Grace!

This past Friday, Lanhua enjoyed a great day with her new friend Grace, a remarkable young lady in my sister Christina’s 5th grade class. Christina took the 2 girls to Belmont Park for an afternoon of roller coasters, bumper cars, rides that spin around relentlessly and a bit of romping along the beach. The outing was followed by dinner and cherry Cokes at a classic burger joint, then fun and games with Lucy, the Sphynx kitten, back at Christina and Uncle Andrew’s house. Lan had a really fun time. We hope that Grace did too.

Steve and I are amazed by the kindness and sincerity of the young friends that Lanhua has met thus far. Their genuine interest in her life and their willingness to extend themselves is impressive and admirable.

A Toothbrush Also Tells a 1,000 Words

During the weeks preceding our journey to China, Steve and I shopped for various items to hopefully occupy Lanhua during our downtime in China, as well as during the long flight back to the US. Along the way, I found what I thought would be a great introduction to the Latin alphabet for a 9-year old girl: a Barbie-themed penmanship practice / coloring book. It was pink, pretty and very Barbie. Much to my disappointment (I loved Barbies as a kid), Steve insisted that our daughter will not be subjected to the superficial marketing abyss of Barbie dolls and related paraphernalia. Little did he know……….

Within 6 weeks of Lanhua’s arrival in the US, she came home with a new toothbrush that she convinced Dad to buy during a routine trip to the grocery store (refer to photos).

We tossed the toothbrush this morning. Before doing so, however, I asked Steve to capture a few photos of this somewhat symbolic item. Barbie never looked better.