CNY

we celebrated Chinese New Year a few days late this year, but in great company. Each year of our adoption journey we notice our traditions forming some disappearing, some created and growing stronger with the passage of time.

This year, no CNY cards were sent out, but hey, I did get out our Christmas cards for the first time in 3 years, so that sort of counts!

Last year and this year we spent a wonderful CNY dinner celebration with our friends Al and Donna, their kids and friends of theirs who adopted several years ago at the same time as one of their daughters (but are back waiting for their second child). This year we also added in another local couple and their daughter Lilly, some of you will recognize her!

We headed out to a different restaurant, I've heard from those who travelled to China that the food is about as Chinese as you'll get in the states, good news, I ate pretty well! I just need to watch out for bones! The kids were showered with Red Envelopes and small toys, even Magpie scoring some for the day she comes home. Some from the past are already tucked away inside a book of hers.

The kids had a good time, the parents did too and I continue to be grateful for the power of friendship which supported us through the many months that lay behind and and those that are ahead. We are fortunate our circle continues to blossom and that the strength we get from our "community" makes us smile with warmth.

Here's to friendships new and old, may they continue to grow, intertwine and blossom during this Chinese New Year. Our newest and oldest friends continue to mesh like we were all sown from the same seeds, strewn about a garden, each unique but imparting something to the overall landscape... no matter the occasion, the time, or the place, there is this seamless blending that I really love about our closest friends and family.

(So Al, what was that stringy tenticle-y looking thing I had?)