Gaoyou Reunion

It has been months since my last blog update. I am awful at putting in updates. So, I apologize to everyone who reads this (both of you).

Anyway, a few weeks ago we attended a reunion in Seattle. This was a small (26 families) get together for anyone that had ever adopted a child from the Gaoyou SWI in China. There are obviously a lot more that only 26, but of course, not everyone can make it.

We had a very good time. While the main goal is to get the girls together with peers that our in the same situation as themselves, it is also nice for the parents to get together and discuss the challenges (few) and triumphs (very many) of raising our adopted children.

We were all together for three days and had a wonderful time. The highlight of the whole reunion would have to be the dinner at the Children's Museum. This was held after hours, so the kids had the run of the place. After the dinner, a web cam was set up so that we could have a short conversation with the Mayor of Gaoyou.

Here are some photos from the trip:

Riding on the monorail.

At Pike's Market.

Riding on the Ducks.

At the parade.

Learning about Lion and Dragon dances.

24 beautiful girls from Gaoyou.

Locks of Love

Emily had 11 inches of hair cut off yesterday. We are sending it to the Locks of Love Organization.

Here is a before picture.


Here is an after picture.


This is the actual deed being done.

一中文 First Chinese Language Post.

你好。
Hello.

我学习中文。
I am studying Chinese.

我只会说一点。
I only know a few words.

我家夫人，一个儿子和二个女儿。
In my family is my wife, one son and two daughters.


我儿子叫 Patrick. 他出生在美国。 他十四岁。
Our son's name is Patrick. He was born in the USA. He is 14 years old.

我们一女儿叫 Emily. 他出生在江苏。 她六岁。我们2003年11月24号领养的女儿。
Our first daughters name is Emily. She was born in Jiangsu province. She is 6 years old. We adopted her on 11/24/2003.


我们二女儿叫 Kaitlyn. 他出生在湖南。 她四岁。 我们2005年10月10号领养的女儿。
Our second daughters name is Kaitlyn. She was born in Hunan province. She is 4 years old. We adopted her on 10/10/2005.