Tag: His Hands Taiwan

Personal Update, Perspective, Taiwan Xi En

‘Tis the Season to be Giving

It’s that time of year again…

Time to buy Christmas presents for others and create our Christmas lists.  Time to check out the holiday sales and shop ’til we drop.  Time to snatch up the best deals of the season on the perfect gifts for others (and maybe even ourselves).

But wait.  Is that what Christmas is all about?

Because of living in Taiwan, my holiday shopping is somewhat limited to online purchases. No pre-dawn lines that wrap around the store for me!  This year, I found it interesting though that the typical one-day, doorbuster, holiday sales lasted for, not one day, but a week each online.  Amazon (my online retailer of choice) advertised Black Friday Deals Week, Cyber Monday Deals Week, and now (I just checked) the aptly titled “Holiday Flurry Deals Week” is going on.  I wonder what next week’s AMAZING deals will be titled.  :)

Like many people, I got caught up in the craze of Christmas shopping and sales over the last couple of weeks.  This was compounded by the fact that my wonderful parents are coming to visit me and my sisters in Taiwan for Christmas–they’ll be here in just 12 days!!–so this was our chance to have them special deliver much-sought-after-and-not-found-in-Taiwan items.  It wasn’t all bad; I was able to find some great deals on gifts for my family and friends.  I even did pretty well at not going overboard on my purchases.  Yet it was my mindset that was polluted by consumerism.  I found myself gazing longingly at pictures of iPads and digital cameras and wondering just how much my budget could be stretched to purchase that on-sale season of Psych or Michael Bublé’s smooth new Christmas album.

In the midst of this greediness of my heart, our school launched its Christmas offering project, and I was reminded about the true meaning of Christmas:  giving.  After all, Christmas is when we remember the greatest gift ever given, the gift of God’s Son to mankind.  Isn’t it appropriate that we take time to focus on sacrificial giving at Christmas time?  What are you prepared to give to others this Christmas season? Continue reading “‘Tis the Season to be Giving”

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Multimedia, Personal Update, Taiwan Xi En

A New Easter Dress

Actually, my dress was quite old this year.  I don’t have much need for dresses in practical Taiwan, so I just recycled one from a few years ago.  

Who did have new Easter dresses then, you ask?  The babies from His Hands Taiwan, of course!  With only five babies in the nursery at the moment (Kara recently went home to the U.S., and Tiffany was visiting friends in Taichung for Easter), the Hatchlings thought it would be a good idea to get all of them to church on their first Easter Sunday.   Continue reading “A New Easter Dress”

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Multimedia, Taiwan Xi En

Our Girl is Going Home

This post is a little tribute to Kara, one of our His Hands Taiwan babies who is going home to be with her forever family this week.  We Hatchlings (i.e. Christel, Sara, and Ashleigh) love all the babies at HH, but every adoption situation is different, and sometimes we get to know a baby better.  Over the past 8+ months, Kara has wiggled her petite little way into our hearts.

From Day 1, Baby Ting-Ting (her name before she was referred to her family) knew how to furrow her brows.  Ashleigh’s favorite question to her has always been, “Why so serious?” Continue reading “Our Girl is Going Home”

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Taiwan Xi En

Goodbye to the Carlsons

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Tonight we had to say a bittersweet goodbye to an awesome family, but we are so thankful that they will soon be on their way home together.  We love the Carlsons!  It really has been a blessing to get to know this godly, fun-loving, and adventurous couple and to spend time with them during their first weeks with their babies.  Because they were here longer than most of the adoptive families, we truly did get to know them and grow to love them. Mark and Brenda are wonderful parents, and it was a blessing to watch them as they immediately connected with the twins. Continue reading “Goodbye to the Carlsons”

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