Those of you who know me well.....

will immediately note that the time on my last entry is incorrect. Ofcourse I was not up creating my own blog at 6:49 a.m. I only have one more day to sleep in before my Christmas vacation is over. Don't ask me where that time came from, maybe it's pacific time or something.

So the holidays are over and we're head first into our new technology...video camera (watch out all you folks who spent new year's eve with us...I told you that footage could show up somewhere sooner or later. Just kiddin'!), new digital camera and new MP3 player. The excuse was that we "need" all these things for our trip to China. Thought Marvin would enjoy listening to some tunes on the way over, probably will have his hands full on the way back. So we're practicing the editing of photos and video and I have approximately 8 months to figure out how to make my own movies using pictures, video clips and music. We've already selected many songs that will go well with our china pictures. I'll probably never have this much free time on my hands again so I'm enjoying it and trying to do all the little things to get ready for our trip.
I think most of you know about the 100 wishes quilt and scrapbook we are making for Kennedy. If you're not aware, here's the idea. We'd love for you to participate!

Dear Family and Friends,
We copied this from the internet to give people an idea of what we want to do. Since we have not quilted before, this could be a major undertaking but we’re up for it! We think it is one very special thing we can do for our daughter while we wait for her...hopefully it will mean a lot to her when she is older.
If you are interested in seeing a "completed" version, go to
http://www.cleger.photosite.com/album9/
Thanks everyone!!
Carolyn and Marvin

To welcome and celebrate a new life, there is a tradition in the northern part of China to make a Bai Jia Bei, or 100 Good Wishes Quilt. It is a custom to invite friends and family to contribute a patch of cloth with a wish for the baby. Part of the patch of cloth goes into the quilt for the baby, and the other part of the cloth can go into a creative memory scrapbook with the wish for the child. The quilt contains the prayers, luck, energy, and good wishes from all the families and friends who contributed a piece of fabric. Select a fabric that is meaningful to you, it doesn’t have to be new- a project you started but didn’t finish, a piece of skirt, something you thought was pretty at Walmart or if you are a parent it can be from a child’s clothing. (In China, these quilts were originally made from garments of family and friends, which would surround the child with luck/good wishes.)The purpose of the 100 Good wishes quilt is to create a quilt with each of the quilting squares associated with a specific person/wish. This type of quilt is common in China and has become popular in the Chinese adoption community. The person sending the piece of fabric also sends a wish on a piece of paper for a scrapbook for the person who will eventually receive the quilt. The wish can be for good health, something religious or some other positive life outcome. The square should be a 6x6 inch piece of fabric (or there about) then we can cut it to the correct size . It is ideal if you place a piece of the fabric on the paper containing the wish so that we can associate the wish with the fabric and the person who sent the fabric.The Wish: Your wish and the way it is presented can be as simple or as elaborate as you want it to be. The wish might be a prayer, favorite poem, a heart felt random thought, a Bible verse or a quote. You can write it on an index card, white paper, stationary, lined paper, acid free paper- whatever you like. You can hand write or use a computer, make it scrap-booky or stamped - whatever you like- this is your wish/prayer for our daughter, we want it to reflect your personality.Some of the wishes I have read include- I wish you more good hair days than bad hair days, I wish for you to find the love of God, I wish for you happiness …… Let your personality shine!