Dalton's family

Check it out...here is Dalton's family BLOG!!! Hop on over, spread some lovin', and follow this sweet one home.

Did I tell you??

Some of you know and some of you don't...hehehe...ooohhhh, maybe I'll just leave this post at that and make you wonder....LOL!!!!

Any guesses.............

No, we aren't adopting (not yet anyways...LOL..sorry hubby you don't stand a chance :).....sorry to say that it's not quite such a miraculous event BUT it's super COOL nonetheless.

I'm running a marathon...the LA Marathon on March 20th to be exact but here is the COOL part...I'm on TEAM LOVE WITHOUT BOUNDARIES....see, I told you that it's COOL!! I'm running to help raise funds for the sweet babes in China that need immediate medical attention.

LWB has become very special to us. You see, our sweet Solomon was blessed to live in an orphanage that was sponsored by LWB. The love and amazing care that was provided is a gift we will never be able to repay. Something even more special to us....LWB has recently opened a healing home in Solomon's province which means more medically fragile babies will receive the individual care that they will need to survive.

That's it...right there...we are talking about survival, not just pleasant living conditions but SURVIVAL for these precious treasures. God has blessed LWB with an amazing staff that has been able to be used by Him to give the gift of life to so many children.

Would you please keep our entire team in your prayers. Prayers that we would be protected from injury during our training and that we would each raise the funds needed to help the precious orphan babes in China. Here is a link to my Team LWB site...watch and see the Lord provide and if you feel led to sponsor me, you can do so through the above link. All donations go directly to LWB and are tax-deductable.

Anyone up for 14 miles on Saturday...my place...say 7ish??? :)

Christmas fun...

What an absolutely beautiful celebration we had this year. I think the pictures will tell it all ;) We were just overwhelmed with the sense that our boy finally knows this is HOME and that he's exactly where he's suppose to be.

The night before...oh soooo tired...

It's finally time....Toooo excited!!!

~~Fun at Nana & Papa's~~

~~The FINALE at Grammy & Papa's~~

Don't think my boy could have been any happier!! His very own bike. He kept saying over and over "Gampa got me a bike!!!"

Praying each of you had a wonderful day celebrating our Savior's birth!!

Prayer Request!

UPDATE FROM BOBO'S MAMA 6:40PM: BoBo came through with flying colors (and I do mean colors!). His color is wonderful - lips, fingers and toes are pink and rosy, with beautiful nailbeds. He has tubes and wires and lines sprouting from all over and looks just perfect. The surgery went off exactly as planned, no surprises, and the surgeon seemed very pleased with the results. We finally got to see BoBo in PICU around 6 pm, and took turns visiting for a little while. He's being kept heavily sedated and is on meds for pain management, so wasn't really alert or aware, and won't be for the rest of the night. Thanks so much for all your prayers. I was truly at peace throughout the day and didn't really feel that BoBo was in any danger at all as long as he had God's hand over him. Now we pray for a strong recovery and a restful stay at the hospital.

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Thank you guys so much for praying for this precious family! GOD IS SOOOO GOOD! While in China, mama & baba weren't even sure if Bobo would be able to have this life saving surgery. Thank you Lord!!!!

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I'm asking for prayer for precious Bobo. He is 3yrs. old and we were very blessed to meet him & his new family in China. I mentioned them in our travel journal (3rd paragraph). Anyways....tomorrow very early in the morning he will be going into major open heart surgery. Please be praying for his protection, success of the surgery, and guidance for the drs. and of course, peace for his mama & baba.

Christmas Dessert...

with my girl...my sweet MIL, my precious SIL, and 2 of my adorable nieces...

Talk about FUN!

 Tr. and her papa..our waiter for the night...he spoiled us for sure :)

Sweet baby girl needs to come home!!!!

I have got to share about one of the most beautiful, godly mama's that I have ever met! Sweet Daleea and her family are awaiting TA for their precious Isabella. Their story is so similar to ours. They have been working very, very hard to bring their baby girl home. I wanted to share with you a few opportunities to help this sweet family. Daleea is making THESE gorgeous bracelets. They are also hosting an AUCTION with new items being added daily. If you have an item you want to donate to her auction, that would be fabulous. Please SPREAD the word so we can see some bids on her goodies!!!! AND they are raffling an IPOD TOUCH here!!

OOHHH and CHECK THIS OUT, you will get an awesome Orphan No More bracelet with your donation...no matter the size of the donation!! I have mine and I LOVE IT!!!

Here is the bottom-line my sweet friends...they NEED $4000 in the next 2-3 WEEKS or they won't be able to travel. YES...I'm saying that their travel will be delayed until they have their final funds.

Will you please join me in prayer for this sweet family...prayer that the funds will come...prayer that precious Isabella won't have to wait one more day for her mama and baba.

I can tell you first had that EVERY $5 helps significantly...that's how our boy came home!!!

Don't forget to stop by Daleea's blog and give her some bloggy love and let her know you are praying!!! Love you guys!!!!

LAST Minute Christmas SHOPPING!!

Okay all you last minute Christmas shoppers OR "I still don't know what to get that person...especially that teenager" shoppers...

This is your last chance to get your Solomon Beads in time for Christmas. Below are pictures of what I have made and ready to ship. These will need to go out by TODAY using priority mail to get to you in time. Tuesday would be pushing it but would be a possibility. Priority mail states that it only takes 2-3 days. If you want to purchase a particular piece, you can leave a comment or email me at wearechinabound@ gmail.com. Shiping is only $5 for your ENTIRE order. Have fun shopping & feel free to spread the word...every order helps us with Solomon's medical needs.

I also have Solomon Bead gift certificates that I can email!!!!

Soooo, here you go (you can click on the picture to see a larger version):

PA!!!!!!!!!

You prayed...we prayed...they prayed and God heard our prayers!!! Dalton's family has PA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I still can't believe it!!!!! God is so good!!!!!! They will have their blog up and running next week....I will pass it on as soon as it's up.

Please continue to pray for this precious, precious family. Pray for the paperchase and for God's provision. They will have to fundraise every penny...just like we did for Solomon!

All the "brothers" have a family...NONE of them will be left behind...I'm in awe!!!! YAHOOOOOOO!!!!

Necklace Winner

I didn't forget about the necklace drawing...I'm just a little behind.

First...THANK YOU...THANK YOU...I am beyond blessed by ALL of your participation!!  Just look at all of those families working hard to bring their babies home...it brings me to tears.  It's so beautiful.  AND then ALL of you who chose to make a difference this Christmas and shop with a purpose...AMAZING!!!!!!!!!  I LOVE EACH of your hearts...you truly reflect our Lord!!  I am so honored and blessed to have you as friends...love you guys!!!

Okay...NOW to the winner....after making a list of all of the entrants and using random.org...My beautiful, precious friend, DEBBIE B., won a Solomon Beads necklace of her choice.  Although we have yet to meet in person, I can tell you this mama loves the Lord deeply and her & her hubby's heart for the orphan is wonderful.  Hop on over and check out her open-domestic beauty and be praying for them as they have begun the journey to fost-adopt.

We are his and he is ours...

Our little man has now claimed us and it's beautiful!  Bonding and attachment with Solomon has been amazing. He truly is doing wonderful and we are absolutely in-love and attached to our little guy.

About a week ago, he pointed to daddy and said, "JianFeng's daddy!" He then he pointed to me and said, "JianFeng's mama!"  Several times since then he has referred to us this way and it's so precious.  If only he completely understood the depth of that statement...part of me thinks he already does. What an amazing treasure this sweet boy is...we love him so much!

DALTON UPDATE!!!

This is the update we have ALL been longing for!

DALTON HAS A FAMILY!!!

This precious, beautiful, Christian family has sent in their LOI for our sweet boy.  We are asking for LOTS of prayers as the family awaits PA (pre-approval).  I can't wait to share more 

BUT...SERIOUS PRAYERS ARE NEEDED that they are granted PA!!!

I have no doubt how much each of you have grown to love this sweet boy. Please continue to pray...Oh, the joy if they are granted PA...we are beside ourselves with hope!

Dalton update...

PRAY, PRAY, PRAY for precious Dalton!!! An update to come hopefully within a week...pray for God's perfect plan and to move the mountains...pray!!!

CHRISTMAS FRENZY

~BUMPING it ONE last time~

I'm bumping this post last more time!

NECKLACE GIVEAWAY drawing will be on December 11th!

Still time to link up, spread the word, shop, win a Solomon Beads necklace!

Christmas Frenzy is for EVERYONE!!!

You will fit in one of two categories....

1. Fundraising family

OR

2. Supporting family :)

Okay...here's how it works. All of us LOVE to give Christmas gifts EVEN when times are financially tough. Having just finished the fundraising journey, I keep thinking how can we help other families?!?! Soooo, here's my idea.

FUNDRAISING FAMILIES:

~You must be in the process of adopting a child that is NOT already home...you don't have to be matched yet, though. You must be using the funds from your items to directly fund your adoption costs.
~You are selling an item to help raise funds to bring your child home. (no raffles, please...it's okay if you are currently running a raffle BUT you MUST be selling fundraising items too, like shirts, etc...that is what you need to be linking to)

~If someone is giving your family part of the proceeds for items, like Scentsy, jewelry, THAT WORKS, TOO :)

~You need to post on your blog and/or facebook about our Christmas Frenzy and link back to my blog. This is CRUCIAL...the more awareness we raise the more supporting families we will have.

~Please make sure you create a NEW blog post regarding the Christmas Frenzy...don't link to an old post. BUT don't forget to highlight what YOU are SELLING in that post :)
~I would love for you to become a follower of my blog...just cause I wanna know who my friends are :)
~Add your blog LINK to the BELOW Linky tool (at the bottom of this post)
~Fun idea for fundraising families...you guys can swap items and then have some fabulous items to do a raffle.

SUPPORTING FAMILIES:

~Make your Christmas list and try to support as many families as you can by purchasing their fundraising items as gift. (click on the below links to see the families)
~Please help spread the word for these families!!! Blog, facebook, tweet, and link back to my blog!!!
~I would love for you to become a follower of my blog...just cause I wanna know who my friends are :)

GIVEAWAY!!!

The prize...Winner of the giveaway will receive a Solomon Beads necklace of their choice!!!

~ONE giveaway entry: If you purchase an item from one of the Fundraising Families, leave me a comment! You don't have to tell me what you bought or who you bought it from...just that you helped ;)
~ONE giveaway entry: Raise awareness about our Christmas Frenzy event...blog, facebook, tweet, email...leave me a comment that you've raised awareness and you'll get another entry in the giveaway.
~You can leave me a comment simply saying 1 or 2 entries :)

For questions, you can email me at wearechinabound@gmail.com

Adoption Art....

I don't know about you but I often look for adoption art and have no luck finding anything I like. I'm not looking for a kiddie type picture...I want something beautiful, simple, & elegant to put up on my wall...something that will reflect our hearts and something that will reflect what scripture says about adoption!

Kaden's daddy has designed the most wonderful piece of adoption art and I just HAVE to share it with you! AND the best part is there is still time to order it for Christmas AND you will be helping them bring Kaden home!!! He's also working on a similar piece with a cross in the background...I can't wait to see it!!! How cool would this piece be on your walls....how about your hubby's wall at work??

Pictures do not do this justice...I'm going to put mine in a dark frame!!

QUICK...HURRY ON OVER AND ORDER YOURS!!

All I Really Want for Christmas!!!!

This is beautiful...BE STILL and let is SPEAK to your heart!!!

(Keep praying for precious Dalton's forever family to find him!)

(pause my site music at the bottom of my blog)

15 years ago today...

REALLY...can it be...

15 YEARS AGO TODAY,

 I wed my very best friend...

the man of my dreams!!

 I say the man of my dreams but honestly, he is more than the man I could have ever dreamed of being blessed with.  I just love how the Lord new the desires of my heart for a husband and He gave me a man that was perfectly created for me.  A man who loves me more with each passing day...A man who makes me feel loved, desired, and beautiful...A man who works tirelessly to provide for our family...A man who in an incredible daddy to our babies...A man who's love for the Lord is his priority in life...a man...MY MAN...15 years married...18 years together...can't wait to see what the next 15 hold for us...you are my very breathe...I love you babe!

Struggling...

Today I struggle...honestly, everyday I struggle...I struggle with the knowledge that there is a beautiful little boy who is waiting in China for his forever family.  I struggle with the knowledge that his best friend is home with his new family and his last 2 best friends have families paperchasing for them.  I struggle with the fact "our" sweet, beautiful, precious, CREATED IN GOD'S IMAGE, wonderful Dalton still doesn't have his forever family.  I struggle with all of the new pictures we receive of Solomon's buddies and I'm excited to know that 2 of the 3 that are left have their families but before we know it, those pictures will only have Dalton in them...no Solomon, no Kaden, no Parker, only Dalton... I struggle with the images of this sweet one begging me for a mommy...with the images of him watching us leave the orphanage with his best buddy...with the images of him standing there so confused and sad...

Oh, how I wish it was us...I wish we could adopt him. Believe me, there have been many tears shed but God has CLEARLY, soooo sooooo CLEARLY told us 'NO'.  I still don't understand why He's told us no but I trust His perfect plans and I trust that He knows exactly where Dalton's family is.  I wonder...are they listening...do they hear God's calling...are they afraid...will they be bold and brave enough to trust God's calling of stepping out in total trust and faith....where are they...who are they...  BUT in all my wondering, God knows...He knows the answers to all of those questions and I have peace knowing He loves Dalton so much more then I ever could and that He has him in the palm of His hands!!

So I ask again, please....please...I'm begging you...continue to PRAY for him...continue to spread the word...feel free to share my blog posts about him...it works...it really does...that is how Parker found his family...it was by all of you spreading the word!!

my email address: wearechinabound@gmail.com

HOPE IS FADING for this little miracle! Hope is fading for sweet Dalton!

Hope is Fading – Orphan Sunday from Allan Rosenow on Vimeo.

Daddy's busted!

So, I had to take little man to the drs...he's a sicky...poor bubba.

I walked in the door and all was good....

Daddy feed the kiddos...

Daddy played with the kiddos...

Daddy had all the kids in his sight BUT...

some how he didn't notice the cute little blondie gluing...

YES...I said G-L-U-I-N-G...

like good-ol' Elmer's glue...

gluing her beautiful art to the WALL!

Big brother immediately jumped in to help little sis clean up her mess.

HONESTLY!! GLUE!!