A tame evening
We’re having a tame evening around here.
There was no church service tonight so we enjoyed dinner at the local Japanese restaurant and then moseyed over to a neighboring video store. I didn’t see any movies of particular interest but Carmi and Eliana picked out a couple of older flicks: Walt Disney’s The Parent Trap from 1998 and The Little Vampire from 2000 which they are now watching.
As usual, I’m meandering around the net and taking an occasional break to run in the living room when I hear the girls giggling. I don’t want to miss the good parts, ya know?
A short recap of 2006
January
We received a letter on the 13th from the Charlotte USCIS office stating that they had received our I-600A.
We attended the Charlotte FCC Chinese New Year celebration on the 22nd.
We held our own local Chinese New Year celebration on the 28th. There were 10 children present (5 China girls) and 14 adults.
February
Tommi cat came home on the 3rd.
We attended a CWA get-together in Charlotte on the 4th.
Our homestudy was completed and mailed to the Charlotte USCIS office on the 15th.
We threw three early birthday parties for Eliana. The first was at her preschool on the 17th during lunch. The second was at our house with immediate family on the morning of the 18th and the theme was ‘Dora the Explorer’. The final party was at Michael’s on the afternoon of the 18th. Most of the attendees were children from church.
Eliana turned 4 on the 20th.
March
Doug turned 43 on the 14th.
We went to Atlantic Beach in North Carolina on the 30th for Carmi to attend a weekend-long work-related seminar.
April
We were fingerprinted at the Charlotte USCIS office on the 6th.
We received our I-171H on the 12th.
Frosty cat died on the 15th.
Carmi turned 43 on the 19th.
May
We attended the first annual Charlotte Dragon Boat Festival at Ramsey Creek Park in Cornelius on the 6th.
We received our authenticated documents from the North Carolina Secretary of State on the 24th.
June
We went to Charleston, SC on the 2nd for a spring picnic sponsored by CWA.
The authentication process for our documents was completed when our paperwork returned to us on the 7th. The documents had been to the United States Secretary of State office and the Chinese Embassy in Washington, DC.
Our dossier was mailed to CWA’s main office in Charleston, SC on the 10th.
CWA mailed our dossier to China on the 13th.
Our dossier was logged into the China system on the 20th.
July
Carmi’s mom hosted a family cookout on the 4th.
Doug led a mission team of 85 people from our home church to Charleston, WV for a week-long missions trip on the 9th.
We finally settled on a name for Eliana’s baby sister on the 26th. Her name will be Karys Georgeanne.
Doug participated in a blogathon on the 29th. The purpose of the blogathon was to submit a blog entry every 30 minutes for 24 straight hours and in the process to raise money for a charity of our choice. Doug chose to try and raise $600 to sponsor a nanny in a Chinese orphanage for one year through the Half the Sky Foundation. He successfully raised the money, by the way.
August
Doug launched a new website on the 25th for the 2008 Summer Olympics which will be held in Beijing, China. The site features news stories dealing specifically with the Olympics.
We discovered a new family hobby called Geocaching. Our first treasure hunt was on the 26th.
September
We went to North Myrtle Beach, SC with Doug’s sister and brother-in-law, Kerry and Art, on the 2nd.
Eliana attended her first Chinese language class on the 16th.
Eliana had her first cavity filled on the 21st.
October
Eliana attended her first dance class on the 2nd. She has since decided that she doesn’t like dance and is no longer taking the class.
We had a yard sale on the 6th at Doug’s mom’s house to raise money for our adoption.
Doug’s DadBloggers site was featured in a front-page article in the Charlotte Observer on the 10th.
Carmi and Doug attended the ‘Fall Festival of Marriage’ weekend at Ridgecrest beginning on the 13th. Eliana stayed with Doug’s mom and Carmi’s mom spent the weekend with them as well.
We attended a little meet-n-greet in Monroe sponsored by CWA on the 28th. There were 11 families present.
November
Carmi and Doug’s 20th wedding anniversary was on the 15th.
Doug updated our blog with a new design on the 21st.
December
Doug directed the church’s Sanctuary Choir Christmas cantata entitled ‘Let There Be Light’ on the evening of the 17th.
Carmi’s hobby of jewelry making has become sort of a side business with the sale of several necklaces and bracelets to coworkers. Look for her Bead Store coming soon to this site.
Making cookies
We’ll shop another day
Another program on television that Carmi and I do like to watch is called Clean Sweep on The Learning Channel. If you’ve never seen it, here’s my synopsis: the crew goes into a trashy-looking home, completely empties out at least one room (sometimes two) and then brings in a designer for a complete remodel on a limited budget.
It’s very inspiring. Sometimes a little too much so because Carmi gets that gleam in her eye and wants to do something around OUR house. Today we were both bitten by the bug.
She and I rearranged furniture in our boudoir earlier in the year. Even though a computer desk was added, there actually seemed to be more space with the new layout. Months later and the room is still good except for the corner where our computer lives. We feel like better use can be made of that real estate so the three of us set out after lunch in search of the perfect desk.
We first went to Staples because they carry a large assortment of office-type furniture. I’ll wager that we looked at every piece a minimum of 3 times and at the end of the day, nothing struck our fancy. Then we went to Wal-Mart where a really cute desk and printer stand called to us but we resisted because, “there’s probably something better at Target”. Well, Target didn’t have squat. World Market was a bust as was Pier 1. After 2-1/2 hours, the light of inspiration was all but extinguished and Eliana was getting cranky (yes mom, it’s true) so we returned home empty-handed.
We’ll shop another day.
Saddam Hussein is dead
I was just watching FOX News when, at 10:10 pm EST, Al Arabiya reported that Saddam Hussein was hanged for crimes against humanity and has been pronounced dead.
I don’t believe there can be any doubt that this man was guilty of terrible atrocities and yet I still feel a twinge of sadness to hear the announcement of his own demise.
Worth the drive
Eliana went with Carmi to work this morning. Our plan was then for me to drive to Charlotte, meet the two of them for lunch and bring Eliana home.
I made it to Charlotte by 12:45 and waited in the lobby of Carmi’s building for my two favorite girls to come down. As I stared out lobby glass and watched the activity of business downtown, my ears soon picked up a faint, “Daddeeeee!” The voice was made faint by distance but there was still no denying who owned that beautiful voice. I turned around to see Eliana running towards me as fast as those little legs would carry her. All the while, she’s yelling “Daddy!” every dozen steps or so with a big smile on her face. Her momentum wouldn’t let her slow down. She ran into my arms at full-speed and almost knocked me to the floor but I managed to steady myself.
I really don’t like going to Charlotte but that greeting and hug was absolutely worth the drive!
We ate lunch at a Chinese restuarant and this was the fortune in my fortune cookie:
It’s time for these fortunes to come true.
Nationwide plan for better care of orphans
Source article: China Daily
The Ministry of Civil Affairs said yesterday more welfare institutions for orphans will be built in the next five years.
Dou Yupei, vice-minister of civil affairs, said the ministry would allocate 200 million yuan (US$25 million) annually between now and 2010 to build welfare institutions in each prefecture-level city across the country.
The institutions will have multiple functions, such as better care, education and rehabilitation, Dou said at a donation ceremony yesterday.
The plan, called the “Blue Sky Plan,” means orphans will live under the same blue sky as normal children. This was advocated by President Hu Jintao during a visit to a children’s welfare institution on June 1.
China now has 66,000 orphans living in public welfare institutions and more than 570,000 living with families, according to the ministry.
Half the orphans living in welfare institutions suffer from physical disabilities or congenital diseases.
Dou said another children’s welfare plan, the “Tomorrow Plan,” has achieved fruitful results since it was launched in May 2004.
The Tomorrow Plan, which provides rehabilitation to all handicapped orphans, has brought new life to more than 25,000 children, 10 per cent of whom have now been adopted by families.
Orphans suffering from congenital diseases or physical disabilities receive free treatment or operations.
Dou said the new plan, implemented by the China Centre of Adoption Affairs under the ministry, is expected to be completed by May next year and would be extended to children of poor families.
“China is still a developing country with limited government funding for welfare,” Dou said.
“We are very grateful for the donations and support from home and other countries and hope more warm-hearted organizations and individuals will join our cause in the welfare of children.”
