It's so sad...

... how this poor little boy has nothing to play with, isn't it? No toys, no books, no crayons - nothing but a roll of toilet paper to amuse himself. He must have learned this from his sister:

Maggie in June 2006

Love Without Boundaries

Once upon a time, there was a newborn baby boy who was found at the gate of an orphanage in Fuling China on July 31, 2006. He was left with no note, and had a tumor on his lower back. The doctor estimated his birthday to be July 21, 2006 and he was named Bao Jin. Bao Jin was loved by his nannies, but was very limited in his movement due to his tumor. His development and growth suffered because of this too. The orphanage cared for Bao Jin the best way they knew how to, but knew that he would need more help if he were to thrive - help that they could not afford to give him. So the orphanage director contacted a charity named Love Without Boundaries to see what help could be given for this sweet boy. LWB was able to arrange for Bao Jin to travel to Shanghai with his caregiver to have surgery to remove this tumor. They were also able to pay for all of the travel costs and medical costs, so that this little boy could have a chance. One year later after the surgery, this baby is now a little boy who loves to throw toys, tackle his daddy, torment his sister and give kisses to his mommy.

LWB is now holding its annual auction on EBay to help raise funds for future operations like the one Ethan received. Please go here and bid on an auction item right now!

Ethan

February 17, 2008

March 17, 2008

April 2008

Blog Makeover!

To ring in Spring and to brighten up our website, I decided to have a blog makeover done. What do you think?

Also, "Thank You" Danielle for making over our blog - I think it looks FABULOUS! If any of you are interested in redoing your blog, please visit her site by clicking on the link posted above or at the bottom of our blog!

Please Keep this Family in your Thoughts

I have been following the blog of a family adopting a little girl from Malawi Africa. Please stop over at Crystal's blog and keep her and her family in your thoughs and prayers. She and her baby girl are trying to get back home to the rest of her family, but at are at the mercy of the government and embassy's timeline. Some of the things that Crystal has been writing about will break your heart, and will definitely put things in perspective in your life.

I'm a Big Kid Now

In the last month or so, Maggie decided that she wanted to start sleeping in a big girl bed now instead of her crib. Considering she is 3 now, she slept in her crib for a lot longer than I expected. So off we went to Toys R Us to get a new toddler bed. As an added surprise, I also picked up new Dora bed sheets to make the transition even more exciting for her. With a little bit of sadness on my part, John took down her crib and put her new bed in place. So far so good - Maggie has been doing really well about staying in her bed during the night and waiting for us to get her out of bed in the morning. One thing to work on - getting her to keep her pillow and the comforter on the bed and not throw them off in the middle of the night!

Here are some pics of her new bed and Dora sheets - exciting stuff!

Spring has Sprung (for now)

Sunday was the perfect spring day, sunny and warm. We headed over to the park to enjoy the sunshine and shake the cabin fever away!

Miss Maggie enjoying the swing. She has been begging for a swingset!

Ethan enjoying his first swing - love that smile!

Smiling for Daddy!

Random Easter Pictures

I know, I know - I have been seriously slacking on the blog. Why didn't anyone warn me that having two kids meant having ten times more work??? ;)

Anyway, I'm posting some pictures from our Easter in Y-town - enjoy!