In January last year we travelled to Japan and I fell in love. With Japan, not someone other than hubby. A year on, I miss this beautiful country and I’ve been reflecting again on the lessons that travelling there taught me. If you follow great travel blogs like Ytravel blog you’ll be blown away by the lessons, both subtle and … Read More
Compassion in the Year of the Sheep
I don’t know whether compassion will be a hallmark of the new Chinese Year of the Sheep (or Goat/Ram). I sincerely hope so. I do know that our Chinese-born adopted daughter, born in the last Year of the Sheep (2003) is not much of a flock follower (other than in fashion). I know that she can ram home her point … Read More
What adoption has taught me about love
It’s been 10 years tomorrow since we adopted our beautiful daughter, coming up to four years since we welcomed our precious son. Adoption has taught me exactly everything that becoming a mother has. When we become mothers we (are forced to) learn patience, although mine was sorely tested by years of infertility and the long adoption process, so I don’t … Read More
A butterfly story – of resilience and transformation
We all know the story of the hungry caterpillar that becomes a butterfly and you may be familiar with the rather sad tale of the silkworm that becomes a plain old moth (kinda disappointing after all that spinning). The silkworm spins its finest silk cramped up in its cocoon only to NOT be able to fly away (because its moth body … Read More
Play to your strengths
In Chinese medicine practitioners address weak yang by first strengthening yin. It sounds counter-intuitive, but the reasoning is pretty simple – Focus on your strengths rather than your weaknesses and then work on your weaknesses from a place of strength. The other thing that sounds counter-intuitive but is actually very wise, is that a ‘weakness’ is often considered to be … Read More
If you didn’t laugh, you’d cry
Sh#t happens, sometimes piles of poo. And sometimes the only way to get through (as opposed to step on) all the sh*t is to laugh about it. I wrote about the drama (and comedy) that seems to want to accompany us whenever we travel in this post, but there’s one comedy of errors that takes the proverbial cake and needs … Read More
Letter to a birth mother
How do you find the right words to say – that’s what I’m struggling with this mother’s day as I think of my children’s birthmothers. I’ve previously shared a letter I wrote to our daughter’s birthmother that I penned almost 9 years ago (it’s on this page, but I’ve copied it below). I found the ‘right’ words then, but they … Read More
Happy Year of the Horse
I’m not exactly galloping into the Year of the Horse, more like a slow trot back into blogging. Still the horse holds promise for a spirited year. I’ve certainly proved the theory that habits can be made or broken in two weeks – although I suspect it is far easier to break a habit than make one in a fortnight. … Read More
Just love – you don’t need proof
There is only one photo! Well, there are two, but they are the same photo, basically, just taken from a slightly different angle, snapped seconds apart….it doesn’t count. I will call it one photograph, as though the two images could merge into one, seamlessly, and no one would ever see the difference. See what I mean? There’s another photo, of … Read More
The little baby with the big smile
I’ve previously shared what I wrote about the day we met our daughter 9 years ago, so thought I’d share the experience of meeting our son. Happy Mother’s Day to all Mums. More than six years after adopting our Katelin Jiachang we welcomed our Liam Chi Jie into our lives, with our good friends alongside us welcoming siblings for their beautiful daughters…the … Read More
Psst…sneak peak of a manuscript
I’ve been hiding something in the bottom drawer for a while…a manuscript for a book I’ve written about our journey through infertility and adoption. I’ll bravely push the publish button on some excerpts on my blog, and I’d love if you could let me know what you think. All feedback welcome.
The gift of family – our special video, National Adoption Awareness Month
It’s national Adoption Awareness Month in Australia and I’d personally love your support for how adoption changes lives, for the better. I’ve also finally finished a video of our adoption trip to China in October/November 2010. We first journeyed to where our daughter is from in Hubei Province and had the privelege of meeting her Foster Mother. Then we travelled to Kunming in Yunnan … Read More
