About

Once upon a time... Ah, yes, you see those fateful four words and you KNOW that there will be a story next.
Once upon a time there was a crazy couple, Rick and Cheryl Lindner. They had two kids - Derek and Jenna. Then they adopted two other kids from China - Abby and Emma. Then, one day, Rick and Cheryl got this crazy idea that, hey, maybe they should go to China. And so, like a good, crazy couple should, Rick and Cheryl got their oldest daughter Jenna and younger daughters Abby and Emma, sold their junk, said goodbye to Southern California and Derek in Massachusetts, and moved to Xian, China, Shaanxi Province. This was on August 8, 2010.

Then, to further emphasize their craziness, Rick and Cheryl met an equally crazy Australian couple who had started a home for orphans in Xian. This Australian couple told Rick and Cheryl about a three month old boy in Changsha (south of Xian, in another province) who needed a foster family. The crazy Lindner couple agreed. They named the boy Matthew James.

A year or so passed.

Then, Rick and Cheryl's craziness became contagious, and Jenna, Emma, and Abby thought, "Hey, why not adopt him?" And Rick and Cheryl thought they should too.

And so, the crazy story continued in which Rick, Cheryl, Jenna, Emma, and Abby stay in China longer than expected to adopt Matthew James.

A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE [CRAZY] LINDNERS

Rick, the father, the husband, who used to be a parts manager.

Cheryl, the mother, the wife, who used to work at a daycare.

Jenna, the oldest sister, the college-bound, who exceeds in Chinese.

Abby, the youngest sister, the writer, who is always bored.

Emma, the middle sister, the drawer, who loves electronics.
Officially a Lindner as of March 2014: Matthew, the youngest member, the racer, who never stops. Ever. Except at night. Sometimes.
Derek, who is in Massachusetts... being an adult and all.

Oh, and Brodie.
He's a poodle who joined the family April 2012.

Oh, and in case I haven't emphasized it enough, the Lindners are crazy people.