Happy Holidays everyone!
Cindy, Katelyn, and Lianna Tingting

Tingting practicing her 3!!

My princess is now 3. It was a very special birthday
because it was the first one we celebrated together as a family. Tingting was adopted 11 months ago at 25 months of age as a waiting
child. Her story is one of miracles, and survival. She was born
with a congenital heart condition and received surgery in China at 15
months of age. I met her before her surgery, when she was tiny,
sickly, and had eyes which touched my soul. She travelled thousands
of miles for he surgery and did well. Soon after, with more
miracles, she was to become mine.

Knowing she would be a toddler at adoption, I prepared myself. I
read and spoke to others who adopted toddlers. I expected rages,
tantrums, grief, anger, sleeping issues. We've had very little of
these. Lianna "Princess Tingting" wakes in the morning with a smile
and goes to sleep smiling. She has so much love in her heart that I
am amazed and humbled. She is joyful, compassionate, sweet, and
giving. It is as if she lived to be part of a family, part of my
family.

On her day which we celebrate as the day she brought such love and
hope to this world, I am reminded about everything which she has
given to me. The gift of motherhood, the gift of herself.
Happy birthday my sweetness.

Today was Thanksgiving as a family of three. Katelyn was as excited as I was about it being Thanksgiving, greeting everyone with a big "happy Thanksgiving". I have so much to be grateful for, including a wonderful visit with cardiology yesterday for Tingting! We were able to get both an EKG and a thorough examination by one of Boston Children's Hospital's top cardiologists who doesn't want to see her back for a year! We did attempt an echocardiogram, which quickly brought the shriek from Tingting. The tech. said to me "now I've heard alot of kids cry, but I've never heard a sound like that....I think she is speaking to the dolphins". Apparently the entire cardiology department heard the shreiking, and decided that the echo could happen next year when Tingting is a little bigger :)
I think it is times like Thanksgiving when it really hits me how lucky and blessed I really am. I now have two gorgeous little girls who call me "mama". They both are healthy. We have a wonderful network of extended family and friends. I work with the most amazing people in the world, at a place where being a parent is celebrated. I am forever connected to a country where two incredibly brave birthmothers gave my girls their lives. An amazingly caring young woman fostered both of my daughters, loving them with all of her heart and giving them the security they needed in their early months to not only survive but thrive.
So tonight as my little ones sleep I give thanks.

One month ago today, a sweet 2 year old girl walked into the civil affairs office in Nanning to become my daughter forever. She wore red shoes that were way too big, which were one of her favorite things to play with. She would independently take them on and off, and often would prefer to keep them on for security. The first smile I saw from her was by the elevators, as we left the room where we were united. Her first words to me were "xiao xin" which means be careful. I won't forget her aim as she could throw objects better than a pitcher for the major leagues. I remember the food strewn under her highchair around the floor after each mealtime. When she saw Nana with her floss or pick, she would run to her with mouth wide open. She generously offered us a bite of each food she ate. I'll never forget how she shrieked in her stroller and turned herself from forward to rear facing, with the strap on! I'll remember how she quieted to "Baa Baa Black Sheep". She pretended to answer the phone by saying "guay", just like people do in China. One of her favorite words to say was Lao Hu. She could gain food from anyone, including vendors off the street. I'll never forget her devouring Nana's ice cream while we walked in Nanning early one evening. I'll remember her soft voice saying "no" and shaking her head when she was asked if she was ready for bed.
In some ways, being in China seems so long ago. How is it that it is only a month? I can't remember my life without her in it.
Lianna Tingting no longer cries to fall asleep. She hasn't done that since day 13 with us. As Katelyn said today "she hasn't screamed since we were in China". She is 20 lbs 9 oz and 32 inches tall. She has started refusing food which she doesn't like, such as animal crackers. She still loves chicken congee. She also loves cake and ice cream. Seeing her sister after she has been in school all day brings the biggest smile. She still calls her jie jie. She now turns to both Lianna and Tingting. She adores Nana, and will walk around our home holding her photos. She has grown fond of a little stuffed monkey, and will say "monkey sit down". She still has a beautiful smile which lights up a room, and smiles so frequently.
So, one month after my family has grown with the addition of little Lianna Tingting I feel so lucky and blessed to have been given these two little girls to call my daughters.

We are home!!!! I won't sugarcoat the flight experience from Hong Kong to Chicago. It was grueling. It was a combination of Planes Trains and Automobiles and the Amazing Race. International flights are tough enough for adults who understand the reason to undergo the rush to gates, squishing like sardines into small seats, and tolerating the length of the flight itself. But, for a two year old whose world has changed so drastically only 10 days earlier, there is no reasoning or understanding for this.
Tingting, in true form, was actually great for some of the flight. The problem was that when she is tired, she will cry and scream to fall asleep. This is just the way it is. However, on a 14 hour flight (even sitting near the back which helped to drone out the shreiking) with many well intentioned concerned fellow passengers, the shreiking turned heads and sent people running over to our seats. I was told she was teething, hungry, cold, or hot. I tried to explain that she was tired and trying to fall asleep, but promptly given biscuits or other food for Tingting. Tingting loved this, since she loves to eat and doesn't seem to feel fullness yet. I worried that she might explode. But again, my comments that she had already eaten two flight meals (mine and hers) and wasn't hungry weren't heeded. So, we spent alot of time walking the aisles, and standing in the back of the plane. Tingting slept for maybe an hour of the 14 hour flight. Katelyn travels so well, that she happily sat, played, and watched as I tried every trick I could to ease Tingting's flying experience.
It was great to finally arrive in Chicago where Tingting was finally recognized as a US citizen. As we went through security (which was a production in itself with Nana being tested for explosives since she was wearing her back support brace), Tingting fell alseep out of sheer exhaustion and slept until well after we arrived in Manchester. No movement could rouse her, only the cooler temperatures of New England.
And so we are home. And if I needed to do it all over again for her, I would.
Cindy