Photos: Autumn Colors Family

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Dad, Lydia, and mom are surrounded by trees that were resplendent with leaves in various shades of orange and red.

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Lydia and mom


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Dad, Lydia, and mom



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Mom, Lydia, and dad are surrounded by a carpet of red colored leaves.


Note: All these images were taken on October 28, 2007 in the late morning at Canyon Park Business Park in Bothell, Washington.

Photo notes: All these pictures were taken with ambient light (no flash was used). The weather was overcast -- perfect for people pictures. A tripod and a wireless, radio remote release for the camera were used also.

Seen But Not Heard

November 25, 2007


Seen but Not Heard

An old adage about children is that they should be seen but not heard. That proverb accurately describes Lydia most of the time. During those rare occasions when Lydia is boisterous, she usually demonstrates that in our home instead of elsewhere. When we accompanied Johnny and Ginny to their home church, Northern Virginia Mennonite Church, this morning, Lydia comported herself well. With a congregation of about fifty individuals, the church sanctuary, which has seats for seventy five people, is located in a much smaller room compared to our home church.

An early part of the service includes a few minutes for called a children’s time, during which the children sit at the front of the sanctuary to hear a brief message that alludes to the theme of the sermon about which the pastor will preach. Lydia and I participated in the children’s time as she sat in my lap as we listened to the message, and during this activity, she remained quiet. Later during the pastor’s sermon, she played with her stuffed animal, scribbled on her Magnet doodle tablet, and colored some paper with a pen. After the service concluded as we were speaking with various people in the church sanctuary, a few remarked to us how well behaved and how quiet Lydia was during the service.

Photos: Telephone

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Lydia is picking up the phone's handset.

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Does this look like someone who intends to make a phone call?

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Lydia is getting ready to speak.

Note: All these pictures were taken in the living room of our home on September 1, 2007.

Potomac Mills Outlet Mall

November 24, 2007


Potomac Mills Outlet Mall

In the modern American tradition, Thanksgiving weekend would not be complete without some shopping. In the late morning, we experienced this activity with the throngs of potential customers who were walking around at Potomac Mills Outlet Mall, the largest indoor outlet mall in the Northern Virginia area.

Johnny and Ginny were looking for some shoes for Fei Hung, so our primary stop was the Stride Rite store. SiowFong pushed Lydia in the stroller, leading the family through the mall. Johnny, Ginny, and Fei Hung (whom Johnny was carrying) followed SiowFong and Lydia. In the rear were Pa Chin, Ma Chin, and me. We navigated through a sea of people as we walked for about fifteen minutes from one end of the mall to the other end where the shoe store was located. While sitting comfortably in her pink stroller that we had purchased in China, Lydia was surveying the scene during the entire ride. Her eyes and head periodically turned from one side to the other as she tried to experience fully the hubbub of the mall amidst its busy season of the year.

Once we were inside the Stride Rite store, Lydia wanted to walk and to touch various items in the store, so we removed her from the stroller and allowed her to roam around near us while Johnny and Ginny were trying on shoes for Fei Hung. In stores, Lydia likes to stay within a few yards of either SiowFong or me, so that gives us peace of mind to know that she is near us and does not have a tendency to wander away from us to explore.

After Johnny and Ginny purchased a new pair of shoes for Fei Hung, we reversed our route and exited the mall, and this occasion was the only time this weekend during which the eight of us as a family went shopping.

Photos: Lydia at Bitter Lake, Part 2

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Lydia is standing in the middle of a piece of playground equipment.

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Lydia is trying to find a way to escape.



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Lydia is standing on another piece of playground equipment that tests her balance and coordination.



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Lydia is stepping onto the platform that leads to a series of slides, her favorite piece of playground equipment on this visit to a local park.


Note: All pictures were taken on September 15, 2007 at Bitter Lake Park in Seattle, Washington.

Unnecessary Roughness

November 24, 2007


Unnecessary Roughness

In the game of American football, a not uncommon penalty is called “unnecessary roughness”, a safety-related offense that results in a 15-yard penalty and an automatic first down if the defense is to blame for the infraction. Examples of unnecessary roughness would include “hitting a ball carrier after he is already out of bounds, ‘piling on’ a ball carrier who is already down, or violent contact with an opponent who is away from and out of the play. If the officials decide that the action was particularly flagrant, the player in question can be ejected from the game.” (Source: Wikipedia)

Those two words aptly described how Fei Hung increasingly conducted himself with respect to Lydia as the Thanksgiving weekend progressed. Instances of Fei Hung’s unsportsmanlike behavior included the following: charging at Lydia (and lowering his head like a battering ram), grabbing Lydia’s beloved “Tigger the Tiger” soft toy (and trying to wrestle it from her), head butting Lydia, hitting Lydia’s head with his hands, tossing “Tigger the Tiger” across the room and from the second floor to the first floor, pushing Lydia, and trying to bite Lydia. As a result of these experiences, Lydia increasingly grew fearful of Fei Hung (staying near either SiowFong or me), and an adult had to be present near Lydia and Fei Hung when they were playing in the same room.

What caused all of this to happen? Jealousy (because of all the attention that Lydia received) and the lack of proper discipline were the main factors. Other elements possibly included Fei Hung’s much fewer experiences of socializing with other children of his age, his personality, and his gender.

Photos: Lydia at Space Museum

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Lydia is sitting in her stroller in front of a display case that shows an adult astronaut suit.

Seeing this picture reminds me of Lydia's Uncle Bernard using the word "astronaut" to describe Lydia as she was bundled up in several layers beneath a thick yellow Chinese outfit when we received her on January 4, 2007.

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Lydia is sitting in a chair in front of the section that showcases various helicopters.

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Mom is holding Lydia while standing in front of a Federal Express airplane.

Documents that are a part of the dossier must undergo state certification, federal certification, and Chinese consulate (and embassy) authentication before they can be included in the packet that is sent to the Chinese Center for Adoption Affairs. Getting the documents to the right location in a timely, reliable fashion necessitates going to FedEx or UPS, both of which have rapid delivery services and excellent tracking available on their websites.

Note: All these pictures were taken with the camcorder at the National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, on November 23, 2007.

National Air and Space Museum

November 23, 2007


National Air and Space Museum

Our one tourist outing during our Thanksgiving weekend occurred today when everybody went to the National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center around 11:00 AM. Joining us for this activity was Ellen Kuo, a longtime friend of Virginia’s from their college days.

As part of the Smithsonian family of museums, the website for the Steven Udvar-Hazy Center has this description of the facility:

“The building opened in December, 2003, and provides enough space for the Smithsonian to display the thousands of aviation and space artifacts that cannot be exhibited on the National Mall. The two sites together showcase the largest collection of aviation and space artifacts in the world.”

The museum has two hangars, the larger one that houses a number of airplanes from different eras and a smaller one that is home to a space shuttle. Even though the parking lot looked pretty full and a number of people were visiting this site today, the cavernous size of this building easily accommodated everybody.

Fei Hung and Lydia particularly enjoyed the catwalks on the second floor of the museum as well as the broad open expanses on the first floor of the museum. Fei Hung scampered from place to place, and after observing her cousin’s actions, Lydia tried to do the same thing. When we arrived at a FedEx plane, I took a few pictures of mom and Lydia because making a number of trips to the local FedEx-Kinko office is a part of the China adoption experience.

After an hour and a half to two hours, we finished the tour, exited the building, and were headed to a late lunch. Lydia, however, was not ready to leave this tourist attraction, and she became somewhat fussy at the time of our departure.

Photos: Lydia and the Boys

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Lydia and Orion Chen, the 7-year old son of Feng Chen and Iwen Chiu, are sitting on the sofa.

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Lydia, Orion, Aries Chen (who is 4 years old), and Feng Chen

Note: Both of these pictures were taken in the living room of our home on November 16, 2007.

Thanksliving and Thanksgiving Day Dinner

November 22, 2007


“Thanksliving”

Several years ago, when I was still single, I heard Pastor Ken Brackney, the minister who officiated our wedding, preach a Thanksgiving message at the First Chinese Baptist Church that I still have not forgotten. During his sermon, Pastor Ken focused his attention on a word that he called “thanksliving”. He said that as Christians remember and celebrate Thanksgiving, they should also demonstrate the attitude and actions associated with living a life that evidences that Thanksgiving – not just in late November of each year but throughout the entire year.


Thanksgiving Dinner

Since SiowFong and I have been married, we have either had Thanksgiving dinner at our home or at the home of one of our family members. Tonight was different as two of Johnny’s and Ginny’s friends, Dr. Stewart Ho (a dentist) and Winnie (his wife), invited all of us (6 adults and 2 children) to their home a few weeks ago for this special meal with their extended family and friends. Although Stewart and Winnie knew Johnny, Ginny, and Fei-Hung, they had not met Pa Chin, Ma Chin, or us.

When we arrived at 5:30 PM, we joined about thirty other people for this celebration.
The initial conversations were good. The food was fabulous as it featured a mix of American and Chinese entrees such as roast turkey, ham, roast pork, lo mein, vegetarian noodles, sushi (California rolls), stir-fried shrimp, fresh pineapple, and several pies. Finally the post-dining activities, which included billards, karaoke [with Johnny singing some popular Chinese tunes], and more conversation, were also entertaining.

With so many new people in her midst, Lydia stayed close to her mom throughout the evening. A few of Stewart and Winnie’s relatives, including Stephanie (their daughter, a dentist in her late 20s) and Priscilla (their niece, a dental hygienist in her early 20s who works part-time at Johnny’s and Ginny’s office), doted on Lydia during our visit. In sum, everyone had a good time because of the hospitality and generosity of Stewart and Winnie.

Photos: Nursery Rhyme Music Box

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Lydia is looking to the side while playing with her VTech Discovery Nursery Farm, a gift from Mary Dietsch. The variety of electronic toys is startling even for infants and toddlers, especially as none of these existed when SiowFong and I were growing up.

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Lydia is walking around to look at the other side of the box.



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Lydia retuns to playing the piano-like toy that plays various nursery rhymes.


Note: All these pictures were taken on August 31, 2007 in the upper landing area of our home.

Meeting Aunt Virginia, Uncle Johnny, and Cousin Fei Hung

November 21, 2007


Meeting Aunt Virginia, Uncle Johnny, and Cousin Fei Hung


We looked forward to our travels to Northern Virginia this morning. SiowFong and I had not seen Virginia (my sister), Johnny (her husband), and Fei Hung (their 29-month old son), since Christmas 2005, which was nearly 2 years ago.

The United 757 Boeing airliner carrying SiowFong, Lydia, and I landed at Washington Dulles International Airport around 3:45 PM. All of us had a good flight, one that was essentially uneventful. Lydia did well, and she was engaged in a variety of activities during the flight, which included sleeping for an hour and a half, eating the snacks that SiowFong packed for her, drinking her water, playing with the seat belt, sitting on her mom’s lap, and playing with the small toys that SiowFong has in the diaper bag.

Johnny met us in the baggage claim area, helped to stow our luggage in his car, and drove us to his home. When we arrived there, Virginia (whom we call “Ginny”), Fei Hung Pa Chin, and Ma Chin eagerly and warmly greeted us.

Fei-Hung, our nephew and Lydia’s cousin, was excited to see us, particularly since he had heard so much about Lydia from his parents and since he had seen Lydia in a number of home videos on DVD that we had periodically mailed to them this year. Fei-Hung was also eager to show Lydia many of his toys, including puzzles, trucks, cars, balls, and a number of new things with which Lydia had never played.

Dinner was sumptuous. Pa and Ma Chin had been busy all day preparing for the pre-Thanksgiving feast that awaited us this night. Highlights of the menu were roast duck, salted steamed chicken, salmon, vegetables, and plenty of fresh fruit options, including persimmons, bananas, grapes, and grapefruit.

The first day went great, and we looked forward to Thanksgiving Day and the following days to spending time together.