It’s been a while since I last posted here. The last time I blogged, we were still living in China—navigating COVID restrictions, using Meituan and Didi like locals, and living a life that, for over a decade, felt like home.
Since then, everything has changed.
In 2022, we made the difficult decision to return to the United States. The transition was not an easy one—emotionally, logistically, or professionally. Getting our daughter into school, accessing services, arranging medical care, and deciphering the American health insurance system became a full-time job on its own. The reality of supporting a child with significant needs in a completely different system hit us hard. It’s been an uphill climb—but we’re still climbing.
Amid all this, I accepted a full-time university position, while my husband became a full-time stay-at-home parent. Between lesson planning, IEP meetings, therapy appointments, and just figuring out how to build a new life, there hasn’t been much time for blogging—or even writing.
But things are shifting again. The routines, while still chaotic at times, have started to settle. And I’m finding space to write. To reconnect with my creative life. To dream a little again.
Many of you have followed our journey not just as readers, but as supporters of our family—especially our long adoption process. We began the process to adopt our second child from China in 2019. We were only two months away from being matched when the pandemic brought everything to a halt. In late 2024, China officially ended international adoptions. Just like that, after five years of waiting and watching a little girl grow up in photos, it was over.
It’s a heartbreak I can’t quite put into words yet. One day, I’ll be ready to write more about that part of our story. For now, I will simply say: our hopes of growing our family through adoption are not over—but our next child will not come from China.
So where does that leave us?
Here. Home again, in a sense. Rebuilding. Writing. Living. And now—blogging. This new chapter—our life after China—has been filled with challenges, but also with moments of unexpected grace. And I’m ready to begin sharing again.
Over the next few months, I’ll be sharing more regular updates. I’ve got some new releases coming (more on that very soon!), behind-the-scenes peeks into my Qing Dynasty Mysteries, reflections on life in China, and stories from this messy, beautiful in-between season we’re living now.
Thank you for being here—for caring about the stories I tell, on and off the page.
