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A Life Donated: Part 17 and an Epilogue

November 13, 2017 4 Comments

Rini, our youngest of six children, was adopted in August of 2013 at end stage heart failure stemming from complex, single ventricle congenital heart disease. She was admitted to the hospital immediately upon arrival home and within two weeks it was determined that she was inoperable, her only hope would come through cardiac transplant. She …Read More

Doubly Blessed by PWS (Prader-Willi Syndrome)

November 12, 2017 6 Comments

Hi, I’m Kallie. I am married to David, and we have two precious sons through adoption, Jahleel and Camden. Jahleel is five and a half years old and Camden is three and a half. Camden just came home from China this past spring. Both our boys have diagnoses of Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS), but they present …Read More

Amazing Grace: Was Blind, But Now We See

November 11, 2017 3 Comments

Blind. I immediately recoiled. We had checked a lot of things on our medical conditions checklist, and I remember vision being one of them, but blind? How could we deal with that? I studied art history and archaeology in college, and work in a very visual field. How could I share the most important and …Read More

We Needed Him

November 10, 2017 3 Comments

One year. I still can’t believe it’s been an entire year since Brooks became ours… One year since a tiny, pale, very sick little boy reached for two strangers in a musty Chinese conference room. One year as a family of five. One year of learning and adapting and fighting for a little boy born …Read More

The Waiting Place

November 9, 2017 1 Comments

You can get so confused that you’ll start in to race down long and wiggled roads at a break-necking pace and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space, headed, I fear, toward a most useless place. The Waiting Place… …for people just waiting. – Dr. Seuss /// I was a soon-to-be graduating senior when …Read More

Waiting to Be Chosen: Savannah

November 8, 2017 0 Comments

This sweet smile belongs to Savannah. Savannah was found abandoned in December of 2014. At that time, she was estimated to be 6 years old. She was slightly developmentally delayed (physically) at that time. She was placed in a foster home shortly after arriving at the orphanage. She has done rather well there and has …Read More

When Battles Turn Brave

November 7, 2017 2 Comments

I remember the first time I lifted her shirt to bathe her in China. And I shuttered to think how much she had endured without a mother to hold her close, to soothe her tears, or sing away her fears. As we reviewed her file, the photos were horrendous and I suspect a big reason …Read More

A Life Donated: Part 16

November 5, 2017 2 Comments

Rini, our youngest of six children, was adopted in August of 2013 at end stage heart failure stemming from complex, single ventricle congenital heart disease. She was admitted to the hospital immediately upon arrival home and within two weeks it was determined that she was inoperable, her only hope would come through cardiac transplant. She …Read More

Incorporating Chinese Culture into Your Home with Chinese Food

November 4, 2017 17 Comments

I’m Maggie Zhu. I started Omnivore’s Cookbook in 2013. Born and raised in Beijing, now I’m a Austin based blogger, writer, recipe developer, and photographer. Learning and sharing Chinese food became a way to connect me with my roots and the rest of the world. It reminds me of who I am. I’m proud to …Read More

It’s Okay to be the Weak One: Preparing Emotionally for Adoption

November 3, 2017 3 Comments

I’ve always considered myself to have a pretty large capacity. I tend to lean towards challenges and I often wear multiple hats. Sure, I know my limits, but I’ve always had high expectations for what I think I can handle. So when I found myself in a deep, dark pit a couple years after the …Read More

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