Birthday Boy!

 

 

There are very few birthday photos of Will without

him near our Christmas tree.

Will is our Christmas baby.

 

 

 

 

Recently I asked Will a few questions and thought I'd share them ~

 

What do you like about the fact that your birthday is on Christmas Day?

(Will) I love that it's Jesus' birthday and it's when the baby King was born.
 I also

really like to get presents.

 

What are your favorite subjects in school?(he loves school)

(Will) Math and Science. Mostly I like them because I love to learn new things and

how to figure out how things work.

 

Who's your current favorite Superhero or Crime Fighter?

(Will) It's a tie between Batman and Wolverine.

 

What do you want to be when you grow up?

(Will) A Scientist, rock star, athlete, and Doctor

 

 

 

 

We have no doubt that William will accomplish all those things and more!

This mom hopes for the doctor, I dream of him helping children someday.

 

Happy Birthday sweet boy, we love you to the moon and back!

 

 

 

 







Sunday Snapshot - A Merry (Birthday) Christmas

Guess who's 6 years old?

Will!

His birthday is Christmas Day but we celebrate it
a little early. Otherwise there's just
too much going on and his birthday gets lost
in the day.

At age 6, Will is:

confident,

handsome,

smart,

athletic (he may be teaching his hip hop class pretty soon),

funny,

a love bug,

loves Kindergarten, his teacher,

and his family.

He's grown more emotionally in the last year
than in the previous 2 years combined.
When I look at these pictures, I see a very happy little boy.
We've come a long way
and I'm happy we've made the journey!

(five!)

I don't know how you can look at the above picture
 and not smile,

even just a little bit.

Will is 5!

We officially celebrated his special day on Thanksgiving weekend when our entire family was gathered

at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

With a Christmas birthday, I feel like it's important to try and not let his birthday celebration

get lost in Christmas.

Next year he'll have a party with his friends too.

He's not a toddler anymore, he's definitely a little boy.

At five he loves to build with his TRIO sets,

anything Lightning McQueen, play games on his DS he got for Christmas,
sing, dance, draw,

and (presently) his very favorite thing is to play in the snow with his sister.
(The past 2 previous Winters he's been less than enthusiastic about going outside).

2 months ago I couldn't see that he was anywhere near ready
 for Kindergarten, but

 can confidently say now he

 will be ready in all ways to start

in the Fall.
He's an amazing little guy.

Will is a joy and everyone
 that meets him falls in love immediately

with this special child!

black and white Wednesday - the blessings of Christmas

For with God nothing shall be impossible.

Luke 1:37

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for behold,

I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

Luke 2:10

(This was a post written 2 years ago, it's been changed a little to where we are right now in our lives).

Five years ago on an early Christmas morning in China, a baby was born.

I imagine he had swaddling clothes and came from humble beginnings.  We will never know for certain but I do know his parents left him in a place where he could be easily found and cared for.  This baby boy had a large cleft palate and lip which made it extremely difficult for him to be fed. Fortunately he was placed into the hands of those who could help him and they did.

They not only saved his life but provided him a loving and nurturing home.

On the same day of his birth, on the opposite side of the world, a family celebrated their first Christmas in Wisconsin. Their lives had changed so much in the prior two years with the adoption of their daughter, changing jobs and moving from Chicago. They never dreamed that 5 years later, the baby boy born on the other side of the world....so fragile and innocent...would be celebrating his birthday and Christmas in their home as part of their loving family.

 Our lives are woven from many threads.

His name traces his journey.

The first name given to him was You Sheng which means "gift from heaven." 

 His second name was Michael, after his foster father.  We named him William and call him "Will" because he came to us by the "will of God," just as our daughter Grace came to us by the "grace of God."
When you start on an adoption journey, you never know the final destination or path that will be woven before you.
The wait may be agonizing at times, but worth it in all ways.

The first verse above reflects the "impossibility" of our family getting to where we are today. 
Will has become an integral part of our family after surviving enough ordeals in his brief time on earth to last most people a life time.  He's now a happy, sweet child who does not carry his past hardships as scars but rather faint memories of a past which fade each day. 

He's a joy and gift that we treasure.

The second verse refers to the "Christmas Miracle" and is an invitation to the world
to open their hearts to peace, love and hope.

 And we hope the invitation is accepted.

Giving (which is sharing what we have with others) is really what Christmas is all about.
No greater gift can we give than ourselves...our time, our love, our heads, our hearts
and for an orphan child...a family.
 Our Christmas miracle is also our family.
We all took different paths to get here but we are here now.

We combine our threads and weave the path forward...together.

This Christmas we joyfully celebrate the birth of Christ,
 and the 5th birthday of our son,

 William Michael Yousheng. 

Merry Christmas!

 May you find the blessings of Christmas - peace, love and hope...today and everyday.

With love from,

Gail, Dan, Nick, Grace
 and William