Yep!! Are Mama Iz from Arkansas!!

Last night we had a fun "family" night. It was a beautiful summer evening and we had a picnic at the park. We decided to play "Adventure Cohens" in which we pretend to be exploring dangerous terrain on an incredible quest - we ended up splashing in the mud and in the creek at the park, climbing up the "tree house" and sliding down the pole like the firemen. We got to round out the day racing barefooted in the front yard and eating ice cream. Someone decided it would be fun to climb up on Mama's car and then they all three had a big time with that. We are loving summer.
Our next big adventure is a visit from Aiya and Josh!!

Love,

The Adventure Cohens

Happy Birthday Alex!

Four years ago today we were cuddling with our newest addition - a tiny little red-headed baby boy. What a joy he is and has been to us! Happy Birthday to our stubborn and loving and hilarious angel! We celebrated Alex's birthday on Sunday with a family party. These days he is very into "Cars" the movie and Leapster games. He can count to 100 and write his name (and the alphabet) and do some simple math and reading. What a kid...

Alex's birthday party wrapped up a very busy vacation week for the Cohen Clan. We went to Branson and had fun at Silver Dollar City and an indoor/outdoor waterpark. Ryan got to stay up late one night and see "Noah- the Musical" at one of the wonderful theaters there. The highlight was probably the water park - they all loved the waterslides of various sizes.

We went to the second Annual Reunion for Families with children adopted from China put on by the wonderful people at the New Shanghai Circus Chinese Acrobat Show. The kids had great fun doing crafts and watching the show. Katie and Alex both spent some time with a small group of the acrobats - playing and sitting on laps. They were a bit hit and we all had fun speaking just a little Mandarin.
Our week in photos....










NOT last or least....Happy Father's Day to Eric Charles!!! God has blessed me with a wonderful husband who is also an amazing Dad. Thank you for all you do for us and for your patient love and support. We think you ROCK!
Happy Father's Day as well to our Dads - Larry Dablemont and Steven Cohen. Thank you both for all you've done - for raising children that love you very much.
Happy Father's Day to Uncle Jon! We really miss you and the Cohen Clan East.
Blessings to all the awesome Fathers...

In Memory of Maria Sue Chapman

As I write this the Chapman family is laying to rest their youngest daughter, Maria Sue. With three adopted daughters from China, Steven Curtis Chapman and his wife, Mary Beth, have been incredible spokespersons and passionate advocates for adoption.
Their organizaton, Shaohannah's Hope, has helped thousands of families bring their children home. Their youngest daughter, Maria, was killed in a tragic accident on Wednesday night. My thoughts and prayers are with them as his music and their example has been an inspiration and meant so much to me and to so many.

In the midst of grief and suffering, may they feel the healing, comfort and hope of God's love.

Rest in peace, Maria, another angel in the choirs of heaven.



http://chapmanchannel.typepad.com/inmemoryofmaria/

Silver Dollar City Fun

I took the kids and our friend Megan to Silver Dollar City for a fun day on Wednesday. It was really Katie's first time going and they had lots of fun.

Otherwise, not much is new. We are all well and enjoying the beautiful Spring weather.

Love from Missouri,
Lori

我的心脏是残破的。My Heart is Broken.

My Heart is Broken.
(Wo3de xin1zang4 shi4 can2 po4 de.)





Fifteen thousand have died in and around Sichuan Province in central China after a devastating earthquake. Though my friends in Beijing are alright and not injured, my heart breaks for the country that I love second only to the US. Somehow the faces that I see feel like family to me. I am stunned and aching over the incredible magnitude of the loss there. Outside a demolished building in Dujiangyan - parents mourn as the bodies of their children are pulled from the wreckage of the middle school there. Estimates are that 900 children were in the school at the time of the earthquake. For many of these families, this is their only child. This child was to have supported them in their old age and visited the monuments of the ancestors on Grave Sweeping Day to burn incense for them.

Since our visit to China for three weeks last May, its people have rarely left my mind. I have prayed for the last year that God would show me how to serve Him in China. If I could, I would move there to do full-time medical work. If I could, I would adopt again. Right now, neither of these things are a possibility for us. What the future holds for me is in God's hands but He knows that my heart is willing to go and to work where He would have me be.

I wish I could go now and help the wounded and the grieving. The government is allowing foreign aid but not foreign relief workers in at this time. Right now, I do what I know God has given me to do. I pray for China every day. I send financial help when I can. I keep my eyes open for ways He has for me to help.
I look into the the beautiful brown eyes of my daughter and I hold her close. I struggle to learn Mandarin.

Someday if I am honored to be called to do a different work for God in China or for China, I will be ready.

Here is a wonderful link to information about this tragedy:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/chengdu

Here is a link to for sending help:
http://www.networkforgood.org/topics/international/earthquake/china080512.aspx

In the face of this tragedy, God shows me how good He is. I have been praying for sometime for Seth, a baby at the Foster Home we visited. We have sponsored him for awhile and I secretly dreamed we could adopt him. I emailed all the special needs agencies and amazingly, I found his file. I had contacted the agency and they were thrilled to find an interested family. They had his file for some time and hadn't had any really interested families. I prayed about it and it was obvious that we can't adopt again right now (maybe never - who knows). So, I was a little sad but I started sending out messages about him on the adoptive family email groups I am a part of. I have had a tremendous response!! The adoption agency called me today just gushing with excitement. They have had ten families interested in him!!! Seth will have a Mama and Daddy to love and care for him forever and God is so good.

Lord, pour Your love and comfort out on China and her people.

Lori

Forever Family Day - One Year Together!

One year ago yesterday, Katherine Joy Huihui was in my arms for the first time.
Big, somber brown eyes - she just searched mine and I can imagine she was thinking, "what in the world is this?" She saw a photo album with pictures of us once but I am sure she didn't know what was happening when she was driven 4+ hours with one of the orpanage workers to a strange building. All she had in the world was a small photo album with pictures of herself and the clothes she was wearing.
She was led in by the hand into a room where four couples were and two babies with some nannies were there already. Suddenly, this big smiling blindingly white lady was talking to her and holding her and showing her toys. What a weird thing...now they keep saying "Mama and Baba."

She cried just once and was very solemn and quiet. She wasn't upset when the orphanage worker left. The orphanage worker was just quickly gone and didn't seem too terribly concerned either. She fell asleep on my shoulder and when she woke up we were leaving down the elevator for the van. As we waited, I showed her flowers - fresh cut and beautiful in a big vase in the lobby of the government building. I smiled and showed her the flowers and let her smell them. Then I got the first smile - she liked flowers. After that - ANY time we were in the hotel lobby or anywhere that there were plants or flowers. She would get so excited and point and stop and show me flowers. So, we first bonded over flowers.

The last few days we have spent quite a lot of time doing family things. Late one night we were sleeping together (I know, I know...but they are only little so short a period of time) she rolled over and beamed at me and said, "I wush you Mama."
The first time she said it without being prompted. She is such a great kid. We love her very much.

On Friday, I received a nice email from a gentleman who had adopted a little girl from the same orphanage as Katie. They had visited the orphanage a month or two before we were there. I had left a message on their blog some time ago and he had just received it and was so kind to email me back. They hadn't gotten a lot of photos of Maonan but sent me just a few. Amazingly, the one they took of their daughter's crib has a little girl lying down with another baby sitting up in the crib next to it. The little girl lying down is Katie Hui. She looks hot and bored.
I'm glad she came home not long after this.

We spent yesterday in KC with the Clarkson family and the Smith family. The youngest member of the Smith family was adopted from MaoNan - Katie's orphanage.
The youngest member of the Clarkson family was there in that room meeting her Mom one year ago yesterday as well. We had a WONDERFUL time. Seeing these two wonderful families and sharing stories and memories was priceless. The kids had a BLAST. They played and ate and had so much fun. Thank you, Janet, for hosting us and for being such a wonderful friend.

So now we are in the last few weeks of the school year and headed into the summer. Everyone is doing well (exept Alex's bad cold) and happy to be able to swim again soon. We all went swimming in the hotel pool on Friday and they LOVED it.

I am a very, very blessed Mama with THREE wonderful children. (and a great husband)

Happy Mother's Day to everyone.

Lori

Another Red Thread....

We had a wonderful opportunity to get together again with a family from South Carolina last week. Their daughter, Emmy, is one month younger than Katie and from the same orphanage in Maoming City.

The girls really hit it off again and had a wonderful time playing.
They are both growing so much, it is amazing.

The first two photos are from Sept. 2007, the first time our families met.