Gracie's Special Day

Today we had Gracie's baptism. It was scheduled for 5:30 p.m. I have included some pictures below. She has a white skirt and shirt set I bought for her in China that she wore to the church and after she was baptized. She will wear it again on Sunday when she is confirmed.









When we were talking about about being baptized, we showed her pictures of the other kids in their white clothes and talked about who baptized each person. When we asked her who she wanted to baptize her, she said Grandpa. Grandpa and Grandma drove up yesterday and will return home tomorrow. I'm grateful they were willing to come such a long way to do this for her. There is a picture here also with the most recent missionaries to teach her. There were cookies after the meeting. Isn't she just a cute little girl? She is learning so much so fast.

More Memorial Day Pictures

Memorial Day 2008

On Memorial Day we went to the river. There, the kids did some swimming in the COLD water. We met some friends of ours there. Carrie and her friend Sarah enjoy jumping off the dock. They also enjoyed swinging with their younger sisters.

Then we went to the playground to play for a little while. After that, we went to the cemetery. I enjoy seeing the flags there. It is really beautiful there on this day. There is a swan on the lake there also.

Happy Mother's day

A couple days before Mother's Day, this is what arrived at my house. Thanks to my son DJ!! They were beautiful!

Britt's Quilts for China

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Britt's Quilts for China

A few months ago Britt found out that she was going to get a new cousin. This is not so unusual until you hear the story of her Aunt and Uncle and their family. You see they already have a big family. George, DJ, Sarah, Luke, Carrie, Mark, Christy and Mom and Dad. The story starts almost two years ago when Sarah was invited on a trip to China with a family who was going to adopt a young girl.

As she was preparing for this trip Sarah’s mom Suzanne began thinking about children. She could take on another child and raise her. Maybe she could even take two. When she approached her husband Darrell he was a little taken back. They decided that this was the path they should take. The ball was in their court and Suzanne ran with it. After a lot of work and prayers they were given notice that Li Wan was waiting for them in China. Eight year old Christy (Li Wan) became an adopted member of their family in August of 2006.

When the news came that their second child was ready to be adopted, Britt was asked if she would like to send a few quilts to the orphanage where her new cousin was coming from. Britt responded with this project. She presented her ideas to her church youth group and they wanted to help also. So on a Wednesday night in November of 2007 , ten girls and eight leaders came to the church gym armed with fabric, batting, sewing machines, and chocolate.

During this one evening 30 quilts were made for children who were residing at 3 different orphanages in China. The quilts were then quilted by another Aunt. Rocky Mountain Quilters, a local quilt guild also lovingly made and donated another 20 quilts.

All of these quilts were sent to Suzanne who packed them into airtight bags and put them into boxes for mailing to two of the orphanages and in her luggage for their adopted daughter‘s orphanage. Suzanne, Darrell and Christy left for China with Britt’s quilts and came back with a nine year old girl named Gracie. Along this journey many lives have been changed for the better.

The world is truly a wonderful place when people work together to help others!

Posted by Love Without Boundaries at 8:04 AM

Our Spring Handbell Festival

Earlier this month, we had our annual Bell Festival. There were about 10 or 11 bell groups there, 5 of which were my groups.

Here is a picture of each group before the concert. I am in one or 2 of them and Christy and Gracie are in the one with the green shirts.

Happy Birthday Gracie

Yesterday was Gracie's birthday! She had been looking forward to it for some time. She wanted a scooter and Care Bears...which is what she got. She also got to have a party. We invited 4 other girls and they ran around and played pretty unorganized games, but had fun. They ate pizza and cake and ice cream. She doesn't look 10 years old! She opened her gifts from the family in the morning.

Our Other Chinese "Daughter" DiDi

Here are some pictures I received this week from our new foreign exchange student, Didi. She is 15 and she will be coming from China in August to spend the coming school year. These were taken on her Labor Day vacation when she and her family went for an outdoor excursion. The one of her and the other lady is her mother and her together. Aren't they beautiful. I have received several e-mails from Didi this week and she seems to be a very nice and sweet girl. We are excited to have her come. She and Carrie are a little over a year apart and I hope they will be good friends. Carrie will be starting at the high school this year, so they will be in the same school.