Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Fun with Family and Friends
We are still in the States enjoying our time with everyone. We head back to China on July 9, though we won't be home until July 11. Here are a bunch of pics from the last few weeks. I don't plan to update again until we are back in China.
Monday, May 28, 2007
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Vera's learned a new sound!
We've been trying to get Little V to work on her pronunciation. Watch to see what new sound she's learned. Plus an added bonus that I'm sure mommy and daddy think is much funnier than any of you!
Vera's had a busy week!
Vera has been keeping herself busy this week. Here's what she's been doing...
She loves to color! When she saw me post this picture, she kept saying, "Color, color."
Lily came over to play one afternoon. She is the foster daughter of a foreign couple here. We are excited that she's being adopted (probably going to America in June), but sad that Vera is losing her playmate.
She loves posing for pics!
Another of Vera's favorite activities is building with Legos. She did have a little help with this! Mommy also has fun with Legos!
Remember her pillow I mentioned in a previous post....here she is enjoying a rest one afternoon. Can't rest without the pillow!
We bought her a little potty for her half birthday hoping that she will get used to sitting on it and eventually learn what it's for. The morning after we got it, she climbed onto the couch to sit on it, and pulled up a good book to read. Already enjoying books while sitting on the pot!
She loves to color! When she saw me post this picture, she kept saying, "Color, color."
Lily came over to play one afternoon. She is the foster daughter of a foreign couple here. We are excited that she's being adopted (probably going to America in June), but sad that Vera is losing her playmate.
She loves posing for pics!
Another of Vera's favorite activities is building with Legos. She did have a little help with this! Mommy also has fun with Legos!
Remember her pillow I mentioned in a previous post....here she is enjoying a rest one afternoon. Can't rest without the pillow!
We bought her a little potty for her half birthday hoping that she will get used to sitting on it and eventually learn what it's for. The morning after we got it, she climbed onto the couch to sit on it, and pulled up a good book to read. Already enjoying books while sitting on the pot!
Street Corner Band
A couple of nights ago as we were making dinner we heard singing from the street corner below. We live in the middle of the island, essentially downtown, so it's pretty busy around here most nights. We were surprised by the size of the crowd and by how often we were hearing "xie xie" (thank you) as street corner singers are usually ignored. After dinner Matt went down to see what all of the commotion was. He was very surprised to see that the band was composed of five disabled men. The singer/keyboardist was blind, and the other four men all had disabilities involving their limbs (missing or disabled arms/legs). Usually men like this are seen begging near bus stops, outside of shopping centers, etc. These men have found a better way to make a living.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Small Successes
Living in a foreign country is almost never easy, and definitely something one must feel called to before doing it. The hardest parts are being away from family and always being "the foreigner".
This morning I brought Vera to the Future Hope classroom. She played with the toys, and I watched the kids. Something to remember about the kids... A little more than a year ago some couldn't walk. Some couldn't talk. Some were afraid of strangers. We started with four kids in the Xiamen program. There are now 8 full time and a few part time. We just moved to a much larger classroom and within the next couple of weeks, 7 new kids are coming to the program.
Looking at the lives of these children before the program and looking at them now reminds me why we have chosen to live a life that is not easy. We've chosen a more difficult life, but the rewards are great. Here are some of the successes I've seen recently.
--A 12 year old boy with CP that is just learning to read and write. Today after tracing the number 16 a few times, he proceeded to write it by himself. The loop on the 6 was really difficult. If you could have just seen his smile when he figured out how to make that loop!
--An 8 year old mentally handicapped girl that used to run and yell when a stranger came near. She is receptive to the teachers, okay when new people come in the room, always smiling, and a joy to all of us!
--A 10 year old boy with CP that was "hopeless". He didn't do anything for himself. He is becoming very independent and is learning to read, write, add, subtact. He loves to sing, greet visitors, and has a big, beautiful smile. He's the star of his class!
--A three year old blind boy didn't want anyone near him when he started coming to class. Today two teachers were working with him trying to teach him to walk. It's hard to know what to do when you've never seen someone else do it.
--A 9 year old girl with CP. She has the spastic kind where her muscles are really loose, and she has trouble controlling her movements. She is unable to talk. Despite her disabilities she is VERY smart. A year and a half ago, she couldn't crawl, stand, or walk. Today I saw a short video of her walking about 7 steps from one teacher to another. She looked like a baby taking its first steps. Our special educator could only say, "It's a miracle." Noone would have ever thought we would see her walking!
For those of you who support us and our work here, thank you!
This morning I brought Vera to the Future Hope classroom. She played with the toys, and I watched the kids. Something to remember about the kids... A little more than a year ago some couldn't walk. Some couldn't talk. Some were afraid of strangers. We started with four kids in the Xiamen program. There are now 8 full time and a few part time. We just moved to a much larger classroom and within the next couple of weeks, 7 new kids are coming to the program.
Looking at the lives of these children before the program and looking at them now reminds me why we have chosen to live a life that is not easy. We've chosen a more difficult life, but the rewards are great. Here are some of the successes I've seen recently.
--A 12 year old boy with CP that is just learning to read and write. Today after tracing the number 16 a few times, he proceeded to write it by himself. The loop on the 6 was really difficult. If you could have just seen his smile when he figured out how to make that loop!
--An 8 year old mentally handicapped girl that used to run and yell when a stranger came near. She is receptive to the teachers, okay when new people come in the room, always smiling, and a joy to all of us!
--A 10 year old boy with CP that was "hopeless". He didn't do anything for himself. He is becoming very independent and is learning to read, write, add, subtact. He loves to sing, greet visitors, and has a big, beautiful smile. He's the star of his class!
--A three year old blind boy didn't want anyone near him when he started coming to class. Today two teachers were working with him trying to teach him to walk. It's hard to know what to do when you've never seen someone else do it.
--A 9 year old girl with CP. She has the spastic kind where her muscles are really loose, and she has trouble controlling her movements. She is unable to talk. Despite her disabilities she is VERY smart. A year and a half ago, she couldn't crawl, stand, or walk. Today I saw a short video of her walking about 7 steps from one teacher to another. She looked like a baby taking its first steps. Our special educator could only say, "It's a miracle." Noone would have ever thought we would see her walking!
For those of you who support us and our work here, thank you!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
