Monday, July 31, 2006

Famous Plum


Ming Mei is also the name of a famous plum tea produced in the Jiangxi Province in China. According to the website of Stash Tea which markets Ming Mei tea, it is recognized as "one of the 30 most famous teas in China. Production of Ming Mei is very limited, as only tender tips and buds are picked by hand and then processed." Additionally, "Ming Mei is produced from Shangmeizhou, a fine tea strain whose fat buds emerge quite late. Great skill is used in the wok firing to achieve the right shape. Temperature, length of time, and hand movements must be well-coordinated. The fine, slim pointed leaf with white tips is likened to a work of art. The infused leaves are light green and tender and very consistent. The clear, golden-green beverage has a fresh mellow and sweet flavor."

Sunday, July 30, 2006

The Final Piece of the Puzzle

After Baby Ming was matched with our family, the next step was to receive the official travel approval from China. We received our TA on July 17, 2006. This permission to travel meant that we could now purchase tickets and set our appointment to pick up our daughter in China. Our launch time is 5:30pm on August 2nd. One interesting pre-trip activity was to send a box of love gifts to the Orphanage prior to our trip. It was recommended to us that if we were sending a blanket or stuffed animal, we should sleep with it for a couple of nights prior to sending. So for three nights Linda slept with a lavender crocheted blanket that Grandma Butler made, and I slept with a pink Beanie Baby :-) given to us by the McCarty Family. After getting our scent all over these items, we packed them up with a family photo album for the Orphanage Director, a few small make-up gifts for the older girls who work in the Yong Feng Orphanage, and a disposable camera for them to take pictures of Ming for us during this waiting time before we travel. As she leaves the Orphanage, Ming will get to take the blanket and beanie baby with her. Hopefully these items will help lessen the separation anxiety as she leaves her home for the past 11 months.

Saturday, July 29, 2006

Our Little Apple


Ming Mei Ruth Szymanowski (the name we are giving her – a mouthful, indeed) was born on September 10th in the Jiangxi Province of Southern China. We were first told that she would be our daughter on June 26, 2006. It came in the form of the long awaited 'referral' which is the confirmation that a baby had been matched with our family. We received these pictures that same day.

Ming Mei was found abandoned at the gate of the Civil Affairs office by a lady who walks past this gate each day on her way to exercise. The lady was walking by this location when she noticed an apple crate by the gate. Out of curiosity she looked in the box and found a baby girl. Along with baby was a note indicating that the baby was born that very day. Once discovered, the baby was taken to the Yongfeng Social Welfare Institute (see link on the right of this page for more info on the Yongfeng Orphanage). The Institute named her Yong Feng Guo, which is the name of the Institute along with the word Guo, which means 'apple.'

Baby Ming appeared to be born healthy, though she slept most of her first month of birth. She became quite sick her second month of life, apparently from getting too cold. She spent 6 days in the hospital at that time. Her hair in these photos indicates that the hospital likely inserted IVs in her head as is normal with most babys, thus the previously shaved spots. Her recovery appears to be complete as she has since been growing and jibbering like babies do. As of March 22, 2006 (the approximate date of these photos) her measurements were: Height 62 cm. (24.65 in.) Weight 7.5 kg. (16.5 lbs). The orphanage has described her as quiet, quick with a smile or to laugh, and a moderate sleeper (the sleep categories they use are seldom, light, moderate, and heavy).

From an online source -
Name: Ming Mei
Gender: Female
Origin: Chinese
Meaning: Smart, beautiful

Friday, July 28, 2006

First Thought and Final Conclusion

In 1993, while living in Portland, Oregon, Linda and I first talked about international adoption. It was during a time when Romania's orphanages were bulging with unwanted children and US adoptions from Romania were getting much public attention. Linda was familar with a pastor's wife from a church in Portland who was involved in a ministry focused on facilitating adoptions from Romania. We talked sincerely about the possibility of our family adopting, including gathering applications and reviewing stipulations. As inviting as the idea was, the application sat on the top of our refridgerator for weeks before it disappeared -- into the waste basket, I'm sure. We had a young family then; two boys under 5 years of age with another that would eventually be born. But the seed was planted.

Eleven years later, during the summer of 2004, I took my entire family to Haiti on a week long service project -- a mission trip with www.newmissions.org. While working in a very poor fishing village in coastal Haiti and rubbing shoulders with very needy people, both adults and children alike, the vision for international adoption was re-kindled. Upon returning home from Haiti we revisited the issue by talking with people in our school who had adopted internationally, and also attending an adoption conference. We walked out of the adoption confernence that Saturday knowing that we would adopt. It was our opportunity to give back some of the many blessings that we have received in this life, and also to fulfill our part in "taking care of widows and orphans," as the Bible exhorts.

After researching adoption agencies and potential countries, we determined to work with Kathy Storro of Small World Adoptions in Spokane, WA - www.swa.net. Kathy's passion and reputation (having four adopted Chinese children of her own) for international adoption convinced us that teaming with her and Small World was a good fit for our family.