Please Pray!!!!

Wednesday: Please pray for our precious, precious friend...Pastor Maury...his wife unexpectedly passed away this morning. She is with our Jesus...the greatest love of her life. Peggy was the most beautiful example of our Lord....truly an amazing, amazing woman of God!!! She loved her hubby & children sooo deeply. We love her and will miss her so much!

Thursday: Please continue to pray for Maury and his 2 children as the reality is sinking in that sweet Peggy is gone. Pray for my precious mother-in-law...Peggy was one of her best friends. Pray for our church body as they ache. We have great peace and excitement that she is with our Lord but the grief is still present. We will see you sooo soon my friend.

Evolution of Dance

This is one of my absolute favorites...it's HILARIOUS!!
(you can pause my site music at the bottom ;)

Sweet, Sweet Friends!!!

We have been sooooo blessed to have our precious friends visit for a week. Let me tell you about this sweet family and how the Lord brought us together.

I first found Lisa on our Yunnan yahoo group. We quickly realized that we would be travelling at the same time to get our girls in Kunming, Yunnan China. It was so awesome to realize how much we had in common. Our 3 older kiddos are extremely close in age, we (along with our hubby's) are the same age, our girls were in the same orphanage, AND our families both love the Lord!!! They are an awesome Christian family. As we were preparing to travel, the Lord worked in some awesome ways. We were to land in Kunming the SAME day and get our girls the SAME morning. We met up with them the night we landed and instantly clicked! The next morning we received our girls 30mins. apart and quickly found out that they were best friends and played every day together in the foster village. Talk about an amazing bond! We had a blast spending time with them in China and can't imagine not having them a part of C's story.

Since being home, we have kept in close contact and no doubt have become lifelong friends. We feel so blessed and honored to have been brought together. The girls are all we have to our girl's life in China and it's soooo cool how God has worked to keep these two girls together and to allow such an amazing friendship.

We've been having a blast playing at Disneyland...here are a few pics...they leave in a few more days :( We love you and will miss you guys sooooo much but can't wait to take a trip to WA State in January.

Pray for the Chapman Family

Please, please be praying for Steven Curtis Chapman and his family. Their youngest daughter died today in a tragic family accident. I am absolutely devestated for them. This happened today (Wednesday). I have no words but to simply ask for prayer!!

http://chapmanchannel.typepad.com/inmemoryofmaria/

http://stevencurtischapman.com/

http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080521/TUNEIN/80521174/1005/ENTERTAINMENT

China Earthquake

There is no doubt that our hearts will forever be deeply attached to China. The birth country of our 4th daughter. Whenever I hear the word China, my ears begin to ring...just as if someone had called my name...it has become so familiar and so personal to me.

It has been over a week since the massive 7.9 earthquake rocked China. My heart is so broken for the lives that have been destroyed by this earthquake and the aftermath of it. So many died simply because rescuers were unable to get to them underneath the debris. I cannot even begin to comprehend being buried alive with no hope of rescue. Thousands and thousands of people lost their lives...so many families without their only child...so many children now orphaned without their families...rescue worker dying trying to save others. The fear of hundreds and hundreds of damaged dams just waiting to break...the large aftershocks that are never ceasing. My heart is so grieved...grieved for a nation that doesn't know our Lord...a nation that chooses other gods. Please continue to pray for the Chinese people. Pray that there would be a flood of Christian relief workers that could minister to these hurting people. Pray that this tragedy will be used to bring people into the kingdom of God.

Oh Lord, my heart is broken for this country! A country where our sweet miracle was born. Father, I pray that the people of China would bow their knees to the true Creator...the true Savior!! They need you so desperately, Lord. Bring light to this dark nation. I pray that the seeds that have been sewn will sprout during this tragic time and that the people of China will cry out to you and accept you as their Lord & Savior!

Not because of who I am but because of WHAT YOU'VE DONE

Not because of what I've done but because of WHO YOU ARE

And you've told me who I am

I am yours....I am yours, Lord!!!!!

The Miracle of Cana

2 Years ago TODAY we were DTC (docs. to China).

1 Year ago TODAY...15 days after receiving the referral of our precious daughter...devastating news that CCAA has asked for referral back....here is the journal of the following 2 weeks.... http://mycupoverfloweth2.blogspot.com/

We are still in total awe of what our Lord has done!!!!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Baby Girl!!!

Today is C's 2nd birthday but her first birthday home!! It's so hard to believe that this time last year we were singing 'Happy Birthday' to a picture of a sweet little baby waiting for us in China. But this year, she was home and sang 'Happy Birthday' to herself (she loves to sing Happy Birthday) :) We had a wonderful party for her on Saturday and will celebrate some more today. She had so much fun and was such a sweetie when opening her presents. She picked the 'princesses' for her party...she's all girl! I'll let the pictures speak for themselves...here's our little Cinderella ;)

Happy Birthday Sweet Baby Girl! We love you so much and can't imagine our lives without you. You have taught us so much in these 10 short months and we are in awe of the miracle that you are! Your beautiful smile can light up any room and your joy for life is AMAZING!! God matched you perfectly to our family and we are so blessed that you are ours forever. We love you so much!!!

Our Mr. T

Okay...back to posting about the kiddos...I have T and C left to do :) I'll save C for last because it's almost her bday :)

WHERE DID MY BABY GO??? He's growing up WAY too fast!! Oooohhh, our big brother...how sweet is he! Talk about a kid who truly loves his siblings. I could do an entire picture post of him loving on all of them. To give you a glimpse into his sensitive heart...the day we received Cana, we called home on our webcams. As the video was coming up, we could hear all the giggles and excitement on the other side of the world. As soon as we could see everyone, they all began saying hi to their sissy and there was big brother....crying for joy at the sight of his little sister. That will forever be burned in my heart...it was so precious. T loves playing video games with his daddy and plans on being a video game developer or inventor when he grows up. He is a wonderful help, a great leader, and a true joy to have as a son! He loves the Lord deeply and wants to serve Him in all that he does. What greater gift could we ask for?!?!

One Year Ago...TODAY

One year ago, today, we received the very exciting, unexpected call about our baby girl. Here's our journal entry from that day (May 2nd, we received her beautiful pictures..I'll post them below):

MAY 1: We got 'the call' at 11:43am on May 1st. The amazing phone call that we've waited for for over a year....the news of our precious baby girl.

IT CAME!!!! IT CAME!!! At 11:43pm on May 1, "the call" came...the call that will forever change our lives. The call about our precious daughter that we have deeply loved for so long. I can't stop shaking with excitement and joy. We have our daughter!!!! Paul is in Virginia on a business trip and it took me forever to get a hold of him (at least it seemed like forever...it felt like time stopped). He is so excited. So excited, in fact, that he said "Book me a flight, I want to come home. I want to be there when we learn all about our daughter." Tomorrow morning at 10am, we will finally see our baby girl's face and learn all about her and who she is....WE CAN'T WAIT!!! Our God is so awesome!!!!

MAY 2: It's a beautiful day!!! Daddy made it home safe and sound. Everyone, including the kids jumped out of bed super early this morning. I'm just sure our house is floating in the sky. We are all so excited about our baby. Off we go...I'll post asap. I know you all are just as excited to hear all about her :)

*SHE'S AMAZING!!! Just amazing!!! Read the file 'Our Referral' for all of the info. on her and of course, her beautiful picture.

We came home to a house full of family waiting to hear all about our little peanut. The kids were so excited to see her picture. They have been dreaming of her and loving her for so long. Daily they would talk about her and ask when do we get to go and get her. We can finally tell them "very soon". We are coming so soon baby girl!!!! AAHHHHH!!! So soon!!!!

I still can't believe it's been a year since we gazed upon her beautiful face. Everything we had been dreaming of for so long was starting to become a reality! I will never forget that phone call. Because of the uncertaintly of a sn's direct CCAA match, we had no idea when 'the call' would come. It came 7months later than we thought so we had just about given up hope that it was ever going to come.

WELCOME HOME CHRISTIAN!!

It is with great joy that I announce the arrival of the newest USA citizen. Our precious friends landed today with their new son, Christian. Talk about an overwhelming joy when they rounded the corner in the terminal...finally our sweet little Chrisitan is home. We love you little man and are sooooo happy that you are finally with your family!!

Does it get any better than that?!?!?

What a precious gift from the Lord!!!