She is the author of a new children’s book about adoption from China, Sweet Moon Baby.

I was intrigued.

She offered to send me a copy. I accepted.

And when I opened it, I was in love.

The cover is absolutely magical.

And the inside is equally charming.

The story is an adoption fairy-tale.

A little girl is born in China to a mother and father who can not care for her.

And so, out of love for their daughter, they set her adrift in a basket on a journey to the other side of the world.

She is cared for along the way by a panda, a turtle, a monkey and a school of fish, who lovingly care for her as she sleeps.

On the other side of the world, a husband and wife busily prepare for a daughter.

And they wait and wait and wait for her arrival.

At last, she arrives. And a family is born.

It’s a fanciful tale that adoptive parents will want to read first, and then alongside their children.

The book touches very lightly on some very heavy subjects: birth parents, abandonment, and the journey of adoption… how a baby goes from a birth family to an adoptive family.

Sweet Moon Baby is a “jumping off” spot for some conversations that might not otherwise surface regularly.

And a beautiful one at that.

Karen has graciously offered to give away 5 copies of her book, Sweet Moon Baby, an Adoption Tale to 5 readers here on Ni Hao Y’all.

Winners will even have the opportunity to have a special personalized inscription by the author in their copy, if they choose.

Giveaway ends at midnight on Saturday night, EST. Winners will be selected at random and announced on Sunday.

To enter, all you have to do is leave a comment on this post. One entry per person, please.

If you’ve been to Hubei, specifically Wuhan, I’d love to hear about your time there.

Where did you stay?

What did you love (or not love) about your time there?

I’m not gonna lie. I’m a homebody. And I really have a hard time traveling anywhere, much less halfway around the world to a place I’ve never been. So it’s extremely beneficial for me to have some ideas on where to go and what to do during our time in Wuhan.

That’s where – I hope! – y’all come in.

If you’ve been there, tell me about Wuhan. Pretty please.

Which probably sounds incredibly confusing, if not totally boring, to any non-adoption folks.

But to us? It’s spectacular news.

The Article 5 letter is issued by the Consulate after all the necessary paperwork has been received and reviewed. This process usually takes two weeks from the time the Consulate receives the cabled information from the NVC, and ours was issued right on schedule.

So as of today, we are one big step closer to bringing Tallula Mae home.

Next up is our Travel Approval, which is issued by the CCCW@ and is a bit less predictable than the Article 5 – but I am guessing 2 to 3 weeks. And then travel will be anytime after that.

Which means, I could be in China in less than a month.

*gulp*

We have had so many bumps and hiccups in this journey, it just seemed to be one delay after another. But finally, it seems that things are moving forward.

And rapidly.

Have not even begun to think about packing. Or prescriptions. Or meals for the kids while I’m gone. Or what to bring for Tallula. Or even who will go to China with me, if anyone.

Guess I’d better get workin’ on that.

Which – if you know where I’m coming from – meant I didn’t get to devote myself to it as much as I wanted. But, as 2012 dawned, I prayed about what God wanted me to do with No Hands But Ours. And He wanted me to not only stick with it, but pour more of myself into it.

And so I did. And I am.

And now, I am so excited to tell y’all, something brand new is going on at No Hands But Ours. Not only have we added some fantastic new bloggers in the last few months, but there are some other changes as well.

Monstrous changes.

Like a total face-lift.

No Hands But Ours hit the three-year mark last fall. In internet-speak, that meant the old girl was pretty much ancient. So I asked a good friend of mine, Lauren of Restored 316 Designs, if she thought she could help.

And my, oh my… did she ever.

So grab a button.

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Find us on Facebook.

And then go visit and let me know what you think!

It’s going.

Asher is hanging tough with me… I am so proud of that boy. He has been reading and researching the Daniel Plan website and has not only remembered what he learned, but is putting it into practice. Which is harder than it sounds.

His biggest challenge?

Staying away from white foods – white bread, white pasta and, his nemesis, white potatoes. But his fortitude is paying off. He’s found a new friend in whole wheat bread, natural peanut butter and all-fruit jelly. He has lost 11 pounds and has more energy than he has had in a long time.

My biggest challenge?

Staying away from sugar. Even though I have managed to stay away from obvious forms of sugar – which was a serious damper on my Valentine’s Day fun, let me tell ya – I find that even low-fat vanilla yogurt has enough sugar in it to make me crash afterwards. But I loooove it. So I need to find a replacement… ideas appreciated.

And I need to read my labels more carefully.

I also still really, really miss coffee. The Daniel Plan allows you to drink whatever you want – within reason of course – I have just chosen to stay away from coffee and sodas, and am sticking strictly to water. I am happy to report that I am developing a tolerance for water, if not a real affection. It helps that we have a pitcher full of filtered water in the fridge at all times. And that I carry my handy Fuji water bottle wherever I go. Bought it once and re-use the bottle every day to help track how much water I’m taking in.

This probably isn’t the cool way to do it. But I quit being cool about 20 years ago. And I’ve learned to live with it.

Another thing I’m trying to incorporate is exercise. Good golly, do I hate to work out. But there’s just no getting around it, exercise is good for you. So I’ve committed to 4 – 5 workouts a week, and I’m praying that it starts to get easier. And soon.

Go ahead and laugh, all you hard-core exercisers. I. Am. A. Weenie.

Other than the sugar in the yogurt affecting me negatively, and how stinkin’ tired I am after exercising, I’d say I feel significantly more energetic. And less moody, too. I really think my body is still getting over the years and years I sort of consumed whatever appealed to me, and drank copious amounts of caffeine and aspartame, but I’m thankful I’ve got the last six weeks behind me. The best is yet to come.

So, there you have it. I’ve lost 10 pounds and could really stand to lose another 10. By the time I hit the three month mark, I am hopeful that working out will be much more enjoyable, and foregoing my coffee will be much less painful.

And, although it might sounds like I’m waiting on a miracle, I have reason to hope. Rick Warren’s Daniel Plan study digs deeply into the Bible – about caring for our bodies, and honoring God with our bodies. And since He laid this on my heart and mind, I’m relying on Him in this. I just have to keep putting one foot in front of the other.

Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20

And a common question is from parents struggling with nighttime issues with their newly adopted child. And lack of sleep.

And so I thought I’d share what works for us.

Because, although we’re not experts, we do have some experience.

For the first 4 months, Poppy slept in our bed.

Not necessarily our first choice, because Chris and I actually like to sleep.

But for us, co-sleeping those first months turned out to be one of the best decisions we made to help our kiddos feel safe at night. And happy.

And the happier they are at night, the happier they are during the day. Which is totally worth it, even if I’m dog tired.

Another choice we have made is to let our newest little one stay up later than our other kids.

For some one-on-one time with mama and baba.

Since our youngest is the only one to nap during the day, this works out perfectly.

And those few extra hours after everyone else is tucked in go a long way toward fostering attachment.

Now that Poppy is more settled and confident here at home, we’ve moved her to her own toddler bed next to our bed.

Within arm’s reach.

She’s sleeping great now, only waking up occasionally to make sure we’re still close.

And soon, she’ll be ready to move into her real room. With Vivienne.

In fact, if you ask Poppy, she’s ready now.

But I’m not quite sure she’s ready to give up her current routine.

And I’m not quite sure we’re ready, either.

If you’re ready to link up this week with your Sunday Snapshot, just copy the code under the Snapshot button and paste it into the body of your post where you’d like the button to be displayed.

When you hit ‘publish’ it should show up just fine. Then add your link below.

Wondering what the heck Sunday Snapshot is? Visit here for the details.

Happy Sunday, y’all.

And we sent a list of questions, with no idea if or when they might be answered.

We didn’t have to wonder too long, though. We received not only answers to our questions, but two new pictures of our little robust girlie…

(1) Who chose her name and why? Does she have a nickname?

The orphanage staff picked that name for her, Juan means beautiful and pretty. Her nickname is Juan Juan.

(2) Has she had any health problems or allergies?

She does not have any kind of allergies.

(3) What medical treatments has she received?

She is quite healthy, so she does not receive any medical treatments.

(4) What are her favorite foods and activities?

She loves to eat meat, she does not like to eat fish.

(5) How would you describe her personality?

Smart, outgoing. Strong will. Fast response

(6) Does she have any likes/dislikes/sensitivities?

She likes her foster family to take her to the streets and sit in the electronic musical rolling horse.

(7) What makes her happy?

New clothes makes her happy.

(8) Does she have a special doll or toy that she sleeps with?

No,she falls sleep pretty easy .

(9) Was a note or any other memento found with her?

Nothing.

(10) What else would you like to tell us about her?

She is an amazing and good girl.

Oh. my. gosh.

Cannot wait to squeeze her.

My most favorite piece of jewelry.

Heck, one of my most favorite things… period.

But I was also incredibly nervous.

When I received the new charm for my necklace for my birthday last year, I knew it would include the name of our newest little bug, Miss Tallula. But I wasn’t quite sure if it should include Esther’s name as well.

I considered having a different necklace made just for Esther.

But I just couldn’t decide. So, I waited.

And waited.

But an answer did not come.

Finally, I was determined to just do it.

Order the charm, woman! How hard could it be?

But I still couldn’t decide.

So I asked my husband. Men think so simplistically. And that can be a huge breath of fresh air, especially when I’m all revved up into an over-analyzing ball of hairspray and hormones.

He simply said, “Yes. You wear that necklace everyday. You’re going to want Esther’s name on there, too.”

And so I did.

As soon as it arrived, I hurriedly unwrapped it.

And all my fears melted away. There wasn’t a hint of sadness.

Just joy.

Joy at having my children’s names, all of them, around my neck.

Boy loves bike.

To a boy and his bike, the world is suddenly just an arm’s length away.

Or so it seems.

Until boy actually tries to ride bike.

Hmmm.

This is a lot harder than it looks.

But standing with bike is still fun.

And painless.

And looking at bike is good, too.

Because bike is so shiny. And new.

But riding bike is so much more fun.

Until boy falls.

Again.

Oh well.

Pedaling is over-rated.

Hope yours was extra sweet.