#51 Another little Cinese girl print was sent by the Minton family of Jackson, MS. She included that the fabric was chosen "to remin you of all your "cousins" scattered around the world, and to help us remember that our families are connected by a red thread of good wishes" - Thanks!!




*****Half-way there!!!***** #50 was an appropriate one to receive. It is a nice little patriotic flag fabric from the Brown family in Crossville, AL. Can't wait to make our little one a US citizen!!



#49 Another cute square from the Dillons in FL. Same agency, same LID! "May love and laughter light your days"

#47 &48 Came from our long time ago neighbor I met over 20 years ago! The Froula's have sinced moved around and now live in Brentwood TN. Sometimes when we go up to Nashville we pay them a visit. It's fun to watch how our family's have grown!


#46 Came from one of our neighbors, the Hegarty's. They picked out a fabric that reminded them of our dog Tori! Their 2 boys are fun for Alexia to play with since they always give her a run for her money!!


#45 A sweet wish written out by some dear, long time family friends. In fact pretty much my whole family is friends with their whole family! Part of their wish was that she "will grow in grace and truth and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus" - Amen! Thanks Mack and Ann Riggs of Kennesaw GA.




#44 YEAH!! This one was a milestone! It's the first to come from someone outside our adoption community (translate-someone we REALLY know!) Now that I finally sent out our letters! It is from our family friend with a wish written by their daughter Alexa who is a good friend to our Alexia! Thanks Cosgrove's - you are always on the ball!!




#43 Another fun little ladybug print came from the Berryhill family in Lake Charles. LA. Their sweet wish was "that you always see God's plan for your life, beginning with bringing you to you forever family"

#42 Is a pretty blend of colors sent by the Wan family of Bangor, Maine. Their wish with a light house theme was "May the light of your family's love always lead you home!"

#41 Another cute little ladybug print! This one came from the Dangler family in NY

#40 Was a fun squish to receive. It is a whimsical animal and flower print with a beautifully done wish. Also included was a little magnet with a Chinese baby on it that said "waiting for her". It's a fun little reminder that is displayed proudly on our fridge. Thanks Fischer family in Frisco TX!

#39 Is a real feminine fabric that included an Irish prayer. This was sent from the Wells' a fellow adopting family here in GA

#38 Is a cool tapestry from the Webb family of NC

#37 is from a super mom and her girls. This ultra-cool asian lantern print came from the Kasper family in MN. This awesome lady is a single mom and is adopting her third little girl from China - whew! She does a lot of other stuff that would make anybody tired on a normal day. I am proud of her and don't even know her personally!! - Kuddos to you!



#36 Is a red and white rose vine print. Very simple but elegant. It is from the Jongsma family in AL



Squish #35 has some really neat Chinese characters which translate into the words like- "Hope, Courage and Harmony" It was sent by the Progelhof family of our CCAI group from Heath, TX



#34 Is a cool circle print theme given by the Eubank-Armstrong family in Richmond, VA. The quote is by Albert Einstein which ends by saying "Imagination encircles the world".



#33 I was very excited to get this print from the Powers' family right here in Kennesaw GA. I had taken my daughter to pick out fabric for her to contribute to the quilt. I was SO SURE she would pick this one, but she didn't. I still liked it so I was happy it ended up in our collection anyway!

#32 Is a cute little ladybug and daisy print from the Greenleaf family in Geneva, NY

#31 was the funniest sqaure I have received so far. It is full of botched sayings found in fortune cookies made by Chi-Zi cookie factory - get it? Chi-zi?? haha!! One was "You dance like you have never danced before". This one was provided by the Smith family in Bloomington, IL. This
awesome family is waiting for their 5th child!!! They will be bringing Shaylee home very soon we hope.

#30 Another one from the Hurtgen family. We are 2 different sqaure exchanges togther. She included a cute little saying from Winnie the Pooh which states "You can't stay in your corner of the forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes." That Winnie the Pooh sure was insightful!!

#29 The most beautiful fabric AND wish I have received so far came from the Burge's in Brandon MS. It says "Precious beloved child, May you know God's limitless love for you and relish His great plans for your life" They are waiting for their own beloved child Miah

Squish #28 from the Moss family in AL waitng for their Anna Jean

Squish #27 was from my Feb. Winter Blossoms secret pal Erica Dick. She lives in Natchez, MS. They are waiting for Lucy Claire who was named by her awaiting big brother!

#26 Some of recent wishes I have received were very well done by some "scrapper's" for sure. This little bug themed squish from the Jones family in Lexington KY is no exception!

#25 Is a very unique looking print with winter blossoms and cranes. I love the contrasting colors. From the Watermans in Collinsville, IL.

#24 is from the Nagowski family in Lancaster, NY. It's a very retro pink print - and very cute!

#23 Is from the Ayala family in our CCAI group. This is a plum blossom print refering to our group name - "Winter blossoms". The Chinese translation of this tree is "Mei" which we have decided will be the middle name of our little girl.


Square #22 is a very cool Koi print from Charles and Christine Perry in Tallahassee, FL. They are awaiting their little one Sarah Grace.


#21 - This is one of my favorite prints. It is children at Chinese New Year and it is so pretty. Thank you to the LeMasters family from Rootstown, OH.
The Chinese proverb attached reads "A child's life is like a piece of paper on which every person leaves a mark". hmm...That can be a sobering thought.


Square #20 (I was very excited to feel 1/5 the way there!) This cute circus print was from Ashley Hurtgen who lives in Centennial, CO, She already has three boys including twins, so I know she is ready to get girly with her next one!

#19 This sleepy little squish came from Ken and Kerrie Symonies up in Archbald, PN they are in our CCAI group.

#18 - These little white flowers remind me of the edelweiss that grows in the Alpine countries including Switzerland which we LOVE!! The Silvers family of New Bloomfield, MO sent us this one.

#17 - This pretty angelic fabric has a quote used a lot in the adoption community. "All children come from God, for some, the journey just takes longer."

Thanks to the Clutter family of Waunakee, WI for this square.

# 16 - From the Bray-Louie family who also lives in Centennial, CO. The wish is the lyrics from the song "Somewhere Out There".

I also liked this fabric because Caleb has a baby quilt made out of this sparkly star fabric. It reminded me when I would get him up from playing off of it, he'd always have a little "sparkle face"!

Squish# 15 - Is from the Bowman family in Ladson, SC another possible travelmate from our CCAI Nov LID group.

Squares 1-14

#14 - This very sweet girly print was sent by Julie and Chris Turner that live in Ooltewah, TN

#13 - I love this Chinese girl print!! It was sent by the Anderson family in Avon Park, FL. I have to include her poem she wrote about the long wait.
(see the next square for a ladybug explaination")

"Ladybugs are special,
Babies from China are too.
The wait is so long,
It makes me feel blue.

I'll hold on to my faith,
Even try to be strong.
My little Chinese ladybug
will come home before too long"

Well done and very sweet!!

#11 &12 - The Wilkerson family sent us these cute little ladybug squares. This was my first ladybug print and I am sure to receive many more. Ladybugs have become a symbol of good luck among the Chinese adoptions. There was a big surge them the year that China opened adoptions to the US in the 90's. From then on they have gone hand in hand!!

#10 - This is a tradtional bee toy is played with children in New Zealand where Haley Hoppe is originally from. She also wrote her own little poem about making your hopes a realization. Her family lives in Victoria, MN with her cute little Chinese adopted girl Piper.


#9 - The Geddis family of Greenwich, NY sent this square with a simple wish of "Inspire, Dream, Create"

#7 & 8- Jennifer and Calvin Dillon sent us these two squares from Land O'Lakes, FL. Cute beach theme! We have the same LID in our agency= possible travel mates!




#6-The Pettit family of Ogden, Utah sent this cool asian fabric.




#4 & 5 -The Ballard family of Cumming, GA sent these two squares since we are on two different exchanges. Our LID is one day apart and we are with the same agency which means we have a high likelihood of traveling together!! They don't live TOO far from us, so I am excited that we will get to meet them sometime.




#3 This butterfly square with an Irish blessing is from the Swinson family in Mount Pleasant, NC






# 1 and 2 - Our first squares came from Laura Vela and Dan Colligan out in Scottsdale, AZ. Their wish was this - "May your life be full of adventure"

Squares + Wishes = Squishes

Can you Spare a Square ?

To welcome and celebrate a new life, there is a tradition in China to make a Bai Jia Bei, or 100 Good Wishes Quilt. It is a custom to invite friends and family to contribute a square patch of cloth with a wish for the baby. The main 8×8 patch of cloth goes into the quilt for the baby, and the other small part of the cloth goes into a creative memory notebook with the wish for the child. The quilt contains the thoughts, prayers, and good wishes from all the families and friends who contributed a piece of fabric.

Would you like to send us a square?? Here’s how: Find a good quality, 100% cotton piece of cloth that you like. Prewash the fabric in the washer, cold water. Cut it into a square, 8×8 inches. This is the square that goes into the quilt. Next, cut a 1×1 inch square and paste it to a card (can be an index card, piece of card stock, etc.). Beside the 1×1 square, write a wish…this can be as simple as a few words of good wishes, lines from a song, poem, bible verse, etc. Include your information…name, how you found us, and where you’re from. This way, we can have a record of which quilt square goes with what wish and how many places our wishes came from!