Merry
Christmas from Shannon, Maria
and Melanie
and Melanie
the
Begemans in park in Guangzhou China, June 2, 2004
Dear Friends and Family, December 2004
Christmas Greetings from
Northern Virginia! We just returned from a relaxing Thanksgiving
weekend with Maria’s relatives in South Carolina and are excited about
celebrating our first Christmas with Melanie Su! We have
certainly learned that everything is more exciting when there is a
little person taking it all in.
On the next pages are the highlights of each month this year. Obviously the biggest one is the addition of Melanie to our family. She is such a sweet and loving little girl, and we are always amazed at how much she is learning and changing. Last year this time, we were anticipating that we would go to China to pick her up in April or May. The timing of our travel was a source of some anxiety with Shannon’s school schedule, and we are extremely thankful for God’s perfect timing that allowed us to travel together. We have learned a lot about releasing our dreams to Him and seeing how “He works all things together for good for those who love Him…” (Romans 8:28) This Christmas, we are thankful for the gift of life, family and the knowledge that He holds our lives in His loving hands. May He bless and guide you in the coming year.
On the next pages are the highlights of each month this year. Obviously the biggest one is the addition of Melanie to our family. She is such a sweet and loving little girl, and we are always amazed at how much she is learning and changing. Last year this time, we were anticipating that we would go to China to pick her up in April or May. The timing of our travel was a source of some anxiety with Shannon’s school schedule, and we are extremely thankful for God’s perfect timing that allowed us to travel together. We have learned a lot about releasing our dreams to Him and seeing how “He works all things together for good for those who love Him…” (Romans 8:28) This Christmas, we are thankful for the gift of life, family and the knowledge that He holds our lives in His loving hands. May He bless and guide you in the coming year.
Love,
Shannon, Maria & SuSu
------
Here are some highlights of
2004…January – Shannon studied. Maria sewed for the baby room & we enjoyed walks in the snow in beautiful Oakwood, OH.
our house in Oakwood in the snow
February – Shannon studied. Maria sewed some more. We went to meetings for the Families with Children from China group in Dayton and learned about adoption issues.
baby quilt in progress
March – We found out from our adoption agency that the group before us had gotten their referrals and that we would probably get ours in April. Our excitement was mounting! We traveled to Virginia during our spring break to visit friends & start house hunting and ended up deciding to build a new house! It was a busy few days, but we came home very thankful for the opportunity we would have to live in a single family home in Virginia with our soon-to-be family of three!
future site of our home in
Virginia
April – Two days after Maria’s birthday, we got the most important call of our lives to date. Our family coordinator told Shannon, “Congratulations! You’re a dad.” We got some information about our little girl in China, and the next day the referral package with her picture arrived. We began a 6-week process of applying for visas, gathering more documents and waiting for a travel date to China.
April 9 – the day we got
Melanie’s photo
May – On May 9 we finally found out that we would travel to China May 27th. We had two weeks to pack and make final preparations to bring Melanie home. We were so thankful for God’s timing, as Shannon was able to complete the spring semester in time to go with Maria. Shannon’s mom also took time off of work from her paper to come along and provide her services as a “granny nanny.”
The first two days in China we took in famous sights in Beijing, including the Great Wall. On May 31, we flew to Guangzhou in Southern China, and within hours were united with our little girl at the Civil Affairs Office. We are so thankful for Melanie’s beautiful smile the moment she was handed to us and for the way she seemed to bond with us right from the start.
Maria & Shannon on the Great
Wall
meeting Melanie May 31
June – Melanie became a U.S. citizen when we landed in Los Angeles on June 10. Shannon had some time off from school, so we had a fun “honeymoon” time together as a family, taking long walks, playing and getting to know each other. Maria’s parents and sister flew in at the end of the month, and Melanie loved meeting her new family members.
playing with Daddy
SuSu and Mama
July – Melanie was dedicated in church on the 4th of July. We had a cookout for friends & enjoyed celebrating not only our nation’s independence, but also one of its newest citizens.
new U.S. citizen
August – We drove out to Virginia for Shannon’s former boss’ retirement ceremony, visited friends & saw the progress being made on our new home.
our new house in progress
September – Shannon’s
parents flew out for his graduation on September 14 and helped us
prepare for our move to Virginia. We packed up and left Dayton
September 20 and moved into our townhouse, which needed some fixing
up. Shannon started his job as a Program Element Monitor for a
weather satellite, and Maria began teaching a 6-week ESL workshop at
George Mason University (one hour a week).
Shannon’s parents at graduation
October – We closed on our new home on October 12th and quickly got settled in with the help of Shannon’s mom and then Maria’s parents who each flew out for a week to lend a hand.
with Oma and Opa at a farm
our new house!
November – On our way to South Carolina for Thanksgiving, we stopped in NC for a brief reunion with some of the families with whom we traveled to China, including one of Melanie’s orphanage roommates. We hope to make the reunion a yearly tradition, so the girls can get to know each other over the years.
Melanie started talking a mile a minute…some words distinguishable, others her own language (or is it Chinese???)
travel group reunion in North
Carolina
Melanie meets her grandfather’s
brothers and sister in South Carolina
enjoying Thanksgiving with Daddy
and her aunt Tricia
December – We closed on our townhouse on Friday, the 3rd. Maria’s parents and sister will come at the end of the month to celebrate Christmas with us in our new home.
Looking ahead to 2005 – Maria has been asked to be a discussion leader in our church’s new MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group, starting in January. Our sister-in-law will visit us at the end of January with our youngest nephew Brenden, who was born this summer. In the spring we plan to travel to El Paso and to visit Big Bend National Park with Maria’s parents and sister. We’re planning a trip out to South Dakota in the summer and then again for Christmas.
Have a great year! Our address:
Please keep in touch! 42492 Mandolin Street
South Riding, VA 20152
Tel: (703)327-5485
E-Mail: mariabegeman@aol.com