my asian-american family {it's beautiful}

i'm always interested to know what people of emery's culture and ethnicity think about her and our family.
i'm fascinated, actually, by the uniqueness that is our ethnically blended family.

i've read a lot recently about the difficulty of raising a blended family, and there is a lot of negative out there. i'm not going to pretend there aren't challenges...i know there are...but i am going to choose focus on the positives. 

i love that our family is asian/american. i'm so proud of my daughter's heritage and i love knowing our family photos and genetics will always have her jet black hair and eyes. her perfect skin tone and her delicate figure.

but when it comes right down to it, i will be honest and say i am desperately seeking acceptance from the asian community...not just for our family, but for emery.  

i think about it often when we are at church or target or walking down the street. when i see someone of asian descent, it makes me smile all over...because we share something special. and i want the feeling to be mutual.

one of my favorite moments happened recently at ikea. 
a lovely asian lady came up to us and said how cute emery was.
"she looks just like my daughter!" she said with a sweet smile.
emery waved and gave her usual "hi-ya!" greeting, much to the kind lady's delight. 

it was a beautiful moment in light of my sensitivity to how emery is perceived. that lady could have just walked on by, but she chose to associate us with her and her family. i wanted to tackle her with a giant, tear-filled hug. but i didn't. i'm sure she appreciated my self control :)

i can't help but beam with joy when others see the delight that is emery.