Congrats to the new parents that got a referral today!!!

As many of the people in the Chinese International Adoption community know, today was Referral Receipt day, meaning that the families that had been logged in between June 29, 2005 and July 13, 2005, got to receive the referrals for their daughters/sons. Therefore, there were many people for whom today was a life changing very emotional happy experience (We are very happy for them and wish them all the luck in the world), and many others who are still waiting, and waiting, and waiting. As for us, we are still not logged in (meaning that China still does not know we exist), but we are hoping to be LID by August 18, 2006. I have set that deadline for ourselves. Let's see what happens. So far, we are running ahead of our schedule, so things seem to be going our way... The stars are apparently aligned!!! ode

Cumple de Alidita, Recuerdos de BBQ en casa, y mas deseos/telas para el quilt de Mei Ling

Bueno, hoy finalmente pude entrar nuevamente a la computadora. Estamos cambiando de proveedor de internet y ha sido medio controversial el cambio. Primeramente, hace 2 dias cumplio anos Alidita (titi Alida de Mei Ling) aka mi hermana. Ya son 31 anos, que cumplas muchos mas. El viernes hubo una fiesta de cumpleanos en Isabela, pero Floren y yo no pudimos ir porque teniamos trabajo ayer. Aunque ya te deseamos felicidades por telefono, sopla las velitas de tu bizcocho cibernetico. Que cumplas muchos mas!!!

Por otro lado, ayer hicimos un bbq en casa. Era la primera vez en mucho, mucho, mucho tiempo que invitabamos gente a nuestra casa, y la verdad que lo pasamos espectacular. Fue bien chevere porque hacia mucho tiempo que este grupo, mitad de los cuales nos conocimos en Tulane, no se juntaba. Estaban Mara, Javier y Claudia; Yania y Tito; Mardi y Eliseo, Kike, Yasha y Mariela (otra de las futuras amiguitas de Mei Ling); y nosotros. Lo pasamos bien chevere, y hubo hasta kareoke, como podran ver de las fotos. Desgraciadamente nos vinimos a recordar de la camara una vez sacamos el kareoke, y para ese momento Javier y Kike, con sus respectivas familias, ya se habian ido, asi que no tenemos fotos de ellos. Sera otro dia.

En esta foto estamos Florencio y yo.

En esta otra foto, estan Florencio y Eliseo cantando.


En esta foto estan Tito, Yania y Mardi vitoreando a Florencio y a Eliseo, que estaban cantando.




Mara, Javier y Claudia, y tambien Yania y Tito, tambien nos entregaron sus telas/deseos para el quilt de Mei Ling. La de arriba a la izquierda, de Precious Moments, nos la dieron Mara, Javier y Claudia, quien ayudo a escoger la tela, y sera una de las futuras amiguitas de Mei Ling. Las otras dos fueron de Yania y Tito, y de su familia, y son de Strawberry Shortcake y Betty Boop. Estan preciosas, y estamos seguros de que a Mei Ling les va a encantar.
Tambien recibimos otros deseos/telas para el quilt de Mei Ling.

Las telas/deseos de la izquierdason del Angel Swap. La de arriba a la izquierda nos la envio Shanna y Kevin Young, en memoria de la mama de Shana, mientras que las otras dos las enviaron la Familia Cercopely y la Familia Mickelson.

Las telas/deseos de arriba son del "Asian Swap" y del "Around the World" Swap. La de arriba izquierda nos la envio la Familia Franklin, mientras que la que esta al lado corresponde a la nacion de Palau, y nos la envio la Familia McMillin. La de abajo corresponde a Bolivia, y fue enviada por la familia Teague. Estan todas preciosas.

A proposito, el otro dia cometi un error. Inclui la foto de un bodysuit que tenia la bandera de China y realmente la de Puerto Rico, integradas, y dije que se podia encontrar mucha mercancia asi en un website. El website correcto era www.salsainchina.blogspot.com.

By the way, the other day I posted that one could get pretty cool adoption related items in a websited, and indicated the wrong website. The correct one is www.salsainchina.blogspot.com.
Muchos Saludos,
Ode

Information from our Adoption Agency/ Informacion Recibida de parte de la agencia de adopcion

Just wanted to share an email message we received yesterday from our adoption agency, right after they received the Express Mail package with the 171h. Ohhhh, it's now real, so real!!!:

We rec'd your package 5 minutes ago!

Congratulations we have received USCIS approval! You are approved to adopt internationally!

PLEASE READ CAREFULLY!

1. In about 10 weeks after receiving your USCIS approval, both the American Consulate Office in Guangzhou, China and the National Visa Center will send you a package that contains the following items: a cover letter containing a case number starting with the letters “GUZ”, forms I-600, I-604, I-864, 230, and a physical form for the child. If after 10 weeks you still have not received this package, don’t worry! We will be able to give you one at the time of your referral! These items are very important, so put them in a safe place. We will need the case number from you when you get your referral in order to make your appointment with the American Consulate. We will not ask you for this number until you are preparing to travel. Please put these packages in a safe place with your other important adoption documents. We will go through them again before you travel to China.

2. Your dossier for the China Center of Adoption Affairs should be complete. I will be in touch if we are missing any of the documents required for your dossier. Otherwise we will begin the authentication process of your documents. It takes us about three to four weeks to finish the certification and authentication process and another 7-10 days to express mail the dossier to CCAA. The arrival of the package from the American Consulate in Guangzhou does not mean your dossier has arrived in China. Someone from our agency will contact you when your dossier has been sent. The date we express mail your dossier is called DTC date(Dossier to China). We will inform you of this date. We appreciate that you mention your DTC date and your last name when you call the office with any questions and concerns.

3. The date the Chinese government register your dossier is called Login Date. We will let you know of this date as soon as we get them. CCAA does assignments according to the login date. At this time, it’s taking approximately 11-12 months from the time your dossier arrives in China until you receive a referral, and another 6-8 weeks from referral to travel. There are many factors that determine how quickly you travel after your assignment is accepted. These include visa appointments at the American Consulate, CCAA Official Notification, flight availability, etc. Please know that referral time is always subject to change. We will keep you updated on any and all changes!!

As you can see, we will be watching like hawks for that brown package. It will our first package from China in regards to Mei Ling's adoption, our first link with the Chinese system.

Como pueden ver del mensaje arriba, en el dia de ayer nuestra agencia nos comunico que dentro de como unas 10 semanas, estamos supuestos a recibir un sobre marron, con informacion muy importante sobre la adopcion de Mei Ling. Sera el primer paquete que recibiremos del gobierno chino.

Un abrazo,

Zuleika Rivera from Puerto Rico is the new Miss Universe 2006!!!

Yesterday Zuleika Rivera from Puerto Rico was crowned Miss Universe. It is Puerto Rico's 5th Miss Universe. The funny thing is that the last Miss Universe from Puerto Rico was crowned in 2001, while Florencio and myself were spending our honeymoon in Albarracín, Spain. I remember watching the news and seeing Denise Quiñones being crowned. A couple of my colleagues (all male) from work were saying that all of the beauty pageants are lowering for women (Of course, they all watch it!!!)... Well, no one said they were winning the nobel prize for inventing a cost effective environmentally friendly replacement for oil, but still, she is from PR and it is pretty cool!!!!

Puerto Rico tiene a su quinta Miss Universe, Zuleika Rivera.

Chino 101/ Chinese 101

Bueno, hoy le estaba comentando a Florencio que teniamos que comenzar a aprender nosotros, y a ensenarles a ustedes sobre las diferentes frases y palabres mas comunes en el idioma chino. Incluire entonces la palabra/frase en ingles, espanol, y la ultima columna es como foneticamente se pronunciaria en chino. Es un POCO complicado, pero con calma llegamos. A continuacion la primera leccion. Obviamente no vamos a incluir los caracteres chinos porque eso es todavia un POQUITO mas dificil. Cada leccion va a incluir 10 palabras/frases en chino.

I was telling my dh (in adoption email lingo, dear husband) Florencio that we had to begin learning Chinese, and teach you all as well. So this is the first lesson. It is a TINY BIT CHALLENGING, but here it goes, with the first Chinese lesson. I will not be including Chinese characters, since that is just a TINY BIT EVEN MORE DIFFICULT to grasp. Watch for the sentence which shows how phonetically you would pronounce the word. Each lesson will include 10 words/phrases.

PALABRA/WORD

Daughter/ Hija
Nuer
nuu-urr

Son/ Hijo
Erzi
urr-dzu

Mother/ Mama
mama
mah-mah

Father/ Papa
baba
bah-bah

Wife/ Esposa
taitai
tie-tie

Husband/ Esposo
zhangfu
jahng-fuu

Hello/Hola
Ni hao
Nee how

Thank you/Gracias
xiexie
sh-eh-she-eh

Please/ Por favor
Qing
Cheeng

How are you?/ Como estas?
Nin hao ma?
Neen how mah?


Floren y yo estabamos viendo par de blogs de adopcion orita cuando encontramos un website bien interesante. Es de una familia que esta adoptando, www.cheeseinchina.blogspot.com, que tambien formaron una compania para vender cosas relacionadas al tema de adopcion. Interesantemente encontramos unos "bodysuits" que se suponen que tienen la combinacion de las banderas de los Estados Unidos y de China, pero la realidad es que la que tiene es mas bien la de China y la de Puerto Rico. Tienen cosas chulisimas.



Yesterday we received some more wishes/fabrics. The ones on top are from the beach swap (except for one from the postcard swap sent by the Cecil family with really cool rocket fabric), including the one to the left on top, the dolphins fabric, which was from us. The one on the middle was from Dimari Isla, whom I also met through the Quilt Group. She is from Puerto Rico and is adopting from Vietnam. We wish her luck!!!

We also received the wishes/fabrics corresponding to the countries of Aruba, submitted by the Miller Family, and Jamaica and the Republic of Kiribati, submitted by the Cromwell family. This is from the Around the World Swap.

It is really sinking in, the Year of the Pig and fabrics/wishes for Mei Ling's Quilt

Today it is really sinking in. We are very excited. We finally feel as if the journey to Mei Ling is really moving forward. It is now pretty much out of our hands, since yesterday we sent the 171h to the agency, as well as my 2 x 2 pictures additional, that is, since the original ones were UGLY, and they told me these pictures were the ones that would be shown in the computer during the matching process. I'm sorry, but I did not want to submit UGLYYYY pictures)and the last documents needed to complete our dossier, and now the agency translates and authenticates, and off to China they go, and the WAITING for the referral begins.

Well, and now to the Chinese cultural tidbits. We just got the year of the pig fabric/wish, and so I will give you some info on that.


The Year of the Pig or the Boar- People born in 1923, 1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995 and the ones born next year, on 2007 (actually, Mei Ling should either be born during the year of the dog or the year of the pig). Pigs are chivalrous and gallant. Whatever they do, they do with strength. They are very honest, and have tremendous fortitude. They don't make many friends, but the ones they have, are for life. Anyone having a "pig" for a friend is very lucky, as they tend to be very loyal. They don't talk much, but are thirsty for knowledge. Are generally well informed. Pigs are quick tempered, yet they hate to quarrel. They are kind to their loved ones, and no matter how bad the problem is, the pig works it out. Pigs or Boars are most compatible with rabbits and sheep.

We have also received more fabrics/wishes from my friends at the 100 Good Wishes Quilt Group, and also from the Rivera Family, Haydee, Arturo and Javier, part of our family, and who sent Mei Ling a beautiful fabric along with a handmade greeting card. The other two fabrics/wishes are from the postcard swap, from the Conrad Family (left) and Lundy Family (right).


This fabric/wish is from the Angel Swap, sent by the Barone family.

We also received 3 more fabrics/wishes from the Angel Swap, from my friends Lisa Casamassima, the Miller family (in memory of their angel daughter in heaven) and the Manus family (in memory of their angel daughter in heaven, Lilly Opal).
I also have to share with you the poem written by Lisa in the Angel Swap wish card. It is quite beautiful:
Angels in my Dreams
A loving angel came to me in dreams,
And showed me life's not always what it seems,
And brought me to a place where sweet dreams live,
And gave to me a gift that I now give:
She whispered, "Take my hand, I'll lead you through
A place where all the sweet dreams can come true!"
Close your eyes and open up your heart,
For then this flight of dreams so sweet can start.
She brought me through the darkness to light,
Where colors wrapped around me with delight,
A patchwork quilt of beauty without seams,
Each color was a rainbow full of dreams.
She led me through a hall of lovely sound,
With doors flung open widely all around.
And from each room a song would gently play,
And I wished with all my heart that I could stay.
We drifted in the fragrance of the breeze,
To savor all the flowers and the trees.
We tasted all of life that we could see,
And felt it flow as one in harmony.
Then my angel turned to me and said
"You're the keeper of these dreams inside your head.
Dream sweetly now, and dream of love and light,
And dreams will lead you safely thruogh the night."
I am the keeper of this dream, it's true,
And I offer all my dreams to each of you.
May their loving sweetness visit you each night
And fill your sould with love and warmth and light!

All of the fabrics/wishes received are beautiful, and Mei Ling will enjoy all of them one day!!! Thanks, Odemaris

RECIBIMOS LA FORMA 171H!!!/ WE GOT OUR 171H

Hoy recibimos tremendas noticias. Llamé a Inmigración y me indicaron que nos habían aprobado la petición para adoptar, o sea la 1600 A. Y todavía mejor, pedí que por favor me dejaran recoger personalmente el documento, en vez de tener que esperar el correo certificado. Y me dejaron. YA TENGO EN MIS MANOS LA FORMA 171H, QUE QUIERE DECIR QUE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS YA APROBÓ QUE TRAIGAMOS A MEI LING A CASA. Florencio acaba de venir a mi trabajo a llevarse los documentos, para entonces enviarlos por express mail a la agencia. Dios Mediante acabarán de traducir al chino todos nuestros documentos en como 3 semanas, se irán los documentos a China, por lo que estaremos ya DTC (Docked to China en Lingo de Adopción) y para finales de agosto, Dios mediante estaremos LID (Log in Date, o sea que ya apareceríamos en el sistema de computadoras de China). Hoy iremos a celebrar a Great Taste, nuestro restaurante chino favorito. Gracias por todos los que siempre nos incluyen en sus oraciones. Este es un tremendo día, ya que representa un paso más hacia Mei Ling Mercedes.

Today we finally received our 171H. One step closer to Mei Ling Mercedes. We are ecstatic.

A Ladybug to Put Me in a Better Mood, since the News are Bleak!!!

Well, the latest news coming from the rumor mills of the China adoption world seem to indicate that the referral time from the log in dates is getting LONNNNGGGEEERRR... as in we may have to wait 16-18 more months for Mei Ling Mercedes to arrive. Have no idea how we are going to handle that... Still trying to digest the rumor!!! And yes, the dancing ladybug is for me to try to get in a better mood today. By the way, for those of you that have wondered, we are still waiting for the Immigration approval, namely the precious 171h form. The lady in immigration congratulatedme on the precise organization of our paperwork, indicating that we would soon hear the good news... Guess what, still waiting.

Alidita (Titi Alida) va a tener un Nene

En el dia de hoy nos enteramos de tremendas noticias. Alidita, mi hermana, y Etienne van a tener un nene, o sea que de ahora en adelante puedo ya hablar de mi ahijado Esteban, y no de mi ahijado/a. Dios mediante nacera para el 26 de diciembre, o por ahi cerca, y gracias a Dios esta muy saludable. Estamos muy contentos en la familia. Florencio y yo estábamos comentando que Esteban será probablemente el mejor amiguito de Mei Ling. Orita vamos a encontrarnos para ir a comer para poder celebrar.Les deseamos muchas felicidades, y los queremos mucho, a Alidita, Etienne, Stefan, Mariana y Esteban.


Tambien les invito a que le den una hojeadita a la ultima edicion de National Geographic, que tiene un articulo bien interesante sobre los pandas. Como saben, los pandas vienen de China, y el problema es que no quedan muchos, apenas como 1,590, segun el ultimo censo.

Mexican Night Out and More Wishes/Fabrics for Mei Ling's Quilt

Yesterday we went out with our very good friends Mardi and Eliseo. We first went to have mexican food at Cielito Lindo. After around 2 hours, Yania and Tito also arrived, which was pure coincidence but a lot of fun. This was our first night out in a very, very long time. And we had a blast!!! Then we went to a bar that was opening yesterday for the first time, and although we felt kind of old (the mean age was like 24), we still had a very good time. We took pictures in Cielito Lindo, which we are enclosing. The one to the left is of Mardi, Yania and me, and the one to the right is of Tito, Yania, Mardi, Eliseo and Florencio. Did I mention we had a great time? I laughed and enjoyed myself like I had not done in a very long time, so we thank them.
p.d. hola a todos. Como ven, ayer salimos con Mardi y Eliseo a Cielito Lindo. De momento, y para nuestra grata sorpresa, tambien llegaron Yania y Tito. Esta era la primera vez que salimos en mucho tiempo y lo pasamos brutal.

Yesterday we received the second wish/fabric of the Angel Swap, this time from the Pie Family, in memory of their angel in heaven Christopher Andrew Pie. We also received 2 beautiful fabrics from the Beach swap, as well as wish/fabric from the Postcard swap.

Mis Papás (Abuelos de Mei Ling), Abuelita Olga, Jaimito y Alidita/ My Parents (Mei Ling's Grandparents), Grandma Olga, Jaimito and Alidita

Tal y como les dije anteriormente, quería ir poniendo fotos de los miembros de nuestras familias. En la foto de arriba están mis papás, Jaime y Alida, o sea los abuelos de Mei Ling Mercedes.

En la foto de arriba está otra de las bisabuelas de Mei Ling, Abuelita Olga, con mi hermana Alida, la tía de Mei Ling, que está embarazada de mi ahijado/o. Pronto sabremos si es nene o nena. Le deseamos mucha salud y los queremos mucho.

Y finalmente arriba está Abuelita Olga nuevamente, esta vez con Jaimito (el que cumplió el otro día los 29 años, que se ve un poco estropeado en esta foto), mi hermano y el tío de Mei Ling.

I recently told you that little by little, I would be including our family's pictures. The first picture is of my parents, Jaime and Alida. The second shows my Grandma Olga, with my sister Alida, who is pregnant, and the third picture shows my brother Jaime. Big hug, odemaris

More Info on the Chinese Culture: Inventions and the Winster Solstice

Today we received some more wishes/fabrics, including one with musical notes, standing for the letter M, of Mei Ling. The other two are representative of the Chinese culture, which I will go into a little bit further.
The one on the left is about the Winter Solstice, or Dong Z Hi, which falls between December 21 and 23. The ancient Chinese discovered that the Winter Solstice was the shortest day in the year, after which the sun begins its slow returns to the North. There are 2 reasons of why the Chinese hold celebrations on this day. First, after a hard working year, farmers always like to take a rest to enjoy their bountiful harvest. The second has to do with the theory of Yin and Yang. In Chinese philosophy, Yin symbolizes the feminine and the negative qualities of the universe, while Yang symbolizes the masculine and the positive. When something reaches one extreme, it will turn to the opposite. It is said that on the day of the Winter Solstice, the Yin is at its peak with the longest night. From then on, it will give way to the light and warmth of the Yang, and so the Chinese consider it the perfect time for optimism and joy. To the common people, the Winter Solstice meant a get together, while for rulers in the ancient history it was a grandiose ceremony.
An old saying in Beijing is "Having wonton at the Winter Solstice, and noodles at the Summer Solstice". Why was this? There is a folk tale in China that says that during the time of the Han dynasty, the Hun people in northern China often invaded and brought trouble to people. There were 2 major tribes, led by the Hun and Dun, and they were very vicious. Chinese people hated them, so they made wonton or Hundun in Chinese, using flour sheets and meat stuffing. Chinese people ate wontons, with the hope of avoiding war and have peaceful lives. It is believed that the wonton was invented on the Winter Solstice, and it became a custom for everyone to eat wontons on that day.

Let's not forget Chinese inventions. Did you know that the Chinese invented the fireworks, the wheelbarrow, the mulberry bark paper, the abacus, silk, the compass, kites and porcelain.

Les incluyo una foto con 3 telas/deseos que llegaron para el quilt de Mei Ling. Una de ellas tiene que ver con la musica, simbolo de la M de Mei Ling. Las otras 2 son culturales. Una de ellas habla sobre las invenciones de los chinos. Sabian ustedes que los chinos inventaron los fuegos artificiales, el abaco, la seda, el compas, las chiringas (Alla hay incluso un dia nacional de chiringas) y la porcelana? Un abrazo a todos, ode

First Wish/Fabric of the Angel Swap and More Wishes/Fabrics and Pecunia Just Hatched an Egg

I wanted to show you the first wish/fabric we received from the Angel Swap I hosted in the 100 Good Wishes Quilt Group. This one was sent by the Scott family. We knew that our angel Bibiana Isabel would have loved to contribute to her little sister's quilt, so this swap will be from her. As it turned out, from the 12 people in the swap, 5 of us had lost a son or a daughter, which is really sad. You just of never think that it happens to other people besides you. Well, the funny thing was that it turned out that the fabric that you see in the picture was chosen by 6 out of the 12 people, including ourselves. Both Florencio and myself thought that could not be a coincidence, so even if I ordered another one, we will also use this one. There was something just perfect about thinking of Bibiana as playing all kinds of instruments in heaven. This swap will certainly be very special!!!

Quise incluir esta foto porque muestra el primer deseo/tela recibido del intercambio de angeles que yo comence en el club al que pertenezco. Este nos lo envio la familia Scott. Queria hacer este intercambio porque estoy segura de que a Bibiana le habria contribuir al quilt de su hermana menor, y pues las telas/deseos de este intercambio seran la contribucion de Bibiana al quilt de su hermana. Increiblemente resulto ser que 5 de las 12 participantes del intercambio tambien tenian angelitos en el cielo, por lo que para ellas este intercambio tambien resulto ser muy importante. Lo comico es que resulto que 6 de las 12 participantes compramos la tela que se ve en la foto, y creanme cuando les digo que hay MUCHAS telas para escoger, asi que decidimos que esto no podia ser pura casualidad. Asi que aunque compre otra tela, tambien usare esta en nuestro deseo. Pense que habia algo bien magico pensar en Bibiana como tocando todo tido de instrumentos en el cielo. Un abrazo, ode

This other picture shows a wish/fabric from the polka dot swap, from the Reich family. I loved it because it included a wonderful excerpt of a writing by Mark Twain about how you should let yourself fly away. It reads like this:
"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones that you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

The other one was submitted by Cara (4 years) and Conrad (2 years) Scott, and is the first swap we received from the Beach Swap.

Finally, there is Pecunia in her nest. She hatched one egg this morning. Looks very pretty!!!

Abuelita Aida/ Grandma Aida

I wanted to show everyone our grandmothers. We have already shown Florencio's Grandma Mercedes. Now this is my Abuelita Aida, and this is the picture when she turned 80, and the family celebrated in grand style. Now I only have to take a picture of Abuelita Olga. I wanted you to see all of Mei Ling's Great Grandmothers, since they are a very important part of puertorrican families.

Como ven, puse una foto de Abuelita Aida. Anteriormente ya habíamos puesto la foto de la abuela de Florencio, Doña Mercedes, cuyo nombre llevará Mei Ling. Ahora tengo que localizar una foto de Abuelita Olga. Quería que la gente vea a quienes serán las bisabuelas de Mei Ling. Un abrazo, Ode

Un Libro de Mensajes para Mei Ling, el Ano del Conejo/ Hungry Ghost Festival and Mei Ling's Guest Book

Saludos nuevamente. Para los que no se han dado cuenta, ayer pusimos un libro cibernetico para dejarle mensajes a Mei Ling. Lo encuentran a la derecha del website. Entren y dejenle un mensaje a Mei Ling. Un dia le encantara leerlo.

Como ven, anejamos unas fotos. La que esta abajao muestra la tela que escogimos para el intercambio de telas de las postales que hicieron en el club. Cada persona tenia que enviar una tela y una postal del sitio de donde es oriundo. Tambien muestra una foto correspondiente al Ano del Conejo.

Ano del Conejo: Aquellas personas nacidas en los anos 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975 (Alidita, aka mi hermana, aka Titi Alida de Mei Ling), 1987, 1999. El proximo sera el 2011. Los "conejos" son personas muy articuladas, talentosas, compasivas, serias, perseverantes y ambiciosas. Tambien tienden a tener mucha gracia. Son reservados y sensitivos. Los "conejos" le ponen mucha importancia a los detalles, y no son muy arriesgados. Prefieren la seguridad. Es muy dificil provocar a un conejo.

Y como siempre, quien dice que si es un verdadero "conejo"?

Otros de los deseos/telas que retratamos es el de la G de las iniciales de Mei Ling. La G como saben es de Gonzalez.
My dear friends, yesterday I learned how to add a guest book for Mei Ling. We would love for you to add a message for her. One day she will really enjoy reading them. You can find it at the right side of the website.

And now for some Chinese culture tidbits. As you can see, the other wish/fabric shows cute little ghosts. That is because there is actually a Hungry Ghost Festival held in China, called the Yue Laan. It is held during the seventh lunar month, usually August. Its traditions are rooted in the belief that the gates of hell open in the seventh lunar month, and spirits and ghosts are allowed to roam the earth and find the comfort the desire. As a result, it is considered the most dangerous month of the year in China, as it is during this time that the souls of the dead live close to the living. During this month, people try to appease the restless spirits who have been temporarily released and are searching for others who can take their place in Hades. Paper money is burned outside the home to bribe the ghosts and keep them from coming inside. Offerings of food and paper mache replicas of cars, television sets, and other items that the ghosts might like to use in the underworld are burned. Chinese operas are staged along the streets to entertain these guests. The front row of seats are left vacant so they can be taken up by the ghosts. People living near the sea or a river, float lanterns in the shapes of the lotus or carved from fruits in the water, as it is believed that the light will comfort and warm the homeless ghosts and guide them away from the home. People do not usually swim during the Ghost month, as it is said that an evil ghost may cause them to drown. Children are told to return home early and not wander alone at night. It is not unusual to postpone weddings or important business deals until after the month has passed. The 14th and 15th are the most important days. On the 14th, a great feast is held to honor family ancestors, with prays and offerings made at family altars, since it is said that ancestral spirits that are well fed and cared for, will bring good fortune. On the 15th, family feasts are held outside for the hungry ghosts, with huge spreads set out in temple courtyards, common corridors and even homes. Tall bamboo poles with hanging lanterns are erected at the temple gates to help guide the hungry ghosts to the banquets inside, and Chinese operas are performed nonstop to entertain the ghosts while they dine.
What does the above tell you? Yes, that there are superstitious and very interesting traditions all around the world.

Big hug,

Odemaris

A Elevar Oraciones, Deseos/Tarjetas para Mei Ling, Muchas Gracias and tidbits about the Chinese Culture

Primeramente, en el dia de ayer nos enteramos de que a uno de mis queridos tios le descubrieron una enfermedad. Para aquellos que lo conocen, saben que lo operan el viernes, y me gustaria que aquellos de ustedes que tengan aunque sea un poquito de fe, eleven una oracion de vez en cuando, para que todo salga bien. Estamos seguros de que todo saldra tan bien como le fue a Papi. Tio, te queremos mucho.
Ayer Titi Migdalia me entrego tambien sus telas y deseos para Mei Ling. Estan preciosas. Hemos incluido un retrato. Uno de los deseos es de los primitos de Mei Ling, Natalia y Luis Ramon, y el otro es de Tio y Titi. Muchas gracias. Tambien le queria de una vez agradecer a todos los familiares que ya nos han dado sus deseos/telas (y los que quedan, estamos seguros de que tambien se apuntaran), al igual que a nuestros amigos. Diariamente escucho de personas en el club al que pertenezco que se quejan de que apenas han recibido 2 o 3 deseos/telas de sus amigos y familiares. Nuestro caso Gracias a Dios ha sido bien diferente, ya que hemos recibido como 35 solo de familiares y amigos, y estamos seguros de que apenas comienza. Es bien emocionante saber, y sabemos que asi mismo lo sentira Mei Ling Mercedes, que ustedes se han tomado el tiempo para ayudarnos en esta tradicion tan bonita. Verdaderamente hemos sentido esa buena vibra de parte de ustedes hacia este nuevo proyecto nuestro de buscar a nuestra hija, que a decir verdad ya se siente (y creo que ustedes tambien lo sienten asi) tan parte de nuestra familia. Muchas, muchas gracias de parte tanto mia como de Florencio, un abrazo, Ode
A continuacion voy a escribir un poco en espanol, y luego en ingles para ser justa con nuestros amigos que no hablan nuestro idioma. Hoy me llegaron las telas y deseos del ano del tigre y el del caballo.

Ano del Caballo- Aquellos que nacieron en 1918, 1930, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990 y 2002. Los "caballos" tienden a ser personas populares. Son muy aptas en el manejo del dinero, perceptivas y usualmente estan contentos. Sin embargo, los "caballos" tienden a hablar demasiado. Son sabios, talentosos, y tienden a tener una gran debilidad por los miembros del sexo opuesto. Son bien independientes y normalmente no escuchan los consejos que se les da. Los "caballos" tienden a ser compatibles con los "tigres", los "perros" y las "ovejas".

Ano del Tigre- Aquellos que nacieron 1902, 1914, 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986 y 1998. El proximo sera el 2010. Los "tigres" son activos, audaces, lideres naturales, apasionados e independientes. Son impacientes, especialmente si nacen de noche. Los "tigres" tambien tienden a ser rebeldes y el centro de atencion. No tienen mucha paciencia, ni tampoco son cuidadosos, pero son considerados y muy carinosos.

Y como siempre pregunto, y hasta ahora nadie ha contestado, quien se sintio identificado?

Well, and now for my English Speaking friends. My friend from the 100 Good Wishes Quilt Group very nicely sent me three wishes/fabrics related to the Chinese culture, which I wanted to share with you.



I wanted to especially tell you about the significance of the bamboo and the Buddhism in the Chinese culture.
The Bamboo is said to be revered in the Chinese culture. In Chinese paintings, the bamboo is considered one of the 4 friends, along with the orchid, the plum tree and the chrysanthemum flower. These 4 friends represent the highest virtues of the human nature. The bamboo's upright shape, open interior and strong joints have made it symbolic of the noble characted and integrity in the Chinese culture.

According to tradition, Buddha was born around 563 B.C. into an eminent family that lived in the foothills of the Himalayas between present day Nepal and India. His birth name was Siddhartha. At the age of 29 he rejected the life of luxury in which he had been raised, leaving his home and family to seek understanding of the suffering and mortality inherent in all life. After years of searching, at the age of 36 he found spiritual enlightenment during a night of meditation. He devoted his life to teaching the insights he had attained. Although Buddhism was known in China during the Han dynasty (206 B.C.), it was only after the fall of the Han that it began to gain widespread popularity. The form of Buddhism that became dominant in China was Mahayana which emphasized the potential salvation of all living beings and the concept of compassion. The essence of the Buddha's teachings is embodied in "The Four Noble Truths": First, all life is suffering, second, suffering stems from desire, third, suffering can only end with the elimination of desire, fourth, this is achieved by following thte Eightfold Path, focused on meditation, moral training and discipline. The Eightfold Path illustrates the moral principles which Buddhists practice daily. This is the Eightfold Path: 1) Right Knowledge, 2) Right Thinking, 3) Right Speech, 4) Right Conduct, 5) Right Livelihood, 6) Right Effort, 7) Right Mindfulness, and 8) Right Concentration.

Hope you learned something, since these are very important elements of the Chinese culture.

Big hug,

Odemaris

HOY JAIME CUMPLE LOS 29!!!

Hoy es el cumpleaños de Jaimito, aka mi hermano, aka el tío de Mei Ling. Cumple 29. Le deseamos que tenga un tremendo día. También aprovechamos para felicitarlo por su nuevo puesto en Tyco. Le deseamos lo mejor. Un abrazo, Ode y Floren

Today is my brother Jaime's birthday, better known as Jaimito, or Mei Ling's uncle. He turned 29. We hope you have a great day. We also wanted to congratulate him on his new promotion at Tyco. He will sure be travelling a whole lot around the world. Big hug, Ode and Floren

Muchos regalos para Mei Ling/ Many gifts for Mei Ling

Muchos saludos a todos. Jaimito (bueno, mañana cumple 29 años, así que el ito le queda medio raro, pero es la costumbre) consiguió que una muchacha china que trabaja con él en Tyco le escribiera un mensaje a Mei Ling para utilizar como parte de su deseo para el quilt. Y yo quería compartirlo con ustedes. Quiere decir lo siguiente: Mei Ling, la familia siempre te va a amar! Te quiere mucho, Tu Tío Jaime
Estamos seguros de que a Mei Ling le va a encantar. Como verán, los primeros tres caracteres es que se escribe Mei Ling.

Y siguiendo con los regalitos que constantemente le envian a Mei Ling, quien estoy a punto de comenzar a creer que me la van a querer como que añoñar mucho (yo no, que va, eso no nos aplica a Floren y a mí), también les incluyo un ladybug que canta y hace ruidos para que Mei Ling nos vuelva locos en casa, cortesía sus abuelos Jaime y Alida.

Y pues como su tía Alida, su tío Etienne, y sus primos Stefan y Mariana se iban a quedar atrás, que va... Le enviaron a Mei Ling un trajecito precioso con mariposas, y consiguió una caja con el símbolo chino de la felicidad, para poner las cosas de Mei Ling. De momento se convirtió en la nueva casa de todas las telas para el quilt de Mei Ling.


Y siguiendo, aquí también les incluyo las telas y deseos que le enviaron a Mei Ling mi titi Aleyda, tío Julio, y los primos Julio Ernesto, Aleida Lía, Jorge Luis y Luis Manuel. Están bien bonitos, al igual que la nueva casa para los deseos para el quilt de Mei Ling, también cortesía de Titi Aleida, con ladybugs y todo.

Y siguiendo con los regalitos, Titi Cuca nos envió un traje de princesa para Mei Ling. Está precioso.
Muchas gracias a todos, de todo corazón, un abrazo y un beso, Ode y Floren

As you can see, we have enclosed a lot of gifts that we received this past couple of days from family members for Mei Ling, as well as a message written in Chinese that my brother Jaime got for Mei Ling. It basically says "Mei Ling, your family will always love you, with a lot of love, your dear uncle Jaime".

Good Memories from NYC/ Buenos Recuerdos de Nuestro Viaje a NYC

Yesterday we arrived to our sweet home in Puerto Rico. To tell you the truth, it is always good to return home, especially when my parents picked us up in the airport and my brother Jaime was also there visiting for a couple of days. We actually went to have some lunch, and my cousin Luis also came along, to celebrate Jaime's bday (he will turn 29 on July 7. One good tidbit: he was born on 7/7/77, and he has always been pretty lucky... so the 7 myth is quite true for some people). Anyway, we had a good time.
As to NYC, we had a wonderful time. We visited Chinatown, where we got really excited every time we saw a Chinese little girl. Actually, I have enclosed a picture which shows a little chinese girl on the side, just so you know we are not lying when I tell you we were on the lookout. One very interesting thing about NYC is that we saw so many little Chinese adopted beautiful girls. One of them especially caught our attention. We saw her in the subway, and there was this guy playing some music for money, and she seemed to really enjoy it. She was clapping, and she danced, and she was just a joy to behold.


We shopped quite a bit for Mei Ling, as you will see from other pictures we will be enclosing. The thing is that in NYC we were able to get some things that are just impossible to find in Puerto Rico, like the books I had been looking for eveywhere regarding Children's books with adoption stories, namely The Red Blanket, Families are Forever and Angels of Love. The last one I had not even been looking for and it turned out to be the most special for our family. I wantet to include just a little excerpt:
Mommy says that adopting me and Ashley was like getting a great big gift from the angels of love. Angels do lots of special things for everyone, but they especially watch over children. They don't want any children to grow up without a family to call their own. When the angels have a big and important job to do, like finding parents for kids like me and Ashley, they have friends on earth to help them. They call these friends "adoption workers" . Their job is to help every boy and girl in the whole wide world find people who love them... Instead of being sad or mad about it, mommy and daddy prayed to the angels to help them find a baby they could adopt and care for. I was lucky. That baby turned out to be me.
We always like to think that our little angel Bibiana Isabel is also out there looking to see that her little sister Mei Ling is well, and that she is also a big part of this journey to find her little sister Mei Ling.


Another special place for us in NYC was the visit to FAO Schartz. None of us had been there before. We found a beautiful Corolle doll for Mei Ling, which looks just like a Chinese little girl, as well as a clown puppet for my still in the belly godson/daughter. By the way, we also got her/him a tshirt that says I Love NYC in Chinese, just like the one that our good friends Enrique and Amanda gave us for Mei Ling, because since they will be almost equal in age, we want to take their pictures together with the same tshirt. We found that in Pearl River, a wonderful store in Chinatown, where Enrique and Amanda had purchased the fabric and tshirt for Mei Ling. By the way, we have also enclosed a picture of what Amanda and Enrique got for Mei Ling, as well as a picture of the 6 of us, including Cheito and Ana Maria, which were also visiting NYC in those days. We were all having a wonderful Vietnamese dinner in Saigon Grill.

In the next post, I will show some wonderful quilt wishes/fabric that I received while we were in NYC, as well as a musical ladybug from my parents, and the wishes/fabrics from my Titi Aleida, and a great chinese box (with a dress) from my sister, as well as a dress from my Titi Cuca.

Big hug, Odemaris

Como algunos de ustedes saben, Floren se encontro conmigo en NYC, luego de que yo acabara de trabajar. Lo pasamos muy bien. Adjunto algunas fotos. Una de ellas es de nosotros (junto a Enrique y Amanda- que nos prestaron su apartamento-, nosotros y Cheito y Ana Maria) comiendo en Saigon Grill, un sitio bien rico de comida vietnamita. Tambien fuimos a Chinatown, donde estabamos como locos buscando a las nenas chinitas. Floren me saco una foto, pero de verdad lo que estaba buscando era a ver como salia la nena chinita. O sea, yo fui la excusa. Otra de las fotos muestra los regalitos que nos dieron Enrique y Amanda para Mei Ling, que es una tshirt que dice I Love NYC en chino (tambien le compramos una para la nena/e de Alidita, mi ahijado/a, para sacarles una foto juntos). Fuimos a FAO Schartz, donde le compramos una muneca que parece china a Mei Ling, y tambien una marioneta para mi ahijado/a. Algo bien curioso fue que en NYC vimos a muchas nenas chinas adoptadas, y fue sumamente emocionante. A decir verdad, era de las cosas que mas nos emocionaba ver, era como nuestra aventura personal, mucho mas emocionante que los rascacielos, el Central Park y el Empire State Building. Vimos a una bien comica en un subway, que se la pasaba aplaudiendo y bailando y saludando a otro bebe. La verdad es que lo pasamos super bien. Tambien encontramos unos libros que habia estado buscando por internet, y que no vendian en Puerto Rico, que tratan los temas de la adopcion pero en libros para ninos. Se llaman The Red Blanket, Families are Forever y Angels of Love. El ultimo es una preciosidad. Arriba inclui una partecita que pueden leer. Bueno, hasta lueguito, un abrazo. En el proximo mensaje incluire fotos de los regalitos que nos dieron para Mei Ling, al igual que mas deseos/telas que llegaron mientras estabamos por NYC. Un abrazo, ode