98 Thank Yous

"How beautiful a day can be
when kindness touches it!"
~George Elliston

We are beyond words of gratitude and thanks. Cannot believe that in 30 days so many people have reached out to help us fundraise to bring Lottie Lee home to us! We feel so blessed to have all the wonderful friends and family that surround us with love and support every day throughout our journey.

September was an amazing month and with the help of CoupAide, friends, family and even strangers 98 gift cards were purchased in honor of our sweet baby. As each day passed we sat in wonder how so many people became a part our journey and more importantly a part of Lottie Lee's story.

Sadly we won't know much about her birthparents, actually most likely her birthday will be an estimate. We won't know why her parents chose adoption or is she has any brothers or sisters. But what we can tell her is how her story started with us.  How much she was loved even before we saw her picture.  We can share all the messages, cards, and well wishes. We can tell her that old friendships were reunited, and because of her new friendships began. We can share our journals and how that not a day went by that we did not think of her.  Most importantly we will share how so many people came together to make it possible to bring her home from China.  

Thank you to everyone, every thought, prayer and well wish has not gone unnoticed. Thank you for all the love and support!

The littlest one that ever sole my heart

You are the sweetest gift, my little pearl.

You are a bright young thing and the

whole world is in front of you.

Take things as they come and you will

weather well.

Go everywhere. 

Be brave and stong and free.

Keep your eyes and ears and heart wide open.

Look for goodness all around you.

And when you feel small in the

great big world, be still.

Think of your beautiful roots. 

They are deep and true and will

allow you to stretch far.

 So go into the world and let you little light shine.

And always remember you are loved

and blessed and the littlest one that

ever stole my heart.

~ Rebecca Puig

Dancing with the Dragon

We were able to watch our first Dragon Dance, while enjoying the 2011Moon Festival. It was beautiful, facinating, and rich in Chinese culture. Here is some information about the traditon, from Wikipedia.com.

Dragon dance (simplified Chinese: 舞龙; traditional Chinese: 舞龍; pinyin: wǔ lóng) is a form of traditional dance and performance in Chineseculture. Like the lion dance it is most often seen in festive celebrations. Many Chinese peopleoften use the term "Descendants of the Dragon" (龍的傳人 or 龙的传人, lóng de chuán rén) as a sign of ethnic identity, as part of a trend started in the 1970s. Another derivation is from (農的傳人) i.e. the descendants of Shennong, the legendary first king of the Chinese people who taught them agriculture, law and medicine, the foundationsof civilization.

In the dance, a team of people carry the dragon — which is an image of the Chinese dragon — on poles. A dragon can be composed of up to 50 people. The dance team does mimic the supposed movements of this river spirit in a sinuous, undulating manner. The movements in a performance traditionally symbolize historical roles of dragons demonstrating power and dignity. The dragon dance is a highlight of Chinese New Yearcelebrations held worldwide in Chinatowns around the world.

Dragons are believed to bring good luck to people, which are reflected in their qualities that include great power, dignity, fertility (sex), wisdom and auspiciousness. The appearance of a dragon is both frightening and bold but it has a benevolent disposition, and so eventually became an emblem to represent imperial authority.

Lottie Lee's Red Thread

We have been given the opportunity of a lifetime that not only will change our lives, but our daughter’s life. This opportunity can raise awareness about the adoption process and how it can be attainable for any family. Although we didn’t have the funds to finance our adoption, we certainly knew we didn’t want to jeopardize our financial situation by taking a second mortgage, or a high interest loan. We decided cutting back on day-to-day luxuries and possibly starting a side business to help finance our adoption, would be the best way for our family. We started Lottie Lee Photography, taking quality family portraits for a small donation toward our adoption. While looking for free advertising, I stumbled across a nonprofit company in the Austin area, and our journey took an overwhelmingly wonderful twist. We met with the founders of CoupAide, who after meeting with us and listening to our thoughts about adoption, decided to sponsor us and help with a fundraising campaign for Charlotte Lee's adoption. We were told that CoupAide will build a website in our daughter's honor to help raise funds for her adoption: for every Restaurant.com gift certificate sold on the Coupaide.com web page, they will donate 50% of the sales directly towards Lottie Lee's adoption.

We are speechless and cannot believe the opportunity that has been given to us. We hope not only to raise the necessary funds for our daughters adoption and possibly help provide surgeries of other children with cleft lip/palate, but also to make it a model for families to realize that although adoption is expensive, there are creative resources to help lessen the cost. With faith all things are possible! Special Thanks to Firas & Matt from CoupAide

"An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place, or circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle, but will never break."

--An ancient Chinese belief

Children's Hope International

What a momentous day! We have been accepted by our agency, Children’s Hope International, and could not be happier. It was a long road to this point, which seems ironic since being accepted to an agency is a first step in any adoption, but we were relentless in our research that included spending a couple of months interviewing various agencies and reading books that guided us on what kind of questions to ask, plus warning signs to avoid. Ultimately, it came down to our initial intuition. We listed all of our priorities, one being that we were looking for the most transparent agency, that was upfront and honest about the process and cost. In addition, we wanted to find an agency with a strong philanthropic model and one that gives back to the orphanages and children in need. We confidently chose our agency based on those priorities and look forward to building our relationship as we embark on this journey.

Why not China?

We have often been asked the question "Why adopt from China?. At first we didn’t know exactly how to explain why, we just felt a pull towards China, and slowly began reading more books and learning about the Chinese culture. Other coincidences occurred that just made us feel that China was the country for us. One in particular, was when we learned of the Chinese belief: an invisible red thread that connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place, or circumstance--a quote we read on a piece of artwork that we purchased and hung in our home. We just felt this immediate connection to China; even though we were worlds apart, to us it just seemed right. 

After a while it became more and more clear why we wanted to adopt from China. After reading several books, we discovered how the one-child policy and deeply embedded cultural beliefs, has played a significant role in why so many little girls in China are abandoned on freeways, bus stations, police stations, near orphanages, or they are just left anywhere that is a very public place. Knowing there are so many tiny babies, just needing a family to love, solidified China as the country for our family. In addition, learning all the resources Lottie Lee will have when we bring her home was so reassuring. Groups like Families of Children from China (FCC) and Mandarin Preschools made it possible for us to provide Lottie with all the Chinese cultural background that we could, to raise her in our multicultural family.

What’s in a name?

“Give her a name that means something.” A quote from Moses Whitecotton, a character from one of my favorite books, Where the Heart Is. Names have always been so important to me and one of the reasons, 11 years ago, I changed my name from Jessica to Winn. So where do we start? How can we choose a name for our Chinese daughter? Do we keep her given Chinese name?

Most of the literature tells us that Chinese orphanages name the children after arrival and not from the child’s birth parents. Thinking about a name and how it defines who we are, her Chinese name no matter how it came to be, is still a piece of who she is. There is some research in the adoption world about choosing a name, but there isn’t any definitive right or wrong answer. We decided to follow Moses Whitecotton’s words, and chose to use both of our family names and her Chinese name.  

We chose a name with great meaning, Charlotte Lee, after two very important people in our lives: my grandmother Charlotte Fogarty and Scott’s grandfather Lee Hall. And as per my grandmothers request, we will call her Lottie Lee. After further research, we found Charlotte is a feminine version of Charles, and is defined as a strong woman. This description just seemed to be the perfect meaning for our strong baby, who is beating all the odds against her. Once we are matched with our sweet baby we will use her Chinese name in combination with Charlotte Lee.