Vincent: give me some sugars!

This man gets a lot of action on my blog. One: because he was the only child that remembered me from my previous summer. Two: He loves to pose for pictures. Three: You can easily get constant "sugars" (as I call cuddles, hugs and kisses) from him! And four: Read to the end for this little miracle!

Vincent is one of the smartest kids I know. He speaks in both Chinese and English--which is a HUGE accomplishment. He remembers new information very quickly! For instance, we were learning a letter of the week in Pre-K and you could always ask him what each letter stood for. BONUS: he always says that "C" stands for "Catherine". What a proud teacher moment :) Oh, and he pronounces my name "Casserinnneee". You should hear it: melt. my. heart.

Vincent and I were very close last summer, so I was hoping this summer was the same--and it was! I love this little goober so much. He has got an incredible personality and can certainly entertain a crowd with his humor. He makes some of the funniest faces and can also cry on command, haha!

I am so privileged and grateful that I got to teach Vincent for a short amount of time. He was an excellent student and so eager to learn. He often ran up to me when I entered the room, grabbed my legs, and either asked me to hold him or to play a game with him. Outside, you would frequently see him walking around and holding my hand or swinging together.

Which leads me to the miracle. I WILL get to see Vincent again and do all of those fun things together, but we will not be doing that in China. Vincent is coming HOME to his forever family very soon and they happen to live in my city!

Amazing, huh? Keep reading.... in 2008 on my first trip to China, I met a woman that was on an adoption trip and picking up her precious little girl. We chatted for a bit, then discovered we lived in the same city! Crazy! Over the next few years, I saw her at a few orphan care events... then, in Fall 2010 shortly after I returned from China, she sent me an email regarding little-man V. I told her about my summer, how much I loved this child, etc. We corresponded for a while and then... They decided to lock his file!!!!!! They are now bringing him home--where he will be joined with his precious Mom and Dad and oh-so-sweet sister (who is equally hilarious and charming--love her!).

Vincent's Mom and Dad are following God's words that He boldly states in James 1:27. As you know, adoption is a huge expense and Vincent also needs to have surgery once he comes home. Would you please help them by popping over to their blog and donating to their Chip-In? They would be ever so grateful. Every little bit you can give will help this man come home :)

Please click here to donate: http://bringingvincenthome.blogspot.com

See you soon Vincent!!!!

You are a beauty...

Meet pretty Miss E! She is so determined, very smart, great at puzzles, a wonderful helper, such a natural leader, athletic, full of spunk, wears a huge smile, and has boundless energy :) The times we spent together were full of laughter and fun.

Confession: times spent with her could also be slightly frustrating. Sometimes E has a hard time letting people in and letting people fully love her. This can make for some difficult situations, but I found that the more I tired to interact with her one on one, the more apt she was to be herself and allow me to love her, just for who she is!

In general though, she was one of the few that would let me take endless pictures of her! Thank you, precious E :)

Sweet baby girl, I know that life can be hard for you as it did not get off to the best start. I pray that you keep grabbing it by the horns and embracing every moment. Your family I know is so excited to meet you! Try hard in English class--we already know you understand so much :) I love your laugh, smile, determination, and most of all: YOU! xoxo

{Sunday Snapshot} I can do it!

We all know that I loved the big swing in the backyard. It was my favorite spot to hang out with the kids. One day, GanLu and I caught ourselves with two little guys that have a very "I can do it!" attitude :)

First, we have Jace. Heart of gold Jace. Jace has a very serious heart condition, so I would often take him on the swing so he could lay his head in my lap and calm his body, while having fun! This started a little tradition where Jace would teach me Chinese! "I can teach you, teacher" is what he would say. So we would swing back and forth and he would teach me Chinese words (usually parts of the body, so he could point to what he was talking about). He was a very good teacher--correcting my pronunciation and then telling me "Good Job!" when I got it right.

Second, is Mr. Elliott. I love this little boy! He is so funny. He is very determined, yet LOVES for people to hold him and do everything for him. It was a very interesting combo :) On this particular day, Elliott really found his independence when he decided that he could push the big swing back and forth! As you can see, he was very proud of himself!

What did we do after swinging? Well, Elliott sniffed some flowers...

Jace showed us his muscles by throwing some rocks...

and then headed off with GanLu and Claire to eat lunch! 

Jace and Elliott, I hope you never lose these "Can-do" attitudes! I miss you everyday... Hugs and Kisses to you both :)

what's in a name?

In late July, I had the privilege of giving a new arrival to our home his English name. This is considered a commitment--that I pray for this child daily to be adopted, get the surgery he needs, be showered with love here, and the list goes on. 

Before I met him, I had a list of names going in my head. I wanted to get a good look at him before making the final decision. Well, one look at him and I knew!

I introduce you to precious LUKE:

Because of my time commitment to the preschool, I didn't get to see Luke very often, but I would "check in" regularly with him. He was born with a cleft palate, hence the reason he has his mouth open all the time or his tongue sticking out! He has since had surgery to correct it. 

Luke is so so so sweet. He is easy going and curious. When he is hungry: watch out! He will scream until his food is given to him :) He likes to be down on the floor exploring the environment around him, but outside, he likes to be held. Luke has the most kissable cheeks and is truly a sweetheart. 

Luke, what a privilege it was to give you that name. I pray for your everyday. I pray that you will grow up to be a strong man, full of character, with a heart for the Lord. I love you, little man! 

last day of pre-k

So these posts are going to be really out of order--mainly because I haven't edited all the pictures I took, but I did fix some of these :) This was my last day of pre-k class and I had a blast taking pictures of our little super stars!

LK is so funny! 

Gorgeous Lena

this ones for you meredith and priscilla... bu shi Tony! 

gone fishin'! 

hard at work

sweetie pie!

Love him! even if he is a goof... 

phew! that was hard work :) 

Silly Kids

In preschool, the bigger kids got really into floor puzzles. I happen to LOVE doing these puzzles and I think they are really important in team building, sharing, and working together. It quickly became the popular thing to do, and as soon as I would walk in the door, the kids would flood to me and ask to do these puzzles.

I was glad when Gloria decided to join in the fun! 

However, though the puzzles were great, sometimes the kids would get a little silly during class right after we cleaned up :) It was a little difficult for them to sit still and concentrate after working so hard to complete that puzzle! 

Yep, they are pretty funny! 

Wordless Wednesday {twins}

Roy and Jonathan look a lot alike! Some even say they could be twins :) One thing's for sure...they are both pretty cute. I miss holding them!

What was Jingle Bell doing while she waited for me to dote on her? 

She got a piggy back ride from her favorite "Mama"

and..... practiced her walking! 

3 sweet babies!