Breakfast in Bed

Madeline conspired with her daddy the other day to make me breakfast in bed. As they get into the kitchen Madeline turns to him and says, "you do know how to cook, don't you?" It was a delicious breakfast of toast and orange juice.

Madeline's 1st Ranger's Game...well sort of

Technically, this is Madeline's 2nd Ranger's game but the 1st she did not spend it with her head buried in daddy's chest because the Ranger's mascot, Captain, came within 20 rows of her. She enjoyed the game, however, she confused her new favorite player, Josh Hamilton with the Princess Diaries character Josh Pryant. She cheered loudly when Hamilton had a base hit and then scored a run (unfortunately, it was a slow night for him) and wanted to know why he was not up all the time. Madeline learned the "LETS GO RANGER'S LETS GO" cheer, although got a bit mixed up and would shout LETS GO 49ER'S LETS GO, which got some strange looks to say the least. She also learned to say CHARGE after the trumpet sound, although she never got why we said charge and not "hit the ball." We were fortunate to be sitting in front of a mother and son from Tokyo who were there to watch Ichiro, the right fielder with the Mariners. We were sitting in the home run porch right behind Ichiro and I was able to get a few GREAT shots of him making a play.

Name Translated

Where in the World is Rebekah

Rebekah is living in XiuShan (ShueShan) Chongqing Municipality. XiuShan is in the south eastern area of the municipality. I believe XiuShan use to be a part of the Sichuan Province before it became an autonomous municipality (at least older maps show this). Sichuan Province, if you recall, was where the big earthquake was, however; XiuShan was not effected. We will not travel to XiuShan to get her, instead we will travel to the captial city, Chongqing, and she will be brought to us. She is living in a foster home and it seems as if they are taking very good care of her. Our doctor's consultation revealed she is in the 25th percentile for height and the 70th percentile for weight...yes I said 70th...(Madeline was in the 3rd percentile for weight). There is an organization called Love Without Boundaries that has been working with the XiuShan Social Welfare Institue to help them with the nutrition of their babies, and it appears to be working (I have a link to their website in my "favorite stops" on the left of my blog). Her referral evaluation says that she is a deep sleeper, fond of sucking her fingers, she is quiet, and not fond of strangers. Madeline has made plans to sleep in her room with her so she will not be alone or afraid, but she hopes she will not cry and keep her awake. She is looking forward to being a big sister and I believe she will be a GREAT big sister.

Your name was whispered and I fell in love

It came at 1:52 in the afternoon the ringing of my phone, the holding of my breathe, the whisper of your name...Xiu Hua Wei, a tear falling down my cheek. I fell in Love at the whisper of your name.They told me where you were and how much you weighed, your cheeks were chubby like chipmunks and a smile was on your face. The faded image in my mind has been made clear soon I will hold you and draw you near. I fell in love at the whisper of your name.

SHE'S HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!

After a long 2 1/2 year wait she is finally here. I am extremely happy to announce the arrival of our daughter Rebekah Xiu Hua Wei Wood. She was born 11/24/07, is 7 1/2 months old, 25" long, and 15 lbs (I know she looks bigger in the pictures but that is because of the several layers of clothing she is in. We have been told she is a deep sleeper, a finger sucker, and quiet. She has been in Foster Care since March 2nd. We hope to travel in about 5 to 6 weeks to get her. Madeline is very excited and has already packed her stuff, and if I am honest so have I. We love you all and thank you for all your prayers you have offered up on our behalf.

Independence Day 2008

HOPE YOU HAD A WONDERFUL 4TH