The Gentle Arms of China

This has been my "Moby Dick" video -- the one that kept getting away. I first edited this video last July, but while I was putting it together, my computer seized up and I lost it. I tried again last Christmas, but had an Apple employee delete it as he was performing routine maintenance. I decided to give it one more try this week.

The backstory on the video is that I wanted to create a piece that celebrated the amazing, ancient culture to which my girls were born. I've set the footage to a bluegrass tune -- Gentle Arms of Eden.

I hope you enjoy.

Chick Flick Double Feature -- Aunt Annie

My sister travelled with me to China to meet Libby Doodle Doo. Today's two videos feature her and my Libby.

In the first, I filmed as Aunt Annie removed the many layers of clothing that Libby Doodle Doo was wearing on Gotcha Day. It's amazing to see how much smaller the Libster gets from the beginning to the end of the video. It also amazes me how more animated she gets as the layers of clothing are removed.

One observation -- I expected Libby Doodle Doo to be wearing lots and lots of clothing since I was getting her in January and since Nanchang was SOOO Cold. But surprisingly, she was wearing fewer layers of clothing than Zo Peep wore when I first met her in April of 2003. Perhaps customs are changing in China and children aren't bundled as much as they used to be.




The second video is a Thank You to my sister for coming to China with me to meet Libby Doodle Doo:




I hope you enjoy.

Chick Flicks Friday -- Passionate Kisses

The last adoption video I posted highlighted the moment when Libby Doodle Doo and I first met.  At the end of that video, the Libster takes her first long good look at me and bursts into tears.

This video is proof that her initial sadness and apprehension was short-lived.  Almost from the Get-go, Libby Doodle Doo has shown an amazing joie de vivre -- ready to embrace anything the world gives her.

My sister -- Aunt Annie -- appears a few times in this video with Miss Libby.  For next week I'm going to complete 2 videos (a Double Feature!!) that show the lovely connection between Aunt Annie and Libby Doodle Doo.

Enjoy.

BTW -- I love the scenes with Libby Doodle Doo devouring her first dark chocolate.  Like her Mama, Miss Libby has become a true connoisseur of this heavenly treat.

Our First Meeting

While on vacation, I've reviewed all my existing footage (mostly from China, but with some more recent stuff too) and started constructing little movies. I have about a dozen projects in various stages of completion. My goal is to post a new movie every Friday -- little Flicks about my Chicks.

I'll mix it up -- sometimes a movie on adoption; other times a video about the girls today (I don't want Zo Peep to feel left out). Concerning my in-China movies, I've decided to do a lot of short little vignettes instead of one large epic. I group video around different themes/subjects -- My helpful sister, Me and Libby, my travel group, the beauty of China, etc.

The first one is the shortest one of all -- the first time I saw and held Libby Doodle Doo. I got to the matching room 15 minutes earlier than we were supposed to arrive. The agency/orphanages had already started matching. Since many families were not yet there, I was called almost immediately. I literally dropped the camera and my sister picked it up and continued filming (I edited the drop out of the final cut).

I hope you enjoy.