Happy Birthday Andrew!

Andrew is 7! I can't believe how fast this guy is growing up. He wanted to have 5 friends over to play, so we made them light sabers out of swim noodles and sent them out in the backyard. They had a blast! We are very proud of you, Andrew and the young man you are becoming! 

Some things to remember about our 7 year old:

*He LOVES legos, star wars, transformers, and anything that fights.

*Junk food is his favorite! He loves chips, chocolate, cookies, and coke.

*He loves to play baseball and is learning so much in his new league.

*He LOVES to read, I can't keep enough books in the house. 

*He is obsessed with the Titanic and the story around it.

*He is our chess champ! He is now better than both his parents and he loves to compete! 

*Smart, smart boy. You only have to tell him once, and he's got it! His favorite subjects are math and science (just like his daddy!)

Matthew, the Graduate

My sweet Matthew is now a preschool graduate! We are very thankful for his preschool and the staff at the CDC. He had a great experience. Everyday I dropped him off, he would run in with a big smile. I am a bit sad that this little guy is growing so fast, but so excited to have him at school with me next year! I can't believe my little man is now in Kindergarten! 

(Timmy would not get in the picture- anyone surprised?)

Emma' Referral Day

On May 21, 2010 we got an email from China saying we were matched with Liu Rong Jia. We had 72 hours to decide, but we knew immediately she would be our daughter. I will never forget that night. I was on my way to bed, depressed that another shared list had come and gone and we were still not matched. It was 3 days after the list came out, so we would have to wait another month. But, little did I know that someone from our agency in Beijing had to go into work on a Saturday morning to check something. While there, he decided to check the shared list to see if any children were released. And there she was... our Emma Grace. And there we were... at the top of the list and next in line. God hid her for us for the first 72 hours until we were next in line, lucky us. Can't believe I have been staring at that face for 2 years. We love you, Emma Grace!  

KINDLE WINNER

B. Ennis is the winner of our KINDLE. Thanks to everyone who played! We made $333 to go towards our trip. THANK YOU!!!!!

Her Story

We are reading The Story at church. It goes in the chronological order of the Bible, but it is told in a story format. Every week, the message is the same. The first message is that God uses the most unlikely characters to fulfill his plans. He does this so that HE gets the glory. Second, God can use anyone to do anything at anytime. Week after week, my thoughts go toward this little girl when I am sitting in church:

This is my Emma Grace. Once an orphan, abandoned on a busy street in Fuzhou City in the south of China. We will never know why, but we can guess that it had to do with her needs, or her appearance. Whether her parents were unable to care for her or simply did not want to take a chance, she was left. A tiny newborn baby set out on the street and seen by many as trash. Now I know that God said, "You know what, I will use her. This orphan, this child with a facial deformity and a less than perfect heart, I am going to use her to do great things." Boy has HE decided to use her!

Through her life, she has changed me and our entire family. I love in a completely different way. My children ask if they can have siblings from China or Africa because they know there are kids just like Emma who are waiting. I know that the hearts of my boys will always be broken for the orphan.

She has changed the lives of those she meets. She has opened eyes to consider adoption AND she has opened eyes to consider a special needs adoption. Everyone that meets her falls in love with her.  

She introduced us to Shepherd's Field where we now sponsor 4 children and give to the medical fund monthly. That is 4 lives that are directly impacted from her life. 

Through her life, we learned about her China roommate, who traveled with her from Fuzhou City to Shepherd's Field... the only constant person in her life. Once we learned about him, we advocated for him! An email that I wrote pleading for his adoption was read and he now HAS A FAMILY. 

God used Emma to lead 4 women back to China this summer to volunteer at Shepherd's Field. Because of this mission trip, we had the opportunity to speak at a local church where hearts were stirred as even more people learned about the orphans at Shepherd's Field. The ripple effects of this trip will be countless. 

Emma's life will be used to bring another child home. Our family has been so blessed by adoption that we will do it again. 

God continues to use my little girl, that orphan abandoned on the street, to do great things and we certainly give Him all the glory and credit. 

She is only 2... we are just getting started!

Mission Trip Fundraiser!

This summer, four ladies are teaming up to serve in Tianjin, China, about an hour outside of Beijing, to minister to the orphans at Shepherd’s Field Children’s Village. We will be working with the children and staff, and serving wherever needed. Shepherd’s Field was founded by Tim and Pam Baker, American teachers who moved to China to teach English. They began volunteering at a local orphanage where they soon met their future daughter. The Baker’s felt God calling them to serve in full time orphan ministry and founded Shepherd’s Field. They partner with over 35 government-run Chinese orphanages, taking all of the unwanted orphans, children that are abandoned due to varying special needs. Providing shelter, food, and healthcare, the foster home also provides education. There are currently about 80 children living at Shepherd’s Field, from 5 months old to 22 years old. Over 3,000 surgeries have been performed and over 800 children have found their “forever families” through the ministry work of the Baker’s. God is at work in a huge way!


How You Can Help

We have to raise our own support for transportation, food, and lodging, which is about $2,300 per person. As a fundraising event, we will be raffling off a KINDLE FIRE!

$5 donation: 1 chance
$20 donation: 5 chances
$50 donation: 20 chances

Click the "chip in" link below to make a donation and you will be entered to win a KINDLE FIRE! The fundraising event will end on May 7 at 7:00 pm. If donations are less than $400, we will split the pot with one lucky winner.

Please keep us in your prayers as we travel, and as we minister to and with the people of China. If you would like more information on Shepherd’s Field Children’s Village, please visit www.chinaorphans.org, or view a short documentary here.

Coming up for air...

No worries, we are all alive. Good golly, 2012 has proven to be a really busy year! I am not sure what has been different these last few months, but I can't find time to do anything. I always feel behind at school, I am always tired and dragging and my house looks like a tornado went through. I would like to take a second to say that my laundry is all complete, so there is hope for me!

The big news around here is that we are moving! Our house is for sale and we found a beautiful home where we can raise our family. We will have plenty of room for the family we want and it is in a wonderful school district. We are excited for the change, but also to sad to leave what we have. This house has been wonderful to us. We have been here for almost 7 years and have not had any problems. We love our neighbors and the kid-friendly neighborhood. We moved here when Andrew was 5 months old and it has been the only home our children have ever known. But, I know we will have wonderful memories in our new house.

Andrew is still our academic school boy. He loves to learn and his new found love is CHESS! He is quite good and just recently is able to beat both his parents. I would like to say that I let him win, but I don't. He really is THAT good! Since I run the chess club at school, he gets to play. He is the only 1st grader with a group of 3rd, 4th and 5th graders. He does really well! There is one little guy he can't beat, but he always learns something new from him. He takes those moves and does them on someone else. I am sure as he gets older he will be a very competitive player.

Matthew is counting down the days until he is in Kindergarten and with his mommy at school. He loves his preschool, but he is ready for MORE! He is writing so well and learning so much. I can't wait to see him take off. He really wants to learn how to read (because of Andrew) so we might start to tackle that this summer.

Timmy. What can I say about Timmy. He is cute, and it is a good thing because at this point in the game my patience is low. He doesn't sleep and actually spends a majority of the night screaming. He is so much like Andrew it scares me. Last night when I was in bed at 10:30 listening to Timmy scream his lungs out (for an hour and a half) I remembered something. We fought this same battle with Andrew. We solved it by putting a TV in the room with him and letting him watch a movie to fall asleep. I know, horrible, right? But it worked. Andrew would scream and scream and want to come in my bed. We would let him, but I never slept because he would kick and cry through the night. Now, fast forward 5 years and we are in the same boat. That TV solution is sounding better and better to me! Mama needs sleep! It isn't just Timmy. Matthew wakes up screaming most nights, too. He says he has bad dreams. So sad. Last night he cried and said he didn't want to go to sleep because he had scary dreams. He also wets the bed often, which makes him wake up screaming. You never know where everyone will be in the morning. Sometimes Rick or myself will end up in another bed because our bed has been taken over by little people. Oh, well... this too will pass, right?

Other than sleeping, Timmy is doing well. He is talking more and more. He makes sure that Emma knows he has about 10 pounds on her. Rick and I still believe he will end up on You Tube one day for his stunts. You never know what you will find him on top of. He is our monkey boy.

Finally, Emma Grace. Still so sweet and precious. She loves her babies and takes great care of them. She is talking more and more and growing up so fast. As a matter of fact, I have a meeting with the pre-school in April to see if she will qualify for their program. I can't believe my baby girl is ready for pre-school! She is so smart and a very good girl! She listens well and loves to help. She makes sure everyone is following the rules. I just can't imagine our life without this little girl. And yes, she is FULLY potty trained!

Finally, the big news! Anyone still reading? I am going to CHINA this summer! I am traveling with 3 other ladies back to Shepherd's Field to volunteer for a week. I can't even tell you how excited I am to go on this journey. So many precious children there. Also excited to soak up the history of my daughter. Ok, enough rambling. Here are some recent pictures.

Fun in the box... it brought out their love for each other!

They really do love each other!

My babies

Emma still treats her babies like little people. You never know where you will find her taking care of these little things!!

This is funny. Andrew did not close his eyes on purpose, just happened to be the luck of the shot. I was bummed because it was such a cute picture. Of course there was no hope to get another one.

After seeing the other picture on my camera, Matthew closed his eyes on PURPOSE because he thought it was funny. Again, bummed because it was a cute picture!

Cute picture, but Timmy isn't looking.

We love technology around here!

Enjoying a nice afternoon with Jacob. We are going to miss living next to them!!

Trying to get a picture of Timmy. My daughter is in the background saying"shake your booooootttttyyyyyyy..." She learned that from Andrew and Matthew, who teach her all types of wonderful things.

Then Timmy turns around to shake his booty. There really is no hope for decent pictures at this age!