Photo Album

This might be considered the Photo Insert section of Home is a Roof.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Where it all began. (Above left) The months of paperwork, prayers, spreadsheets, flights, journaling, trips to the post office, physical exams, notaries, and police reports came down to this exact moment. We found out later that Grace’s foster mother had dressed her in this outfit that morning. About five minutes after this photo, Grace began wailing for about the next three hours, turning her entire face and bald head the same color of crimson red.

(Above right) Chris with Grace (nearly 12 months) and Andrew (4 months) in the basement lobby of the White Swan hotel in Guangzhou. Grace maintained that exact posture–sleeping in a sling next to Dad–throughout the majority of our trip in China. She kept up her two-nap-a-day habit for years.

 

 

Grace and I bonding at the White Swan. We were sure we had the only bald-headed baby in all of China. At this point she still preferred her Daddy, but I was beginning to win her over as the primary source of food.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Left) This picture of the kids was taken in the park in front of our apartment building about three days after our arrival. They look so happy, probably because school hasn’t started yet.

 

(Right) Katherine and Grace playing in a circle door in the Daimiao compound in Tai’an. They are wearing corduroy smocks–they wore them all winter–as one more extra layer and an effort to keep clothes clean.

 

 

 

 

 

(Left) The girls and I had a morning calligraphy lesson in Yangshuo. Here we are practicing basic brushstrokes.

(Right) And in the afternoon: bamboo rafting, fulfilling a dream. The mountains and water of Guilin are beautiful, and seen at their best from a slightly waterlogged phoenix tail bamboo raft.

 

 

 

(Left) Andrew, Katherine and I hiking up to see the Dragon’s Back rice terraces near Long Shen.

(Right) The kids and I with the ever so charming Yao women. They were so lovely I nearly forgot they were vendors! Their front buns signify that they are married. Just before this picture, they undid their hair, which falls nearly to their knees, and repinned it in the traditional style. I love their silver jewelry, their flared skirts, their embroidery, the colorful patterns on their clothes, their smiles.

 

 

 

 

Our beloved chain-smoking, Mao-loving, chicken-raising, Baijiu-drinking, dumpling-cooking, hair-dyeing Mr. Jia. He is China’s very best, and we were privileged to have him as our minder/super/grandfather.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Also check out my Home is a Roof pinboard on