Lunar New Year

We enjoyed celebrating our 5th Lunar New Year's with Dillon International over the weekend. The first year we attended was in 2006 while we were in process in with Kazakhstan. (Pilot program for Dillon that closed and we ended up switching to Vietnam and the rest is history as you know.)
My favorite part -besides that all the money goes to OrphanCare - is that everyone gets to dress in their native country attire. Children and adults alike wear their Korean Hanbok, Indian Sari, Chinese Cheongsam or Vietnamese Ao Doi's... and more.
Here we are with Jynger, past director of the Vietnam program and current co-director of India and case manager for Russia. She and her daughter wore their sari's and looked beautiful!
My mom and Nehemiah ended up almost matching by coincidence. I love this picture of them together!
Mrs. Dillon walked by and I asked if we could snag a picture with her. I said, "you know, to let people know you are real and everything." She laughed and said that last week she stayed late at the office and ended up answering the phone after hours. The gal asked a question about the agency and asked who she was speaking with. Mrs. Dillon said who she was and the lady said, "Oh, I didn't know you were alive, I thought you were dead." I mean What?! Well here she is folks, a stunning woman- both inside and out!
Our family with the tigers. Note the one trying to eat Nehemiah's head. It is the Year of the Tiger on the Chinese zodiac calendar and so the stage was decorated with stuffed tigers.
My mom with Avi Joy. My kids and my mama were on a roll because this is so sweet too! (Can you believe those cheekbones people! She looks so young, right?!)
Nehemiah with fellow Can Tho kiddo, Rhett.
Playing with some of the other children in the "holding room" waiting for the parade/song to start.
Lining up outside the closed doors to the banquet hall.
They walked through the crowd and up to the stage. The kids performed a very cute song, "If you're in my heart, your in my family," by Laurie Berkner Band.
I did learn something about myself that I will never do again... this whole waiting in a room with children for them to go on stage, will be Adam's job. I did not enjoy this LNY as much as in the past because I spent 45 minutes watching her practice and wait to perform. I am much too social for that. I want to be talking to families and visiting, so since Adam is the quieter and less social parent, he said he would gladly help our kiddos prep for the opening in the coming years. Yeah for marrying your opposite, we are so alike, but so different!
The silent auction had many awesome items. I personally LOVED the artwork from Africa.
Nehemiah opening his red envelope. This is a Chinese tradition where children greet their parents wishing them a Happy New Year and in return they receive money in red paper envelopes. In this case, chocolate money, yum.
Just for a quick flashback. Here are Heather and I along with our BABIES (18 and 9 months) when we attended the first LNY with our children in 2007.
"Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord." Psalm 27:14

The Perryman Family