Post Your Good Wishes Here

Please add to our long list of good wishes for Yan and Dong (and Mary and Addy) by posting a comment here!

One Hundred (or Two Hundred) Good Wishes

A tradition in China is that a new child is welcomed with a "one hundred good wishes" quilt. Each block represents a good wish for the child and their life. What a lovely idea (especially if you are a quilter...).

Please join us in creating a"one hundred good wishes" quilts for each of our new children

1. Send a piece of fabric (8" square), or a completed "quilt square" (6 1/2 " finished size (for a 6 " block). Use any technique you wish, or just send a piece of fabric you love.
2. Send along with each patch a written wish (on paper) which we can put in a memory book for them.
3. To keep some degree of organization, we would ask that the squares for Thaddeus/Dong be in the Red/Orange/Yellow palette, and for Elizabeth/Yan in the Red/Pink/Purple palette.
4. Return the squares to us by the end of February, so Nancy can get them sewn together, off to the quilter and ready for their arrival sometime between April and June! The Mailing Address is: 231 Sunset Hill Road, Sugar Hill 03586

When they are done, we'll publish the photos of the quilts on the blog.

Wednesday, January 7th, 2009: Nancy was at an overnight meeting in southern NH, so I was checking her emails for her. Junk mail, junk mail, routine stuff, more junk mail and a message from Jan Lessard at Bethany Christian Services. Usually just an adoption update, but maybe--just maybe--something more. I hadn't even finished it when I knew with absolute certainty that this generic "are you perhaps interested?" email blast message was actually written just to us.
There were no beautiful pictures like what you see. No long write ups like we have in hand now. Not even their names.
All I had was a compelling sense that this was it! Them! For the last 2 years I had thought we were looking for only a daughter to add to our family. In 30 seconds I KNEW we were adding a son too. The email was almost hopelessly austere with information. Yet I interupted Nancy in her meeting to tell her that we had just made first contact with the rest of our family. Without even seeing the email, she believed.
I forwarded the short, hopelessly undetailed email. Her voice was hushed and serious when she called back. "This is it, isn't it? How could we be so sure? All we had was the following: Two children, found living on the streets in Chengdu, China. A small boy being raised by his not much bigger sister. He was described as "liking small animals" and "likes to run." The message said she was "maternal and intelligent."
Then there was a list of necessary qualifications needed to even hope to become their new family. Mentally I tallied them. We had a chance. So I found a quiet spot facing our gorgeous mountains and had a conversation with God. And I prayed. Yesterday, we were told we were 1st choice to be their family.
Would we like more information? Did we want to accept them? How could we not want them? Nancy answered "yes" for us without even wasting breath conferring with me.
24 hrs post "yes" and one week from the first email, I am still overwhelmed when I think of adopting these two beautiful children. My children.
We are so blessed and to be able to share our gifts with not just one, but two more young people is twice the answer I expected to our original prayer.
Liu Dong and Liu Yan. I can't wait for you to come home.

--Dad

The Henderson Family is Exploding!

I am at a loss for words.

Two years ago, I asked Addy what she would do if she could go anywhere in the world. Without batting an eyelash, she said "I would go to China and adopt a baby sister". Where that came from I don't know - but as soon as she said it, Mary chimed in "yes", and we took the first tentative steps on a lifelong journey.

Yesterday we received, and will accept, a referral to adopt two beautiful children from Chengdu, China.

Liu Yan and Liu Dong - welcome to your family.