Lee Batcheler:
CLASS OF 1978
Henry Ford II High SchoolClass of 1978
Sterling heights, MI
Lee's Story
Everything you need to know about me
Hi classmates, In 1994 I left Michigan for Tennessee. I now live in Dickson -- about 40 miles West of Nashville. Those who know me know I love to play guitar and this has been guitar heaven. In '96 I married the love of my life Michelle (Shelly) Mattingly from Laurel, Maryland. (She claims to be related to Don Mattingly the famous Yankee) Ironically, she has a twin sister and of course I have a twin brother. Since we got married a little late in life we were unsuccessful in having children. We tried foster parenting but after 11 children had come and gone in a 2 year period we decided it was too much of an emotional roller coaster. They also tended to arrive in groups and we would go from no kids to three wild ones on a moments notice. Our hope of conceiving on our own was bleak even with medical intervention so considering all of our options, in 2003 we decided to adopt an orphan girl from China. The process took 2 years to complete and the paper work was daunting but to make a long story short, in October 2006 we found ourselves in the very strange...Expand for more
city of Changsha, China with the most beautiful baby girl we had ever seen. There is an ancient Chinese saying that roughly translates to "There is only one beautiful child in the world and every mother has it" She was 11 months old when we first held her in our arms and we came back to the United States just prior to her 1st birthday. Ironically it fell on Thanksgiving Day that year and we never had more to be thankful for. Some people raise their eyebrows when the hear I have a 2 1/2 year old but that is just how this has played out.
This past year we hosted an exchange student from China so we could learn the culture and some of the language firsthand while she could do the same. (A real cultural exchange if you will) It was truly a rewarding experience. We hosted a lovely 15 year old girl named Feng Mengchen. She turned 16 while she was here. She taught us a lot about life in China and we showed her what life in the US is all about. It was an eye opener on both ends. That is the short and quick update. If you have any questions I will be happy to correspond with any of you. -Lee B
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