Hunan Sisters 2009

We had all been anticipating the weekend of January 23, 2009. With the exception of one year we have celebrated the Chinese New Year with the families we traveled to China with in 2005. Lia had been talking all week about seeing her "Hunan Sisters". We would come to find out that each of them were looking forward to this weekend with much anticipation!

As each of the families would arrive the girls would greet each other with such enthusiasm and then run off to play. There were giggles, laughs, silliness and joy all around.

I'm grateful that each of the girls have one another--their Chinese Sisters. They have a very special bond that I hope we can continue to cultivate as they grow up.

I'm also grateful for all the Dad's and Mom's. What a beautiful group of people. We shared stories, struggles, joys and the pains of being parents. We have beautiful, strong little girls that have a lot of questions about their stories. I'm grateful that we can share our experiences and encourage one another.

Our little Hunan Family has also grown in 4 years. When we traveled fours years ago our children numbered (of those represented this weekend) 12. This weekend we had 16 and two families waiting for referrals from China!

Our weekend can be summed up like this:
2 broken toes (my toe and one of the dad's)
1 broken arm (sweet little grace)
countless smiles, giggles and growing friendships

All Powerful

Conversation with Lia last night at bed time . . .

Lia: Why does God not need to rest?
Me: Well, He's God! He's all powerful, strong, sufficient--He doesn't lack or need anything. He's not like us.
Lia: Well, I want to be all-powerful!

Yesterday as Lia and I were leaving church we somehow lost "big pink" between leaving the building and getting to our car. We searched for big pink but could not find it anywhere. Lia was struggling with the absence of her pink. I prayed for her and said that we would keep searching. A little bit later I had a message on our phone from our friend Justin--he had found something very special in the parking lot! Yeah! Lia was so thrilled and started saying over and over, "Justin is my hero! He's my hero!!" She was quiet a few minutes and then said, "Justin, doesn't have a cape! Don't hero's wear capes?" Not all hero's was my reply . . . she agreed, Justin was still her hero!

Man, am I glad that blankey was found--it could have been a very hard night!

Lia's dream & making Zach teary

The past two mornings Lia has woke up and told us about a very funny dream she has had. The dream has been the same. Usually she tells us that she has dreamed that she was a mermaid swimming through the ocean but this dream was a little different. In Lia's words . . .

I had a dream last night that I was a grown up and I went out on our deck in a beautiful white dress. There were Hans (the bad guys from Mulan) in our backyard. Then Michael (our neighbor who is at our door almost every afternoon) was also grown up and he wanted to marry me. There were 6 little white lambs dancing around me singing, "la, la, la, la la la la!"

We just smiled and laughed as she told us and sang over and over, "la, la, la . . ." She just thought those little lambs were so cute.

Last Saturday morning before I went to work we were all sitting on the couch talking about our special day, Gotcha/Family Day! Todd and I told the kids their stories. How each of them are a miracle and an answer to our prayers. As we started to tell Zach his story he stopped me and said, "Wait, don't make me cry again. Last time you told me this story, I started to cry and got very teary."

How sweet is that. I told the story and though he was quite excited to hear it, I was the one who cried.

Then & Now

The photos in the frames are the moment that each of us held Lia for the first time. Our other computer, which is broke, has all of our pictures from our trip so I couldn't access them to post.

4 years ago today--second entry

This is the second entry from our "Gotcha Day"--January 10, 2005


What a fantastic day! I want to give all the details but for now I can only say a few words. We have Lia! She is absolutely beautiful, wonderful and sweet. I will write all the details later. What an amazing day we have had. We will post pictures later. We've been having some technical difficulties.

We can't wait for everyone to see her. Oh, pray for her little face. She has extremely dry skin and her face has some bad spots of bad dry skin. We've started to treat her but it looks pretty painful. She is still so sweet.

We love you,
todd, kim and lia

4 years ago today

This morning I've been thinking a lot about where and what we were doing 4 years ago. We were in China. We were about to have in our arms our long awaited Lia-Joy. I was able to access our blog from that time--can't believe I remembered my password. I'm having a challenging day with my sweet Lia and it's been good to remember God's faithfulness and the joy He has brought to us through Lia.

January 9, 2005

Greetings from Changsha! We arrived this afternoon in Changsha the city that we will meet Lia in. In less than 14 hours we will have in our arms for the first time our precious Lia-Joy.

This evening we went as a group to a department store to buy formula and other baby items. It's a shame I didn't have our camera. Picture 14 americans standing in the baby formula aisle receiving instructions on what we needed to buy. It's so good to have guides to help translate.

We are feeling very good but very tired. We just finished a very nice meal and are now hoping to have a long hard sleep for our exciting day. Our next post will include a picture of the three of us. Wow!!

We love all of you. Thank you for following this wonderful time. OH, one more thing we finally received our luggage Saturday night at 11:00. It's so nice to wear different clothes.

Santa

Lia: Mom, do you believe in Santa?
Me: Lia, do you believe in Santa?
Lia: Yes! He brought me wonderful gifts at Christmas. He's nice. Do you believe he brought you presents?
Me: Contemplating my answer . . . I believe that a long time ago there was a man who did kind things for children. (lame answer but that's all my brain could come up with)
Lia: I think you should believe in Santa. Maybe next year you'll believe in him.

We've never really made a big deal about Santa. Lia has such a strong imagination that it probably wouldn't matter what we told her, she would believe there is a Santa. She has Wilbur, 25 brothers and sisters and then there's Stacey, Wilbur's sister. Each of them get blamed for a lot of Lia's mischief. I wander how long she is going to keep them around?

Closing out 2008

The past two weeks have passed so quickly. I had a lot of anticipation for Christmas and my 41st birthday and just like that it was all over and we have started a new year. I thought it would be fun to make a short synopsis of the past two weeks--it's always fun to go back and read what was going on a year ago.

1. We started Christmas break with our dear friends, Brian, Somer and their kids. They spent the night with us and Somer and I were able to do some Christmas shopping while Brian hung out with all the kids. We were also able to go out for my birthday as couples to the Cheesecake Factory on the Plaza. It was wonderful to have them here and it didn't feel long enough--maybe for them it was but I was ready to keep them here for a few more days.

2. After Brian and Somer left, our friend Rie arrived from Virginia. Rie is a very special friend of our family and it wouldn't have been Christmas without her being here with us.

3. Christmas Eve--We went out to dinner for my birthday to Jerusalem Cafe. I had been craving hummus so it was the perfect place to go. We enjoyed a wonderful feast and then went to the Christmas Eve Service at church.

4. Christmas Day--The kids woke up bright and early and though Zach could barely open his eyes, he was more than eager to open presents. We had a wonderful time sipping tea and coffee, opening presents, stockings and enjoying the fun the kids were having--it's always nice when they are happy and thankful for their gifts.

5. Christmas Day--part two--Our friends, Jason, Julie and their kids came over for lunch and games. We played games all afternoon and evening, ate yummy food and then made Chinese Dumplings. It was such a great day!

6. Our friend, Laura, came up for a day. Rie, Laura and I were able to spend a little time down on the Plaza and have lunch together.

7. Todd's parents and sister came up for an evening. We went out to dinner and enjoyed time with them before they headed off to the warmer temperatures of Texas for the winter.

8. Three friends from Columbia came at various times to stay with us while attending a conference here in Kansas City. Just like this time last year, our home was filled with friends, new and old, and for that we are extremely grateful.

9. New Year's Eve--we had a relaxing day at home. Zach's buddy from Columbia came and spent a few days with us and we brought in the New Year by just hanging out as a family. I couldn't even make it to Midnight--I was in bed by 10:00.

9. New Year's Day--Zach had the stomach flu. What a bummer way to start 2009. Zach was such a trooper. Thankfully, he recovered quickly. I spent the day cleaning sheets and trying to make sure Zach had enough fluids in him. I ended the day by working at the Bux.

2008 was an incredible year. Marked by God's faithfulness and mercy to us. It's hard to even imagine what's ahead in 2009. One day at a time.