Adoption 8:53 pm
Hi All,
Here are some pictures from Memorial Day spent at Andy’s folks in Logan, KS.
Dana
Gabriel, Grace, Katie and Lori having a bite to eat.
Gabe got stuck trying to escape through Grandma and Grandpa’s fence!
Adoption 8:20 am
China aftershock death toll rises to six
From correspondents in Beijing
May 26, 2008 12:56pm
THE death toll from a strong aftershock in China rose to six today, with four more deaths reported, state-run media said.
The four newly reported deaths from yesterday’s aftershock came in the city of Hanzhong in China’s Shaanxi province, Xinhua news agency said.
Another 20 people were injured there, Hanzhong major Hu Runze said, adding to hundreds of injured already reported elsewhere.
The aftershock was centred in quake-ravaged Sichuan province and had a magnitude of 6.4 on the Richter scale, said an official with the Sichuan Earthquake Bureau.
It was the strongest of thousands of aftershocks in the region since an 8.0-magnitude quake on May 12 left about 86,000 people dead or missing, the official said.
The US Geological Survey, however, put the quake magnitude at 5.8.
The four deaths add to two reported previously, including one death in Sichuan’s Guangyuan city, Xinhua reported a local official as saying.
The official had also said 262 were injured in Guangyuan.
Longnan city in Gansu Province also reported one person killed by stones falling from a mountain, and 109 injuries, 15 of them serious.
In Qingchuan County, the epicentre of the aftershock, about 359 people were reported injured, Xinhua said.
Adoption 7:50 am
Hi All,
We found out last night that our nephew Zane (Leah’s son) took first place in the state golf tournament. In addition Zane’s team, Rock Hills High School, took first place in the team standings.
Leah shared that he golfed a 65 (31,34). Zane was interviewed on KSN and appeared on statewide news last night.
Zane is only a Junior this year and we are very proud of him. Oh, and besides being a great golfer he is a great older cousin to Jackson, Grace and Gabriel.
Proud Uncle Andy and Aunt Dana
Adoption 8:32 pm
Hi All,
I inherited a sickness from my mom - the inability to sit and do nothing. So this morning I discovered my house was fairly clean (miracle of miracles) and I had no homework to do so we loaded up the minivan and headed out for some exploring.
We ended up going to Monument Rock in Gove County, Kansas. The kids had an awesome time. Jackson our junior scientist just about flipped when we rounded the corner and he saw the huge stone formations. He and Grace scoured those cliffs and Gabriel did his best to follow although he was a little nervous in the high places.
After that we noticed that we were only fifteen minutes or so from the Scott County Lake so we went there and let the kids get their feet wet. Actually Grace and Jackson got more than their feet wet, but luckily I had packed some extra clothes.
After about an hour there we then headed East towards Hays and decided to visit Cedar Bluff Reservoir and that is where we had our picnic supper. We got home at about 8:30 pm tired, wind-blown, but happy.
I guess when we look back on our lives we won’t remember the day we just spent Saturday sitting around the house, but we probably will remember the time we took off spur of the moment and visited a geological site and two lakes all in one afternoon!!
You can see all the pictures of our adventure at: http://gallery.mac.com/andystanton/100095
Dana
Adoption 8:52 am
Hi Everyone,
One of Jackson and Andy’s favorite summer activities is spending the night in the backyard on the trampoline. Well, last night Andy deemed the weather nice enough and so all three of my boys took out their blankets, comforters and pillows and headed outside.
This was Gabriel’s first sleep on the trampoline. Andy said at first he kept looking back and forth at his Dad and Brother with a look on his face that suggested he thought they were out of their minds! Then after he snuggled in he spent quite a while pointing at and talking to the stars.
I personally doubted that they would make it the whole night, but this morning at 7:00 am I went and checked and they were all snuggled up fast asleep. When they woke up I made them pancakes in bed - rather on “trampoline”.
So, where were Gracie and I during the night?? Being the sane ones, we snuggled in the big bed, read a few stories and had the house to ourselves without those “stinky boys”!
It did occur to me as Gabriel camped out under the stars that his Hanzhong brothers halfway around the world were also camping out, but they don’t have a warm house to come into. Many of you have told us you have made donations for the Hanzhong Orphanage. Thank you so much!
Dana
Adoption 10:29 pm
Hi All,
Tonight was our friend Briana’s last night in the United States before she leaves for China for the Summer (she’ll be back for classes in the Fall). She and some friends (including Daniel) brought over a couple of bags to store while she is gone. Briana then invited us to go with them to dinner. After our last experience in a restaurant with Gabriel (Andy had to take him home after about 5:00 minutes) we have avoided restaurants. Well, since it was pretty late we hoped that maybe there weren’t very many other diners and decided to risk it. I’m so glad we went. We went to a local Chinese food restaurant. The couple who ran it were super nice and made four plates of fresh dumplings just for us. They had two little ones there at the restaurant as well. It was great seeing Gabriel interacting with other Chinese people and obviously he understood exactly what they were saying. The couple had a little girl who was the same age of Grace. We are hoping they will get to see each other again. One of my greatest sorrows is that Gabe will probably lose his Chinese language skills - Grace lost hers quickly after arriving in the U.S. In any case we had a great time seeing Briana and Daniel and meeting their friends Nancy and Noel (who were from Liberal - small world).
Here are some more photos from the evening:
Adoption 7:58 am
These are photos taken at the Hanzhong SWI.
Adoption 6:47 pm
I’ve finally gotten around to posting the photos from our trip to get Gabriel in January/February 2008. You can find a whole bunch of photos here.
Adoption 10:28 pm
Hi All,
I’m sure you have seen the news about the terrible Earthquake in China and the tens of thousands of people killed. As you know two of our children are from China. We received word today that all the staff and children in Gabriel’s orphanage are safe, but the building has been so seriously damaged that they cannot return. Until then the staff are caring for the children outside in tents (can you imagine doing that???). We have never had contact with Grace’s orphanage so we do not know how they are faring.
Gabriel’s orphanage is supported by a Christian agency called “Caring for China“. Along with the Chinese staff, there are also volunteers from Great Britain, Ireland, Australia and the United States. With their help they have made the orphanage one of the best in China. They specifically serve children with special needs. Gabriel was able to live in an apartment with a full-time “Auntie” and only four other children!! So many orphanages have 20 children to one staff person and the children are kept in one room. Gabriel also had the opportunity to attend preschool everyday. When Gabriel had life-threatening medical needs the staff there made sure he was taken to a specialist in Beijing for surgery (not once but two times). And most importantly, they loved my little boy the two years that I did not have him. They took pictures of him at birthdays and at Christmas and sent them to us. We can’t thank them enough!
At the very least, I ask for your prayers for these kind people and the children they protect during this difficult time. If you feel moved to do so, please feel free to make a donation directly to the Caring for China organization.
Here is a direct link: http://www.caringforchina.org/resources/donation.htm
If you would like, you can make your gift in honor of Gabriel Andrew DangHui Stanton.
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