What we know about Thea...

We are so thrilled about our little angel...she is so very beautiful.  It is absolutely amazing that she is actually ours...thank you God for the incredible gift of our daughter!!  We are beside ourselves with the joy of finally seeing pictures of our precious girl after all these years of waiting.  It is so amazing to see her sweet little face and realize that she is the one we have been praying for all along.  We love her so very much already and are extemely anxious to go and bring her home! 

Here is what we know about our precious Thea...


Her Chinese name is Du Xiao Yang...here is her name in Chinese characters... 都小阳

Du ~ this is actually her last name...it is used to indicate that when she was found, she was then admitted to the Duchang Social Welfare Institute (SWI)

Xiao ~ means 'early morning'

Yang ~ means 'sun'


Her birthday is May 13, 2010...so she is currently 10 months old.  This was very surprising to us, as we were expecting to be matched with a child that was closer to 2 years old.  What a blessing it is though as it will hopefully help make the transition into our family and coming to Canada easier on her.  It is also wonderful as she will be able to have her cleft surgery done at a younger age, giving her great opportunity for speech & language development.  

She is currently living in Duchang County within the province of Jiangxi, China.  We have discovered that Jiangxi Province is the second poorest province in China...of course this can't help but worry us with regard to the conditions in which she may be living.  Here are a couple of maps showing where she is...the first is of China and shows where the Province of Jiangxi is...the second map is the province of Jiangxi with the red arrow showing where Duchang County is.
(click on them to enlarge)

Her file is quite vague, but we believe she might be living with a foster mother, rather than at the Duchang orphanage itself.  I have been trying to research all I can about Duchang, but unfortunately it seems that she is in quite a remote place and there is very little information available.  I've only been able to find a handful of pictures of Duchang County and one each of the outside and inside of the orphanage itself...the orphange apparently doubles as a elderly care facility.

Outside Duchang County Orphanage

Inside Duchang County SWI...where are the children??

Duchang Street

Duchang

Duchang County

Thea was found at the gate of the Duchang County SWI by one of the staff when she was only 10 days old.  When she was found, she had a flower blanket wrapped around her with a note that stated her birthdate.  It just breaks my heart to think of the magnitude of the decision that her birth mother had to make...I pray for her...that she would have peace and somehow know that her little one has found a forever family to love and care for her.


As far as her personality...we only know a few little things...
~ she has a quiet disposition
~ she is a deep sleeper
(Hallelujah...i knew my time would come!!! lol)
~ she likes music
~ she has a ready smile, and finally....
~ she likes to watch tv!!

All of the information that we were given about Thea was from when she was only 6 months old...we've been told that she is 14.9 lbs and has 3 teeth.  We are very anxious to have updated photos of her and some more updated health information.  We are going to put a request in to receive this information...please pray that our request will be granted. 

We would also appreciate prayer for our precious little Thea...it is so hard not knowing where exactly she is and whether or not she is being well cared for with the love and nourishment she needs...pray for God's continued protection over her and that he may prepare her heart for her new forever family!

blessings, gayle :)

We witness a miracle every time a child enters into life.
But those who make their journey home

across time & miles,
growing within the hearts of

those who wait to love them,
are carried on the wings of destiny

and placed among us
by God's very own hands.

Introducing our sweet baby girl!!!

It is with great joy that we introduce you to our precious daughter...Thea Mae-Lian!!!

We have named our sweet baby girl after my mom (Althea Mae), and Glen's beloved grandma 'mama' (Lim Chwee Lian).

Thea ~ means 'gift of God'...just like her two big brothers, Mataeus & Nathaniel's names do

Mae ~ the month she was born...spelled like my mommies name

Lian ~ lotus flower...this is what I read about the lotus flower...they grow out of the mud pure and clean, like morning dew from Heaven or water in springtime

Little Thea (or 'Feeva' according to Nathaniel) is 10 months old...although the pictures above are from when she was 6 months.  As you can see, she was born with cleft lip/palate which she will have surgery to repair once we bring her home.  We are hoping to be able to travel to China to meet our little one and bring her home sometime early this summer.  Maybe we'll even get to see her take her first steps! 

The boys were so excited about the wonderful news of their mei mei (little sister).  Here is a 'little ditty' that Nathaniel sang in her honour...

We are truly bursting with joy and excitment and can't wait to meet our little girl. 

Praise God for this wonderful gift!!!

gayle :)

I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. ~ 1 Samuel 1:27

A Quilt in the making...

Oh my goodness...I am soooo excited about our daughter's Bai Jia Bei! 

My Auntie Sandra is here and yesterday we spent all day working on the 100 Good Wishes Quilt for our future little miss.  We ironed, cut, sorted, and sewed our hearts out...okay...well, actually she did the sewing (just to be safe and have it consistent) and I was 'trained' in how to properly press the pieces and do all of the trimming as we went along. 

My Aunt is an amazing quilter and she was full of lots of advice and 'tricks' to share - we were a great team and were amazed at how much we accomplished in one day.  The 100 square patches are all together with the sashing in between...it looks SO sharp - the black sashing makes every square 'pop'...I absolutely LOVE IT!  My friend Connie embroidered the 4 corner pieces for us with the Chinese characters for 'daughter', 'little sister' (mei mei), and 'always & forever'...as well as the Chinese Red Thread Proverb...they look so awesome. 

Today we will tackle the rest of sashing and the boarder...and then my aunt will take it home with her to finish it off with the batting, backing, binding and final quilting of it.  I really can't thank my aunt enough...she worked so hard all day yesterday...the quilt looks incredible and I certainly couldn't have done it without her help (not without a LOT of headaches and 'oops moments' that is!).

Here is one last picture from today with the flower border on the outside...it definitely ties it all together and adds a 'girlie' touch.  Now it's just the backing (will be all flower pattern) and the black binding around the edges needing to be done...yah!

Can you find your patch??? (click on the picture to enlarge it)

It was so fun working with all of the square patches the last couple days as I know who gave us each one of them...so It gave me the chance to think of every person that contributed a square to the quilt.  It is such a meaningful quilt to have all of our loved ones (family & friends) be a part of.  Thank you again to all of you...I know our daughter will love it as much as we do!

gayle :)

Ladybug!

I saw a ladybug today! 

I was cleaning up in the kitchen after the kiddie's breakfast, and there it was...just chillin' out on the counter by our kitchen sink!

Craziest thing is that I saw one about a week ago too!  Now, you might be asking yourself 'what's the big deal about seeing a ladybug?', but for some (like us) it holds a special meaning...

Ladybugs are believed to be good luck in the China adoption community. In the late 1990's in southern China, international adoption programs began growing rapidly...and many people were awaiting their referrals.  One Fall the ladybug (Chinese beetle) population grew unusually large in Guangzhou, China. Guangzhou is a necessary stop for all international adoptions from China. (The city houses many Consulate-General offices.)  Immediately following the infiltration of ladybugs and the many 'sightings', a flood of referrals came in for many of the waiting parents.  Thus, this large ladybug population resulted in the belief that ladybugs are lucky...and that when a ladybug is seen by a waiting adoptive parent, a referral is coming soon.

We are not usually that big on superstitions and that kind of stuff...but seeing the ladybug today sure did put a smile on my face this morning...and brought with it sweet thoughts of our little girl.  Can't help but think about the fact that the end of March is coming soon, and they will again be updating the waiting child shared list...another chance of us getting a referral for our little one.

Blessings to you today, gayle :)

Our Daughter's Quilt

Several years ago I started working on putting together a 'Bai Jia Bei' (100 Good Wishes Quilt) for our daughter-2-be, but ended up putting the project aside when things weren't really going anywhere with the adoption.  I have begun working on her quilt again, and I am so excited that it will be finished, ready, and waiting for our little one to cuddle with when we finally bring her home.

100 Good Wishes Quilts are part of Chinese tradition in welcoming and celebrating the life of a new baby.  When a baby is coming, 100 friends and family are invited to contribute a square patch of cloth.  These 100 patches are then sewn together to make a special quilt for the baby.  The quilt is believed to hold the blessings, good wishes, and love from all of the family and friends who have contributed a piece of cloth.  That way the love, blessings, and good wishes of family and friends will surround the baby whenever she is covered with the quilt.

In addition to the patch of cloth...a 'good wish note' is given as well.  These 'good wishes' range from personal messages, poems, quotes, prayers, bible verses...and have a piece of the same fabric attached to it.  It has been such a blessing to read all of the special words people have shared with our daughter.  I have been putting these 'wishes' together into a scrapbook...this way when she is old enough, she will be able to match the fabrics in her quilt to who gave it to her by the wishes in her scrapbook, and then read the special messages given to her.

A couple weeks ago, my mom, aunt and I went to the quilt store to choose the backing for the quilt.  I really wanted it to be something that wasn't 'babyish', in hopes of her wanting to actually 'use' the quilt for as many years as possible.  Plus I wanted it to be a fabric that would 'match' her room as her colour preference and style changes throughout the years.  I was so excited when we found this black and white daisy print...

My good friend is also making some embroidered squares for the quilt...they will have the chinese characters for 'little sister' (mei mei), 'daughter', and 'always & forever', as well as one with the 'red thread Chinese proverb' (you can read it on our blog's sidebar -->). 

I am very excited as we almost have 100 patches of cloth!!!  My auntie Sandra (the quilting expert) is going to help me put it together.  She is coming to stay at our house next week and we are hoping to be able to sew the top of the quilt together (the 100 patches), and then she is going to take the rest home and finish quilting it for us.  Soooo spoiled!!  I can't wait to see what it will look like when it is all put together and finished!!

Thank you to all of you that have contributed a piece for the quilt...we know that her Bai Jia Bei will be cherished for generations! 

love, gayle

Oh yeah...If you haven't already given us a patch of cloth, but would like to...we would need it by March 13th at the latest (not much notice, i know!). 

Update & 2 Cutie boys...

Adoption update: I was finally able to contact Bob from FOI and inquired as to whether we were any further up on the list after the February update to the waiting child program shared list.  In his words, "The February list was very disappointing. At about 35 children, it was smallest update that we have ever seen.".  Apparently, the fact that such a small number of children were added to the shared list this month is a result of Chinese New Years celebrations.  This is a very big holiday in China in which offices are closed down for a time in order to celebrate the bringing in of the new year.  So with this news, it means that out of the 3 families willing to adopt a child with cleft lip/palate...we are still the 3rd of these families.  What does this mean?  I am hoping and praying that we will get a referral near the end of March...but there is certainly a chance that it may be April, or later??? (I don't know if my heart could take that!) Disappointed???... Yes!...but still going with the fact that God has the perfect timing all planned out for our daughter and for us.


And now for some CUTE BOYS...

I walked into the living room this morning and found the boys sitting on the couch all cuddled up reading a book together...actually, Nathaniel was 'reading' it to Mataeus, which made it even more sweet.  I love moments like this that make me stop and truly realize what amazing blessings these two little boys are...not that i don't always 'know' that...it's just that somehow in the craziness of everyday life (changing diapers, making meals that may or may not be eaten, doing endless loads of laundry, wiping noses, etc etc etc...) it's easy to lose focus on that.  Anyways, I was able to sneak out and grab the camera and got a picture of them before they realized I was there.  So very precious...

Of course, as soon they realized that I had the camera in my hands they got all silly and started giving each other huge smooches!  I'm sure they'll love this picture when they get older...

So much fun to watch our boys playing and having fun together.  And I love it that THEY love each other so much.  They are getting so much better at playing together now that Nathaniel is a bit older...he's not destroying everything in his sight quite so much these days.  And Mataeus...he tries so hard to be patient, and he really is an incredible big brother!!!

Here is one more picture of the boys playing 'firefighter' yet again...oh the dream of being just like their daddy!!  It's amazing how many 'fire calls' we get at our house everyday...so cute...they actually run and get their 'turn out gear' on and respond to the emergencies.  Mataeus leading the fun, and Nathaniel happily doing whatever his big brother dictates! :)  I keep wondering how old Mataeus is going to be before he doesn't want to dress up and 'play' firefighter anymore???

And with that I'm off to bed...

Love to all, gayle :)