Photos from the last couple of months!

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Waiting waiting text me!

Well it is now 9:13 pm in New Zealand and we haven't heard anything from Jacqueline! Hope hand over has gone well for the 3 NZ families recieving their daughters today! Emily can't wait to meet Lina and Eva! Neither can Aiden, Keith and of course me!
Just to think it will be us in their shoes soon!
Hugs to the new families
Ruth

WAITING!

Well the waiting continues and family life is getting busier and busier!
Aiden has taken to surfing and has lessons each week! That is great since the beach is just down the hill!
Also he has settled into John McGlashan well and loves the school and the challenges that brings!
We have had an amazing year with loads of challenges!
Emily loves her daily routine of school and then home for a nap and then it is chitter chatter non stop so fantastic! Also we have had a busy time with visitors and adventurers!
Emily has bben to Hi 5 and now the Dorothy the Dinosaur and now we have tickets for Barney! She just loves it!
I will up load photos shortly so you can see the changes in our princess!
Aroha Nui!
Ruth

July 13 documents have been referred!

Well we have been very quiet It is now August but we haven't had referrals yet in New Zealand yet but we are expecting referrals for one of two groups who had their paperwork in China in July!
So they will hopefully have both sets of referrals before the end of the month!
We look like we will not meet Alice until March April 2007 as the wait for all families has extended out!
It is hard waiting but we have two wonderful children at home and that helps immensley.

Aiden has really enjoyed his first 6 months at a college and really is into theatre sports and hockey this year is looking at how to fit in Piano lessons on top of all he does!

Emily is at Montessori 5 days a week!
And says things like "I love my Alice!" "Alice is in China waiting for us mummy!" "when I go on a plane I will get Alice?"
So currently Alice is involved in all our talk!
Emily finds it hard to understand why Alice won't be at her birthday party!
Yes Emily is about to celebrate her 3rd birthday! So that is all fun filled!

We had a fantastic time in WEllington at the Chinese Embassey with her friends Zara and Marlese!
And meeting up with Sophie, Meillyn and our friends and kids in Wellington too!
Well I need to pop Emily to bed!
Take care
Love Ruth

100 Good Wishes Quilt

We are making a quilt for both Emily and Alice. It is based on a tradition which exists in the northern part of China to make a Bai Jia Bei (a.k.a. 100 Good Wishes Quilt). The family invites friends and family to contribute a square of cloth along with their wish for the baby. Part of the square goes into the quilt for the baby, and the other part goes into a scrapbook with the wish for the child. It is said that the quilt contains the luck, energy, and good wishes from everyone who contributed a piece of fabric.

The adoption community has grasped this idea and we often do a quilt square swap with various of the Yahoo groups we are part of. Along with the fabric that is used for the quilt you send a "wish" on a card with your name and address and a small piece of the material. These cards can be put in a scrapbook and when the child is older they can enjoy looking through their Wishes book and match the materials to the quilt and where the fabric came from. Many of us will collect squares and wishes from our family and friends as well. This tradition shows our children just how much they were loved before they even arrived home, and becomes a special heirloom for them.

So if you would like to participate then you can send a piece of fabric which is either- 7”x 7” rotary cut square. If you are cutting the fabric by hand, please cut 8”x8” squares to allow for variance in cutting.



Some tips:
· Choose a 100% cotton fabric that you like.
· The wishes themselves can be just a heartfelt thought you dream up, a famous or not-so-famous quote, song lyrics, scripture passages, a family recipe, …you name it as long as you feel it will be uplifting to the child and family.
· It should include a small snippet of the fabric you used for the squares. That way, our children will be able to match it up to the quilt when they are older.
· There is a lot of personal choice in how to present the wishes. Theoretically, put the wish and a 1x1 square of the included fabric on a 3x5 or 5x7 card. It can be as plain or as fancy as you want to make it. You can hand write it, computer print it, use scrapbook supplies, scan the fabric and color print it on the paper, use cardstock, use stickers, use stamps.... it is completely up to you.

For some ideas of completed quilts, go to