Thursday, April 30, 2009
Happy 21st Cameron!
Today is Cameron's 21st Birthday! We celebrated with him last night with a dinner of barbecued salmon and strawberry shortcake for dessert. Boy that shortcake looked like a fire hazard with all those candles on it! Here's a picture of our young man with his girlfriend Brittni!
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Email From Kai's Nanny in China
One of the tragedies of foreign adoption is how hard it is to preserve connections to the people in the child's past. Sometimes it seems almost impossible. China does not encourage contact between families and the orphanages where their children used to live. There is no formal way to provide updates about the child or ask questions about the child's past. You receive your child, you say goodbye, go home and start a new life. But messy bits creep in. Things happened before we were a family. Some of these things we kind of know about. We have some cryptic notes translated from a very foreign language. How true are the bits we have? Are they translated correctly? Some of them seem more like oddly phrased questions than answers.
There is a woman who lives in China. She takes care of babies. I know of families in many different countries who think quite fondly of this woman. They believe she loved their children for them while they waited to adopt them. I believe this.
Though I have met her a couple times, I can't claim to really know her, but I have seen her cry when she said goodbye to a child she used to take care of. That child, Kai, now believes all the good things about this woman that many other people believe. He wishes to see her again someday. I have heard him make this wish many times: when he throws a coin in fountain, the last time he blew out birthday candles, it is a big wish.
We put out several efforts recently to get an email address for the orphanage in Baoding. Today an email came to Tina's in-box. the subject line read:
That's Hui-Hui, Kai's Chinese name.
Awkward machine translation software has seemingly delivered her message to us through the old children's party game "telephone" where one child whispers a message to the next, and the message is repeated around the circle until at the end every one laughs at how the message has been garbled.
And so her message was whispered all the way from China and rendered into something of a cryptic but loving poem. She wrote...
Bright parents:
You are good!
I am bright Chinese Aunt Zang Jinyan,
I think in my heart's treasure bright,
she grew up
now goes to school.
She now the body?
Her hand has cured?
I want to see her near future life
according to with the physical condition.
This time the information which sends to you
are through the strong parents
knew that moreover strong
and the bright picture also had other child's picture to send.
In addition has several children also in your there,
did not know whether you can relate on, I think of them,
if has their relation method please to inform me,
thanks!
Wishes in advance
your health in here me,
is forever young.
Bright mother:
Zang Jinyan
There is a woman who lives in China. She takes care of babies. I know of families in many different countries who think quite fondly of this woman. They believe she loved their children for them while they waited to adopt them. I believe this.
Though I have met her a couple times, I can't claim to really know her, but I have seen her cry when she said goodbye to a child she used to take care of. That child, Kai, now believes all the good things about this woman that many other people believe. He wishes to see her again someday. I have heard him make this wish many times: when he throws a coin in fountain, the last time he blew out birthday candles, it is a big wish.
We put out several efforts recently to get an email address for the orphanage in Baoding. Today an email came to Tina's in-box. the subject line read:
慧慧
That's Hui-Hui, Kai's Chinese name.
Awkward machine translation software has seemingly delivered her message to us through the old children's party game "telephone" where one child whispers a message to the next, and the message is repeated around the circle until at the end every one laughs at how the message has been garbled.
And so her message was whispered all the way from China and rendered into something of a cryptic but loving poem. She wrote...
Bright parents:
You are good!
I am bright Chinese Aunt Zang Jinyan,
I think in my heart's treasure bright,
she grew up
now goes to school.
She now the body?
Her hand has cured?
I want to see her near future life
according to with the physical condition.
This time the information which sends to you
are through the strong parents
knew that moreover strong
and the bright picture also had other child's picture to send.
In addition has several children also in your there,
did not know whether you can relate on, I think of them,
if has their relation method please to inform me,
thanks!
Wishes in advance
your health in here me,
is forever young.
Bright mother:
Zang Jinyan
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
More Design Tweaks
I've modified the header graphic again. GoJee now has Chinese characters under his picture. They don't say "GoJee", but rather Da
Hóuzi, which means "Big Monkey". I used these characters on a t-shirt I made Shen for Christmas. I think it looks better, and I like having characters for GoJee.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Idle Parenting
TIna and I discovered a series of online columns from a new book that really strikes a chord with us. It's called "The Idle Parent"
You can click the picture above to see the web-page for the book on amazon.co.uk (it's not on the U.S. Amazon site yet).
The website for The Idle Parent is: http://idler.co.uk/news/the-idle-parent/ where you can read a number of great little essays and this manifesto:
You can click the picture above to see the web-page for the book on amazon.co.uk (it's not on the U.S. Amazon site yet).
The website for The Idle Parent is: http://idler.co.uk/news/the-idle-parent/ where you can read a number of great little essays and this manifesto:
THE MANIFESTO OF THE IDLE PARENT
We reject the idea that parenting requires hard work
We pledge to leave our children alone
We reject the rampant consumerism that invades children from the moment they are born
We read them poetry and fantastic stories without morals
We drink alcohol without guilt
We reject the inner Puritan
We don’t waste money on family days out and holidays
An idle parent is a thrifty parent
An idle parent is a creative parent
We lie in bed for as long as possible
We try not to interfere
We play in the fields and forests
We push them into the garden and shut the door so we can clean the house
We both work as little as possible, particularly when the kids are small
Time is more important than money
Happy mess is better than miserable tidiness
Down with school
We fill the house with music and merriment
We reject health and safety guidelines
We embrace responsibility
There are many paths
More play, less work
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Poor Juno, Poor Poor Juno
No puppies for Juno. We had her spayed on Friday. This picture of her was Friday evening, We felt really sorry for her as she was pretty wiped out. I don't know if it was the pain or the meds but she was just plain listless. So we were quite amazed at how quickly she was back to her old naughty self.
This picture is of her in the backyard today chewing on some of the boys' sandbox toys. She was up in almost no time and back to zipping around like the crazy little puppy she is.
A Sunny Sunday
Today Tina and I worked in the yard. I took my blower out and got the cedar debris cleared off the roof and out of the gutters, tidied up the shed a bit, mowed the lawn for the first time this year and cleared out some of the landscaping in front. Tina got some flowers in and tidied up out back. The place looks really nice this time of year, especially when we get some nice sunny weather!
Kai and Shen spent hours in their sandbox today. I love the way a sandbox can keep boys this age so busy!
I took a break from yard-work for a bit in the afternoon and took Kai and Shen down to a nearby park on the lake. They wanted to sail the boats they made yesterday. Unfortunately the boats they made aren't really the sailing kind, but we have a great little classic toy boat that does actually sail perfectly! This is a little toy I bought for Cam and Ben when they were little. It's a beautiful toy and the local company that makes them is still in business. I looked them up online and was a little shocked at what this little boat costs these days - quite glad I bought it when I did!
It's amazing how well it sails...
We had the perfect gentle little wind and the boat sailed right off across the water. A gentle tug on the line and the boat turns and sails right back. The one problem with this beautiful little toy is that there really isn't anything for the kids to do with it. You hold the string, but not the same way you do with a kite. You basically just give it line till you want it to stop, and to bring the boat back in you just give a little tug to make the boat turn. Once it pivots around it tacks back to you on it's own, no pulling. consequently Kai and Shen lost interest pretty quickly and headed over to the playground...
I love it when they were these little caps!
Kai and Shen spent hours in their sandbox today. I love the way a sandbox can keep boys this age so busy!
I took a break from yard-work for a bit in the afternoon and took Kai and Shen down to a nearby park on the lake. They wanted to sail the boats they made yesterday. Unfortunately the boats they made aren't really the sailing kind, but we have a great little classic toy boat that does actually sail perfectly! This is a little toy I bought for Cam and Ben when they were little. It's a beautiful toy and the local company that makes them is still in business. I looked them up online and was a little shocked at what this little boat costs these days - quite glad I bought it when I did!
It's amazing how well it sails...
We had the perfect gentle little wind and the boat sailed right off across the water. A gentle tug on the line and the boat turns and sails right back. The one problem with this beautiful little toy is that there really isn't anything for the kids to do with it. You hold the string, but not the same way you do with a kite. You basically just give it line till you want it to stop, and to bring the boat back in you just give a little tug to make the boat turn. Once it pivots around it tacks back to you on it's own, no pulling. consequently Kai and Shen lost interest pretty quickly and headed over to the playground...
I love it when they were these little caps!
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Dirty Dan Days
We spent part of our Saturday down in Fairhaven at the Dirty Dan Harris Festival. Dan Harris was the founder of Fairhaven back in the late 1800's. It was a fun day.
Here's Shen wearing my bowler hat and sitting with the popular statue of Dirty Dan.
The boys got to make wooden boats
Kai looks pretty proud of his little ship.
Shen is equally proud...
finished with ice cream!
Here's Shen wearing my bowler hat and sitting with the popular statue of Dirty Dan.
The boys got to make wooden boats
Kai looks pretty proud of his little ship.
Shen is equally proud...
finished with ice cream!
Last Saturday
We have been enjoying two day weekends again! Last Saturday was a beautiful day so we took the boys down to one of our favorite parks. These pictures all look like ones that have been on the blog before, but it's one of our favorite routines as they have a great playground and excellent paths for bike riding.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Re-Blogging
Sometimes I wonder if blogging is still relevant. It seems like everyone has moved on to Facebook and MySpace and Twitter. I admit, I've got a Facebook account and I'm trying to figure out this new social networking stuff, but it just isn't the same for me. I like my little blog and enjoy working on it. One of the problems I have though, is that I haven't used mainstream tools. I've insisted on using Mac-centric software. It's given me better control over the look and feel, which I like, but I often think that maybe I should be using blogger.com like everybody else. Or if I was really serious about blogging I would be using WordPress. But I keep doing my thing here.
One big problem I've been facing, is that a good part of our blog is still hanging out over where I use to host it on Apple's .Mac service. And if you start digging around through that site you'll find that things are pretty fragmented. There's actually about 3 or 4 different blogs over there, as well as a number of random pages of other content. I have decided to try and migrate all of that content over to this site. So I am going to go back to "The Beginning of the Story" and move all the old posts over here. So if you're new here, or are up for a bit of nostalgia you can start reading again from the beginning as we go back to the beginning, which in terms of blogging, that's January 26, 2005...
One big problem I've been facing, is that a good part of our blog is still hanging out over where I use to host it on Apple's .Mac service. And if you start digging around through that site you'll find that things are pretty fragmented. There's actually about 3 or 4 different blogs over there, as well as a number of random pages of other content. I have decided to try and migrate all of that content over to this site. So I am going to go back to "The Beginning of the Story" and move all the old posts over here. So if you're new here, or are up for a bit of nostalgia you can start reading again from the beginning as we go back to the beginning, which in terms of blogging, that's January 26, 2005...
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Love Without Boundaries Donation
In December we celebrated Kai and Shen's birthday with a big party at a local "Bounce" play place that has a bunch of the large inflatable play structures. Instead of gifts for the boys, we asked guests to make a donation to Love Without Boundaries, a charitable organization that works to improve the lives of children living in orphanages in China. We were able to direct the monies we raised to the social welfare institute where Kai used to live. Just recently we received emails from Love Without Boundaries of the children there opening the boxes of clothing the donation bought: 53 sets of clothing for the 2-5 year olds, and 14 bags of cloth diapers.
You can read more about Love Without Boundaries by clicking on this link badge:
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Thursday, April 09, 2009
Don't Interrupt Me When I'm on the Phone!
Last night the phone rang and neither Tina or I recognized the name that came up on caller ID. I picked it up and a little voice asked if Kai was there. I took a beat, then said, "yes, who is this?"
"Elijah," the little voice said.
Another beat on my side, then I recognized the name as belonging to one of Kai's classmates from his preschool class. So I asked him to wait a moment, and told Kai he had a telephone call. He looked almost as confused as me for a moment then took the call and handled it like an old pro. Tina and I were just beside ourselves as we listened in on one side of their conversation. They talked about birthdays, and Spiderman, and all kinds of things. And at one point Kai stopped and looked at us and said very seriously, "Don't interrupt me when I'm on the phone!"
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
Ben's Most Recent Ordeal
I posted the last two entries from my phone so I didn't write anything.
On Monday Ben came home about 6 o'clock after skim-boarding with some friends. He was limping and told us he had collided with a friend while they were attempting to "high-five" while skimming past one another. He said his leg hurt, but he was walking and went to take a shower. By 9 o'clock he was in such extreme agony we decided to take him to the hospital. They x-rayed his leg but there was no fracture. The doctor seemed concerned though and said he thought Ben might have "compartment syndrome". At first I was glad it wasn't broken, but I had web access on my phone so when I looked up what compartment syndrome is, I wasn't so sure that a break wouldn't have been better.
After a procedure which involved sticking a needle an inch into Ben's swollen leg to measure pressure they decided he probably didn't have Compartment Syndrome, but wanted to keep him "over-night" for observation. I put over-night in quotations because at this point it was well after 3 AM. I thought we had already been there overnight! Still, they ordered up a room for him and by the time they got him tucked in it was almost 4 AM.
I went home and emailed work so they would know I'd be late and went to bed. Ben called at 7:45 AM and said another doctor had checked him and he could go home now. Tina went to get him so I could sleep a bit more. She didn't get back with him until almost 11:30, and then I went to work.
He was told to take it easy, ice the leg and keep it elevated. He's been pretty good about this and the swelling is starting to go down. Hopefully he'll fully heal before injuring himself again.
We'll see.
On Monday Ben came home about 6 o'clock after skim-boarding with some friends. He was limping and told us he had collided with a friend while they were attempting to "high-five" while skimming past one another. He said his leg hurt, but he was walking and went to take a shower. By 9 o'clock he was in such extreme agony we decided to take him to the hospital. They x-rayed his leg but there was no fracture. The doctor seemed concerned though and said he thought Ben might have "compartment syndrome". At first I was glad it wasn't broken, but I had web access on my phone so when I looked up what compartment syndrome is, I wasn't so sure that a break wouldn't have been better.
After a procedure which involved sticking a needle an inch into Ben's swollen leg to measure pressure they decided he probably didn't have Compartment Syndrome, but wanted to keep him "over-night" for observation. I put over-night in quotations because at this point it was well after 3 AM. I thought we had already been there overnight! Still, they ordered up a room for him and by the time they got him tucked in it was almost 4 AM.
I went home and emailed work so they would know I'd be late and went to bed. Ben called at 7:45 AM and said another doctor had checked him and he could go home now. Tina went to get him so I could sleep a bit more. She didn't get back with him until almost 11:30, and then I went to work.
He was told to take it easy, ice the leg and keep it elevated. He's been pretty good about this and the swelling is starting to go down. Hopefully he'll fully heal before injuring himself again.
We'll see.
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
Monday, April 06, 2009
Sunday, April 05, 2009
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