Another "Thumbs UP!" {a review of The Palest Ink}

I have thoroughly enjoyed being part of Kay Bratt's book review team for the last couple years. We even have our own snazzy name - she calls us "Kay's Review Krew." So when I was contacted about reading and reviewing another book connected to her series called The Scavenger's Daughters, I was ELATED. It's available THIS WEEK for purchase and I highly encourage you to rush right over to Amazon and get your copy now.

The Palest Ink is a pre-quel that expertly peels back the layers to the father figure from The Scavenger's Daughters, Benfu. Each chapter gives the reader another peek into the character of the man who dedicates his whole adult life to investing in the treasured daughters whom he finds and brings to his home. The experiences of his life BEFORE he became The Scavenger are woven together in this book in such a way that the reader can say, "Oh, that is why he understands the plight of loneliness so well." The reader FEELS the sense of isolation and other-ing that his daughters grapple with in the other books, when reading of the solitary confinement he experiences in his re-training camp. That sense of "coming home" that happens when his daughters bloom and grow under his and Callie's care is rooted in this book's unfolding of the deep contentment and connected-ness they find together as Callie nurses him to health after he escaped his brutal living conditions. All of the things that happened to him, that formed his convictions and his principles that we see as the benevolent and loving father are deeply established as a response to the life changes that were thrust upon him as a young man during the Cultural Revolution. I completely appreciated and enjoyed how well Kay wove those themes together and tied them up so neatly, as she reached back to "flesh out" this character that I grew to love in The Scavenger's Daughters series.

In addition to weaving Benfu's past so expertly for the reader to understand his future more deeply, Kay did a wonderful job of detailing the harsh realities of the early days of the Cultural Revolution in ways that were both honoring to the Chinese people and educational to the reader. I was always very interested in this particular era of world events and did a lot of reading as a student but it was thrilling to this self-proclaimed history geek to learn more and to put "faces" to the events about which I had learned. I loved learning, via this fictional medium, more about the thoughts and feelings of those who embraced Chairman Mao's ways and about those who were leery of the changes he brought. In particular, I found the elimination of creative expression, poetry, fine arts and music to be far more difficult to imagine as I read this story than even when I was learning about it in school. It's more personal to me now, given that I'm parenting two beautiful creative little girls who are similar to many of the characters about whom Kay writes. To think that they might have lived like that makes this story all the more poignant. Truly, to me, it makes all of these books that Kay has crafted more meaningful and poignant.

If you haven't read the other books of The Scavenger's Daughters series, you ought to purchase them all when you go buy The Palest Ink. Then settle in with a warm blanket and spend your cold winter evenings immersed in the beautiful world of Benfu and Callie. You won't regret it for a minute!!!!!

**I was given a complimentary copy

of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.**

My Letter to The Children's Place

I can't believe that this is what is bringing me back to ye olde blogosphere, but here it is, warts and all.

Thank you for taking the time to consider feedback from your customers. I am a long term shopper of The Children's Place, having found your products when my oldest son (now 20) was only about 2 years old. For the most part, I've been very satisfied with the quality and the variety of offerings you carry for children. I'm not at all happy that the (local to me) store has closed but I'm making due on that angle. I'm writing to you today because I was so disappointed by my experience when shopping the piles of graphic tees for young girls at your (alternative to the local to me) location.

All the tees that have little girl faces on them were very Caucasian-looking girls (wide eyes, long flowy hair, typical "white girl" features, etc.). There were NO "girls of color" featured on any of the tees stacked in the displays at all. I fully realize that this might be true of just this season's offerings, as in the past I've been happy to find one tee or so every couple seasons. But yesterday was the final straw for me - I have to speak up. I find this lack of diversity in your product lines very alarming in this day and age.

When I inquired to an employee who was working the floor, she encouraged me to speak up. She and her fellow employees (who were lovely and very friendly and helpful. AND were beautiful African American ladies who shop there also!) stated that they too had noticed the lack of diversity. As a mom to two gorgeous Chinese daughters, I feel that the products I buy for my children should be representative of the vast differences that exist in our culture, that we should be applauding the differences by showing beauties that are far more representative of the many families who shop at stores like The Children's Place.  As I stood in that store observing the clientele, I noticed many families of varying ethnicities. I heard mommas speaking Spanish, Korean, and English. It was a truly diverse crowd in there trying to find great bargains and outfit their kiddoes for spring. The products on your shelves and racks need to do a much better job of addressing those demographics!

Moving forward, I hope that you will please consider a more wide-angled approach that will honor the diversity and the beauty of ALL of your customers! Again, thank you for hearing me out and allowing a venue for customers to share this sort of feedback.

Sincerely,
The Gang's Momma

Bitter Winds is Available NOW!

By now, you all know that I'm a crazy Kay Bratt fan.

 I love her books. I love her heart for the children of China.

I love being friends with an author. I know, I'm a geek :)

So it's not going to be any surprise to you that I'm happy to share

about her newest release, available as of yesterday,

in the series called Tales of the Scavenger's Daughters.

You can order your own copy HERE!

Bitter Winds is the third in the sequential story line of Benfu and his family. The story this time focuses on the relationship between twins Lily and Ivy. Lily is blind and desperate to prove to her family that she is capable of growing independence befitting her adulthood. This need for independence is most greatly hampered by strong-willed Ivy who, for all intents and purposes, acts as Lily's guide, interpreter, and protector. She, of all the sisters, particularly seems to relish the role of "big sister." As the girls set off on a bit of an adventure, which Ivy is pretty opposed to from the start, things happen that jeopardize not just Lily's independence but ultimately her very freedom and well-being. The misunderstanding sets of a series of events that forces Ivy to face some hard memories and then some hard truths about who she is, who they are as sisters, and where they are "heading" in their lives. I won't ruin the story line for you but I really enjoyed the revelations that they faced about themselves as unique individuals separate from their twin-ship as well as the things they learned and ultimately cherished about their equally unique bond of sisterhood. The way they come back together as strong, independent, and ultimately healthy individuals greatly enhances not just their relationship but that of their whole family, too. That message of strong family ties built amidst hard, heart-wrenching tragedy and self-sacrifice really resonated with me.

Along the way, almost as a back story connecting much of the the details that support the girls' escapades, is woven an expansion of Li Jin's (or Dahlia's) story from Tangled Vines. She's come into Benfu's fold, learning to embrace her role in the new-to-her family that has longed for years to have relationship with her. She brought with her a son and a companion named Sami from the days before she was found by Linnea. But she also brought along a huge heart for serving the disenfranchised and a big vision for creative practical ways to do that. The unfolding of the community that she builds while she is learning to live in this (again) new-to-her expanding family is really well written. On a personal note, I had the privilege of visiting the "complex" or compound of Living Hope International's Beijing home back in April when we adopted our Mei Mei and when I read the descriptions of the shelter that Li Jin creates and crafts into a community, I completely relate to what is happening in her heart and mind. I keep picturing the physical surroundings of the LHI home when I'm reading and it's really a fun way to connect with the story.

Throughout the whole book, Kay does an excellent job of creating vivid pictures with her words. The little glimpses into everyday life in the bustling streets of China. The peeks into lives of street vendors and Benfu's whole "common folk" family. These all are things that keep me reading and make me want MORE of this mysterious land from which my daughters came. Her descriptions and understanding of Chinese culture draw me in to that mystery but also make me acutely aware of the common ground between the regular every day there and the regular every day here. I'm so grateful for what I learn about a culture different than mine when I read these books. But I'm also really thankful for the reminders I get along the way. Family is family, where ever you go. There's pain, there's difficulty, there's hardship. But there's also great joy and love. There's someone who has your back - even if you think you are the strong one who has always had their back. Those lessons are timeless. They are also the biggest reason I find this whole series so meaningful. I can't wait for more stories about Benfu and Callie's beautiful daughters!

*I was provided with a free,

Advance Reader's Copy

in exchange for a fair review of this book.

Julia Learns How To Vote Wisely

Purchase the book here!

Since we are heading into primary season in our region, I thought it would be timely to share this story with you and offer you my thoughts on this great little book that was sent to me by a friend of the author. {sheepishly admitting that it was QUITE a while ago}

This darling little book is full of Scriptural advice, simple explanations and engaging illustrations as little Julia walks through the month before a big election. As a momma to three very fashion-minded girls, I especially enjoyed the cover illustration of Julia in her too-cool-for-school voting ensemble!

The story starts with Julia's bedtime conversations with Mom about what the family will be doing for the coming month. Her parents open up a lovely age-appropriate dialogue and spend the whole month sharing their basic principles for civic responsibility. I loved, particularly, that the message was boiled down to this: Seek Biblical Truth first. Then seek and pray for a candidate that you feel most closely represents the Biblical Truth in which you believe. It really honed the focus down to God's Word and HIS heart for the privilege that we have as citizens to use our voice in the election process.

As I read through the story and conversations that Julia and her sisters have with their parents, I appreciated anew the simplicity of a citizen's participation in the process and the importance of choosing wisely. I also really liked that the book doesn't tell Julie WHAT to believe, only that she must consider what The Word says and that she need only measure the issues she faces against the standard of that Word to find the answers she seeks. That's such a great lesson for our kids - beyond even the message of how to vote.

I really enjoyed the book and Li'l Empress enjoyed the idea that her voice will "count" some day when she gets the privilege to vote. I've always made an effort to include my kids in the conversations of election seasons and usually bring them into the voters' booth with me. This book helped "pull it all together" for Li'l Empress when we voted together last fall.

If you are a politics-junkie or news-junkie like I am, or if you are looking for additional resources with which to teach your children about the election process, this great little book is for you! And if you are a home-schooling family looking for another resource for your civics or social studies curriculum, I even more highly recommend the story.

*I was sent this book free of charge in exchange

for a fair and honest evaluation.

Red Skies by Kay Bratt

I've just finished a third novel from Kay Bratt's series called Tales of the Scavenger's Daughters. This particular story is a "stand alone" meant to be read with or without connecting to the whole series. But I promise you, once you delve into the life of Benfu and his unique little family, you will WANT to read the whole series.

I'll be digging in to book three, Bitter Winds, this weekend as part of the Advanced Reader team and I can't wait. The kids might have to fend for themselves while I visit with Benfu and Callie and The Boss snores off the remainder of his jet lag (more on that next week!)

Here's what I had to say about Red Skies (which is currently only available in e-reader form - click on the title link). I could have said so much more, but I can't and won't spoil it for anyone else. Trust me - you really need to read this book!

The Scavenger's Daughters series has completely captivated me. I have just finished Red Skies and I think Mari is my favorite of all of Benfu's girls (at least until I read the next one!). Her strength, her determination, her ability to see with her heart and not just her eyes - all of it made for a fabulous story of a young woman overcoming what Chinese society would have branded a permanent disability (that being the condition of being an orphan). The parallel story of An Ni and Mei's journey to each other and then to their point of intersecting with Mari was both devastating and yet incredibly hopeful all at the same time.

I think Kay did a really great job making Beijing teem with life and with building such believable personality and depth of character into the main characters. My favorite scene was when Benfu and Calla Lilly arrived in the midst of Mari's distress. It made me sigh with relief, almost as if I was with Mari in that little apartment, waiting for their rock-solid support and age-old wisdom. That's how believable these story lines are. 

As a momma to a former orphan of Beijing, I was cheering Mari, An Ni, and Mei on in my heart - it's only too easy to recognize that "there but for the Grace of God" could have been my child. My prayer is that Kay's books go far and wide toward raising awareness of the very difficult issues of orphan care in China and the often-forgotten crisis of street children. 

**I received this book in exchange for an honest review

Come on back later for my review on Bitter Winds, and for some pretty awesome KIDS' books that I've had the privilege of reviewing recently. There's even a sweet give-away for one of them!!

And They're OFF!

Wow, what a crazy, busy, erratic and irregular summer it has been around here.... in case you couldn't tell by my abject disregard for my little corner of the blogosphere, this summer kicked Momma's hiney. Transitioning to life as a gang of 8. Significant life-stage changes for a couple of the kids. Entering new developmental stages for a couple of the kids. Understanding and uncovering medical issues, with the added weight of an unexpected diagnoses. All these things combined together to make this a summer to which I am only too happy to wave the bye-bye.

I told my sister the other day, I think this might be the first school year in a long, long time (if ever?) to which I was looking forward with anticipation and gratitude. The exertion of external forces on our routine, our productivity, and our attitudes will be good for all of us. HEH. NOT that I will ever convince a certain 17-year old of that fact, but really, it's time. About 2 weeks past time, if I'm being totally honest.

So. This morning, I sent off my SENIOR, my FRESHMAN, my 6TH GRADER, and my all-day-for-the-first-time-ever FIRST GRADER!

  I realized after the first two pics that there was a big

fingerprint on my lens. Ugh.

She was so excited to get on the bus and see her friends,

that she almost forgot to stop for the picture!

After the bus pulled away, I ran in to brush my teeth and The Boss helped finish dressing Mei Mei. We drove quickly over to the elementary building for the "Welcome Back" party on the lawn.

It was so fun to see BBE's friend, V, and introduce her to Mei Mei.

She's becoming quite a lovely young lady.

BBE is pretty excited that they'll be in the same homeroom this year.

I finally found Li'l Empress through the massive crowd, where I discovered that she'd already hooked up with her VERY! BEST! FRIEND! from church. These girls have been buddies for a while now and the fact that they are now in the same school and the same class every day was cause for MUCH! EXCITEMENT! and JOY! on Li'l E's part. And cause for much relief and gratitude on Momma's part. The transition to full-day, no naps, no break from the hearing aid, and so on has been a bit of a prayer concern of mine for a few weeks now and I'm so grateful that God answered the prayer for both Li'l E and for me in this way. I sure hope that teacher is ready for TWO! LITTLE! GIRLS! on DAILY! DOSES! OF! EXCLAMATION! POINTS!

How cute are these two?!

I'm so excited to watch their friendship grow!

Mei Mei is currently hosting a little tea party at her table next to my computer, talking to her teapot and her dolly while I type this out. So far, so good. She hasn't totally noticed that she's all alone with me yet. She's pretty good at keeping herself occupied with books and puzzles and toys most mornings, so I'm pretty sure the reality of the quiet house won't hit for a few days. And with three teens in the house, she's gotten pretty used to hugs adn kisses good-bye around here. I'm hoping that the busy pace of our kids' lives has set her up for a smoother transition than I prepared for.... I'd like to be over-prepared for once in my life for something big and meaningful!

So, that's our first morning - they're OFF and I'm ready for a second cup of coffee. How was your first morning?! Leave a comment and tell me all about it!

The Scavenger's Daughters

I'm excited to share something that I've been keeping a teensy secret from you all for several weeks now.... I got to be an advanced reader for Kay Bratt's new book, the first in what I hope will be a wildly successful series. So far, both LadyBug and I have read it, and Shaggy has mentioned wanting to grab it and take some time with the book too.

In the interest of full disclosure, I was sent a free copy of the book and asked to read it with the intent of sharing my review for the release date to spread the news about the book. Aaaand, it's probably helpful to disclose that I am a huge fan of every book by Kay that I've read so far. Like I said, I'm very excited about the series and I think you will be too.

The Scavenger's Daughter is the captivating story of an old man and his wife who have spent the years after the Cultural Revolution in China living in dire poverty, barely scraping by on the earnings he makes as a trash collector. Literally, his station in life is to seek out trash that can be turned into cash. Papers that can be ironed and recycled. Cans and bottles that can be sold to purchase food for his family. When he's really lucky, he finds furniture or clothing or other treasures. However, along the way to living his meager life, he has become the finder of far more valuable treasures than discarded bicycle parts. He has found literally dozens of baby and toddler girls and crafted a very unlikely family with his wife, Calli.

Find it here on Amazon!

Beyond the obvious connections that I feel to the story line of abandoned babies and special needs orphans in China, I thoroughly enjoyed reading Benfu's story of seeking the treasure in all of life. His adamant determination that all life has value and is worth living with love and purpose pulled me in completely. Each stage of the story pointed to the same message over and over and the consistency of his character's temperament and personality was written really well. Further, I really enjoyed reading the back story of the Cultural Revolution and the recent history of China through his (albeit fictional) eyes. I'm a history buff and I always enjoy learning about the events of history. But this time, I appreciated learning about the feelings and thoughts of one who survived that history. As the story wove Benfu's current existence together with his painful experiences of the past, it occurred to me just how deeply the Cultural Revolution dehumanized so many incredibly intelligent, interesting and stimulating people who all had so much to offer their world. It struck me that Benfu and his wife worked with these little girls, giving them a family, investing in them and offering them the hope of a future as a kind of redemption of the past they'd all endured. It's as if they were saving the girls' lives and saving themselves in the process.

As one who believes that each of us is created in the image and likeness of God Himself, I found myself rejoicing and cheering Benfu on for his dogged determination to dig out the treasure in each girl, making sure each daughter got her own special way to SHINE and REFLECT the image of her Creator. His commitment to his family, no matter the cost, kept me reading long into the night and made me sigh with frustration that the book was over all too soon for me! It's been a long time since I let myself stay up that late to finish a book. Truthfully, it's been a long time since I read a fiction book that pulled me in quite so thoroughly.

I'm so grateful for the opportunity to read this book and am glad to wholeheartedly recommend it to you as well. And I canNOT wait to read the next one...

CUH-RAZY Connections!

On Sunday morning, I was laying on the couch, with tissues stuffed up my nose to catch the copious dripping. (Yeah, I was finally forced to face the fact that this congestion and achey head was NOT allergies.)

Anyhoo... I was crashing there with my phone, scrolling through F@cebook and stopped to comment on a friend's post. She was sharing a picture of all the stuff her little girl had sold at their neighborhood yard sale and something in the post caught my eye. I commented that it was too bad we lived so far away, or I'd have been happy to purchase that little bookshelf for the girls' room. That I'd been looking for one like it for quite a while, and had come "thiiiiiiis" close to scoring one on my local yard sale sites this winter. This friend then commented that she was sorry, too, if she had known, she'd have tried to find a way to get it to me.  I thought nothing else of the conversation until a little while longer when I got a notification of another comment on the original post.

This friend, who lives across the state from me, went on the local-to-me cr@iglist site and found THE VERY BOOKSHELF for sale in basically the next town or two over from our home. She contacted me and asked me if it was close enough to me to be a possibility for purchase.

Whaaaa? Cuh-razy! So crazy thoughtful and helpful!

So I pulled up the link, replied to the sale post and connected with the seller in less than a half hour after contacting him.

Whaaaaa?! Cuh-razy! So crazy to find the exact one, in great shape and so local! 

Not only was it still available for sale, he had JUST posted it last night AND had done so after his neighbor failed to sell it at their community yard sale. The neighbor was going to put it out to trash but the seller knew it would move fast, so he took it and listed it.

Whaaaaa? Cuh-razy! Simply crazy that someone would throw something like that out. Utterly crazy that it hadn't sold at the immediate moment that he listed it - these things move FAST. I should know, I spent a lot of time tracking them this winter.

Best of all?!

CUH-RAZIEST of all?

It only cost us FIFTEEN DOLLARS! Dude. Seriously - that's about 3/4 of what I would have paid if I had scored the one I found this winter!

CUH-RAZY!!!! What a crazy sweet little treat from My Father and my friend - He loves giving us good gifts and He loves using His people to do it. So thankful for the connections He weaves through my life. And the adorable surprises He gives us along the way.

How cute is this?!

Those books have been in storage for over a year,

because we only had two small bookshelves

that LadyBug and Baby BlueEyes keep chock full in their rooms.

Li'l Empress is so excited to have

her own library in their room now!

Isn't this just like God?!

To "csmith"

Thank you for reading and commenting, "csmith." I have no other way to connect with you, as your profile shares no contact information or email address for a more private conversation. So I'm going to address your valid concerns and questions here. The questions you pose are too important to not address, as I do feel very strongly about attachment and bonding and how we choose to facilitate healthy adjustment. Hopefully other readers will also glean from the conversation (albeit a fairly one-sided conversation).

First, I appreciate you reading and following along. I appreciate that you are interested in learning and growing and preparing for your own adoption journey. I hope you have a great community of adoptive parents similar to what I am blessed to have. The sharing and learning that I've enjoyed with those folks has equipped me and encouraged me more than I will ever be able to articulate.

Second, with regard to your inquiry about our homecoming and settling in: I didn't take offense, nor did I receive it as criticism. But I do think you are only seeing a tiny glimpse of our life, the tiny portion that I choose to reveal and highlight for the sake of sharing our journey. I would caution you to remember that when reading any blog, there's huge parts of back-story that you aren't reading or may never fully grasp. In light of that, I've been writing here about adoption for a long time now, and I have many, many times addressed the very issues which you are questioning. Both in my own thoughts and in sharing links and writings of other adopters I read and follow.

So let me get to the heart of your inquiry, in my view. You said that the traditional wisdom you've been hearing is to:

"avoid crowds, not let others hold them or feed them, stay home as much as possible, in order to create really good bonding and establish you as the primary caretaker. You guys seem to be out and about a lot, sharing her with others (not that I blame you)."

Let me assure you, with the exception of the very important family day on Sunday that was planned far in advance of our travel plans, we have done just that. I mean, we can't avoid the crowd that IS our gang, but we have been very intentional to pull away, hibernate, and "shrink our world." If you follow either of the links I've just highlighted, you'll see what I'm talking about. Further, if you search the label "attachment" (see the "cloud" on my left sidebar) you will find lots of similar conversations I have had over the years since our wait for Li'l Empress.

By "out and about" I can only assume that you mean our "on the go" day this past Sunday, after only being home for 24 hours. (I'm assuming you cannot mean the actual trip time in China, as staying in the hotel room for hours on end is not a good plan for anyone.)

In point of fact, attending Sunday's events was a calculated risk that we knew would potentially have some hard consequences (and indeed, the fussy cranky baby and grumpy momma were not pleasant the next day!). But we also knew that Sunday was about more than just "The Gang" and our journey. The day was about honoring what God is doing in and through my brother, his wife, and their ministry. In a family as big and busy as ours (both immediate and extended), we often choose the bigger picture of the "wholeness" of family over the immediate of the circumstances in which we find ourselves. This was one of those choices, and I'd make it again.

In the midst of that choice, no one but The Boss and I (with some occasional help from LadyBug) held her or fed her all day long, not even my siblings or my parents. We are very intentional that right now, even the kids are barely participating in her physical care. We let them offer her finger foods and sit with her while she eats but they aren't giving her bottles or spoon-feeding her. It would be a lot easier for sure, especially since she is in "adoration of big sister mode" right now. But we know the link between providing for that basic need and establishing trust and confidence in our ability to meet that need for her so we are soldiering through.... though I must admit, yesterday's dish of yogurt was offered with drooping eyes and very little meaningful interaction on my part. I could.not.wake.up!

To your point that we seem to be "out and about alot," we've actually done no other socializing. We are in full hibernation mode (as we did in the fall of '08 for our first adoption). Yes, we step out to pick up Li'l Empress from school. To run to the grocery store. To get the banking done. And {sob, sigh}to say good-bye to my brother and his family as they load the truck for the big move. But it's limited. It's guarded carefully. For just short trips. And we make a big deal about coming "HOME."

And frankly, I'm loving it! I'm puttering in my kitchen, hanging out on the floor with my baby, folding laundry, and enjoying the absence of regular responsibilities. It's a short season of our life, and I fully intend to enjoy it while I have it.

Except for the necessities of school for four of the kiddoes, work for The Boss, and the older kids' events (to which they drive each other and themselves), we are pulling away from the world for the foreseeable future. It's a little pathetic how much fun I have saying "No" to requests for help or involvement and definitely a little sick how much joy I had on Sunday night when filling out our weekly family calendar. It was so empty! And it is likely to remain so for the rest of the school year.

If I thought I could get away with it longer than that, you can bet your bippy I'd sure try! So, thanks for your inquiry. I hope that you continue to learn and grow in your journey to your child. And I hope that you continue reading here... I'm going to continue to share snippets of our life together and be real about our journey. I hope that you do the same for your own journey.

Wrapping It All Up

Wow, we've been trying off and on all day to get our internet connection to last long enough to be able to post here. I can't say that I'm sure the connection will last but I'm gonna try my durndest to make this last post from China a good one. NOT that we did a ton of really monumental stuff but it IS the last post after all.

After a late lingering breakfast at the heavenly buffet, we sat and chatted with friends for a while, enjoying the giggles of the little girls as they played. We felt like we really clicked with this family and we look forward to keeping up with them as we all settle in to the business of regular life outside the adoption trip bubble.

Then we headed back to the room to begin the packing process. Silly me, I can't seem to efficiently or effectively pack unless I empty the suitcase and start "from scratch." So that is exactly what I did. For my clothes. For Mei Mei's clothes, for all our toiletries, for my carry-on. For it all. As I packed, I pulled out excess of things we either didn't use or wouldn't need at home. I gathered them all up and made a bag up for our guide. We asked her to use them for her family's needs or to share them with other coming adoptive families. It's our prayer that the general prescription and over-the-counter meds serve someone well in their times of need. We are terribly grateful that we had no need of any of it, (except the Imodium for The Boss's food poisoning episode!) but also very thankful for doctors who prescribed it as good contingency plans.

While we were bustling about packing, Mei Mei had her own ideas of how to help.  Literally, everything had to be moved to the middle of the king-sized bed - once I discovered that my neatly folded piles of socks and tees were being snatched and thrown into the suitcase across the room. Unfortunately, the middle of a king-sized bed is also pretty much out of reach for me! My body got quite a great "P!lates" style stretching work-out.

Once the clothing was out of reach,

she moved on to the bag of dirty laundry.

No matter that there are at least five noisy

toys scattered around the room.

Putting her little legs in Daddy's t-shirt

armholes is way more fun!

She was temporarily distracted from

the dirty laundry fashion show

by snacks and juice in her stroller.

But only temporarily!

She is totally mocking me.

Lets me put a cute hair clip in.

But JUST when I think, "Oh, YAY! She's gonna leave it alone,"

she smirks and slowly, gently pulls it out.

Even when I keep my expression blank and neutral.

OY.

After a hard-core hour and a half of packing and cleaning up, we met Vicki and her sister Kelly, along with 2 of Vicki's daughters for lunch. She and I have been reading each other's blogs for years now, having found each other by way of  No Hands But Ours and Ni Hao Ya'll and our common interest of parenting adoptive children with hearing loss. They are here adopting Claire, a delightful and spunky little girl with a quick smile and a blooming, blossoming heart. Her daughter Ava came along for support and is so sweet and loving - I got a hug before I was even properly introduced the other day!

It's 7:20 p.m. here in Guangzhou. We are staying in, finishing up the random left-over foodstuffs and finalizing travel plans. Please pray with us that we get bulkhead seating for the extra space and the baby bed it offers. Once she falls asleep, she sleeps through pretty much anything. (For example, the crazy loud radio alarm we didn't know that she set for 6 a.m. today when she was playing with the clock last night. Sigh. On our ONE morning to sleep in a bit!) It would be awesome to have that break for our arms.

Daddy lovingly bit off the skin of this apple

(I inadvertently threw out the plastic knives I found when re-packing!)

for his little bit. She LOVED chowing down on it!

Hopefully, all the random left-overs sit well on her tummy

and fill her up at least till we get in the van tomorrow morning!

So, that's it. Our last day in China. Nothing terribly exciting except that it was all spent getting ready to come HOME! Oh, how I love that word. HOME. Hugs and kisses from my gang. Familiar germs. Land of Diet Wild Cherry Pepsi, uncontaminated chicken and eggs, and drink-able water from the tap. OH! And coffee with sugar-free hazelnut creamer in a great big Tigger mug.

I'm not a complicated momma and these simple things of my life will be even more treasured than previously. Especially when enjoyed in the comfort of my own home, surrounded by my gang. I can't wait!!!!!

Winning!

Oh, shameful. I know. So sorry for the pop-culture, outdated Ch@rlie Sh**n reference. I couldn't help myself.

My thoughts have been consumed since about 5 a.m. with the fun of announcing the winners of the three great gifts to thank my readers for hanging around here for 1,000 posts. You are all such treasures to me and I'm very excited to have the chance to treat you!

And may I say, I'm also super excited that I chose to extend the give-away deadline. Not only did about 18 of you take advantage of the additional time, but I got a chance to lay down on the couch and rest. This cold has hit my sinuses and particularly my left eye pretty hard. Working on the computer with one eye closed is really hard on the already pounding head-ache. I'm feeling better today; or I should say, the head-ache is subsiding. The other symptoms are still a pain but I can get a ton more done without a thumping head-ache. Ya know?!

Without further ado, here are the three winners

of my 1,000th post give-away celebration:

Winning the $25 Mary Kay gift certificate is my dear friend, Emily (comment # 27). I'm especially excited about this treat for Emily. She just had another lovely little baby and could really use some pampering right now.  I've know Emily since she was a newly-wed. She married one of the young men that was in the youth group where The Boss and I served as volunteer leaders. It's so amazing to have the privilege of watching these young people grow up together and in Christ and begin raising little ones of their own. She's a great example of steadfast, diligent mothering over the treasures God has brought to their home and I LOVE that she is one of my very first readers here at The Gang's All Here! It's a fitting gift for her and for me to share this little bit of luxury with her.

The winner of the lovely Sparrow Fund necklace and earring set is known here as "Viking Clan En Mass" (comment #11). It's my very clever sister's user id - referring to their large, growing (1/2) Norwegian brood who used to live in Massachusetts. Cute, huh?! The first time she commented on the blog with that identity, I was in China for Li'l Empress's adoption trip. I was so jet lagged and wiped out that I had to read it twice or three times to figure out who was commenting. I'm excited to share this gift with my sister - she is a  creative and selfless momma to her clan and rarely buys "pretties" for herself. This set will look so great on her!

Finally, I'm thrilled to share that the $50 gift certificate to Wild Olive tees will be given to Jen (comment #26)! Jen is a brand new reader here at The Gang's All Here! She and I are part of a local on-line support group of adoptive moms in our region, and on some of the local yard-saling sites together also. Turns out as we got "chatting" via F@cebook one day that her sister used to work for my cousin in his restaurant in upstate NY. So her sister actually knows many of my cousins. Jen, her hubby, and their son are waiting to bring home a darling little guy from China. I KNOW she'll enjoy the tees she'll be able to get with this gift certificate!

I think it's kind of cool how the numbers came up for each winner. I love the wide range of experiences that brought each of these gals to The Gang's All Here! - it really is so representative of the "persona" of this blog. And each gift is such a perfect fit for these ladies.

Thank you, to all my readers, new and old. Your feedback and your support for all the crazy things I share here is so appreciated. YOU are to be celebrated, whether you won something here or not. Thank you. THANK YOU!!!!

********************************************

Before you go, here's a little housekeeping for you:

1. Please don't forget, if you are interested in purchasing any Mary Kay products, sweet Joslyn is offering an additional 10% off each order if you mention my name.
2. Wild Olive Tees are still available for our fundraising efforts by using WHITNEY407 in the coupon code at check out.
3. Our Holiday Open House is this Sunday, November 11th from 2-5 p.m. If you aren't local and want to participate, you can find the public event on F@cebook by clicking HERE or by contacting me by email! The on-line shows will close one week after the event.
4. Finally, if you won, contact me by email so that the necessary arrangements can be made to get your prize to you.

A Grand Celebration!

1,000 posts!

*EDITED: I've extended the deadline for accepting comments

till midnight on Wednesday, Nov. 7th. I'm down for the count

with a terrible cold and a crazy list of things to try and get done.

I need the break :) You need the extra time to enter!

It's finally here. How crazy is this? I know, I know, I can hardly believe it myself. And I'm so excited that you've come along for the fun! Happy 1,000th posts to me. And to YOU!

Yes, you.

If you've been reading here for any length of time in recent weeks, you'll know that this post marks the celebration of YOU, my faithful readers! Today is the day YOU get to enter the big celebratory give-away for one of  three great prizes in honor of my 1,000th post. Remember, this whole celebration is about YOU! This is my way to thank YOU for coming around, again and again. Really, I can't say it enough - I am so excited and thrilled to be able to give YOU something special for being part of The Gang's little corner of the blogosphere.

To refresh your memory, here's a quick run down of the goodies I get to bestow upon three of you lucky readers...

A $25 gift certificate for Mary Kay products

from my sweet friend, Joslyn.

A beautiful necklace and earring set

from The Sparrow Fund's Etsy store.

and.....

A $50 gift certificate for the amazing

and intentional tees over at Wild Olive Tees!

So here's how this works.  You have an opportunity to win any one of these three treasures and it's really simple!

Here's What You Can Do to Enter:

1. You can earn one entry by leaving a comment here telling me how you came to be a reader here or by sharing your favorite things about "The Gang's All Here!" that keeps you coming back. (That helps ME by giving me good ideas for topics on which to write. Gotta keep it interesting for you all, since you've been so loyal to keep coming back!)
2. You can earn another entry by sharing about our Wild Olive Tees fundraising OR Holiday Open House event with your friends on Facebook. Come back here and share the Facebook link in a comment. Sharing about both is greatly appreciated, but it still only counts for one entry. Thanks!
3. You can earn another possible entry by sharing about our Wild Olive Tees fundraising OR our Holiday Open House event with your friends on your own blog. Again, sharing about both is super sweet of you to do, but it still only counts for one entry. Please come back here and share the link to the specific blog post (as opposed to your general blog url) in a comment.
4. You can earn yet another entry by sharing about The Gang, my recipes, our adoption journey, our parenting conversations, or even a particular post that you loved on your blog (these can be additional and unrelated to our fundraising efforts). Please come back here and share the link to the specific post in a comment.
5. I'm sorry to be the heavy, but comments on the Facebook link (via Networked Blogs) will not count. The only comments that will count will be the ones entered as comments below, here at this post. My Facebook readers will have to "click through" and comment with either a google or blogger account, etc.

So that gives you a potential of FOUR ENTRIES to this give-away. That's four chances to win any one of these three awesome gifts. I'm certain you will love any one of them.

Here's What I Will Do With The Entries:

1. No comments will be accepted after 8 a.m. on Wednesday, November 7th. *EDITED: I've extended the deadline for accepting comments till midnight on Wednesday, Nov. 7th. I caught a bad head cold and have a MONSTER list of things to try and get done before Friday a.m. I've not figured out how to close comments yet, but I will watch the time stamps on my emails....
2. The winners will be announced Thursday, November 8th - as long as the pending Nor'Easter doesn't interrupt power again. (Yes, sigh. It's true. Another storm is headed our way Wednesday.)
3. In the interest of fairness, I will use random.org to pull each winner's comment by number.
4. The first winner drawn will be given the Mary Kay certificate. The second winner will receive The  Sparrow Fund's necklace and earring set. The third winner drawn will receive the Wild Olive tees gift certificate.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me via email before you enter. (My contact info is in the sidebar to the left.)

So go. Share. Comment.

Have a ball.

And Thank YOU, again.

For coming back and reading
for the last 1,000 posts.

Here's to 1,000 more!!!!!

Sneak Peek #3

If this is the first of the "Sneak Peeks" that you are checking out,
do yourself a favor and head back to Monday's post.
Then read through Tuesday's to catch yourself up fully.
I'll wait. . . . . .

waiting....

waiting....

There. Ya done? Good, then let's get on with it. Again!

When I started brainstorming about the possible treats to share with you all, my mind immediately went to this next treasure. It's no secret around here that I am a huge, crazy fan of the beautiful, artsy tees by Wild Olive Tees. Even more, I'm completely in love with the purpose and the creativity represented by this company's mission. And seriously? The three women behind Wild Olive tees are all amazing women. In the months that we've been fundraising through their Adoption Fundraising program, I've really gotten so blessed by their hearts for moms, for those precious little ones waiting for their moms, and for their business to be a blessing and a tool in the hands of God. It's been a true pleasure to witness. An honor to partner with their minstry.

I had no idea how, but I just knew that this celebration of my wonderful readers HAD to include a treat from Wild Olive Tees. I was so convinced that I was praying about using some of the funds from our little Adoption Jar to invest in a tee or two. But I didn't feel settled about that. Instead, I kept praying and I put the word out that I had some big dreams and plans a'brewin' for my 1,000th post celebration. Boy, oh, boy, did God come through and bless me with this one!!!!!

I am OVER the MOON with excitement to tell you that a very generous, anonymous benefactor has donated a $50 gift certificate to Wild Olive Tees! Yes, you read that right.

A $50 shopping spree

at Wild Olive Tees

for one lucky reader

in celebration of my 1,000th post!!!!!

It's so much more than I could have ever expected when I was dreaming about blessing you all with a gift for hanging out here for all these 1,000 posts. The winner of this final amazing treasure will get to comb through pages of beautiful, wear-able artwork and choose some pretties. You can use them as early Christmas shopping, share them with a friend,  or just a Really REALLY cool treat to yourself - whatever trips your trigger. I'm just so thrilled to be able to offer this final treasure to one of you.

Because, when you get right down to it, the real treasures here at The Gang's All Here! are you, my readers. You are what makes this little corner of the blogosphere so incredibly special to me. And I canNOT wait to see what three names are going to get drawn by that interwebby randomizer thingy-ma-bob when this give-away finally happens. It's going to be a blast and I'm so grateful that you all hang out here to make it all happen.

Further details on just how to participate in this splendiferous give-away are just around the corner. Keep checking in and I'm pretty sure you'll be glad that you did. This is gonna be super-dee-duper!

Sneak Peek #2

If you are jumping in the middle of this series of peeks,

head back to yesterday's post to catch yourself up. I'll wait. . . . . .

There. Ya done? Good, then let's get on with it.

As I was saying yesterday, I am so excited about the milestone of 1,000 posts here at The Gang's All Here! I am still so surprised when I pick up a new reader, or when someone drops me a line and says, "Hey, I read your post today...." It's quite humbling to think that many of you who are virtual strangers would come by, take time out of your busy day, and bother to keep up with the happenings in my head as they happen to pour out on to the pages here. I don't take it for granted. I think you ought to be celebrated for your loyalty and for your support. Whether you are a new reader or you've been around since the first posting, I am so glad to have you in my little corner of the blogosphere.

That is one of the many reasons I am super excited to share this second give-away treat. I really think it's going to make you smile.

Many of you are, by now, somewhat familiar with The Sparrow Fund. This great non-profit was begun by my friend, Kelly and her husband Mark, as a means of supporting adoptive families waiting for children by offering grants for medical reviews. The files that come to families through special needs adoptions and international adoptions often require a good bit of interpretation and even extrapolation. Doctors with experience in International Adoption Medicine are very well-versed in understanding and communicating all of the potential issues and considerations. But access to those doctors is not free. Kelly and Mark saw that need and stepped in with The Sparrow Fund to meet it. We are privileged to have been a recipient of such a grant.

The Sparrow Fund didn't stop with offering grants. They have since expanded into family support before and after adoption through educational seminars, like the one in May about adopted children and school-related issues. Last month, they hosted Correcting While Connecting - a one-day seminar about discipline, correction, and training our children.

The Sparrow Fund has recently expanded yet again to meet the needs of the marriages within the adoption community. We all know marriage is hard work. Those of us know that marriage and parenting is really hard work. Well, the truth of the matter is, sometimes adding the layer of parenting adopted children adds a little extra "hard" to the "hard work." So The Sparrow Fund is hosting their first marriage retreat in February. Apparently the need is there: the event sold out within the first 24 hours of registration going live. In fact, I stayed up till midnight to make sure The Boss and I will be going. Who knows, it might be the last get-away the two of us get for a long while.... We're hoping to travel to our Mei Mei soon after this event.

But that's not all. The Sparrow Fund also supports fundraising families through a unique partnership with some adoptive moms in Kenya. These moms create beautiful hand-crafted jewelry, bags, stuffed animals and more. And each time one of these creations are sold, the money benefits both the adoptive family who sold it AND the Kenyan moms who created it. It's a meaningful and powerful way to impact multiple families in one transaction. I have several pieces of their jewelry and I love it.

And you guessed it.... YOU have the awesome opportunity to win some for yourself!

Isn't that so pretty?

In honor of my 1,000th post, The Sparrow Fund has graciously donated this lovely necklace and coordinating earrings. The necklace is just a tad longer than 12" and is crafted in beautiful fall colors of a brick-ish red/maroon, creamy off-white and metallic beading. I love this set and I'm so excited to share it with one of you!

Come back tomorrow for the finale of my Sneak Peek series....

You won't be sorry!

It's a promise.

Sneak Peek #1

I'm so excited to share this series of posts with you all. And no, before you get all excited about the possibility of a peek at Mei Mei's sweet cheeks, I'm sorry to say that is NOT the focus of this post. I am going to be a good girl and respect my agency's wishes that we wait for the more official approval called LOA (step number 8 on this visual summary).

When we were waiting for Li'l Empress, I didn't wait and my SW at the time gave me a little talkin' to. So I'm gonna be good this time. It's killing me, but I'm trying. I really am.

But I digress. Where was I? OH! Yeah. My series of Sneak Peeks.

So, when I realized I was nearing my 1,000th post, I decided I needed to make an event of it. I mean, some of you faithful few have been here since the very first post, back in May of 2007. Wow. Can you even believe it's been 5 1/2 years together, my friends? I decided we needed to celebrate together. My little corner of the blogosphere has changed quite a bit over these 1,000 posts but what has NOT changed is my deep appreciation for all of my friends and family who keep reading. Whether it is my mindless drivel or deep brewing thoughts on life, love, and family, you have kept reading. And for that? You all deserve to be celebrated.

I dare say you even deserve a prize. Yes, I said it. This celebration includes prizes. I'm so excited. I love giving gifts to my friends.

Before I announce the particulars of HOW those prizes will be given out, I'm giving you sneak a peek at the goodies I'll be giving away. Thanks to some super generous and sweet-spirited friends, I have three outstanding treasures to share. I hope you will be as excited about them as I am!

This first gift is one that is near and dear to my heart for many reasons. You might remember my crazy begging for votes back this past Spring, when my new friend Joslyn entered me into a Mary Kay make-over contest. Though I didn't win a great big chunk of change for my favorite charity or money towards our travel expenses for this adoption, I did gain a sweet friend who has been so creative and generous in her support of our journey to Mei Mei.

Well, she's done it again!

In honor of this momentous occasion,

Joslyn has generously donated

a $25 gift certificate for Mary Kay products

along with a mini Satin Hands gift set for one lucky reader.

That's right. $25 of high quality Mary Kay products, free and personalized just for you and your skin type! That's right - it's all about YOU, my friends! Head here to check out Joslyn's Mary Kay site. She's really good at what she does and is super flexible and easy to work with.

Joslyn Hooker, Mary Kay Consultant

And just because Joslyn and I want to be sure that NO ONE gets left out of the fun, she is also offering 10% off of your Mary Kay purchase if you don't win the big prize package. All you have to do is head to her site, make contact and tell her that The Gang's Momma sent you. See what I mean?!? She's super generous and really excited about helping you look your best. I'm proud to call her friend and I'm excited to see who will score this particular give-away goodie. You'll get to feel as pretty as I did when she made me up all fancy-schmanzy.

Come back later and check out Sneak Peek #2.

I promise, you'll love it. I sure do!

Here's a Visual for Ya!

An adoptive momma friend shared this visual on her F@cebook page this week. I can take no credit for it and do not know it's origins. However, I thought it would be a good way to show you, my dear readers, all the steps in the process we are following to adopt Mei Mei.

So, picture me in the corner, only with much shorter, funkier hair of the much orange-er with little streaks of white variety. You know, sprinkled in to show you all my God-following life experience and wisdom. And in anything but PINK or polka dots...  And picture the cute little baby at the end with really chubby cheeks and no hair. But adorably chubby cheeks and sweet little rosebud lips.

I know. It's so not fair to torture you with descriptions of Mei Mei's cuteness and then not show you REAL pictures. Trust me, I feel your pain. Well, not really cuz I have her sweetness plastered all over the house. But I understand your frustration... Soon, my friends, hopefully soon.

Follow the numbers 1 through 15 to get an idea of the process. And bear in mind that there are often loooong weeks between most of the steps, no matter how you hurry to get your paperwork ready for that next all-important step. This is just a basic visual - it in no way conveys the angst or the joy or the waiting. Oh, the waiting. But you get the idea, I'm sure.

Then look for Step #8. That's where we are. Waiting for our LOA (which means Letter of Approval) from the CCAA (now called CCCWA).

And once that comes, then I can happily share pictures of our girl. The referral pics we have are from about 6 months of age. She's currently 15 months old and we've requested a very extensive update, including pics. So I'll hopefully have those to share by our LOA date also.

Clear as mud, right? But a little helpful, for those of us who are visual learners, right?

And there's your visual lesson on the steps of the Chinese Adoption Process :)

I'm Just Sayin'

So. My 1,000th post is approaching soon. I can't even believe I've lasted for this many posts. More importantly, I can't believe YOU all keep coming back for those 1,000 posts.  In order to properly celebrate the grand occasion, I'm brainstorming a fun event. No details or solid plans yet, I'm just dropping this little bit of a teaser on ya'll. You've been warned. I'm just sayin'.

For those of you that come here via FB and only comment there, thanks for reading! But you'll want to be sure to click on through and keep an eye on the goings' on. It might just pay off big. I'm just sayin'.

For those of you that come by and read often but never comment? Well, thanks for reading, buuuut also? Shame on you {insert sad boo-hoo face here}. Bloggers like readers. But bloggers LOVE LOVE LOVE commenters. Really. You should know that by now. But just cuz I know you are out there and I do really like you too, I want to give you fair warning to keep reading. And maybe think about commenting. I'm just sayin'.

And for my regular readers who comment often? Ya'll Rock. {read it slow and fist pump for your bad selves: YUH. ALL. RUH. OCK!} And, you should be used to the teasers by now. I've done enough of them over the last almost-1,000 posts. But this time, it might just work out really nicely for you, my faithful loyal friends. I'm just sayin'.