Storm of the Century...

Maggie's Picnic Table

The back yard and playhouse

Maggie in the driveway - what was shoveled so far!

Maggie and our neighbor Julia playing in the snow banks!

Maggie stuck in the snow

...or at least for 2008. We got hit with 12 inches of snow since yesterday! It's supposed to slow down tonight, but we will be digging ourselves out for a while. Plus it will take the city snow plows at least 4 or 5 days before they get to our road, so we may be taking the 4-wheel drive truck everywhere. Of course, next week is supposed to warm up into the 50's - so we'll probably be facing flash floods with all of the melting snow. Perfect!

John had to shovel the driveway twice, and will probably need to do it once more tomorrow. Maggie got to play outside for a while with her friend Julia, while Ethan and I stayed inside.
Maybe he'll get to play in the snow tomorrow, but for now - inside was much cozier for us!

Our First Outing

Since Monday was so nice here, we decided to head to the zoo for the day. Ethan and Maggie were going stir crazy (and I think John was too), and we all enjoyed the weather, getting the sunshine on us and blowing the stink off of us.

We are HOME!

After a 30 hour trip, we finally got home late Thursday night. We ended up having an almost 3-hour delay in Newark NJ, so instead of getting in at 7 PM - we landed at 10:00 PM. It was a very long flight. Ethan was kind of a terror, but that is all we could expect from a 19-month old who wants to boogie around! He didn't sleep very well on the flight, and was totally off his sleep schedule. We are still paying the price for that now - he is not sleeping through the night yet. Poor kid is so sleep deprived right now, which means John and I are too.

Maggie looks like she grew 6 inches in the 2 weeks we were gone! She looked like such a big girl now - I can't believe I can actually pick her up still. Compared to Maggie, Ethan is so light! We missed her so much, but it was definitely the right decision to keep her here. The trip was hard enough - having a 3 year old along would have made it even hard.

I'll be posting more now, as we catch up on our sleep...

Off We Go!

We fly out tomorrow! Our flight will be 15-16 hours long, so we won't be able to post until Friday night/Saturday morning at the earliest.

Follow our trip at this site. Talk to you soon!

Only 6 more to go

Only 6 more days until we leave - we're coming, Ethan!

We also got a call today from our adoption agency. They have been able to get in touch with Ethan's orphanage to make sure the kids are doing okay, with all of the storms they have been getting hit with. The orphanage said Ethan is doing well - it is colder than usual, but all of the children are doing okay. They can't take the kids outside to play and to get fresh air due to the cold, but they are doing fine. WHAT A RELIEF!

Happy New Year!

Gung Hay Fat Choy!

Happy New Year, everyone! Today starts Chinese New Year, the Year of the Rat. Maggie is wearing new clothes today, and will be celebrating with her preschool friends. She is taking in red envelopes with chocolate coins, coloring pages, firecracker candy and a book that talks about Chinese New Year. She also made a paper lantern to help celebrate:

Tonight, we will have dinner at our favorite Chinese restaurant to complete the celebration!

Holding up Half the Sky

Holding up Half the Sky

One day an elephant saw a hummingbird lying on its back with its tiny feet up in the air.

"What are you doing?" asked the elephant.

The hummingbird replied, "I heard that the sky might fall today, and so I am ready to help hold it up, should it fall."

The elephant laughed cruelly. "Do you really think," he said, "that those tiny feet could help hold up the sky?"

The hummingbird kept his feet up in the air, intent on his purpose, as he replied, "Not alone. But each must do what he can. And this is what I can do."

— A Chinese Folktale

As many of you have read in the news, China is being hit with its worst snowstorm and winter weather in at least 50 years. Unfortunately, this is affecting a lot of the orphanges (Social Welfare Institutes) in China, and the children in the SWIs are in trouble. Some of them are in remote areas, and are running out of diapers, food, blankets and having to deal with broken heaters and water heaters, with no access to get supplies due to the snow. It breaks my heart to think that Ethan might be cold or hungry, but I have to keep the faith that he is being well taken care of. I know the nannies and staff put the babies' needs first, but the orphanages need our help.

There is a way to help out these babies - please visit Half The Sky right now and click on the Little Mouse Emergency Fund to donate as little as $25 to help these orphanges get the help they need right away. $25 is not a lot to most people, but that money may help save a child and help get an orphange through this terrible winter.