More Christmas

In response to the questions about whether or not we have any more video from Christmas morning, I thought I'd post this... the last remaining video segments. Unfortunately, we don't have video of all the kids. But, I thought I'd share what we did have. Some of you mamas will get a glimpse of your little ones in this footage.

The Cutest Elves

Each child is such a precious gift, and we are so thankful for Noah and Polly. Our hearts swell with love and pride as we watch our children bloom and blossom. Words really can't describe how blessed we are to have them in our lives.

When these little ones first joined our family, their futures didn't seem so bright. Babies with Down's Syndrome sometimes seem "hopeless" to orphanage staff overwhelmed with many children.

Take Polly for example... When we first met Polly, she was in our formula project and weighed 8 pounds at 6 months old. She came to our foster home when she was 14 months old, and she still only weighed 10.5 pounds. She had no muscle tone and spent all her time on her back, unable to even lift up her arm. In a busy orphanage with many children to attend to, it is easy to overlook a little one like Polly, thinking that she never has much of a chance anyway. But we believe each child was created with great joy and purpose, and we are so thankful we had the opportunity to bring her here. Now at 28 months old, she weighs 21 pounds and loves to dance to Christmas carols.

She's one of our cutest little elves, and we are so thankful we've been entrusted with her care.

Merry Christmas! Thank you for making this journey of love possible. We hope you'll continue to join us in 2010 as we seek to bring hope to the hopeless and the fatherless home.

Wordless Wednesday: Happy Boys

Libi Returns

We were so blessed today to have a visit from Libi and her family. Libi is a NDFH graduate, adopted in 2008. She's made amazing progress since she joined her adoptive family, and we were so thankful we had the opportunity to see her again.

Libi's parents are in China adopting Libi's big sister, and they brought their whole family, including three big brothers and grandma! It was wonderful to spend a day with Libi and her family.

Also, we added her family's blog to our "Extended Family" list, so you can keep up with her in the future!

Libi gets to hang out with her nanny again!

Libi plays in her old stomping grounds with a new friend, Eliana.


Libi and her Mama.

Libi shows off how she's learning to walk -- something many doubted would ever happen!

Libi and her Daddy.

Let's be Friends

Sweet Tom. He loves all our little ones so much. So much that he just wants to smother them in kisses and sit in their laps and nuzzle them with his paws. Needless to say, some of our littlest residents aren't as thrilled about Tom as he is about them.


But, every now and then comes along a kid who thinks Tom would make a great pal; a child who is just as curious about Tom as he is about them. Polly is one such baby. She never acts afraid or concerned when he is around; she just stares at him as if she's wondering what this four-legged furry friend is up to. We think they'll continue to be great friends!

YeYe Donnie

We recently shared the story of a very special Chinese couple who gave their all. I wanted to share the story of another very special person today...

We first met Donnie when he signed up to sponsor Brett, a little boy who used to live at the foster home who had only one leg. Brett was a high-spirited little boy, but there seemed to be a sadness about him... some kids just seem to be affected more deeply than others by the fact that they don't have their own family. Brett was one of those little boys, and though we did our best to encourage him and build him up, we could still sense his brokenness and sadness.

But then along came Donnie. Donnie took this sponsorship seriously, and decided that what it really meant was that he'd be Brett's grandpa, or YeYe. He mailed Brett small presents and pictures of his motorcycle. He sent doo rags and lots and lots of candy. And something inside Brett started to bloom. He smiled more and when a package would come to the foster home, he'd excitedly scoot over and ask if it was from his grandpa.

When Brett was adopted, Donnie had the opportunity to meet his little grandson. Brett said he wanted to go on a train ride with his YeYe Donnie, so that's exactly what they did. It's clear from these pictures that what we suspected all along is most definitely true... Love makes a difference.
After Brett joined his family, Donnie started sponsoring Polly and Jack, never missing an opportunity to sneak them some suckers like any good grandpa does. He also sent our kids on a wonderful field trip this summer, and signed up to help sponsor formula as well. He always sends us emails checking on "his kids," and through the internet has connected with families adopting New Day kiddos. He's participated in some fundraisers to help families pay for adoptions, even winning a Vera Bradley bag once! (Donnie said he wasn't too sure what to do with a Vera Bradley bag! It didn't go well with his motorcycle.)

Everyone at the foster home knows about the "American Grandpa," and he's become such a part of our family that we decided to make it official and name him as NDFH's Honorary Grandpa! (Scroll down to the foreign staff section to see Donnie.) Thank you Donnie for all that you do!

From all of your grandkids at NDFH, we hope you have a very Merry Christmas!

Wordless Wednesday: Birthday Cake Smiles are the Sweetest

Naughty and Nice

Santa came early to the foster home, and for the first time ever, the children didn't scream in sheer terror at the sight of the jolly old man.

We think it's because he came with candy.

We did learn something from Santa's early arrival... we found out "who is naughty and nice."

In the naughty camp, we have Adrian. Look at him, trying to rob Santa's bag of an extra piece of candy. Clearly this little guy hasn't learned that the consequence for such behavior is a large lump of coal.

And look how nice little Faith is being to Santa. He's offering her candy, and she politely folds her hands and says "Ready," just like she does in preschool every day. This little girl remembers her manners.

Is it purely coincidental that there seems to be a direct correlation between gender and being naughty or nice?

I think not.

Singin' Time

Song time is probably the best time of preschool, if you were to ask all of our kids. They especially liked it today when Sarah, their preschool teacher, invited them up one at a time to select their very favorite song to sing. You mamas would all be so proud; the children did a great job taking turns and enthusiastically singing one another's favorites. First up was Matthias, then Adahlyn (with Matthias' talking), then Drew, and finally, Elizabeth and Trey. You can see, there's never a dull moment!

We also have very exciting news. Samuel's papers are with Adoptions Together, an adoption agency in the USA. According to their website his papers are still available for to be matched, so we're hoping his family finds him soon!

Finally Home

Claire is finally home from the hospital, after a 6-month-long stay. She's a walking miracle, and we hope you'll take some time to read her story.

We're so thankful that she's home in time for Christmas! She still needs her chest tube to drain infection from her lungs, but other than that, she's doing very well!

Sadie's Hair

Holly gave us a great idea in her comment on yesterday's post. Couldn't resist following through with it.

So, without further ado, ladies and gents, I present to you...

Sadie's Hair!

And just in case you are wondering, no products are necessary to coiffe this stunning style. It's all natural, baby.

Wordless Wednesday: Sadie's Smile

Moving On

Doug and Janice Bush, along with their little girl Sarah Grace, headed up the opening of New Day Healing Home, and now they are getting ready to move to Guangzhou to open New Day South. We had a little going away party at the Healing Home for them, and brought back all of the kids that had been in our Healing Home and had now moved to foster families.

Being together brought back a lot of good memories -- so many children who had a chance for hope and healing because of this new project!

We can't wait for the time -- not too far down the road -- where we can take a group picture of the little ones who have become a part of New Day South. Thanks to the Bush family for your service and vision! Many little lives have changed, and will continue to do so, because you are willing to take leaps of faith.

Giving All

She called to get an account number so she could wire a donation. It’s a question we often get, so as we told her the proper information we didn’t think much about her request.

An elderly Chinese lady from a rural village in another province, she had reached the stage of life where time was plentiful and enjoyed chatting like elderly women everywhere are prone to do. We listened as she told her story.

“I heard about your organization from a friend of mine,” she said. “She worked as a nurse at your foster home for a while, and when she came back to her hometown, she told me about the work that you do there.”

“Can we send you a calendar?” we asked. “Maybe some pictures of our children?” Knowing she would likely be unable to travel for a visit, we wanted to give her a glimpse of the children she was helping.

“Oh, that’s not necessary,” she replied. “I’m blind, so I wouldn’t be able to enjoy the pictures. From the stories I've heard, I can imagine what it must be like!”

This is the second year that she has made a donation. Sending $1,000 USD each year, we knew the donation was no small sum for her. But we didn’t yet know just how much of a sacrifice it was.

“I’ll be going with my friend to the bank very soon to send you the money we’ve saved.” She went on to say that she would take a bus from her village to the nearest city where there was a bank so that she could wire her donation. A friend would accompany her to help her fill out the forms.

At this point, we overheard someone in the background, quietly reminding her to save enough money for her return bus fare. Quickly we realized that she wasn’t just giving us a donation. She was giving us all that she had.

After gently asking a few more questions, we found out that she and her husband make about $200 USD a month, or $2,400 USD a year. For the last two years, these elderly rural farmers have donated almost half of their annual income to the foster home. Saving even enough for a bus fare is something they must be reminded to do…

We’re thankful for each and every donation that comes to the foster home. But, when we heard this story, we were especially humbled and reminded that with each gift, we’re being entrusted with a great responsibility.

Though there are certainly donors who give more than this elderly Chinese couple, we don’t know of anyone else who gives all.

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Though we haven't visited this couple in their home, we imagine these pictures, shot in villages around China (including our own!), reflects their lives as well.

Looks Like Christmas

We've decked our halls, and they definitely feel more cheery! That's the upside. The downside is that we'll be spending a lot of time reminding a large group of orally-inquisitive toddlers that the pretty, shiny things hanging on the tree are not good to eat.

Oh well, isn't that what a Christmas tree means in any house with little ones?

You can see more pictures of our decorating day over on the foster home's scrapbook.

What's Cooking?

Some of you may have heard of Scarlet Threads, a small online shop started by some of us here at New Day selling aprons that are handmade by a seamstress in our village.

Well, several customers asked us to make matching children's aprons, so we have started working on them. We wanted to check our progress, so we thought we'd test them out on some of our resident cooks.

When we brought an apron to try on some of the older girls, all of the younger ones wanted a chance at the modeling gig, as well! As it turns out, we have plenty of cute models who can make anything look good.


The little play kitchen at the foster home will definitely need a few aprons hanging on the shelf, because everyone knows you cook better food when you're wearing the appropriate gear.

Wordless Wednesday: Jennifer

If You're Happy and You Know It

We're so happy that Judah is out of the hospital and doing well!

So happy that we could, well, clap our hands!

5 Going on 15

Ganlu, the photographer behind most of the photographs on our website and blog and our amazing web designer, is rarely seen without her camera in hand. The kids have come to expect that...

On a recent afternoon, Ganlu was with the children and picked up a toy camera in the playroom. She pretended to take a picture of Victoria with the big, plastic camera.

"Smile!" Ganlu told Victoria.

Victoria rolled her eyes.

"You have a real camera. Why are you playing with that camera? It's for little kids!"

Poor Ganlu. She can't have any fun.


But Ganlu did convince Victoria to take a picture of her with the toy camera... so I guess under all her 15-year-old-bravado, Victoria is still just a 5-year-old on the inside.

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In response to several requests, we created a button that you can put on your blog or website to link shoppers to Amazon so that they can support NDFH in their holiday shopping. You can find it on the right column in the button section. Thanks for helping us spread the word!

Wordless Wednesday: Joshua's Joy

Next Steps

It's almost Thanksgiving. We're getting ready for our big Thanksgiving meal here at the foster home, complete with all the trimmings. We'll be sure to post lots of pictures of the feast and the naps that happen afterwards.

And you know what comes after Thanksgiving, right?

Black Friday!

A time of maddening crowds and great deals. But this year you can skip the crowded parking lot and pushing and shoving over this season's must-have-toy by shopping from the comfort of your home.

If you click on this button and do some of your Christmas shopping at Amazon.com, NDFH gets a percentage of each sale! You do need to access Amazon's website through this button, or we do not get credit for your purchases.

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Are you a sponsor who gets a monthly update on your sponsored child from us? Did you know that our monthly updates are edited by a team of volunteers? It takes quite a few people to prepare the updates to be sent out each month, and we need to add a few more people to our volunteer pool. The updates are written in Chinese by the nannies and translated by our staff and Chinese volunteers. However, they need some editing and smoothing over before we send them to sponsors each month.

This is a NDFH volunteer project that you can do from your own home. The only requirement is that you have a good command of the English language and basic grammar skills, and a willingness to work within a tight deadline.

If you are interested in serving as a volunteer update editor, please e-mail carrie@newdaycreations.com, and I'll send you more information on the position.

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And guess who is walking on his own now?

Some said he would never walk, but after months of hard therapy, William is toddling around on his own!

First Impressions

These reflections were written by Lindsey Johnson, a volunteer from Siloam Springs, Arkansas.

Every day since I heard about NDFH back in March, I have diligently checked the blog and the website to see what was going on. I would eagerly log in to see what the kids were up to this week. I have clicked on each kids picture, and have thought about each child by name. When the summer internship was full, I never thought my dream of being able to come to NDFH would come to fruition.

Today, that dream became a reality. Stepping inside the foster home was like stepping into a reality tv show. Before I was even introduced I knew (almost) every child by heart. My day was full of books and toys, of laughs and giggles. Each child brought a new joy to me. Ethan is full of jokes and pranks, Adah radiates tenderness, and sweet Debra (who resembled the likes of Cindy Loo Hoo today with her pigtails and polka dot footies) is full of smiles.

There is something special about this place that cannot be understood from a website, a blog or a newsletter … and I never understood that until today.

Even after spending just a few short days here I am reminded of how He truly does care for His orphans.

If you ever find yourself in Beijing, go visit NDFH. You will be instantly filled with joy and it will do your soul good… promise!

Politically Well-Informed

On the way to the flower market for a recent preschool field trip, we passed by the US Embassy in Beijing. In preparation for President Obama's visit to China, they had hung very large pictures of him and other officials in front of the building. There were also pictures of the Statue of Liberty and other familiar American landmarks.

As we drove past the building, the pictures caught Julia's attention. She pointed out the window and loudly shouted, "OBAMA!"

We have no idea how she recognized him... How many American 5-year-olds do you know who recognize their president? Now, how many Chinese 5-year-olds do you think recognize the American president?

We're pretty sure it might just be Julia.

It's official... She's brilliant.

And politically well-informed.

Wordless Wednesday: Underneath the Layers

The answer to yesterday's question.

Guess Who?

No one is going to rob a bank... the "disguise" is just what happens when winter arrives with all of its gusty force. Kids are bundled up from head to toe, and though everyone stays quite warm, it turns into quite the guessing game. Who is under all those layers?

So now it is your turn.

Who do you think this is?

Bilingual Gal

Even though winter has arrived, Elizabeth continues to bloom and blossom.

She's learning to read with her foster mom's help, and we're constantly amazed to hear her sounding out long words! For her, learning to read English is probably more difficult than it might be for most kids learning to read in their native language, since when she sees a picture and a word, she has to learn both the way the word sounds and the sounds the letters make.

She's learning word meanings and how to read at the same time! Which she makes look shockingly easy, since she is such a smart cookie.

But one of the cuter side-effects of her becoming bilingual is the way that she blends the languages sometimes.

In Chinese, the days of the week go something like this:

Xing Qi Yi

Xing Qi Er

Xing Qi San

Xing Qi Si

Xing Qi Wu

Essentially, this means "Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, etc."

The other day, she told one of our staff members that she was going to do something special on "Xing Qi Four." That's literally what she said - an adorable mix of Chinese and English, from an adorable little girl.

Wordless Wednesday: Eliana

Orphan Sunday

In churches across America, Sunday, November 8 was Orphan Sunday. We're so thankful that more and more people are realizing that caring for the worlds' estimated 140 million orphans is our responsibility, and we see the difference that your love makes in the lives of the children in our care.

Did your church have any special events or speakers to acknowledge the plight of orphans this Sunday? We'd love to hear about the ways that your community is responding to this need. And if there are ways we can come alongside you and support you in your efforst, we'd love to be involved!

As you know, Nathan joined his adoptive family late last week. They are bloggers, so for those of you who don't already follow their blog, you can join them on their journey.

Beginning and End

Today was a bit unusual. Such important events don't often fall on the same day...

It was both the start of something new...

The arrival of these three sweet babies from a new partner orphanage... all urgently needing heart surgery. At first, we didn't think we had room for all of them, but how could we choose? But because something else happened today, bed space opened up, so all three little ones could come.

And that "something else" was another beginning that happened today... an end for us, but definitely a most beautiful beginning.

Nathan joined his adoptive family. Mom, Dad, and big sister all came to pick him up. He gave his new parents the biggest hugs when they first arrived, and he quickly decided that Daddy's arms were the place to be. When it came time to leave, he simply waved goodbye to all of us and blew us kisses, clearly at peace with the fact that with these new people was where he belonged.

So it was the end of our time with Nathan and the beginning of our time with these three sweethearts. Sometime down the road, we'll be saying goodbye to them and opening our arms to new little ones.

It's the cycle of our work -- bittersweet at times, but beautiful always.

Wordless Wednesday: Precious in His Sight

A Man's Work

Since all of our children's primary caregivers are women, we must work hard to ensure our children get plenty of positive male role models. Thankfully, there are lots of wonderful men who work at the foster home, so the children have an abundance of chances to be tossed in the air, carried around, and tickled with scratchy whiskers. Until our little ones have daddies of their own, we're thankful for the ways these men pour into their lives.

Our carpenter is like your childhood uncle, who was always pretending to "eat your nose." He often pretends like he's going to "paint" our kids or "work on them" with his tools. But, when he's not teasing, he certainly has a tender side!

Aurora's foster dad gives her all the tender care that a little one can need.

Christopher's foster dad helped bring him up from a little baby to a busy toddler!

All of the little boys love helping our gardener with his work in the back yard. He's also who they always run to when the dog comes to close!

Doug, one of our foreign staff members, always has room in his arms for cuddling a little one! The children in our Healing Home, which he manages, know him best.

Wang Shu manages all of our foster families, but he doubles as all of our children's grandpa! Every child needs a little extra spoiling, and Wang Shu never fails to deliver!

Happy Fall!

Our backyard is full of tall trees, so in the fall, we have an abundance of leaves. And big piles of crunchy fall leaves equals great fun for our little preschool class, as you can see...

The children's peals of laughter warmed up the chilly fall morning, and we hope the sight of their smiles warms your heart. We hope that you're able to enjoy playing in some leaves of your own!

Pictured top to bottom: Julia, Victoria, Maria, Adahlyn, and Trey