Yanyan's Year

Our wonderful au pair Yanyan, from Kunming, China, left last night to pursue studies at a university in the San Fracisco Bay Area. Although we wholeheartedly support her goals and dreams, the tears were flowing freely in our house as we said goodbye! We have had a fantastic year with Yanyan. She was a terrific caregiver, mainly to Kathryn and Sarah, but also to big brother James out of school hours. And it was a great experience to share her culture and language with her! She taught the girls some Chinese, and gave all of us more insights to Chinese culture and customs.

We highly recommend the au pair program and I would be happy to talk with anyone about it in more detail! Feel free to contact me at sbrueckel@gmail.com. This flexible childcare situation has worked out really well for our family, and we will welcome a new au pair in September.

We love you and will miss you very much, Yanyan!

Watch Yanyan's beautiful farewell video, which she generously agreed to let me post on the blog, here. (Our calico Pyewacket and big gray cat Greystoke are featured along with our children)!

The New York Metropolitan Area Gladney Family Associate Kick-Off Event

The New York Metropolitan Area Gladney Family Association
Invites your family to our Annual Kick-Off Event on
Sunday, September 20, 2009 at
American Museum of Natural History
Central Park West @ 79th Street
New York, NY 10024


Stork Watch (Approved & Waiting Families)
12:30-1:30 p.m.
Kick-Off Registration & Lunch
1:30 p.m.
Kick-Off Program
2:00 p.m.


“Journey to the Stars” Space Show
3:00 p.m.


Families can tour the museum together
3:30 p.m.

All aged children welcome!



Come meet other Gladney families and enjoy a day
at the American Museum of Natural History! You will
also learn more about the New York GFA and upcoming
events planned for this year.



The Gladney Family Association of
New York Metropolitan Area
Annual Kick-Off Event



Name: ________________________________________

Address: ______________________________________________

Phone: __________________________

Email: _______________________________________________



Ticket price includes: museum admission, space show, & boxed lunch.
GFA Members Non-GFA Members
Children $ 20 Children $ 25
Adults $ 30 Adults $ 35


You will be eligible for the “GFA Member” discounted rate by joining the New York GFA online at www.mygladney.org

Total # of adults attending: _____

Total # of children attending: _____

Total Payment for Kick-Off $______

_____ I will pay by credit card


Please circle MasterCard, Visa, American Express, Discover



Card Number __________________________________________

Name on Card _________________________________________

Exp. Date ______________



_____ I will pay by check (Checks should be made out to “The Gladney Center”)

Due to the venue, we are unable to accommodate walk-ins or late RSVP!

Please send this completed form with payment by September 4th to:
Laurie McShea
31 Lincoln Ave
Old Greenwich, CT
06870

Questions? lchip@optonline.net or 203.637.4616

Summer Fun!

We all had a wonderful summer and spent time in Bermuda, Fire Island, and the Berkshires. Whitney sure does love the water and her cousins are teaching her how boogie board! Fall is just around the corner and will bring some wonderful changes. We are very excited about going back to school, picking up our new Shetland Sheepdog puppy and visiting Disney World!

A Grateful Mom's View Of The CCAA Luncheon

Gladney mom Monica Reddin and her husband Paul and daughter Katie, aged 4 from Chongquing, were one of the 50 people who attended the wonderful luncheon and reception for the CCAA which Gladney's New York office hosted on August 10, 2009. The CCAA were in town for the COA luncheon and Asia Program Director Gongzhan Wu acted as a translator and liason for the CCAA staff. Fortunately for us, Paul is an excellent photographer and artist, and Monica writes a wonderful blog, which can be found here. She generously shared her reflections on the luncheon and Paul's wonderful photos with the Gladney blog! See below!











Yesterday we had the unique opportunity through our agency, Gladney to meet with a delegation from CCAA led by Deputy Director-General Chu Xiaoying who were in town for the COA conference. It was a chance for them to meet some of the Gladney families and see the children they have matched to make those families. In a brief speech Ms. Chu stated how gratifying it is for them to meet the families, how they mostly do the paperwork & do not get the chance to really meet the children who are placed. What made the day so special was seeing these men & women so happy to see our families. They truly enjoyed getting right on the floor & playing with the littler girls and listening to one group of sisters serenade them.

I always have wondered about the faces behind the initials CCAA and how they feel about their role in our lives, well now I know and it was an honor to be able to meet them. It gave us the chance to say thank you for our daughter and making our family complete.

Olivia and Mackenzie Celebrate!

Olivia with her cousin, Mackenzie, in New York having some good times on Mackenzie’s 8^th birthday! Happy birthday, Mackenzie!

Welcome Home, Macy!

After years of waiting, Gladney parents Jon and Karen are just thrilled to introduce their new daughter Macy to everyone! She is just adorable, as you can see in the photo below! Welcome home to Texas, Macy!