What's in a name

I was looking into the meaning of the name Fu Quan. What I did not realize is that "Fu" is the name given to him to identify the orphanage he is in. In China the surname is first and the person's first name is last. Children in orphanages are all given the same surname which identifies what institution they are in and also makes them know as an orphan for life.  Where as "Quan" is his first name. They gave him the name Quan since he was born without his left hand. Quan means a form of perfection. Allie's birth name was Yin Le Feng. We dropped the Yin identifying the SWI she was in and kept LeFeng for her. Her name means  "happy" and "wind". Kind of fits. She is very happy,... and on the move! When we were waiting for Allie to come home we were able to look at photos of the orphanage she was in and be in contact with other families that had been there. Half the Sky also had an amazing program there. So we were provided with pictures and so much information on her from birth. That is awesome because we have photos for her to see. We even have the little foot prints.  The orphanage that Fu Quan is in is off the charts. There is no info out there or groups from there. What I am hearing is that they only started allowing adoptions from there just short of 2 years ago. I don't know what to expect. Since he has been there since shortly after birth I am hoping they will have photos for him to have. I have heard of families that don't have photos having someone do the opposite of age progression drawings (not sure what to call that) for the children to have. I think that's great. Just wishing things would move along a little quicker now. We are feeling very blessed that he will be our son. He will complete our family. I always tell the kids when they ask what nationality they are , they are American. But they still look further. Joshua is proud that he is Italian just like Pop pop. Hannah adds that she is half Italian and of course Polish. She loves that. Insisting we eat polish foods. They add that mom and dad are half Italian. Allie says she is Chinese. She is a very sensitive child, and a while back she asked me if I was Chinese. Knowing it was important to her I answered that God gave me a Chinese heart.  I never knew just how important it was to her until recently when I've heard her proudly repeat that to people. "My mommy has a Chinese heart". I don't know which one is more excited about Fu Quan joining the family. Joshua is thrilled to have a brother. Hannah is always just ,the more the merrier. And Allie is thrilled that there will be another person of Chinese heritage in the family. They are such close siblings. It is not out of the ordinary after tucking them all into their beds to find that they have moved to each other's rooms. The other night I found them all in Joshua's room. They had sleeping bags all over the floor. I really can't wait for Fu Quan to be home.

Hi all. The paperwork end has been going slow. We are good with the actual paper work but have been having a tough time, finding the time, to complete the required training.  Michael has been working a second job to help come up with the needed funds. He's not complained once and manages to still be home shortly after the kids return from school to give them daddy time.  He is so good. We are giving ourselves a dead line for the end of the week. This has been such a tough week. I am missing my dad so much. He was such a good person. Everyone always thought he was so intimidating, until they got to know him. He had the total cop image going on. He had such a good heart. He was never quick to judge others, always gave you the benefit of the doubt, was always ready to listen, always full of love, and ready to help anyone where ever needed. He always had the correct answer and advice. My dad had such a heart for kids in need. He gave money to help kids that needed help to get off the streets and have a home. He gave to help kids over seas get needed cleft palate repair surgeries. In a day and age when so many people are so quick to judge others he was a safe place, someone that always looked for the good and did what was right. He is missed so much. He had a major influence on Joshua, his buddy. I see a lot of those caring characteristics in Josh. They are very alike, same determination, and big heart.  I am sad he isn't going to be here when Fu Quan comes home. But I know he will some how be here to see him. I believe he sees everything that is going on. I would give anything to see that NYPD hat coming through the front door as we did so many days, as the kids would scream with delight, "Pop pop is here!"  He was their biggest fan. He loving looked at all three of them, with nicknames for each based on their individual personalities. Dad, you are so missed. We miss you Pop pop.

This was one of the first pictures we ever saw of Quan.  He was 7 then. I was talking to Shara about all the signs there were back then. It was cool remembering all those things and I thought I would take a moment to post them. First, of course, was that he shared the same birthday with my dad. That stood out right away.  My dad was happy about that. Then there was the picture he drew of a mostly blue house, similar to ours, surrounded  by water. I printed that picture and kept it to look at often. (All the time praying his family would come forward and find him). Then when I noticed he was wearing a number "24", it actually stopped me, almost like it took my breath away for the moment. I have always had some kind of connection with the number 24. Favorite number, I guess, but even more than that. There have been so many signs. All this time watching and praying for him. Watching him grow up in an orphanage. We all started wanting him here more and more. One day while praying for his family to find him Hannah said "Mommy, but why can't we be his family?"  Why can't we. He needs a family. We want to be his family. Why not have that child like faith. Why not believe you can step out in faith and do something that means so much to you, even if it's difficult. Why not.

I had my first moment of feeling totally overwhelmed with the paperwork today. It's funny how you forget how difficult the paperwork can be after your child is home. But Betty from FTIA actually sensed my frustration in an email, and called to rescue me. How cool is that! She walked me through the steps and made it all manageable again. So we are back on track. Please keep those prayers coming as I am trying to make my way around this whole internet thing learning how to do a blog, set up fundraisers, and do a lot of paperwork! Just have to keep focused on that precious face that has brought us here.

                                     Pop Pop, We love and miss you so much.

Dedicated to Pop Pop

Wow, First post.  Here we go!  I am not a blogger by nature. I did keep a blog while we were adopting our youngest Allie from Hunan China.  That is now over 4 years ago. Boy have things changed since then. This has been a very difficult year for our family. Some of you know we lost Billy on October 30 when he suddenly went home to heaven. He was a very cool brother in law that we are missing horribly. The kids miss "Silly Billy".  Uncle Billy was their mystery pirate that would leave buried treasure while they slept and built the best campfires on our trips to the beach. Always spending time with the kids, making them laugh. He has left a big hole in our hearts and we miss him so much.  Then on January 4th our hearts were broken again with the passing of my dad,"Pop Pop". He'd battled cancer for two years. Never giving up. Heart broken to leave mom, and us. It is in his memory that I am writing this blog. He was probably my biggest follower on my first blog. Even making a book out of it for us to keep forever.  He met us at the airport when we brought Allie home on August 10, his birthday. He announced that this must be the best birthday present ever! Fu Quan shares the same birthday as my dad. My dad was a pillar of strength, that always took care of all of us. He made everything good and right, always lent a helping hand, to everyone. He always had the right answer and knew how to make everything O.K..The extreme hurt of not having him here runs deep. I got to share Fu Quan's pictures with him.  Later he pulled Michael aside to make sure that this was Michael's heart also. Then the next day he told me, "I spoke to Michael and he really wants this too. So I think, if you can, bring him home."   It is in his memory we move forward.  Knowing  we have our guardian angel in heaven looking over us and our endeavors to bring him home.