LINK TO OUR JOURNEY TO JILLIANA

LINK TO OUR JOURNEY TO JILLIANA
CLICK ON JILLIANA'S PHOTO TO FOLLOW OUR JOURNEY TO CHINA

Monday, March 26, 2012

Hello, Goodbye....a story of friendship rekindled

This is the story of two little girls that grew up in an orphanage in Guangdong, China
When Lily was almost 6 she was put on Lifeline's waiting child list along with her best friend,
Lyla.
To see this picture and to see Lily's picture today is remarkable.  We never saw her smile in the few pictures that we had of her.  Oh how I looked at this picture trying to imagine her life and what she was feeling.
This picture is actually from a short video that we had of both girls.  I was told that the girls were best friends.  When I heard this I knew that I would try to find out who was going to adopt Lyla and hope that they would be interested in keeping in touch.

Through the help of our agency we connected. We have been blessed to not only be able to keep these two little girls in touch but to become friends with her parents and her brother.

We don't know a lot about their lives in the orphanage, but from their personalities, I would guess that Lyla was the nurturer and Lily was the one that helped them survive.

Our goal has been to keep these girls in touch, since they have been like sisters.  In fact they have been sisters longer than Lily has been sisters with Emma, Meilynn, and Jilliana.

But with keeping in touch the girls have had several chances to say hello again, and good-bye.  And here is where the difference in their personalities really shows.  Saying good-bye is difficult for Lyla.  It breaks my heart that she is so sad everytime we say good-bye.  And it breaks my heart that Lily has had to learn to cope with so much that saying good-bye doesn't appear to be hard for her.  She has had to learn to survive and letting something like your best friend go, cannot break her.  Life goes on.  How many times did these little girls have to say good-bye to their friends through the years?
 Lily saying good-bye to Lyla at the Orphanage



Lily and I travel to Arkansas in August 2010.  The girls say hello after being apart for 6 months.




Good-bye in Arkansas,  August 2010

Hello in California in December 2010



Good-Bye December 2010

Hello in California July 2011


Goodbye in California July 2011



Hello in California March 2012
There she is!

So happy to see each other again!



We had such a great few days together!  There was a lot of good food to try.  Here the girls show their victory pose from China.
Lyla with Destiny
We took the train to the museum.














Daddy resting!  Another motorcycle injury!







We ate a lot of ice cream!


 More food!





And all too soon it was time to say good-bye again!  The most exciting thing about this trip was that Lyla and Lily were able to communicate with each other.  In the past we had to prompt their conversations since they were still getting used to English.  This time was different.  We were excited to hear them talking and having fun together.

I am looking forward to the next time we see them again.  Hopefully this summer!


Lyla, Lily, and Emma
Good-Bye March 2012






Next post, Spring Break 2012

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

I Don't Know Where To Start......

It has been awhile.... again!  I have been procrastinating again!!!  I know why, but it just happens.  I sit down to catch up on my blog and I see how much I have missed telling and then I give up.  I really do better when I post a couple of times a week, but now that I have let so many memories go by like this..
Meilynn's first lost tooth
and...
Jilliana's first birthday with us
and....
a special moment with Daddy at Disneyland
and...
Crazy weather in our town where it never snows and it did this day
and....
Meilynn giving Jilliana her first make-up lesson
and...
Jilliana's first Christmas
and....
Baking day with all of the girls in our family, back row, Meghan, Kami, me, Aunt Julie, Aunt Debbie, Grandma. First row, Lily, Jilliana, Emma, and Meilynn
and...
Special hugs for Grandma
and...
Crazy hat day at school
and...


a special day with Emma and Meilynn's teacher, baking cookies
and...


A special Pirate Themed Party out in the desert
and...
Lily getting Student of the Month in her class
and...
Valentine's Day and Two years home for Lily and one year home for Jilliana
and...
A special spa weekend with my Mom, two sisters, and two oldest daughters where everyone found out that I am going to be a GRANDMA!!!!
and....
A special lunch with Grandpa after Jilliana's Christmas School performance
and...

fun times playing dress up at the museum
and....
finding out that Meghan is having a GIRL!!!!!


I am going to try to not let the time go by and not post, because I am behind.  There is so much to share.  I have so much to talk about.  I have a discipline post that I started about three months ago, and even though those feelings are past, I know that they might be beneficial to someone going through the same thing. 


 I have a great idea that I did at Christmas that I really want to share.


  I have feelings of wanting to adopt one last time, but Mike does not have the same feelings and I know so many other women (although I do know of one man) who share this with me. 


 I have a daughter leaving to live in Barcelona and I know there are so many people dealing with their children leaving, whether it be to College, marriage, or moving away.


I don't have enough time in my day and I KNOW THAT YOU MAY BE DEALING WITH THAT TOO!


I have a desire to be closer to God.


So there is much to talk about and so much I did not even cover here.  I may not have any followers left since I have been so negligent, but I now have motivation to keep my daughter who is moving so far away and has been so close up to date.


So there you have it!  I have shared my weaknesses.


Next post will be about LIly and Lyla together again!  If you don't know the story it is about two little girls that grew up together in a Guangdong orphanage.  Both girls were adopted at the age of 6 within a few weeks of each other.  Lily lives in California and Lyla lives in Arkansas.  It is the story of two mother's knowing that it is an important for these two girls to remain in touch.