#Miller6Pack

Gladdie's grief last night was actually a welcome event. Some might think of Gladdie crying and weeping for hours as a "setback." We don't see it that way. We WANT her to grieve. We want her to remember her first family with love and affection. But we also want her to know that things have changed, we are her new family, and that from here on out it will be that way. That's what grief is primarily about...change. Think of when we lose someone close to us, or a relationship falls apart...most of the grief we experience is for the life that will no longer be. Yes, of course we miss the person, but most of our grief is over what won't be any more. It's the same for Gladdie. Part of this grieving process is coming to terms with what the past was and to start the present and look into the future. It's not something that occurs with a snap of the fingers. Grief is a process. And, even when Gladdie is able to embrace this new life and walk face-first into i...

We had a full day, with 10 blog posts or more worth of memories. Shopping, laughter, frustration, fear, elation, contemplation, and much more. But we are going to take a break from the typical recounting type post, and focus instead on some things that we've been feeling. We hope you will find the change of pace, fulfilling. One of my go-to idioms is " Bitter-Sweet, " for it so aptly illustrates a juxtaposition of ideas that we so often encounter. There are countless events in our lives where there is something of great value or benefit, that is almost always paired with a significant pain or cost of sorts. Oversimplified, it is what we often refer to as the American Way, that in which to get something we want or desire, we must sacrifice or work hard to attain. We always hope the sweet outweighs the bitter , and it usually does, but often times, the opposite is true. There are no guarantees in this life.  Further, this not something that needs the label of wrong or ri...

Today we visited the famous Chen Clan Academy. We have been here before, but it was nice to visit when it wasn't 95* with 100% relative humidity. It's a very old structure built by the Chen family in order to give the less fortunate an education. The Chen family name is one of the top 5 most prolific family names in all of China, and THE most prolific name in Guangdong province.    There are carvings all over the structure, and the government re-paints many of the carvings once a year. The colors and intricacy are absolutely amazing! The current structure is owned by the government and serves as a museum of sorts. In each room are various artifacts on display, such as jade and ivory carvings, embroidery, and porcelain. Also on display are rooms of the original Chen family and the furniture and arrangements used...kitchen, living room, bedroom. Can you believe they used hollow porcelain blocks as pillows? (They would put important items inside the pillow for safekee...