Jia holding Baby Jia

We took some photos of Jia holding her referral photo to mark the one-year anniversary of her referral. As mentioned earlier, our posed photo shoot didn't work out. So we just let Jia play with Baby Jia.

Here she is with Baby Jia.


Here she is hugging Baby Jia.

Here she is after I asked her to smile! Oh it makes us laugh!


Here we are talking about Baby Jia last night.

One year ago today...

...we received the call that would change our lives forever. Our agency called and told us that we had a daughter. I asked her name right away. She said, "Qi Jia Kun." I asked how to spell it as Qi sounds like "chi." She said it started with a Q. I was so beside myself that I completely forgot how to write! In a panic, I told Joe, "I don't know how to make a Q! How do I make a Q? What do I do? What do I do?" I did fine with the rest of her name until I got to the letter K, at which I panicked again. "A K? What's a K? How do I write that?"

I eventually calmed down some. The agency said they'd e-mail a photo. We were leaving for an event in about an hour where I would not have access to e-mail for the entire evening. Then right before we left, we checked our e-mail and saw our daughter for the first time. Jia was sitting outdoors on a fluffy blanket. (And she was actually outdoors - it wasn't some weird faux background commonly seen in referral photos where the kid appears to be on a bridge or riding a moped or surfboard). She looked like a beefy football player in her many layers of clothes. She had a lot of hair, a little downturned mouth, a cute button nose, and was leaning against a tree. If you zoomed in very close, you could see the teeniest tear in her eye. Most of all, she looked uncertain and scared. It made us want to scoop her up right there and tell her that everything would be okay.

Here is the photo so you can see it for yourselves.

Of the three referral photos we received, this one looked the least like her as we know her now. The following day we received two more photos.


The event that we attended the night that we received her referral was a benefit for the China AIDS Orphan Fund. I am on the board of the organization and helped plan the event. It was a festival celebrating Chinese culture with traditional cuisine, performances and art. It felt so very appropriate to be there and I had the opportunity to ask my colleagues about the meaning of Jia's name and about her province. That night we also purchased a piece of Chinese art that is a painting of children flying kites. Jia loves it.

With a referral, you can't help but imagine your child's character. Everything that was written in the referral about her personality has been spot on. The referral said, "She likes to express herself." We know now that this means that she loudly lets you know when she's happy, unhappy, bored, hungry or frustrated! She doesn't hold anything back. It said that she was smart, loved music and her favorite place was outside. All true. It also said, "She laughs aloud and has a ready smile." This took a while in coming, but she is one of the giggliest, most gleeful kids I know. The post I wrote after we received her referral is on her old site here.

In my grand plan, I was going to take a photo of Jia holding her referral photo today. However, sometimes toddlers just don't do what you want! (Surprise surprise). All she wanted to do was play with the tabs on the back of picture frame so I couldn't get a single photo of her looking up. We'll give it another try this weekend.

The referral just had the basics. It didn't mention that Jia is incredibly gentle and sweet. She wants to give hugs to all kids looking sad or having meltdowns (not that they all want hugs at that point). It didn't say that she is sharp as a tack, never missing a beat. It didn't say that she has a wildly advanced sense of humor. It didn't say that there is nothing better than having her yell your name and run into your arms cheering. It also didn't say that we'd fall madly in love with her.

Introducing Heart on a Sleeve!

We've been trying to think of fun and creative ways to fundraise for this adoption from Taiwan and our next from Ethiopia (yes, we're planning that far ahead).

As a result, we developed Heart on a Sleeve - a little shop with playful designs for families, especially adoptive ones.

Here are some designs that are featured for kids:




Here are some designs that are featured for adults:



Please think of us when shopping for shower and birthday gifts, and when you want to buy yourself or your kids a little something! We would love it if you would bookmark our site and share it with your friends!!! Thanks!!

The Rest of the Day...

Mother's Day started off wonderfully, as noted below. It ended even better. We walked to the park while pulling Jia in a wagon. It was a shower gift many months ago and we finally put it together. She loved her new ride. It was windy out and we flew a kite. Perfect.



It is fantastic to finally be celebrating this day. Our daughter is such a gift. We feel that we are the luckiest people on earth to have her. I can't think of any more important thing in the whole world than to be her mother.

The Best Mother's Day Ever!

The best Mother's Day ever for me (and my first!), started with having the best daughter and the best husband ever.

Joe has been busy at nights lately, working hard on something. Look at what he created! (You can click on each page for a closer view. I skipped a few pages because Blogger keeps dropping the photos.)

I was so touched, and will treasure it forever. He incorporated a quote from my favorite author and from the journal that I keep for Jia. He contacted my family and friends for the project as well. What love!





Happy Mother's Day to all moms and all moms-to-be!

Jia's first time on the water!

Jia had her first boat ride last weekend. We spent the weekend with our fabulous neighbors at their cabin. Jia really enjoyed being on their pontoon boat. We have a few pictures of the event, and we'll post more as we receive them.

Our kid definitely has a sense of humor. She wore a huge life jacket (see below). As goldfish crackers were being distributed on the boat, she, of course, took a handful. But her life jacket was so big and her little arms so short that she couldn't reach to put them in her mouth. One would think that she would find this annoying, given her love of goldfish. To the contrary, she thought it was FUNNY! We all had a good laugh over it. We were a little apprehensive about the weekend, wondering whether she would nap or sleep, but it could not have been more perfect, and it was great family time.


Our neighbor, Cal, made sure to hold Jia's hand at the beginning of the boat ride.

Even though it was somewhat chilly, we bundled up and enjoyed ourselves thoroughly!

Despite her open-mouthed, stunned expression in the above photos, Jia did have a good time.

Ahhhhh, Spring!

We are loving being outside. Jia has been sniffing the flowers, and thinks everyone else should too.



Happily, no flowers were eaten, destroyed or seriously harmed in the taking of these photos.

Jia has also been hosting parties in her house. C'mon! You're all welcome! She's waiting!


We have a tunnel in the yard where our cats can enjoy the outdoors harm-free. Jia has been pretending to be a cat lately. We refused to secure the door, despite her requests.

Nothing beats having a slide right in your backyard!

By A Nose

Lest you be overwhelmed by the cuteness of the photos from the last posting, here is a recap of our conversation in the car today:

Jia: Uh-oh, uh-oh.

Mama: What is it?

Jia: Boog.

Mama: Okay, Mama will get it with a tissue. (Wipes hand.)

Jia (digging): Uh-oh, uh-oh. Boog.

Mama: Okay, let's just have Mama wipe them with a tissue from now on.

Jia (digging): No. Jia. (Digging.) Uh-oh, uh-oh. Boog.

Mama: Please give it to Mama in her tissue.

Jia: No. Jia eat!

Jia has also really, really been wanting to stick beans up her nose. We think she is channeling her sweet great-grandpa Homer who, as a child, desperately missing his brother, shoved a bean up his nose and refused to blow it out until his brother visited from many towns away.

By the way, the flower that Jia received on May Day met a similar fate as the rose below. She shredded it immediately, then ran with the remnants to the trash and shouted, "Away! Away!" So don't give us flowers anytime soon.