Saturday, December 09, 2006

Mia's 103rd Quilt Square: Franklin, Ohio

This is from my cousin Lisa's daughter. So I guess that makes her my second cousin. Missy and her husband, Chip, just recently added a sweet baby girl named Laila to their family. She included a fabric with stars on it. Up in the corner she wrote "My wish for you .... that you dance even though you are horrible and that you sing really loud even though it's worse than your dancing~it just makes you happier."

She included a beautiful note that reads "Dear Mia, I am so excited for you. You have been so blessed. God has put you into the hands of a wonderfully loving and caring mother. We took our time choosing our fabric. We wanted something that incorporated our family and yours. We chose this because it was the color of our wedding- pink and black. We want you to have as much love forever as we felt on that day and even more now since the addition of Laila. We also chose it because it looks like the night sky that held the stars that you and your mommy wished upon in hopes that you would find each other. The same sky that held your dreams each night even though you were in China and Mommy was in America. All our love.... Missy, Chip and Laila."

The big coincidence here that nobody knew until now is that I often look at the stars and think about Mia. I say little prayers for her and her birthmother while looking up at the stars in the night sky and then I say "I love you Mia. More than all the stars in the sky." True story. I swear. So this makes this particular fabric even more special to me because it will remind me of the time I spent waiting and dreaming of my daughter.

Thanks Missy! And Chip and Laila, too!

Mia's 102nd Quilt Square: Franklin, Ohio

This is from my cousin, Lisa, and in a special way, my dear Aunt Anne as well. She included a very important piece of fabric. Her note reads "Mia, This is not the prettiest piece of fabric but it's very special to me in 2 ways. 1- it has my favorite color in it ~purple!! 2- It is cut from a spring tablecloth my mother used. I lost my mother March 25, 2006 so this is something of hers for you. I wish you could have met her. She had the best laugh." Her wish for Mia is "May you always find humor in any situation and learn to not sweat the small stuff. Always treat your mother with love and respect. She knows best... even when you will be 16 and think she couldn't possibly understand at all! Just remember, she was 16 at one time. She loves you so much and she hasn't even met you yet. Enjoy each other. Have fun! Welcome to our family!"

Thanks Lisa!

Mia's 101st Quilt Square: Columbus, Ohio

Nope. I'm not stopping at 100. I'm only stopping when no one else wants to contribute. So until then, we're still going....

This is a very special story and piece of fabric. This came from my cousin and his wife, David and Bec, of Columbus, Ohio. Their two sons, Willem and Spencer, were adopted from Guatemala. The fabric was given to them by one of their son's foster mothers in Guatemala. They wanted to send this very meaningful piece of fabric as a way to share our children's heritage and cultures. Several of the cousins in my generation have contributed to the diversity of our family through adoption. We have children that came to us through Guatemala, Korea, soon China and even domestic adoption from the good ole' USA. I think it's truly amazing to have one family who's been touched so many times through the wonderful joy of adoption.

Bec included a great story by Kathryn Creedy that was published in the Washington Post in 1998 called "The Velveteen Mother". I wish I could repeat it here but it's 3 pages long. The summary of it is that she is a single woman who adopted 2 beautiful daughters and she is defining what it means to be a "real" parent. That is some of the misguided terminology that all adoptive parents have heard at one time or another. The story really touched me because it is so similar to my own thoughts and my own path to motherhood. Here's just a part.....

"What is REAL?" asked the Rabbit one day. "Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real."
Real is also when you get lucky enough to have a child to love.
~ The Velveteen Mother

I really love this story. Thanks Bec! And David, Willem, and Spencer, too!

Mia's 100th Quilt Square: Powell, Wyoming

Made it to 100!!! Woo-hoo!
This is from my Dad who lives out in Powell, Wyoming with his wife, Dianna and my half brother and sister, Ryan and Lauren. Ryan just started college and Lauren is a senior in high school.
My Dad picked out this Cherokee prayer blessing for Mia. It reads "May the warm winds of heaven blow softly upon your house. May the Great Spirit bless all who enter there. May your mocassins make happy tracks in many snows and may the rainbow always touch your shoulder." Their family's wish says "Our wish for Mia is a long and happy life full of love, laughter, many friends, and security in your new family."

Thanks Dad, Dianna, Ryan and Lauren! Wish you lived closer.....

Mia's 96th-99th Quilt Squares:New Lebanon, Ohio

These are my most favorite squares of all! I told my sister early into this project that I wanted the kids handprints for the four corners of the quilt. So here are Mia's cousins' wishes (with a little help from Aunt Carla obviously... LOL!) Check out her blog, Tales of the T's, to see their adventures.

My oldest nephew, Tanner's, wish reads "If you can give your daughter only one wish, let it be enthusiasm!" Then he wrote "My wish for Mia is enthusiasm!" and signed his name.

His brother, Travis, included a quote from Albert Einstein which is "Imagination is more important than knowledge." That's one smart 6 yr old! His wish for Mia is "Imagination". And he signed his name across the bottom all by himself.

Our little princess, Tatum, says "No joy on earth brings greater pleasure than a precious girl to be loved and treasured. Tatum's wish for Mia is to be loved and treasured (and spoiled rotten likes all princesses should be!) Then she signed her name on the bottom in perfect almost-4-yr- old penmanship.

Baby Teagan had a lot of help with his. But he said "Hey, what do you expect? I'm not even 2 yet!!" His card says "The laughter of a child is the light of the home! Teagan's wish for Mia ... lots of laughter."

I love these! Their handprint squares will be showcased on Mia's quilt and their wishes will be treasured forever. It'll be so fun to look back on these one day and remember how they waited for their cousin and how excited they were to finally meet her.

I love you T's!

Mia's 95th Quilt Square: New Lebanon, Ohio

My sister, Carla, waited until we were down to the wire, as is usual for our family. But pulled it off at the last minute. :) She included the cutest fabric with a red haired princess. My sis and her daughter, Tatum, are both red heads. Her wish card reads "Like star dust glistening on fairies' wings, little girls' dreams are of magical things. Krista, this fabric reminded me of my red haired fairy princess. For your raven haired princess, I wish eternal love, every day joy, and magical dreams! Love Aunt Carla".

Thanks sis!

Mia's 94th Quilt Square: Dayton, Ohio

Another scrapbooker and fellow police department co-worker, Cindy A, sent this one. She included the most adorable sticker that says "Babies! What a wonderful way to start people!" and it has a little Asian girl on it. Up in the top corner is a Chinese proverb which reads "If you get up one more time than you fall, you will make it through."

Her wish reads "May today and every day of your life bring you hopes for tomorrow- because hope gives us all our reason for trying. May each new day bring a feeling of excitement, joy and a wonderful sense of expectations. Expect the best and you'll get it. May you find peace in the simple things, because these are the ones that will always be there. May you always feel secure and loved. May you realize the importance of patience and accept others for what they are. With understanding and love, you'll find the good in every heart. May you remember good times and forget sorrow and pain, for the good times will remind you how special your life is. Let your life speak. Above all, be happy with yourself."

Very good advice! Down at the bottom she wrote the same thing my mom put on her wish card "Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body." I guess this is something all moms have figured out already. I can't wait for that day.

Thanks Cindy!

Mia's 93rd Quilt Square: Dayton, Ohio

This is from a fellow detective at the police department, Marylou. She's a scrapbooker. Can't ya tell? She did an awesome job on her page. She told me that the fabric was left over from a mother's book she had made when her own daughter was born so she wanted to pass it on to me. The fabric has little sunflowers so that is her theme for the scrapbook page. Up in the top corner she included a quote from Helen Keller that reads "Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadow. That is what sunflowers do." At the bottom it says "The French word for sunflower is Tournesol. Translated it is "Turn with the sun." Her wish says "Wishing you as much love and happiness as your heart can hold. God Bless."

Thanks Marylou!