Pac Man!!

We recently bought a little video game of Pac Man that hooks onto the tv. Of course, it was "for the kids". The sad part is that our grandson did not even know what Pac Man was. So, of course, Wayne and I had to show them how it was done. We have been hooked on it ever since we brought it home. Our family is a bit competitive, but in a friendly way. So fun......

Tough Week

This week has not been emotionally easy. I am longing for Sydney so intensly. I am amazed at the love that I have for this child that I have never met. I know that this is only from God. He is the only one who could write this love story. Beginning Sunday, I started this downward spiral into depression and frustration and impatience and anger. I was tired of waiting. I wanted to get my LOA now. I mean NOW. I am ashamed to say that I felt this way, but I did. Deb and I discussed how it just should not be this hard. This is a good thing, building a family. Why does it have to take so long? I was very bold in my begging God to deliver my LOA. I spent way too much time on Rumer Queen's forum. I checked my e-mail about every 15 minutes. Nothing. Then yesterday, I had a Dr's appt in St. Louis. I spent the entire day alone. But, boy, was I not alone. God met me yesterday and picked me up off the floor. He tenderly nursed me back to contentment. I drove & worshipped. I sat in the waiting room & worshipped. I shopped & worshipped. I ate lunch & worshipped. It was a sweet day with my God. It was a day of sweet surrender. Do I still long for Sydney? Oh yes. But not in a demanding way. I feel peace and contentment along with the longing. I truly would not want to run ahead of my sweet heavenly Father. Thank you, Father, for picking me up, dusting me off, and setting me back on your path. I will praise you forever!

.............

...................today is 8 weeks waiting for LOA................

Adoptions Update

I thought I would give y'all a quick update of where we all are in our adoptions. As many of you know, our friends, Deb & Raymond, are adopting a beautiful little girl from Korea. They have received their immigration papers, and are now waiting on one final document from Korea. There was not a average wait time given on how long they may wait for it. Faith will come home 30 days after they receive this last document. As for us, we are still waiting for our LOA from China. Our agency said the average wait is 3-12 weeks. We have waited 7 1/2 weeks. After we receive our LOA, we wait on a travel approval (TA) to enter China. It usually takes 2-5 weeks for TA. After we receive TA, we leave for China in a "couple weeks". We both hope to have our girls home for Christmas. The wait is getting increasingly harder each day. These girls are our babies and our arms physically ache to hold them. We want them home so badly! We will wait as long as it takes and do whatever it takes to get them. We know that God is the holder of time and respect that. Please pray that we will wait with a humble spirit. Pray that we will complete what ever needs done during this wait. Please pray for peace and contentment for us during this time.

A Gift For Sydney

Our agency requested that we prepare a photo album to send to Sydney in the orphanage. It will help her become a bit familiar with our faces and hopefully help with her transition. I made her a Raggedy Ann & Andy album. We all posed with Raggedy Ann & Andy dolls, which I intend to take with us to China. I also found some Raggedy Ann & Andy fleece, which I made a blanket out of for her. Hopefully, these pictures will help her to know how much we love her. Here are a few of the pics we sent her.

We have a Merciful God

Last night, we were supposed to have a home volleyball against one of our neighboring schools, Viburnum. When you live in a rural community, everyone knows everyone. We have so many good friends on Viburnum's team, as well as many family members. The Viburnum bus wrecked about one mile from my home. There were 28 people on the bus and it rolled over twice. Again, in a rural community, everyone has to help out in these situations. When I arrived, it was a startling scene. Although no injuries were life-threatening, most of the girls were on back boards. I went around and prayed with them, covered them with blankets, and tried to comfort the upset. God is so good. The accident was terrible and He spared all their lives. Everyone is saying, "They were so lucky". But I know that my God is always present and always in control, and He is merciful. Please pray for these girls. As I slept last night, my dreams were not pleasant. The broken bones and cuts will heal, but there will also be some mental and emotional wounds. Please pray for their peace and healing. God has given me such a heart for teens. This event is one that will stay with me for a long time.

Muffins With Mom

Friday morning, our school hosted Muffins With Mom. They invite all the moms to come before school and eat muffins with their children. Since Bryce is in preschool now, Hannah was there too!

True Love Waits Date Night

Friday night, we took the Cross-Eyed Youth on another True Love Waits Date Night. We teach the study every February, and then for the next year, we take those who completed it and took the pledge out on date nights. We are trying to redefine what dating looks like to teens. God should be a part of every aspect of our lives - not just on Sunday mornings! Last night, we took the kids to see "Game Plan". Some of the kids had to be cool, and gripe a bit about seeing a "kids movie". But those kids laughed all the way through the show! I laughed at them. It was a really cute movie. I would recommend it to anyone. The only questionable part was during the partying time of his life, but even that was mild and portrayed as the life he wanted out of. We then went out to eat. And of course what would a date be without going to WalMart! Yes, we might be rednecks. Seriously, as the kids were loading the bus at the restaurant, they were asking, "Are we going to WalMart?" Too funny. Just part of living an hour from a city, I suppose. I just love these kids so much. They feel like part of my family. Thank you God for leading me into youth ministry!

Black River League Champs!!

Thursday night, Ashlyn's volleyball team won 1st place in our league! Volleyball is a huge deal to my family. My mom and all her sisters played in tournaments while I was growing up. I cannot ever remember not knowing how to play. During high school, my team won the state championship. Now I am watching my daughter play in the same gym. Pretty cool! It was a great night for all of us! Everyone wore school colors and painted their faces with the number of their favorite players. Here's a few pics.

Waiting

When God began working on my heart about adopting from China, I thought it was so hard to wait, I wanted her now. When we first applied to the agency, I was ready to get on a plane immediately! When we were wading through the paperwork, I thought it was so hard, just waiting for her. I was so wrong. Now I've seen her sweet face. Now I've seen other parents videos of inside her orphanage. Now I've fallen so in love with her. Now it is hard. I spend most of my time thinking and praying for her or for speedy paperwork. I know myself and I know that I can be somewhat obsessive. I can see how in the last few weeks, I have slipped downward toward the blues! I do not want to cook or clean. I do not want to go to our normal activities. I do not want to do laundry (not that I ever did). I crave for information. I hunger for any updates. I spend hours on the computer seeking any sliver of info. I do not like to randomness of recieving LOAs. But all of this is my flesh. My spirit knows that God is in control. I know that I only want this in His time. I would not want to embark on this journey if my God had not gone before me. If this was not the plan that God had laid for me, I would back out now. I want to wait in a way that not only glorifies God, but that also is a witness to His awesome plan for all His children. I will not walk around depressed. I will not bring dishonor to the name of my Father. I will wait with the grace that He has blessed me with time and again. And I will rest in the peace that I will recieve my LOA when He is ready for me to receive it. I will love my Savior more than myself.

My baby!

I am already so in love with this child! I think about her all the time. I pray for her all the time! She was born June 20, 2006. That makes her 15 months old now. She is a SN baby because she is small! She only weighed 5 lbs. when they found her. She is growing and developing just fine though! We received updated measurements on her and she is 26 inches long and 16 lbs. Tiny! That puts her into size 9 month clothes. (YES, I confess, I have shopped.) We visited 3 medical advisors with her files, and have peace about her. We feel confident that this is the baby God created to be in our family!

Here's our stats:

DTC: 7/27/07

LID: 8/7/07

Referral: 8/17/07

LOI: 8/27/07

LOA: ?

TA: ?

Travel Dates: ?