snippets...

Just in case you thought we'd forgotten! We did so much these last 10 weeks--oral surgery & fittings for a new partial, wedding calligraphy for 380+ invites (some twice!), a baby shower for my sister (in SC!), three (count them) 6-hour-one-way trips to SC, the Christmas parade, preschool, umm--Christmas (with its 400 cards)!, and then the odd backed-into car, busted waste pipe spewing sewage beneath the house, etc. Really, it's been quite calm (for not having medication)!

YoYo is our delight. Yesterday I woke from our afternoon nap when he patted my face gently & murmured, "So cute...so cute." Delicious boy! He got his Grandma when he asked to pray over lunch and proceeded to give thanks for "YeYe and NaiNai coming to my house to see me." He is so very sweet & deliberate. It is hard for me sometimes to remember his timid places, and that he likes to come to new people slowly and without fanfare.

Every time we turned around, it seemed, he begged us to sing "Silent Night" so he could make up a dance to it. He delighted in turning on the Christmas tree lights. He was so very careful each time he opened a present. He offered guests photos of himself (how he got a hold of them remains a mystery) or even ornaments from our tree, and he was so happy to decorate cookies on Christmas Eve.

We played in the leaves on Thanksgiving...


We went to the Franklin Christmas Parade with friends...


We spent time playing dress-up...


And did I mention we made cookies?

The only disappointment seemed to be when we headed to SC for the shower. YoYo made the cutest gingerbread (graham cracker) house in preschool, and he wanted to take it to show Nana and Papa. I forgot and left it in the kitchen, and as we rolled into Chesnee just shy of midnight, I heard his tiny voice pipe up, "Oh, no, Mama! I forgot my gingerbread house! I wanted to give it to Nana and Papa for a surprise!" I had no idea that was his plan. Sweetest little bear.

Fu Xia

I haven't posted in a while-I didn't realize anyone was still reading the blog til I got some "Hey you!" emails-sorry ;) I'll start anew with a Christmas wish.

I've said it many times, but YoYo's foster home--defies everything you've heard of Chinese orphanages. The children don’t share beds, the food is so good, the play area is well-organized, education is offered no matter the challenges. I am thankful Tian Yo lived his first years there. When we left, his ayis gave us four books with photos and letters in Chinese to be shared when he is older. Their love is the reason he is such a happy child.

The ayis now are trying to find a home for Fu Xia, their oldest charge. Born with arthogryposis and clubbed feet, Fu Xia was sent to an orphanage for severely mentally handicapped children. When a group from Blue Sky encountered him, they swept him up quickly. He was six. He’d never seen school or TV. Now eight, he attends school and has an incredible command of English. He’s a talented artist, working with brushes designed for his tightly arched hands, and his paintings grace the walls in large frames.

Fu Xia is such a strong personality, we were at the home hours before I realized he was rolling across the floor to get around. That blew my mind--I was the kid secretly terrified of children with physical challenges, watching the Jerry Lewis telethon with my Grandmother in quiet horror--but here was this boy, exuberant boy!, and he leapt into my heart before I could count his challenges. He laughs that his wheelchair is slow. He flung himself upstairs to give us a tour, proudly showing us his room. He wheels along the alley outside with children clinging to him; he's their big brother. When the volunteers were out, Fu Xia translated for us. Once I found him perched on a stool, carefully folding dumplings for the Cook. He is remarkable.

For several reasons, we're not currently eligible to adopt Fu Xia. My hope is to help him find parents. He is precious. In those first days with Tian Yo, Fu Xia asked us many questions, hiding his eyes when we left because we would not be taking him home. I grieve to remember when he told me, softly but matter-of-factly, “You have not come for me.” He broke my heart. I hope somewhere that a mother is not too afraid to love. I hope someone will come for him. I don’t know if his condition is treatable or correctable or manageable, but none of that matters because he is a child who needs a mother and father.

It has been nearly a month since I posted, and I hope you can forgive me for not offering fresh news of YoYo’s conquests. I am asking you instead for prayer and hope for this little one, and for information if you have seen him on any agency’s Waiting Child list. My Christmas wish, dare I breathe it, is to help this boy find a home.