when east meets south
It was just over a year and a half ago that we stood in this same place – Clementine and I. I wasn’t able to put her down because, even though she was 19 months old, she could not walk. She could not stand. She could not crawl. And even if I could have put her down physically, I could… Read More
On this day we ventured back to Shamian Island because we could. Being in the same province for both weeks gives you a lot more room in your schedule and so a free day for us meant a quick taxi ride to an afternoon of pictures, shopping, french fries… And just hanging out. Because when you’re trying to keep a… Read More
Y’all. It is so good to be home. And one reason (albeit a teeny tiny one compared to being able to squeeze my babies at any given moment and sleep in my own admittedly crowded bed) is this: The interwebs. There is no VPN required, no wireless kicking on and off, no overloaded data plan, no upload errors, no timing… Read More
36 hours from now we will be leaving this place. So many pictures I want to share, so many words I want to write. But that all takes time. Time I really don’t have right now. Because mama is busy. Yes, I have lots of help when it comes to bubble-blowing, carrying groceries and giving wild piggy-back rides up and… Read More
We had the option of going to visit a Buddhist temple or hanging out on Shamian Island for the afternoon. One guess which we chose. My boys have such fond memories of this place as Asher and I stayed on the island when we traveled for Vivienne and Dalton and I stayed here when we traveled for Tallula. Many ice… Read More
Ph, brave girl. As we left the Civil Affairs office, the tears came. Thankfully the van ride back to the hotel proved to be a great distraction, most likely due to her silly siblings, all trying their very best to make her smile. But after the silly subsided, and we got settled at the hotel, she was understandably serious again…. Read More
Finally, Magnolia day arrived.
I had big plans. I mean, I take seriously the job of memory-marking, especially for our kiddos who come to us without baby books and stacks of pictures since infancy. And these are the very first memories we are making as a family that has just grown by one. But this didn’t seem to alter the determination of the interwebs… Read More
Amazingly, astoundingly, it is time. Technically it’s not actually time, because I’m not on a plane and my hair is not fixed and my teeth are not brushed. (I’m in deep-packing mode, man.) But it’s almost time. In less than 9 hours we’ll be on our first flight heading for China. *gulp* And so what does a mama – after… Read More
Y’all. We are going to China. Of course *technically* I’ve known since we submitted our LOI that going to China would be in our near future. But there is something very surreal about this whole process until you get right down to the end of all the paperwork-collecting and fingerprint-giving and passport-photo-taking… and actually approach the going-to-China part to bring… Read More