Life's Journeys

"Opa" - Beloved husband, father,

grandfather and great grandfather

Dear Friends and Family,

     In a few hours we will begin our journey to China.  As we prepare to welcome a new member into the family, we learned with sorrow of the death of Betsy's father.  Dad, we take comfort with the knowledge that you are in God's hands.  Mom, you are our model of strength and resilience. 

We leave you all with this prayer:

Lord God, as we begin our travel, we pray that you guard and protect our loved ones at home.  Keep us all under your care and guidance while we are away.  Grant us a joyful reunion when we return.  And, after all our earthly travels are through, unite us in your heavenly kingdom.  Amen.

Favorite Toy: Doll

Dear Lacey,

On March 25, 2010, I had a voicemail message from our social worker saying that she had a “possible match” for our family. You were described as being from the waiting child list. I began shaking as I listened to her message. Why would it only be “possible?” Did this mean that once again more than one family was vying for the same child and we might lose? Or maybe there was some other uncertainty about your availability? Before I called the social worker back, I logged onto my email. Sure enough, she had already forwarded me documentation about you. There was a medical report from mid 2009 and a social history summary. This summary is really a checklist and fill in the blank form. There are developmental milestones to be checked or not; a section on the child’s daily routine; and a summary of like and dislikes. I scrolled to the very bottom of the page and read, “Favorite Toy: doll.” My heart nearly missed a beat. How could a child whose favorite toy was a doll only be a “possible match” for our family?

Cassie decided that we should write a journal for you.  She suggested that she and I take turns writing entries.  Here is the first entry that she wrote for you:

"How I Imagined You"

I thought you would have dark brown hair that looked like black. Brown eyes, light skin and pink cheeks. I thought you would be shy but loud around us. I thought you would be a fast learner. I thought you would love to run and play. I thought you would have lots of energy. I thought you would have a spring in your step and a sparkle in your eye. I thought you would copy me. I thought you would cling on to me like a little sister should. I thought you would like to dance. I thought you would like music. I thought you would like animals. And I knew you would like dolls.

Love, Cassie

The Waiting Sister

 

 
 

Thanks

I want to say thank you to my Mom and Dad, siblings, nieces and nephews for understanding and supporting our desire to adopt, and for being ready to welcome Lacey with open arms.  Over the years, my parents have taught us about love as they continued to expand our family by welcoming foster children, son and daughter-in laws, grandchildren, step-grandchildren and great-grandchildren.  The Macks have always had room in their hearts for one more person, and room at the table for one more chair.

                                                                             Love, Betsy

The Mack Family, Dec. 2009

Happy Birthday!

Happy 6th Birthday, Lacey!  Soon we will be together.  Then we will celebrate with a birthday cake.  Here's a letter from your big sister:

Dear Lacey Hai Dan Minihan,

     I'm very excited to be your big sister.  I already love you.  Every day I think, "Will you love me?  What will you be like?"

                                                  Sincerely,
                                                  Your Big Sister, Cassidy Hope Minihan

Family Getaway

We took a quick family trip to the Big Apple, June 11-13, 2010. We decided to take time out from the craziness revolving around adoption and travel preparations to celebrate Cassie's 9th birthday. The adventure of a lifetime was crammed into 2.5 days. We used Marriott points to stay in uptown Manhattan. We did a lot of tourist things - carriage ride in Cental Park; opening ceremony at FAO Schwarz; photos of Plaza Hotel; and dinner at Planet Hollywood in Times Square. Of course, the highlight of our trip was the "Day at the American Girl Place." This included matching T-shirts for Cassie and her doll; a trip to the doll hair salon; a photo shoot and souvenir magazine cover; money to shop; and dinner at the American Girl Cafe. The personal shopper (shout out to Sharon D.) took pity on Les and adopted us for the day. She made the experience very memorable for Cassie. By the way, they do serve alcohol at the Cafe to keep the adults content. (Take note that I'm not mentioning how much we consumed.) We drove from Virginia and left our car at the hotel for the duration. I'm proud to mention that I did all the city driving and learned how to swerve around the millions of taxi cabs.

The concierge had two pink doll beds waiting in our room.

Central Park

Planet Hollywood

(I think Cassie looks like Stefanie in this picture.)

Betsy is fulfilling a fantasy by dancing on the piano at FAO Schwarz.

About This Blog

This blog is dedicated to our family and our soon to be newest member, Lacey Haidan Minihan.  Don't worry, we're not going to post how much alcohol we consumed last night or discuss the housework we should be doing instead of blogging.  We just want to share family news.  We found out how much it will cost to send texts and make phone calls from China.  We thought a blog would be cheaper and more efficient to share news of our adoption because wifi is free.  So, dear family and friends, please join us on this life changing journey.