A New Year

As a new year approaches I think it's pretty natural for all of us to reflect back on the old one. There have been years for me that have been difficult and sad and very hard to get through. There are a fair amount of folks who can say 2008 wasn't great, in fact it was pretty bad. Some years seem to pass by uneventfully. And there are years of great joy. It's obvious that this has been one of those for our family. I originally wanted to post some pics that summarized our year, but instead decided to simplify and choose one. The above photograph of me and our funny, sweet and loving little boy sums it all so well. Happy New Year! May it bring you great joy! I hope 2009 is good to you.

Weekend in Chicago

Looking south down North Michigan Avenue, the 700 block. It was quite foggy on Friday night.


Pretty lights on many of the trees.

Horse drawn carriage.

Chicago's Old Water Tower lit at night.

The Museum of Science and Industry.

We spent 3 days in Chicago and had a really lovely time and stayed at the Allerton Hotel which is on the 700 block of North Michigan Ave. We'd never stayed there before, it was built in the 1920's and was fairly recently rehabbed. If you've read my blog before you know Chicago is quite near and dear to our hearts and we never tire of visiting our favorite city. Friday night we walked down to the old Water Tower and Grace and William were fascinated with the lights, the people and many horse drawn carriages on the street. Saturday we spent a large part of the day at the Museum of Science and Industry, William loved the trains, airplanes and race cars. Grace loved the great tree in the main hallway, the Christmas tree decorated in a Chinese theme and the Fairy Castle. Dan and I loved it all because we've been going to this museum since we were young children. William took a nap that afternoon and I got some alone time with Grace at the American Girl Store where we did a little clothes shopping for her 2 new dolls and Grace got a new dress that matched one of the doll dresses. Later we had dinner and checked out a few more stores on North Michigan Avenue. On Sunday we visited friends from Grace's travel group and spent the afternoon. Grace is staying there now with her best friend Julia for 2 days while the 3 of us are back at home. Will keeps asking me where his Jie Jie is. This is Dan's last week home with us as he starts his new job next Monday and it's been so great for Will(and me) to have him around for these 2 months. :)

Christmas eve and day...and taking a break

Miss Grace on Christmas eve.

Christmas Eve. Our grown son Nick reading a book to Will, Grace opening a gift and me with my 2 littles.

William on Christmas day waiting for Grandma and Grandpa and his Uncle Phil to arrive.

Some pics of our Christmas morning and day, Will's first look at his train table, Grace with her 2 new dolls, Grace and Will playing with his racetrack and Will blowing out the candles on his birthday cake.

And silly boy William this morning with a bowl on his head!

Christmas eve we went to an early church service and after that we celebrated in the Swedish tradition(since I'm half Swedish) of opening some gifts on Christmas eve. This one was very special to me because it was just us...Dan and I and our 3 children. I really felt like the best gift for me was seeing my 2 young children playing happily with their big brother Nick.

Grace woke up at 7:00am wanting to see what Santa had brought and William woke up shortly after that. The look on William's face was precious and of absolute surprise...when he saw that Santa had brought him a train table and train set, he looked upward and said, "Thank you Santa!" His thank you was so genuine and sweet. Grandma, Grandpa and Uncle Phil came over for the day so there were more gifts exchanged. Dan and I made a huge Christmas dinner which I'll brag a little and say was quite a success. William found another best bud with his Uncle Phil (my youngest brother) who's a kid at heart. Later in the afternoon we celebrated Will's 3rd birthday with a cake.

Now as I write this on the day after Christmas it's almost hard to believe that it's come and gone, my house looks like an explosion of toys and we have cookies and cake and food to last weeks I think. LOL. Later today we leave for a trip to stay in downtown Chicago for a few days to see the decorated store windows of Macy's(former Marshall Field's), go to the Museum of Science and Industry, check out the American Girl store with Grace and visit some dear friends. I hope your Christmas was beautiful and very special...I'll be back next week. :)

Merry Christmas!

From our home to yours, we wish you the most wonderful holiday!

Our Christmas Miracle

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

For with God nothing shall be impossible.

Luke 1:37

Three years ago on an early Christmas morning in China, a baby was born. I imagine he had swaddling clothes and came from humble beginnings. I do know his mother left him in a place where he could be found and this little boy had a large cleft palate and lip which made it extremely difficult to feed him. 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. They never dreamed that 3 years later, the baby boy born on the other side of the world....so fragile and innocent...would be celebrating in their home as part of their family. Lives are weaved from many threads.

His name traces his journey. The first name given to him was You Sheng which means "from heaven." His foster parents named him Michael after the archangel - whom God sends to fight against evil. 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 the adoption journey, you never know the final destination or the path that will be woven before you. I can guarantee that it will have hills and valleys but can't offer insight to their height/depth and duration.

The first verse above refers to the "Christmas Miracle" and is an invitation to the world to open their hearts to peace, love and kindness. 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 our family. We all took different paths to get here but we are all here now. We combine our threads and weave the path forward...together.

This Christmas we joyfully celebrate the birth of Christ, and the 3rd birthday of our son, William Michael Yousheng as we celebrate his first Christmas with us as a family. Merry Christmas! May you find the blessings of Christmas - peace, love and kindness...today and everyday.

Gail, Dan, Nick, Grace and William Michael Yousheng

5 months!

Today we've been with William Michael for 5 months. It's seems hard to believe in many ways...he's come so very far. We all have as a family. We've had a busy month of December getting ready for Christmas, Grace's school activities and several appointments for Will. He's been screened for speech through our school district and will most likely qualify(we'll find out in January). Will had his 3 year well check up with our pediatrician on Wednesday and he's gained 1.25 lbs. and grown an inch in height! Our pediatrician was extremely pleased with how he's doing attachment wise and we are too. William even gave his doctor a kiss and a hug goodbye as we left.I love this little boy so much...he brings so much joy to our family!

Recipe for a Christmas Memory

~ Take 4 dozen cut-out sugar cookies.

~ Ice them with yummy Royal Icing made by Mommy and Grace.

~ Add to that...Mommy letting Grace have free reign with cookie design and sprinkles.

~ Put in a pinch of patience on Mommy's part.

~ Add a dash of Grace's 2(almost 3!) year old brother.

~ Throw in lot's of licking of little fingers.

Yields: Endless smiles, great fun and some delicious tasting cookies!

We tried...

An attempt to get a picture by the Christmas tree was made on Sunday after church. I thought....hey, we're dressed pretty nicely...maybe we can get a picture of me with Grace and William. Here are a couple of our attempts. Dan took something like over 30 pictures. LOL. First one, Grace and I trying to get William over near us and he would have none of that. He's giving Dan 'the look.' Note that he's already asked to get out of his corduroy pants into pajamas bottoms and I complied, so that's why he's got the blue bottoms on. 2nd one is William in his Spiderman costume with both of us...because this was the only way he'd be in the picture with the 2 of us. Sometimes pictures like this are the best, because that's what life really is like! I love Grace popping out behind me. :)