Mixed Nuts: Chinese New Year

Quotes

"There is no better way to thank God for your sight than by giving a helping hand to someone in the dark." - Helen Keller
When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, "I used everything you gave me." ~Erma Bombeck
You may never know how strong you are, until being strong is your only choice.- Unknown
Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see a shadow' ~Helen Keller
Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.
Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened."- Dr. Seuss
"Life is 10% what happens to you, and 90% how you react to it."
"God doesn't give children with disabilities to strong people: He gives them to ordinary, everyday people, then He helps the parents to grow stronger through the journey. Raising a child with special needs doesn't TAKE a special family, it MAKES a special family."Author Unknown
I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go – Abraham Lincoln
Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man. ~ Benjamin Franklin
There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as if everything is a miracle - Albert Einstein
The journey of a 1000 miles starts with a single step
Sometimes in the middle of an ordinary life, love gives you a fairy tale
Where there is great love, there are always miracles - Willa Cather
The Difficult we can do immediately, the impossible takes a little longer
Doing what you like is freedom. Liking what you do is happiness
There are two lasting bequests we can give our children. One is roots. The other is wings.
Be the change you want to see in the world
Don't tell God how big the storm is, tell the storm how big Your God is..........
Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it
Fall down seven times - get up eight - unknown
Despite our differences, we sink or swim together
Life may not be the party we expected, but while we are here, we might as well dance
"The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones." -Confucius

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Chinese New Year

Each year, our family celebrates Chinese New Year with Cainan. It is very low key - we have dinner, get out our few decorations, and buy a book or two about Chinese new year to add to our growing collection.

This year is the year of the dragon. The kids are excited about that. This year we are going to have our wonderful new neighbors over to celebrate with us. It will be so fun. They have two kids around the age of Finley and Cainan, and our kids all get along great. It will be nice to sit and chat and relax.

We are going to order Chinese food, Lisa is going to bring some amazing dessert (because she makes amazing food), and we will enjoy having company. It will be fun.

Cainan is starting to understand about being Chinese. He has always said it. He will tell anyone who will listen "I am Chinese!" "I am from China!" But I don't really think he got it. I still don't think he completely understands, but little by little, the light is turning on in his head. We talked the other day about how he had a mother before me. This brought one quite a few questions. He knows he was adopted, but again - what did that mean to him? Not sure. He did tell me his missed his first mother. But again - it wasn't with any kind of real "knowing". He tells me he misses his toys. It was kind of the same tone.

But there will be a day where he will express that he misses her. Or wonders about her. And that will be okay. He should wonder. He should miss her. My worry lies in when he asks me why she gave him up? When he is mad at us and asks why he can't go live with her. What do I tell him? I don't even know the answer to those questions. We have our guesses - based on what we know about the Chinese culture. But we don't know the truth. And that might be the most frustrating part for him.

He will never know who she is. The records are burned after a child is adopted. There is no way to find the children and no way to find the biological family. How will he take that? I know many kids won't care. But what if he does? What if he wishes more than anything he can find his birth family? We can't make that happen for him.

We are his family and we are his parents. We will help him through any difficulties related to adoption that he may go through. Hopefully he will believe that he was adopted because his birth mother wanted a better life for him that she couldn't give him. That she gave birth to him, but I am his mom. I will always be his mom.