Please check out the latest edition of our agency's newletter.
http://www.hfsadopt.org/china/images/harrahs_nl_volume-3_issue-1.pdf.pdf
Join us in making a 100 Good Wishes Quilt
As we wait for our referral we will be making a 100 Good Wishes Quilt:
The tradition behind the One Hundred Good Wishes Quilt
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 100 people to contribute a single square patch of cloth. The 100 patches are sewn together into a quilt that contains the luck, energy, and good wishes from all the families and friends who contributed a piece of fabric. The quilt is then passed down from generation to generation.
We have found conflicting information about this tradition (just like the information on 2007 being the year of the Golden Pig). On another adoptive parent's blog she shared the following paragraph that she found while reading the book "Imperial Woman" by Pearl S. Buck. "The book is about the final Empress of the Qing dynasty. At this point in the book, she is a concubine in the Imperial household, but has birthed the only male child of the Emperor. She has to leave her baby alone for a while and is thinking of ways to protect him, as well as obligate the other powerful Manchu families to back her son's claim to the throne. The book reads:
'She must offer the child as an adopted son, by symbol, to other powerful families in her clan. Yet what friends had she? She thought and she pondered and she devised this plan. From the head of each of the highest one hundred families in the Empire, she required a bolt of the finest silk. From the silks she commanded the palace tailors to cut one hundred small pieces and from these make a robe for her child. Thus he belonged, by symbol, to one hundred strong and noble families, and under their shelter the gods would fear to harm him.'"
Parents adopting from China have taken on this tradition by creating One Hundred Good Wishes quilts for their children. With each fabric piece that is given to the new parents, a wish for the child is also sent, written on paper so that the child will always know the wishes made just for them.
We would love you to be a part of our One Hundred Good Wishes Quilt!
What size are the squares of fabric supposed to be?
Please cut the squares to be 10”. I will resize for the quilt and attach a sample to your wish.
Now what about the wish?
Write your wish on the a 4"x6" index card. You have a lot of freedom with how you create your wish. People find their inspiration in many different ways; you can use song lyrics, a quote, bible verse or even a word with its definition to create your wish from. You can make your wish as simple as you want (e.g. “I wish you joy in your life”) to a poem written especially for this occasion. How creative you want to get with the presentation is also your call.
I am almost finished making a book to that will included the 100 Good Wishes for our baby!
The tradition behind the One Hundred Good Wishes Quilt
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 100 people to contribute a single square patch of cloth. The 100 patches are sewn together into a quilt that contains the luck, energy, and good wishes from all the families and friends who contributed a piece of fabric. The quilt is then passed down from generation to generation.
We have found conflicting information about this tradition (just like the information on 2007 being the year of the Golden Pig). On another adoptive parent's blog she shared the following paragraph that she found while reading the book "Imperial Woman" by Pearl S. Buck. "The book is about the final Empress of the Qing dynasty. At this point in the book, she is a concubine in the Imperial household, but has birthed the only male child of the Emperor. She has to leave her baby alone for a while and is thinking of ways to protect him, as well as obligate the other powerful Manchu families to back her son's claim to the throne. The book reads:
'She must offer the child as an adopted son, by symbol, to other powerful families in her clan. Yet what friends had she? She thought and she pondered and she devised this plan. From the head of each of the highest one hundred families in the Empire, she required a bolt of the finest silk. From the silks she commanded the palace tailors to cut one hundred small pieces and from these make a robe for her child. Thus he belonged, by symbol, to one hundred strong and noble families, and under their shelter the gods would fear to harm him.'"
Parents adopting from China have taken on this tradition by creating One Hundred Good Wishes quilts for their children. With each fabric piece that is given to the new parents, a wish for the child is also sent, written on paper so that the child will always know the wishes made just for them.
We would love you to be a part of our One Hundred Good Wishes Quilt!
What size are the squares of fabric supposed to be?
Please cut the squares to be 10”. I will resize for the quilt and attach a sample to your wish.
Now what about the wish?
Write your wish on the a 4"x6" index card. You have a lot of freedom with how you create your wish. People find their inspiration in many different ways; you can use song lyrics, a quote, bible verse or even a word with its definition to create your wish from. You can make your wish as simple as you want (e.g. “I wish you joy in your life”) to a poem written especially for this occasion. How creative you want to get with the presentation is also your call.
I am almost finished making a book to that will included the 100 Good Wishes for our baby!
Round 2...
... of paperwork that is. We have been busy getting together updated verifications of our employment, and another letter from the Doctor stating we are still in excellent health, for our Updated Homestudy. We received 3 copies of the Homestudy. One for Immigration, one to bring to China and one for our records. When I went to City Hall, I purchased 2 copies of birth and marriage certificates. I am so prepared. We had to refile with the U.S. Immigration Office(by November 4). We had to submit all the paperwork as if it was a new application. Even though this journey has taken much long than we can imagine, we can't imagine ourselves not on it. We truly know in our hearts that this is where the Lord has led us and what we are meant to do. We know in our hearts that we are already connected to a miracle in China and nothing, not even the duplicate paperwork can break that thread that holds us together. When our paperwork was logged in in China referrals of the child you were matched to was taking about 7 months. We were told to be prepared for an increase to 12 months. They lastest group of families had waited 22 months!
Hope
"The very least you can do in your life is to figure out what you hope for. And the most you can do is live inside that hope. Not admire it from a distance but live right in it, under its roof."
~Barbara Kingsolver
The Poisonwood Bible
The Poisonwood Bible is actually one of my most memorable reads so reading this on a fellow China Adoption blog actually helped refocus my energy. I need to live inside the hope I have, everyday. Even the days when I begin to think "am I only hoping or is this really going to happen."
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