The Decision is Final and Posted

I'm so thankful it is Friday.

We finally got the news yesterday that Sis' divorce decisions have been made by the Judge. All that is left is to wait for the actual decree, but according to the decision document, the divorce is final. It's finally over. (breathing sigh of relief over here)

Wow.

This really long, depressing, difficult, awful journey started in February of 2007. Yep, 2.5 years ago. It started with EX-bil's 2nd drunk driving offense.

Sis did not want this divorce, but apparently he did. And he lied and lied and lied to everyone about everything for that entire time, trying to ruin Sis. That was his one and only ultimate goal. To ruin her. (oh, and to shack up with some skanky bitch, but that's a different story).

But he did NOT ruin her!

We finally won. God prevailed.

It is so hard to explain to people who don't know the situation just how rough it's been. It's really hard to explain to people who are close to us even... But it is a HUGE relief that she was finally heard and believed. That not just one judge, but two (another issue involving jackass' girlfriend) judges came to the same conclusion - JAKE IS A LIAR. He is required to go to alcohol counseling. His girlfriend has aggravated menacing charges against her for threatening Sis' life. Sis was awarded the protection order she needed. whew.

But the biggie - My sister was granted full custody, with support and all. She finally won. SHE WON. OMG. It still feels surreal, but it is real. :D We have waited for this day for 2.5 years. Years.

I am so glad we didn't give up. Even in the darkest days, we fought for the truth. We fought for Chase. We fought for Sis. And we finally overcame the evil that is Jason or Jake or whatever he wants to go by.

I can't tell you just how overwhelmingly happy I am right now. And relieved. It is finally over. This is the day we've been waiting for. Chase will be safe. Sis will get restitution or Jake will be in even more trouble. Christina (the psycho girlfriend) will have to stay away, or she will go to jail.

It is a good day. Thank you God.

I want to thank all of our close friends for their undying support and prayers. We love you all.

Peace.

Chinese language

I copied this information from a fellow blogger, so I could use it and would have it on hand. :)

For the net

http://www.chinese4kids.net/

For CDs

Tuttle Chinese for Kids (Love this because it comes with flash cards)Not only flash cards but lots of sentences as well, this is a car favorite.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=tuttle+chinese+for+kids

Mei Mei and Jade (Audio and DVDs)

http://www.meimeiandme.com/index.html

http://www.followjade.com/videos/index.shtml

More DVDs

The Language Tree Mandarin

http://www.language-tree.com/mandarin.html

Early Start Mandarin with Bao Bei (cheesy production but good vocab)

http://www.myearlystart.com/index.html

One Child Policy Guangxi

This article is from 2007, but that is when Lil M's adoption was final. Very, very disturbing. :(

New Violence Hits Southern China Over Family Planning Policy
By VOA News 30 May 2007

Enforcement of China's strict family planning policy has sparked more riots in the southern Guangxi region.

The state-run Xinhua news agency says protests erupted again Tuesday, the second outbreak in the region this month.

More than 100 police were called into the town of Yangmei after residents ransacked the local government headquarters, surrounded the population control office and burned police cars. Violence was also reported in the town of Lingshan where residents protested outside the local government office.

Unrest first erupted two weeks ago in rural parts of Guangxi over what residents say are the brutal methods used by local officials to enforce the "one child" policy.

Residents say the authorities have forced abortions, confiscated property, and imposed heavy fines on families having more children than the policy allows.

Under China's one-child policy, started in the late 1970s, most families are allowed only one child. Families in rural areas are allowed two, especially if the first child is a girl. Abortions have risen due to the policy.

China has the world's highest population at 1.3 billion people.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.

You can find the article here and here.

Peace.

Ethnic Minorities in China

Here's another article about minority groups in China. It is noted that there are 55 minority groups in China. My daughter does not appear to be Han, which is the majority group in China. Therefore, I've been doing a bit of research on the minority groups.

The term Ethnic Minorities is theirs, not mine.

China Daily

The total population of Guangxi has grown rapidly over the past decades, increasing from 18.45 million in 1949 to 44.89 million in 2000. From 1982 to 1990, a total of 5.824 million people were added to its total population, producing an average annual growth rate of 1.87%. From 1990 to 2000, growth in persons were 2.64 million, the growth rate was 6.26% and the annual growth rate was 0.59%. In addition, with ethnic populations accounting 38.34% of its total, Guangxi is one of the four provinces (autonomous regions) in China with an ethnic population of more than 10 million, and the autonomous region with the largest ethnic population.

Most of Guangxi's population resides in the southern and southeastern parts of the region; the northern and southwestern parts are sparsely populated. Great differences exist in population distribution and density between urban and rural areas. Ethnic minorities are concentrated in the west and northwestern hilly areas, while most Han people live in the northeastern and southeastern plain areas. In 2000, the population density was 190 persons/sq.km.

This was quoted from another article here, and here is another good one.

Peace.

Rice harvest Guangxi

This post is more for myself and my little one... I found an article about Guangxi and thought I should keep it.

Updated: 2009-09-07 09:51

Farmers working in the rice fields in Pingle Yao ethnic Township of Fengshan county, southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, September 6, 2009. Middle-season rice is harvested in Fengshan. [Xinhua]

A farmer harvests paddy stalks in her rice field in Pingle Yao ethnic Township of Fengshan county, southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, September 6, 2009.[Xinhua]

Farmers carry sacks of rice along the rice field in Pingle Yao ethnic Township of Fengshan county, southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, September 6, 2009. [Xinhua]

Farmers harvest paddy stalks in the rice fields of Pingle Yao ethnic Township of Fengshan county, southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, September 6, 2009.[Xinhua]

Farmers work in rice fields in Pingle Yao ethnic Township of Fengshan county, southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, September 6, 2009.[Xinhua]

here's a link to the article

Peace.