"How do you do it?"

Besides "Are they ALL yours", the most common question I hear is "How do you do it?" That question always make me laugh! How do I do it....I have the most incredible husband who happens to be the most AMAZING daddy ever!!! I truly have never seen a more dedicated daddy. He LOVES his kiddos so much. He is an AWESOME helper to me and an AMAZING leader of our home. He is so supportive of everything I do. He loves the Lord deeply. He is my perfect match in every way and I don't even come close to deserving him. God gave me so much more than I dreamed of in a husband. To think we've been together for 16 years is so crazy...to think the the "best is yet to come" is incomprehensible....how can it get any better??? Baby, I love you more than life itself...you are my every breath and I am so blessed that you are my best friend! Thank you for being the BEST daddy! Happy Father's Day!

Right after getting our sweet 'C'

Hangin' out with 'Tr'

Racing with big 'T'

Best mode of transportation

Playing with the giggle monster 'S'

Helping 'I' overcome his fears!

I know my daddy loves me because:

T says: "He plays games with me. He works to provide for us & disciplines us."

Tr. says: "He buys us stuff and because he plays with me"

I says: "Cause I know he loves me and I love him, too"

C says: "I wub you, daddy"

S says: "I lalalo daddy"

~Can you tell what their love languages are? ;)

Are words even needed?

!!SOOOOOOO CAUGHT AND SOOOOOOO BUSTED!!

C is our aspiring artist and S is her canvas! Bet you didn't know it takes OVER a week for sharpie marker to come off! I love the look on their faces of 'What the problem is?!?!?'

Childless couples rush to adopt quake orphans

Hordes of prospective parents across China have come forward to adopt the thousands of children orphaned by the massive earthquake which devastated parts of Sichuan province on May 12. An estimated 5,000 children lost their guardians in the disaster. Among the would-be parents are childless couples unable to conceive. For many, though, it’s a chance to have a rare second child in the face of China's strict one-baby policy.

There may be more people willing to adopt than orphans available, according to China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs.

However, the government is urging prospective parents to remain patient as the authorities are still doing everything possible to reunite families. They want to avoid situations where parents come to claim their kids and discover they have already been adopted. Around 7,000 children have already been reunited with their parents since the disaster hit south-west Sichuan province.

Three weeks after the disaster, state TV is still showing lost children roaming around the ruins and newspapers in Sichuan continue to publish the names and photos of kids seeking their parents. But with the death toll reaching almost 70,000, for many children there is no hope of seeing their families ever again.

Meanwhile, the number of inquiries about adopting has rocketed. There are also signs the authorities might suspend strict adoption procedures for the quake orphans.

It has already been announced that childless couples who adopt a Sichuan orphan will be allowed to have a child of their own in the future. Also, families whose only child was badly injured will also be able to have another one.

Phone lines to the Sichuan Civil Affairs Department, which handles adoptions, have been jammed. It’s boys who seem to be most popular among would-be guardians. Traditionally, families prefer male heirs, who can farm the land and look after the family, especially in rural China. Having only a daughter is still considered by some as a disgrace to the family.

Meanwhile, foreign families also want to adopt quake orphans. But it’s likely that preference will be given to Chinese couples first.

This is the link for the above article. http://www.russiatoday.ru/features/news/25621

WE HAVE BATS!!!

For real...we have bats!! I was sitting on the couch and I noticed something flying really, really fast by our backyard window. So, we shut-off all of the lights and all piled on the couch to see what was flying around in the backyard and it's BATS!!!

We noticed a while back that the 'birds' were having a party in our backyard at night...I'm talking like 2, 3, 4am and the 'birds' were super loud. Well, I decided to find out what bats sound like and guess what...our 'birds' are really bats and it sounds like a LOT of bats. EEEEWWWWW!!!

Here's what they sound like (cut and paste entire link in your browser):

http://www.partnersinrhyme.com/soundfx/bat_sounds/bat_bats-chatter_wav.html

http://www.partnersinrhyme.com/soundfx/bat_sounds/bat_california-myotis_wav.html

They do this ALL night long!! We are going to set-up our camera tomorrow night on the tri-pod and try to get some pictures...we'll see :) Never thought I'd see bats in my backyard...big time city in Southern California...too funny!

Reckless Faith

This is VERY, VERY powerful. It's long but soooooo worth it....please watch it to the end :) How can YOU care for the orphan...how will the Lord call you...are you willing to appear "reckless"? Are you willing to be changed forever? Are you willing to let the Lord lead you to care for the fatherless? Are you willing to bring Jesus Christ to these children?

Lord cause me to live outside my comfortable box!! How can I love these babies like you do? How can I care for the orphan...what is your plan for me, Lord?

If you know me at all, you know that one of my DEEPEST passions is for the orphan. My deepest passion is to see these children in their forever homes. My deepest passion is to reach out to the one's that are not freed for adoption. Please pray for us as God continues to fire our passion for the orphans of this world. There over 143 MILLION orphans in this world (that's half the population of the USA). My heart literally races every time I mention or think on that statistic...it's unfathomable! We want so desperately to be used in these children's lives so please pray that the Lord will give us clear direction!

****Pause my blog music at the way bottom of this page****

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!!!!!