Welcome to our new weblog!

Julie and I have finally decided to enter the world of blogging. We've done this in order to give our friends and family a chance to hear what's going on with our adoption journey. This will also serve as sort of an online journal for any other thoughts that we may wish to share with you about our experiences. You are welcome to keep checking back for new posts and updates.

The title "Red Thread to Marysville" is based on something we read in the book The Lost Daughters of China. Author Karen Evans writes about an old Chinese story which says that from the moment you are born, a red string around your ankle ties you to the one you will eventually marry. "Lately," Evans explains further, "the red thread idea has been taken up by the Chinese American adoption community, to include parents and children who are destined to be together--even though an ocean may lie between them initially." (p. 141)

The closer we get to the day we receive our gift from God, the stronger we feel the tug of that "red thread." There is a red thread between our daughter in China and our hearts here in Marysville.

It's also appropriate that we begin this blog today, the day of the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival. On this day in China, people of all ages stay up to gaze at the moon, eat "mooncakes," and reflect on the blessings of family. Well, Julie and I are not out gazing at the moon...it's cloudy. And we already ate a mooncake at a local supermarket a couple of days ago. But we are reflecting on the blessings of family, and saying a prayer for our daughter for whom we are waiting.