Trust and Obey

14 is a beautiful birthday

2012-02-06T05:04:00.000-06:00

I never knew.

I never dreamed having a daughter turn 14 could evoke so many emotions in one day.

It was a hallowed day for us.

On Sunday, Rosalyn turned 14.

It was joyous

It was somber.

It was happy.

It was sad.

It was a day to rejoice our new beginnings.

It was a day to ponder her losses.

It was a day like no other. Not even all the goodbyes in China compared with the day

our daughter turned 14.

What if???

she hadn't been adopted?

she was still in China?

she didn't have a forever family?

we hadn't been blessed with such a sweet, loving daughtger?

we had missed out on adding an older daughter due to our fears?

we had not been willing to step out in faith, following where He leads us?

Oh My

My heart can't hardly fathom where we would all be without God's hand on our life in

the last 12 months.

I struggle with the losses Rosalyn has had to face in the last month.

I am blessed with the sense of adventure she has shown for all that has changed in 1 short month.

She has been home in Wisconsin for 2 weeks, and she has turned 14.

A milestone for sure in all our lives.

In her old life, it would have been a door closed forever.

I ponder all those that are aging out, without the hope of a forever family.

I ponder the hopes, dreams, fears, and despairs that all come with that 14th birthday.

In our world, turning 14 is a great thing.

In her homeland,turning 14 without a mama and daddy is NOT a good thing.

I don't know why God has chosen us for this path.

I feel so inadequate, so unable to do all that He has called us to do.

Yet, "I come back to Jesus,

with tears on my face,

and cry out for mercy,

His love and His grace."

And Lord, I pray for Rosalyn,

"You open the window and pour out a blessing.

Shower your power upon us we pray.

Send such a blessing,

we can not contain it.

Lord, open the windows of heaven today."

This prayer comes from one of my favorites hymns we sing at church, and at home

Open the Windows of Heaven.

Lord, you truly have opened the windows, and showered us with

your love and grace and peace. This adoption could not have gone smoother.

How we thank you for our girl.

Our special, 14 yr old.

Our lovely Rosalyn Hannah Waughtal!

Bless her Lord, heal her, strengthen her, sustain her through her sad times,

through her losses, through her times of grieving.

Hold her in your everlasting arms.

And Thank You for sharing her with us!!!

Love

Mommy and Daddy

what a smile-and what a crew helping her celebrate!!!

our Chinese noodle stir fry with pork that we had for lunch

I am really liking the experiments that I have created for stirfry, and the girls

seem to be enjoying it immensely as well.

Kendell decorating the cake

Isaac got to clean out the last of the frosting-think he liked it??

opening all the cards first

my favorite of her gifts

"Family, the greatest gift in the world"

thank you Adoption Bug t-shirts

everyone gathered around to inspect the cupcake decorating kit

a card making kit

after everyone got to inspect the gifts, we ended the night

with a few games, and a prayer of gratitude in my heart!!!

what a week we have had!!!

2012-01-30T22:02:00.000-06:00

It is so hard to believe we have been home 8 days now!

The time has been super busy, as can be imagined with adding 2 new girls to our crew:)

The first 5 days were nothing but "survival" as I was hit heavy with the emotional "it's over" drain, and of course, the dreaded jet lag too.

I hardly had the camera out, but did manage some adorable pics on the sled hill the other day along with some assorted shots from the last few days.

Overall, I would say we have had exceptional transitioning.

Lili is always happy, unless she is very tired, very hungry, or told no while in one of these states :)

Rose has been busy finding her place as a busy older sister who loves to take care of the littles, as well as help out in the kitchen with whatever jobs need doing.

Her English has improved tremendously since we don't hear any Mandarin anymore.

I mourn that for her, yet, feel it may be best for her to push thru the loss of Mandarin to get a good grasp of the English she has been exposed to for several years, but still had the backup of Mandarin a breath away.

She has her quiet moments, and she has her silly moments, but overall, we see a smiley Rosey way more often than any other state, and for that we are extremely grateful.

WE are humbled by God's goodness to us throughout this month of changes.

WE look forward to what February will bring-2 birthdays-Rose turns 14 on the 5th, and Isaac turns 3 on the 9th.

On the 13th, we celebrate our 22 anniversary.

We have started back to school as of this morning, so I look forward to seeing how they all progress with a regular schedule and more structured days.

Enough of my rambling, time to get on with the pictures.

I suspect this will only happen 1x a week, as my days are FULL, and if Chuck weren't milking tonight, I wouldn't be up this late either, so do check back, even if I miss a few days-there is much that God is doing in our lives, and I really want to share His goodness and mercy, and His abundant blessings!

Lots of love

Chris and all!!

the first time Rose went outside, she helped Kendell feed the calves, and then headed right over to the swing set-

Baba headed back up the sled hill after the little boys took a turn on their sled

Nick and Lili taking a turn together.

a little bit of hot-dogging going on!!

along withLOTS of giggles and laughs

my,this looks like a motley crew!

Only God could do this :)

I loved this, little boys and sisters watching their Baba and brothers

burning out in the garden~

Lili has really taken to having brothers around-even if they demand sharing her favorite toys!!!!

And to think we were worried about how she would take to having so many siblings!!!!

Friday our older ones went to their science co-op. Rose went along, and was a very

studious young lady.

She took wonderful notes, and tried to follow along on the excellent teaching they got

on our immune system!

She was all ears, and gave her full attention-I was very proud of her:)

some play time on Saturday

this is school time for 2 pre-schoolers

lots of playtime, but also lots of learning going on!!!

And they both did very well today.I am thrilled with how

Lili will try anything, and wants to follow instructions

Rose and Tyler doing some simple, lets get back into the groove worksheets before we really hit the textbooks later this week-and they both did VERY well!!!

Isaac is wandering around the livingroom, wanders to the kitchen for some involvement too, and then back to his toys. It was a very full morning, and Nick and Kendell went upstairs to their desks to hit their math and spelling without so many diversions!!!

It's a great day for a tractor ride!

Monday afternoon was a great, warm day, and the children all went out together to do chores, and play.

They also all got into the act of feeding the cows this afternoon, either riding in the tractor or on the TMR~~

Rose was all smiles riding with Kendell, and Lili about flew into the tractor when Daddy stopped and motioned for her to come-she is actually fearless, except for the dogs, and cows, and chickens, and ducks:) But, she is getting better with all of them too-a little at a time!!!!

Nick is standing in the feeder, that's why he is so much taller than the cows-

LOVED all these smiles today!

Is there any better place for kids than on a farm??

So many experiences, so much to learn, opportunities to learn responsibilities

and LOTS of fun!!!

Thanks for stopping by, hoping for more posts yet this week as I want to wrap our time in China with a couple more posts!!!!

Love

Chris

HOME

2012-01-24T14:30:00.001-06:00

It seems inconceivable to me, a mama who has lived with a camera in her hands for the last 18 days, to not have 1 decent picture to share with you all of our new family!!!
of course, the sleep deprivation, the travel chaos, the unpacking clutter, the laundry piles, the little boys who now have a mommy in the house again-gee, where DOES my time go???
Not to mention 3 girls adjusting to Wisconsin time, Wis. weather (love the snow) and adjusting to way less computer/ipad time-and SHARING!!!!
Life is good, God is good, and we are all doing amazingly well.
I hope to get some real pics of all of us in the next few days.
2 homeschool field trips and 1 science co-op thrown in for good measure this week, and maybe I can really claim insanity?????
Also need to make a Dr's appt for Lili yet-have been dragging my feet, but her nose is filling up again, 3-4 days of antibiotics was not enough to end this battle, so we will try fitting that in tomorrow!!!
Love to you all-and hang in there, I promise pics in the next couple days-
YAYYY for everyone sleeping thru the night-I think daytime travel has made a difference in the jetlag horrors we have had in the past!!!

Blessings
Chris and ALL

Good-bye Guangzhou

2012-01-21T18:25:00.001-06:00

Hello Wisconsin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just a heartfelt thanks that we are headed home, that all is well, that Lili is doing well, that Rose seems very happy to be flying home Sunday!!!

Much to be grateful for!

One more good meal with the Moores, a tiny bit more packing and at 5am Sunday morning, we pile into a van headed to Hong Kong.

At 11am we file into a plane headed for Chicago.

At 11:16 midwest time, we pile out of the plane in Chicago, swarm thru immigration, fly to Madison, and FLY into our family's arms-yes, they will be waiting for us!!!

I am so blessed, so humbled by His goodness to us throughout this entire trip, so THRILLED that we have 2 new daughters, and our family of 9 will be together soon.

I am also slightly looking forward to that good ole American cheeseburger tomorrow night at Culvers on our way home!!! I think food prices will floor me in America again, it has been soooo very reasonable to eat here, but I am so ready to navigate around my own kitchen again, hug my boys instead of waving at them on Skype, to do my own blog posts, and fight with my own computer issues, instead of the hotel's!!!

All said, God is GOOD, ALL THE TIME-He put a song of praise in this heart of mine!!!

God is good, HE's so good, all the time!!!

Lots of love,

Chris and the girls!!!

Saying goodbye….

2012-01-19T16:14:00.001-06:00

to dear friends.

Today is Thursday night!

I am starting to have trouble remembering the time difference-FOR SOME REASON!!!

Our night, your morning of the same day, not that hard, but after 15 days, it's all jumbling together!!!

Prayer has gotten me thru much the past 2 weeks and I am so thankful for how Faithful Father is to answer our smallest needs:)

Today, we said goodbye to little Elliott and his mama and Dada!!

I am sooooo happy that they got to leave GZ today-and at 8 Friday morning, they start their flight back to Charlotte, NC.

They are so special to all of us. We really do need to plan a trip south, and yes, we will be stopping by to see ya all!!!!

Such wonderful parents-and first timers too-loved watching their son come out of his shell and he just exudes joy and delight with everything going on around him-truly a miracle!!!!

Happy trails to you all-and may He hold you in the palm of His hand, and return you safely to your haven in NC!!!

Until we meet again

Love

Chris and the girls

Kendell feeding Elliott his first taste of ice cream-and he loved it!!!

Mama and Daddy having a quick bite to eat before the 3 hour van drive to Hong Kong

Mama getting her final paperwork-the long-awaited VISA!!!!!!

The gang's all here-for a loving good bye!!!

The children all say goodbye to Elliott

This is 1 happy mama!!!

Until we meet again!!! Safe travels dear friends-we love you

and yes, I was crying-happy, rejoicing tears for meeting such

wonderful people on this path He has put us on!!!

Safari Park

2012-01-19T11:52:00.001-06:00

Preview of our day at the Safari Park

This is only a short preview of the extraordinary day we had Tuesday at the Safari Park.

I took over 250 pictures, so I am only picking a couple to try to show you the extent of the beauty and "real-ness" of the place.

Riding the train thru the "drive thru" range

Elephants in their natural habitat-one of our biggest thrills was seeing animals actually moving around

and doing life much like they would in the wild-something very different from the many zoos I have seen in the states.

White tigers-a real thrill for all of us…the African range, complete with lots of giraffes!

I will wait to post more pics when I get home and can do it myself-this is a job for super-editor, and I am not up to the task tonight!

Pray for Lili…..

2012-01-19T08:49:00.001-06:00

We interrupt this trip to bring you news from the Guangzhou Respiratory Hospital:

Yes, it's true, we actually made a trip to a hospital while here in Guangzhou.

It was a very nice facility, and I was glad we went, but I wish we hadn’t have HAD to go.

Our little Lili had a horrible night breathing and sleeping on Tuesday night, and I told Richard, "I think we need to see a Dr."

It was a beautiful, 70 degree day, and we spent the entire afternoon inside the hospital waiting to be seen.

We first waited over 70 minutes to see a Pediatrician.

She was appalled by the condition of her little nose-so raw inside, it looks like hamburger-and I'm not exaggerating!!!

She has the worst green stuff coming out of her all hours of the day and night, and at night, it mixes with blood.

The Dr said her lungs are clear, so no bronchitis-but put her on 4 different meds for a severe sinus infection-yes, I called that from day 1, I have seen enough of this stuff at home to know what it looks like!

She also really wanted us to see another Dr-and ENT!!!

After we just waited 70 minutes to see her? Was she kidding?

BUT, we decided to see how long it would be-guess what? NO WAIT!!!

We got right in, and for a total of about $50, we found out her condition has been going on for SOME TIME-probably several months.

Makes me want to cry.

So now she has 4 meds to swallow, and 2 for her nose to help it heal she is a real trooper, and takes the pills without any problems, even chewing stuff probably not meant to be chewed, but at least she is getting them.

The only side effect is from the Amoxicillin-YES< Diarrhea. Ought to be interesting on the flight on Sunday, but she is really feeling better already.

Richard said he can already understand her speech better, so maybe there isn't a speech issue as bad as we thought from the beginning?

WOW, wouldn't that be amazing!!!

Keep her in prayer, as the better she feels, the more of a squirrel she will become, but we are SUPER glad of that!!!

Love

Chris

My Lili, waiting patiently for her call to see the Dr-and the first thing the Doc said, "put more clothes on her"

Talk about chaos-and I wouldn't go so far as to say it's organized chaos either just simply chaos.

I came away with a completely new appreciation for the health care we have in the US

Lines everywhere-even to pay the bills-LINES!!! pick up drugs---LINES!!!!

So glad we are done with this!!!

Please pray

2012-01-17T09:14:00.001-06:00

Please pray for Rose-she had a pretty negative day cranky, irritable, wanted to cry over having pizza for supper, and she has literally been begging for pizza all week.

She is not making huge attempts to communicate-and is not understanding some very simple things I say, ask REALLY looking forward to getting into a normal routine-this 14 days of "parenting" on the go is tough!!!

XOXO

Rose and Kendell waiting for Elliott

He has come so far in the last week, it is amazing!!!

Harry, he is such a proud papa!!!!

The girls and Elliott posing

Yes, it really does say CLOSED MONDAY!!!

and Earl, none of us minded a bit-it was an adventure and we all just loved being together!!!

Elliott refused to eat his congee, and really wanted his mama and daddy's spicy stuff, but then he would rake his tongue with his little hand and down a glass of juice=too cute!!!

The gang's all here at Lucys for dinner-finally!

Hope all is well with you guys .

The Safari Park is amazing, I have over 225 pics-guess I will have to do a few different posts for Tuesday!!!

5 more days till homecoming!!!

YIPPEE

5 more days till homecoming :)

2012-01-17T08:37:00.001-06:00

The crowds at the Herbal market are crazy

The bags of stuff, if only we had a clue what they were!

Look at that, dried toads, or lizards, or something!!!

Earl and Sharee say, "Is that really a toad???" And just what do they do with those anyway???

Meandering around the pet market

Elliott and his proud parents

The "gang" hangin' out in an alley:)

Yes, that's bags of dried seahorses!!!

a herbal store-one of the nicer ones:)

Parents hangin' out at the playground!!!

Day 13 away from home…

2012-01-17T08:01:00.001-06:00

(But whose counting???)

Well, I daresay, we are on the homeward stretch :)

We are within a week of being home, and it is starting to be on my mind more each day, when I have TIME to think about it:)

Goodness, having other families here has been such a blessing.

We are having such a good time when we are together, it has really made the days and evenings go by so much more quickly!

Monday morning, our guide, Richard took us to the Drs office for Rose's vaccinations. She needed 4 shots-none of them could be combined!! She was a real trooper, and has not expressed any issues with them, thank goodness.

After a short nap, we headed to Starbucks to meet our friends, and Harry had a tour planned out for us which included some of what we had done on Sunday with Richard, but Monday, the sun was out, and it all looked and "smelled" different.

Walking thru the Herb Market, the smells were intense, and wonderful. I had no idea what most of them were, but the smell of dried herbs is very pleasant.

WE also walked thru a pet market, and contemplated the fish market, but no one was too interested in getting fish intestines all over ourselves!!!

After a fun hour at the park where the children played, we decided to try something "wild" for supper.

Earl had seen a brochure in our Hotel's lobby for a very nice Italian restaurant, but it was about 30 minutes away.

After some debate over taking the hotel shuttle or taking taxis, we ended up with all of us stuffed into 2 taxis.

The ride across town was beautiful, the bridges are all lit up, and the city is just full of beautiful lights everywhere.

After the 30 minute ride, and getting dumped of in a parking lot no where near where we needed to be, the 11 of us trudged thru some brush, past a couple buildings, only to come upon the restaurant-

COMPLETELY DARK< EMPTY< AND CLOSED!!!!!

We had to have a good laugh, and take a few pictures of the CLOSED MONDAY sign, then headed back to the main road to try to catch 2 more taxis back to the Hotel.

Rose and Kendell went with Harry and Jenn and little Elliott, and they took off right away.

Another taxi pulled right up, and the rest of us piled in, and we were back to the Hotel in record time. No, the other taxi had not been there yet, we figured maybe they went right to the nearby restaurant we had agreed to meet at.

WE walked to Lucy's, and they were not there yet!!

We were a bit puzzled, as they had driven right away, but we arranged the tables, sat down, ordered, and waited.

All of a sudden, in walked our girls, and Jenn and Harry.

Rose had been quite concerned with our whereabouts, as they did not know we got a taxi right after they left.

Their driver also did not know the Island very well, and did not take the right turn to get to the Hotel, Harry said they circled the area a couple times before he got them to the hotel!!!

Well, we had a good laugh, and I think come next Jan 16, we will all remember the night 1 year ago.

However, we had several children that were wayyyy tired, way hungry, and nearing meltdowns!!!!

You just never know what to expect, but if you stay flexible, you can turn lemons into lemonade!!!

Lots of love,Chris and the girls

Rays of sunshine make the walk to Starbucks even better than usual!!!

Kendell and Elliott

Elliott gets some lovin’ from Sharee

Sterling is NOT too sure about another boy on him mama's lap!!!

Pictures around GZ

2012-01-16T09:06:00.001-06:00

Harry and Elliot-he is sooo stinkin' cute!!!

Heading out into the elements, but enjoying the sites!!!

Flowering trees-haven't seen much for flowers since getting to GZ

Jenn contemplating a pair of shoes…..

A look down some of the Old World alleys

A walk thru the Herbal Market

None of us had a CLUE what most of it was, but we did recognize the turtles, scorpions, and lizards that were waiting for someone to make them into a meal!!!

YUCK-scorpions

Harry said he would try scorpion soup, and I laughed and told him he must have a cast-iron stomach-his sweetie just said, "YEP"

Blessed Sunday

2012-01-16T08:41:00.001-06:00

WE were SOOOOO blessed this morning to be able to join with the Moores and head to a Christian service very close to the Victory.

The11am service is Mandarin/English, and other than the prayer, they translate everything. Even tho they sang the same song a # of times, it was wonderful, and I even saw a woman praise the Lord with hands raised-Hallelujah!!!

Sterling dragged his folks right up to the front, we weren't that brave, and sat a few rows back!!

singing Worthy is the Lamb

After a special time of worship we headed to a wonderful little deli for a bite to eat, and then went back, in the rain, to a nap.

Eating lunch at the counter at the White Swan Deli-fabulous prices, and VERY good food!!!

At 3 pm, our guide picked up Jenn's family and us and we headed to a Chinese version of Walmart-not a real walmart, and we picked up a few things, and then went to a couple different markets and walked for about 2 hours!!

Thoroughly enjoyed the meandering market thru the side streets, and wayyyy less crowded than the BIG Sunday shopping mall/area that we went thru first.

Monday is a Dr's visit for Rose, she gets some vaccines, then a quiet afternoon with our friends.

Thanks for following along.

Blessings

Chris and the girls

Shopping at the Chinese version of Walmart-

More pictures…..

2012-01-15T12:08:00.001-06:00

Lili enjoying her time to move-Kendell mothering on Elliot

Harry enjoying being a big kid!!! He has a great Dad's heart and loves interacting with them all.

Rose just hangin' around

The amazing waterfall at the White Swan

Look at the size of those fish!?!?!?

Kendell enjoyed her American food tremendously.

Enjoying some adult conversation after supper at Lucy's.

An Amazing Day!

2012-01-15T11:52:00.001-06:00

Words can not express the JOY we feel at being here in GZ with other Madison families:)

We are TICKLED SILLY!!!

Earl and Sharee and Jenn and Harry are just wonderful and their kids, oh my goodness, we just love them all to pieces.

Sterling and Arabella =the dynamic duo

His mama helping Elliot with his first ever slide…the smile says it all-and that smile kept coming each time he went down the slide!!!!

Rosie enjoys a quick slide-oops, did you really see that???

We met at Starbucks for an afternoon chat (and something wonderful to drink) and then headed to the nearby park for the afternoon.

The kids all had a BLAST-running, sliding, running, jumping, sliding, RUNNING!!!! They were giddy with joy of movement, and we adults were giddy with the joy of sharing in each other's family moments, and the opportunity to actually carry on conversations with "friends".

That is truly the beauty of internet and email, you become connected thru all these interactions over the last few months, and then when you meet, it's like you have always known them!!!

There are tons of pics that we took of our afternoon at the park, then our walk to the White Swan to see the waterfall and use CLEAN toilets, then our walk back to Lucy's for supper.

Kendell was in heaven with helping little Elliot. He has spina bifida, and a club foot, and had just started walking before his parents picked him up. He is doing fabulous, and really enjoyed his time on the slide!!!

Earl and Sharee's newest daughter, Arabella, is priceless, and their son Sterling, who has been with them for 2 years, is a giggle monster and LOVES to hang out with his new sis-such a beautiful sight to behold.

Arabella is a burn survivor, and has a beautiful face and beautiful spirit, and is blessed beyond measure with 2 parents that simply adore her!!!!

OK, enough of my talk, on with the pics!!!

Lots of love,Chris and the girls

Arabella gets a hand up from her Baba

The “zoo”

2012-01-15T11:30:00.001-06:00

A required part of this China adoption trip is the mandatory Dr's visits.

Talk about a ZOO.

Our guide made sure we were the first families there-and thank goodness-it turned into a madhouse of people/children within 30 minutes of our arrival-a very good reason to stay at the Victory, it is only a 5 minute walk to the Dr's!!!!

I am not really sure what we are spending $200 on-they look in their nose, ears, mouth, take their temp, give a TB test, and sometimes ask a few questions.

They did tell us Lilianna has bronchitis, so we have her on a children's dose of zithromax. Hopefully, that will help clear up her cough, sinus pressure, and cruddy nose drainage!! And should help with her mood too-poor thing has the worst time sleeping when the crud starts to drain and fill her nose and throat:!!!

We go back on Monday to have the TB tests read, and Rosalyn will need some vaccines. It seems, those over a certain age can not opt out of vaccines and wait for shots in the US-SIGH!!!

Lili can wait, thank goodness.

We are happy to be sharing our guide with a wonderful family from NC-Jenn and Harry and little Elliot!!

There are MANY pics of this little guy to follow in the next post :)

He is wayyyy tooo cute, and gets lots of attention from everyone!!

They are first time parents, and LOVING it! And I am thrilled to be able to watch them form a wonderful family unit-Thank You Lord

Blessings,Chris and the girls

Rosalyn getting her vision "tested" and Lili learns the ropes of the vision test and getting BP's taken

Jenn and Harry and little Elliot with their Dr!!

Lili playing nurse!

Day 6

2012-01-14T14:00:00.000-06:00

I can't believe it's the last day here in Guiyang!!!

We woke up Friday morning with an air of expectancy.

We were finally ready to make a move-and tho we had enjoyed our stay in Guiyang, I for one was really ready to move on and complete another leg of this journey!!!

I could tell Rosie was a little sad, and I asked her-"are you sad?"

She very quickly, and very truthfully replied in her very soft voice, "YES!"

I so appreciated her view, and tried to keep the day as busy and non "in your face" we are leaving type of day-and let her spend lots of time on the Ipad-boy, does she love that thing :)

When we went to breakfast, we took a few pics of their bountiful buffet-I had really enjoyed the sumptuous fare there, and while we don't eat like that at home, I really soaked up all the fringies of being in a 5 star hotel for 8 day=it was a pretty good way to break into this parenting of 3 girls-without all the work of fixing big meals:) and they all love to eat-so the 4 of us make a pretty good team!!

We also skyped again with Baba and the boys, and then my mom, and Rosie took a few pics while we were skyping-I think she is looking forward to meeting her brothers face to face-and Lili loves to chat with them, even if its just lots of HI's and BYES right now, and lots of grins and waves too!!

When we got to the airport, I was mildly surprised at how nice it was. And for a nice change, we didn't have to walk outside to board our plane, we actually go to sit in a waiting room and walk down the "runway", and that was kind of fun with 2 girls who had never done this before.

I just love the way we take over our corner of the airport!!!

I also love the legs crossed, and the intensity of the furrowed brow and the seriousness of writing.

More smiles on the airplane-neither girl showed any trepidation at takeoff---Lots of smiles!!!!

The airplane was very comfortable, and not packed, so we had some space, and the girls got right to work coloring and writing.

The food came, and tho it was not quite distinguishable as chicken, the girls ate it right up.

Once we landed in Guangzhou, our guide bought us some KFC while we waited at the airport for another family's flight to arrive from Beijing.

The girls enjoyed that meal at 9 pm, coke and all.

By the time we were to the Hotel and checked in and trying to make up beds, it was after 10:30, and I don’t think any of us had any problems getting to sleep-The ONLY glitch in the day affected me-I suffered my first casualty of single parenting-

While rushing around trying to make sure everything was packed, and checking and rechecking drawers and under the beds, and behind doors, I FORGOT to check MY dresser drawer-YEP, forgot my clean underwear!!! and one pair of long johns I had been wearing when we went out, and maybe a slip or 2, not sure.

BUT, if that is as bad as it gets, I can handle it.

The praise is here at the Victory, there are no dressers to put clothes away in, so I won't be able to FORGET anything.

Life is good, we are doing well, and we are now over the hump, and 1/2 way done-all down hill from here-and headed into the homestretch:)

Yes, I want to get home, but yes, I am enjoying my stay in China, and feeling truly blessed that God has knit this family together the way He has chosen to do so-I marvel at my 3 sleeping angels, and can't wait to hold my 4 rambunctious boys again!!!

Love

Chris and the girls

Pictures of our skyping-my boys are doing so well home with Baba-What a praise to be able to hear their voices and see their smiley faces!!!

Thru the eyes of a 6 year old

2012-01-14T08:38:00.001-06:00

Day 6 in Guiyang was pretty uneventful, and I thought I wouldn't have much to post :)

HA-after looking at my camera's pictures while waiting at the airport, I had to chuckle…..A certain 6 year old had been on the loose with my camera all morning, and actually made some good pics-

I knew she was playing with it, and since we are in survival mode, and almost ANYTHING goes, yes, she is allowed to play with the camera while we are traveling!!

Below are some of my favorite pics that Lilianna took on our last day at the Sheraton hotel:

LOTS of pics of the traffic below-like 28 flights below

and LOTS of pics of the skyline

adorable shot of her legs-I just love this one

a not so adorable shot of a very messy room that is in the midst of being tore apart and packed up

another messy shot of our room in disarray

a cute shot of the baby bathtub we had, and used it for washing the laundry-apparently she thought this was really cute because there were MANY shots of this!!!

Just too cute-enjoyed her journey around our room-hope you did too!!!

I can't wait to find out what really goes on between those eyes all day long-she is showing herself to be extremely bright, and also very assertive and bullheaded. I love her little temper though, she has LOTS of spunk, and will fit in well with the rest of us!!!

Lots of love,

Chris, Lili and the girls:)

Day 5!

2012-01-12T09:50:00.001-06:00

Nothing exciting, just hangin' out!!!

I have to say, this was the longest day of our stay in Guiyang!

Even though we left the hotel a couple times, they were short jaunts, and Lili has not felt good, nor behaved the best, and it has just been a bit more challenging than the others.

Nothing bad, just long!

We did go to the Guiyang Cultural Museum today and had a short crash-course on some Chinese minorities in the Guizhou Province.

We also made a couple purchases for keepsakes for the girls, and then probably the highlight of the day came when we bought lunch at KFC.

A bucket of chicken, a rice/chicken dinner and 2 orders of fries all for $20!! and it made 2 meals for us too!

I did lots of laundry today and started repacking of all the stuff I thought I just unpacked yesterday-but it was Sunday/Monday, and it does feel good to be almost done with 1 more leg of this journey!

Little Lili had a rough nap, she has so much junk in her lungs, nose and head that she is really having a hard time breathing when she lays down.

And she has been showing a bit of a temper the last couple days too, which really delayed her going to sleep today-she was trying to control the situation, and it didn't work, but it kept her up most of 1 1/4 hours before she gave in and caught about a 40 minute nap.

We have nothing special planned for tomorrow but packing, and we leave for Guangzhou on a 5:40 flight Friday evening.

Looking forward to a change scenery, and a bit warmer temps, but it will be sad leaving our girls' "territory" and our friends in Kunming!

May He bless each of you in your little corner of the world!

Love,Chris and the girls

2 girls hangin’ out on electronic devices-that's ALL they do these days-sigh

1 little girl watching the street-28 flights down!!!

One little adventure to the coffee shop for wonderful cheesecake for our dessert tonight

Mama doing laundry with Lili helping.

Line drying at it's best!!!

Skyping with Grandma and Grandpa Nelson

and Baba too!!!

Outside the museum

A model of a bridge from the Guizhou Museum exhibit

A lady sewing outside on the road-I had not seen this before :)

More Day 4 pictures

2012-01-11T08:03:00.001-06:00

Walking through the compound-nice,neat and clean

This facility is a project of Half the Sky!

The chidlren lined up to wait for their treats

Rose and I handed out the note pads and pens

Enjoying their new pens-such a simple little gift, but it really did mean alot to them all!

How I wish it could have been for all 200 children there!!!

There are toys available to play with….

Loved all the trikes stacked up and ready for play time!

The road outside the compound-reminded me of Russia-potholes as big as trucks!!!

Heart wrenching visit….

2012-01-11T07:51:00.001-06:00

at the Guiyang Orphanage.

Ever since we stepped foot in Russian orphanages almost 12 years ago, I have had a very hard time dealing with the reality that children actually live in these places.

Yes,they are better than living on the street, Yes, they have clothes, food, the basics our bodies need for survival they have caregivers who CARE they get medical attention when they need it they have some toys, some games, some play time BUT they don't have a family!!!

Imagine waking up one day and not having your family???

What would you think?

What would you do?

Where would you go?

What would you FEEL?

An orphanage is a place where over 147 million of the world's children have their basic needs met YET, they still have the most incredible need left unmet-that for a forever family-a mommy and daddy to hold them, kiss them, tuck them in at night, hold their hand when they are tired, scared, hungry, upset....

These children have care givers, but that is not FAMILY!!!

Guiyang Children's Welfare Institute is a wonderful place for the 200 orphans that call this place home.

It meets their needs, it provides them with food, clothes, and a place to sleep.

It has caring people who want the best for the children.

BUT, yet, it is filled with children who really need mommys and daddys.

We only spent 2 hours there today.

We only had simple gifts for about 40 of the chidlren-pads, pens, and some snackies!!

And did they appreciate the pens and paper-they all went to work immediately writing, drawing, and sharing with their friends.

Tonight: I have my 3 girls with me in our fancy hotel room.

I have my 4 boys safe and sound at home.

They were once orphans, and they aren't any more!!!

May we all hear the cry of the fatherless, and hear God's heart for them-that they would all have families, and may we have the courage to answer that call !!!

In Him,

Chris and the girls

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABA!!!!!!!!

2012-01-10T22:29:00.003-06:00

Click here to view this video

Day 3….

2012-01-10T22:28:00.001-06:00

and doing well.

Some sights around the Hotel-everything is in full

swing for the advent of Chinese New Year which

is coming soon!!!

Even tho we started out the morning with Kendell's tummy swirling, it got much better later on.

We had canceled our market walk with Vickie due to tummy troubles, but about 11 we decided to venture out for some "fresh" air-meaning at least not hot, stuffy hotel air- and some much needed leg stretching-the 6 yr old needs SPACE!!!!

We walked around for an hour, and found an American owned coffee shop-looks like they have cheesecake, I am sure we will go there some afternoon for a snack before we leave.

When we got back to the Hotel, Lili was showing signs of asthma from the cold, damp air. We will definitely be getting her lungs checked out when we get home, and I am thankful for a Dr's appointment on Saturday in Guangzhou-she has some pretty nasty sinus stuff going on.

We also came back to a room in the process of being cleaned, so we had to hang out in the hall for a few minutes, and I encouraged the girls to use up a bit more energy by playing tag-the hallways make a big circle-didn't take much and they were all giggling and running and that was a good thing.

We thought about venturing to the Buffet for supper, but prices were quite high, and after looking over the available western fare, (and Kendell was not impressed) we opted for room service again. We had hotdogs, cheeseburgers and french fries, and our little Asian beauty, Lili, ONLY eats Asian food. She is very reluctant to try anything unfamiliar, and if it doesn't have rice or noodles in it, Look out!!!

Look out boys, we will be adding some Asian dishes to our meals for awhile :)

Not much going on tonight, but on Wednesday morning, we get to visit the Guiyang Orphanage, I believe it is run by a Christian director, and all of their foster families are Christian-I am really looking forward to this opportunity-and hoping to get LOTS of pictures and videos of any children currently waiting on the shared list!!!

Thanks to Lynnea, we can keep blogging, so I will sign off for now.

Lots of love

Chris and the girls

One cute side note you could include under the pic of the 3 girls when they are outside:

We were concerned that Lili would not transition to our longer skirts and dresses well, so I brought a couple cute skirts and tops we were only outside a couple minutes and she was bending over trying to pull her skirt down so it would be as long as ours way tooooo cute, and way toooo bright!!!

3 sleeping beauties!!!

2012-01-10T09:05:00.000-06:00

(guest blogger here....I don't know why but these pictures brought tears to my eyes.)

The fountain is certainly pretty, but then add 3 adorable daughters!!

What a beautiful entrance

Trying to stay busy-good thing they all like to color, draw and doodle!!!

Much cuteness! Day 2

2012-01-10T08:52:00.000-06:00

and more officialness. :)

We have had such an amazing time, me and my 3 girls!!

Today, we had to go back for official paperwork and photos, and the 3 girls can color, play on the Ipad, color some more, and of course, keep track of Lili!!

She tends to slip away once in a while-just checking the place out, not going anywhere!!
She is a livewire, and a very happy one at that:)

We had to hand over the cash I was carrying around today-what a relief to be rid of all that!

After the official stuff was done, we went to Walmart for a few supplies, like LOTS of noodles, and some shoes for Lili. Since she only came with the clothes on her, that included one pair of heavy red boots, and we found her some really cute pink tennies, and she was delighted.

We also bought some gifts for the orphanage we will be visiting on Wednesday.

When we got back to the room, we cooked some noodles, the girls ate a quick/late lunch and they all crashed for 1 1/2 hours-and was it hard to get them up!!!

We ordered room service, and the food came, and Kendell was mightily disappointed with her chicken nuggets-guess we will have to wait for Guangzhou for anything that resembles chicken nuggets for her. She also had a bout of tummy trouble, and thankfully, is much better now and no one else has it:)

We also explored the HOTEL a bit, talk about gorgeous, and huge, and no place for little girls to run around and be silly.

We will share more tomorrow-even if it's not thrilling, it is what it is, a new family getting used to each other-minus the boys, that is!!!

Love
Chris and the girls!!

Girls staying busy

all the gifts-and I actually saw them enjoy the chocolate-at one point, all the "officials" walked into our room happily munching on their mini cow pies!!!

Rose and Dir W and I have a final pic together

Making it all "official"

2012-01-09T11:02:00.000-06:00

Rosalyn's foster Daddy helping her sign her name in Chinese characters

Rosalyn signing with Dir W's encouragement

Lili's handprint with the red ink

Rose's thumbprint. We are ALL official now.

Lili cooling off after shedding some layers and playing with the magna doodle. It made it all the way to Guiyang only to be broken by a 6 year old on the first day! :)

Enjoying entertaining each other.

Sisters forever.

FOREVER a family!!!

2012-01-09T09:11:00.000-06:00

3 families become 1.
How precious is that?!!? And we know WHO to thank for working this all out!

A GOTCHA DAY LIKE NO OTHER!!!

Our first view of Lili (Lily)

Our guide translating info from Lili's foster mom

Rosalyn and Lili meet for the first time

Lili, our little spitfire decked out in her 6 layers of hot clothes.

A foster father/daughter moment that brought tears to my eyes and pain to my heart.

Rosalyn and Dir W. What a special time together for all of us.

BUBBLES! The surefire way to erase the tears and bring smiles to everyone!!

Well, Sunday finally arrives. WE are nervous, excited, anxious, and THRILLED!

This is the day Rosalyn and Lilianna become members of our family!!

Our first view of Lili shows a vibrant, happy, very silly little girl who obviously loves her foster mama.

Our first glimpse of Rosalyn reveals a very shy, loving, smiling young lady who is quiet, yet full of joy, and who obviously loves her foster family!!!

The room is full of noise, confusion to some, but pleasant exchanges going on in all corners, concerns for the girls' and their routines, questions about their daily life, lots of PAPERWORK-as if we haven't done enough-wow-that was a bit overwhelming without a hubby to watch thekids or help look things over-

Lili had 2 minutes of tears whenher foster family left-thankfully, Rosalyn's foster dad was still there, and scooped her up, hugger her tight, and plopped her in my lap.

Within a couple minutes-she was wooed back to all smiles and impish impulsiveness and a wee bit of trouble :)

Rosalyn had a few moments of sorrow-broke my heart to see her in pain, but so thankful we were all able to be together to help her thru the transition.

I was so happy Rosalyn's foster dad was there to help her with her name signing-she is unsure of her Chinese characters as she has been learning English-how helpful it was for Baba to help her and smooth the anxieties away.

Finally, after 2 1/2 long hours-and yes, it was FREEZING in that room-I was froze stiff, we were escorted out and into our van. A 6 yr old happily bouncing along, holding my hand, and Rosalyn cheerfully helping clean up and clutter and pack up all our belongings to head to the Hotel .

Once in the room, things settled into a calm, uneventful pattern of Lili taking things out, the older girls putting them away:)

We are doing great, and if Lynnea will continue to post for me, we will be able to blog while here in Guiyang-for some reason, I have technical difficulites, even with a VPN downloaded.

Thanks for coming along on our FAMILY DAY!!!

Lots of Love,
Chris and the girls

In China

2012-01-06T20:38:00.000-06:00

well, we made it

we got here with a 2 hour delay in Chicag0 for

that meant we were late our connecting flgiht

and I was having lots of frustration and tears on the long 13 1/2 hr flight

but He was faithful to help me, and I woke froma short nap k nowing it would all be ok. Once in Beijing, we were 4 minutes from flight time and knew we would miss it when lo and behold, we found out our plane was not even there yet, and would be an hour or so late, and YES< HE is good all the time

we arrived at the Brehms and will leave for Guiyang Saturday night, meeting Rosalyn and Lili onSunday afternoon; hopefully I will havemy owncomputer and can do a post when we get the girls

time to go, there is a birthday party in process

much love

Chris and Kendell

We now have a TEENAGER in the house:)

2012-01-03T00:17:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday Nicholas!!

We are so blessed to have you for a son!

What a gift God has given us in you-

You sing thru your days,

you are cheerful, helpful, smiley and loving!

You are our resident physician, musician, astronomer, scientist, and maintenance man!!

We love you so much, and

I can't imagine what life would be like without you!

God certainly knew what He was doing 11 years ago when he brought you into our home.

Now, at the age of 13, we are watching you turn from boy to young man, and it is

amazing!

SOOOOO happy to have a teenager now-

We Love You!!!

with all our love,

Mama & Baba

Our man of many smiles!!!

Thank you for being the wonderful son and loving brother that you are!!

Take good care of your little brothers for the next 18 days-they NEED you:)

Travel Plans are coming together

2011-12-21T22:29:00.000-06:00

We have our flights booked

We leave Wed. Jan 4th

Gotcha Day is Jan 8-a Sunday

there will be 2 less orphans in the world!! Praise God!!!

Our Consulate Appt is not until Jan 19, and our flights home won't be until Sunday the 22nd.

our trip will be a bit longer than at first hoped for, but, we are soooo happy with the flights, the cost of them, and the connections, it all seems PERFECT!!!

Leaving from Madison this time-only a 1 1/2 hr drive, and getting in on Sunday at 4 pm-PLENTY of time to get home and spend time together our first night!! oh, how I look forward to that homecoming!! And a small airport, so we will be in and out of there in NO TIME!!!

We are flying United, our first trip overseas without flying a country-specific airline.

I am thinking it may be nice this time to have Americans around us all the time, and have food that we can handle.

Kendell is not a huge fan of "fancy" eating, so I hope she can get enough to eat while in Guiyang. From other ap's who have been there, not a lot of American food to be had-we may have to order room service a few times as even the KFC food is spicey we have heard. I will probably be packing a few more snacky foods than I first thought about-good ole peanut butter crackers or cheesey crackers always works in a pinch.

We are so thankful to all who helped us with our fundraising.

Between the tshirt sales and mail-in checks, we have enough for our in-country "living" expenses.

We are putting together our travel itinerary, so will post more info on our plans once that is nailed down-hopefully we will know more tomorrow.

We are nesting.

The house is being cleaned, we are re-organizing, finding bunk-beds for the girls' room, cleaning closets, stashing stuff that we don't need right now, and I am trying to imagine how it will look upon our arrival back home when Daddy has been in charge for 18 days!!!

I may hire someone to come in the last few days and do some major cleaning so we can come home and just CHILL for a few days and get adjusted!!!

Well, hoping for SOME sleep tonight-and more good news tomorrow

Blessings

Chris

Ta Da!!!!!! TA!!!!!

2011-12-19T22:50:00.000-06:00

We are thrilled!

We are humbled!

We are delighted with the news that our daughters are coming home to us

in January!!!

We have our official TA-Travel Approval from China!!!

OH MY, the list of things to do!!!

BUT, keeping it all in perspective,

the best news is

Rosalyn Hannah Waughtal

and Lilianna Grace Waughtal

ARE COMING HOME!!!!!!

Delighting in His goodness, Honored to be busy about His work, and

Thrilled to be meeting them in about 2 weeks.

Although nothing is concrete at this time.

We are waiting for our ConsulateAppointment, and the whole trip works back from that date, which looks to be around Jan17-18.

tears of joy, lots of Halleluah's, and grinning from ear to ear!!!

Rejoice with us

Kendell, you have 2 sisters, and they will be sharing your room by Jan 22, 2012:)

In Him,

One happy Mama and Baba

Emotions are running HI

2011-12-17T22:03:00.000-06:00

and I'm not doing so well this weekend

another year older

a cold/sinus issue &

tears are coming pretty easy

another week goes by without TA

all I want for Christmas is our Travel Approval!!!

we are on day 9 of our TA wait

others have been getting them on day 8

yes, it's the weekend

it's always a weekend, or a holiday for our paperwork

I am feeling tied in knots

I am restless, anxious, and

I just want to go get my 2 girls and bring them HOME!!!

Finances are coming together, but we are still seeing some pretty big gaps in what is due and what we have on hand-

Maybe Monday.....

Blessings

Chris

Look at the view outside MY bedroom window

2011-12-03T14:12:00.000-06:00

It was a picture perfect scene

4 horses

a beautiful sunny morning

golden leaves falling from the trees

they were running and playing and teasing one another

the frost was the thickest we had so far this year-it was so heavy, it looked like snow

I am thinking it is a beautiful reminder to take each day in stride,

to count our blessings, instead of looking for something to complain about

I was not sure I liked our valley when we first moved here-I only saw a bottom, and I am used to looking down from on top of the hills

BUT, who could not love a site like this,

with the sun shining over the hill, down into our little haven?

God is certainly tolerant of me and my list of likes and don't likes, and thankfully, He is in the business of changing our hearts to be more like His. I am seeing more beauty in this place He has placed us, and feeling more peace, and seeing His hand in our lives, and loving where He has us, for as long He keeps us here.

Blessings dear friends!

In Him

Chris

I took these pictures a month ago, wrote this 3 weeks ago, but just had to have them posted-too pretty to pass up !!

Paper Pregnancy-I am ready to be mama again :)

2011-11-27T17:49:00.001-06:00

We are approaching our 9th month of paper pregnancy.

Yes, this has been a f ast adoption

NO, I don't feel like it has been.

To me, it seems like each step of this paperwork that happens on the US side has taken an interminably long time

Has it really been that bad?

No, but still not as fast as others I have been watching.

I think the bad thing about internet is that you know how fast some people get their paperwork thru, and you know how slow some others go

and you are NEVER content with where you are at!!

I don't think there has been one time of any adoption paperwork successes that I have truly been able to say, THANK YOU LORD, without first complaining, sighing, questioning, or any other form of murmuring!

In short, I have been acting like a brat, and I don't like it.

Each step has been pretty fast, pretty effortless, and pretty well in line with others, yet, I am always looking for something better--SIGH!

When will I learn?

When will I be able to say-Thank You God for EVERYTHING you are doing with this adoption? Even if it isn't MY timeline?

It's called having a contented heart. It's called surrendering your plans and hopes and dreams, and letting God lead. I KNOW all of that, but my brain has been telling my heart things that aren't true, and my goodness, I have been a mess because of it.

I have loved Revive our Hearts with Nancy Leigh DeMoss for 10 years-and this past week, she spoke to my heart, deeply, about contentment.

And I listened, and I GOT IT!!!

And I am surrendering ALL my plans to you Lord, and I WILL BE CONTENT, with your timing, with your plans, with your EVERYTHING involved in bringing these 2 girls home from Ch*na.

We received our USCIS provisional approval on Nov 17. 24 days after our LOA's came to our doorstep.

On Nov 25, we got an email from the National Visa Center saying our paperwork is in their system-we should be cabled-probably tomorrow-then we wait 2 weeks for Article 5 pickup, so that puts us about Dec 12. Then we get TA, which can take from 3 days to 3 weeks-and plan our travel-looks like it will be into January-unless Ch*na really does "fast track" our paperwork once we get it all back over there this week-but, God knows, and it is in His hands, and we will rest in that, and wait patiently-YES, patiently!!

We have lots of pictures of Rosalyn that I want to share, but there is one special shot that I will share for today, and leave you with this-pray for Daniel. He is Rose's foster brother, and he was one of the 3 that had to go back to the orphanage 2 weeks ago-the new, big building that the government officials needed to fill up with children, many of whom were in foster care.

pray for Rose-she misses him, yet trusts her heavenly Father to keep him safe.

Pray for our family as we prepare to head West and bring home 2 girls-soon !!!

Pray that we hear God speaking and that we have the courage to be obedient and follow where He leads.

In Him

Chris

His banner over me is LOVE!!

2011-11-10T18:58:00.000-06:00

Praying God's peace and protection over the ROG Foster Care Program in Guizhou.

There is much need for prayer

Tomorrow, we will know, and I don't know if I can bear the news of who will be sent back to the orphanage after living with the B's for so long in their nurturing, loving home.

See Lynnea's blog to view the precious children who are the ones possibly being sent to the state's new orphanage tomorrow, Friday, 11/11/11.

May HE lead them as the tender shepherd leads His flock,

lovingly, cautiously, gently.

May he hold them in the palm of His hand, protecting them,

strengthening them, loving them.

Oh Lord, we askk you to protect these dear ones, and

give grace to those who are watching them go back.

Protect our girl from fears, and help her to lean on you.

In Him

Chris and family

There is 1 less orphan in the world!!

2011-11-07T14:08:00.000-06:00

On Sunday, Nov. 6, a day when many churches in the US were celebrating Orphan Sunday, there was one less orphan in Ch*na.

Little Graice Havilah joined her family, and you can see their gotcha day pics over at her mommy's blog

We are so excited to see them become a forever family.

I am sure she is missed by her foster family, but what greater joy, knowing they have kept here, protected her, nurtured her, and now handed her off to her mama and baba FOREVER!!!

She is such a sweet little flower. I am sure her big sister, and virtual twin brother can't wait to have her home with them.

While Gracie's mom and dad were visiting with the foster family, they were able to hand off a package from us to our Rosalyn.

We were happy to send some pictures of us all, a few fun things, like a crazy World Dairy Expo t-shirt, some crazy socks, and a writing pad to help her with her English letters and words.

We are asking you all to join us in prayer for Rosalyn and her foster family!!

They have received some news concerning some of the children in their care, and we just pray our Father, who has all the details worked out, is holding them in the palm of His hand.

We pray His peace upon them, His wisdom and discernment be poured out on them, and His will be done!

May God Bless you as you Pray!

In Him

Chris and family

3 girls, 3 stories, 3 homes

2011-10-26T22:57:00.000-05:00

HOW I love this picture!!

3 girls

3 adoptions nearing completion

2 will be cousins living within 15 minutes of each other

1 will join our family and live in Wisconsin-a LONG ways from her buddies, yet, anything is possible with our God.

Josie is in the middle. Her family's blog is here.

They have PA, and are in the early stages of their LOA wait.

Gracie, the little one on the right, is 2, and will be COMING HOME

in November to a wonderful family, cousins of Josie's parents. Watch her parents' blog for her gotcha day pics on Nov. 6, sure to be sweet, and probably bring a few tears.

The above picture was taken at a KFC near the girls' foster home.

Rosalyn decided to treat her friends to an ice cream cone-gotta love that generous spirit :)

Blessings

Chris

GOTTA LOVE PAPERWORK

2011-10-24T22:50:00.000-05:00

WE GOT IT!!

WE GOT IT!!!

Lili's LOA came today!!

and ya know what??

They were dated the same day.

In fact, the really ironic thing is:

Hers was the first one given-

Rosalyn's was numerically 2nd!

And we got Rose's on Friday, and found out about Lili's today!

If I live to be 100, I WILL NEVER understand the ins and outs of this

crazy adoption system we endeavor to survive.

All I know is, I am praising Him for bringing these 2 girls into our lives, and

His hand will not lead us where His grace will not keep us!!!!!

We were blessed, about a week ago, to get new pictures of our little imp!

She just seems so full of smiles and happiness and energy.

My goodness, I am going to be one busy mama when we all get home together!

Now, on to the USCIS paperwork mountain that needs to be leveled before I head to bed!

Blessings

Chris and family

3 Lovely Letters

2011-10-22T07:22:00.000-05:00

LOA

LOA

Friday, Oct 21, we received the most precious email in the world

our LOA had come from Ch@na

and we have been officially approved to be Rosalyn's family!!

Doin' the happy dance in WIS!!!

We await news of Lilianna's LOA, yet, rejoice in answers to prayer for our sweet Rose.

More mountains of paperwork to be done, more weeks of waiting ahead of us, but, TRAVEL is imminent!

We WILL be going to Ch$na to get our daughter sometime in the next couple months :)

stay tuned for more

Love and Blessings

Chris

count your blessings, count them 1 by 1

2011-10-17T22:17:00.002-05:00

Oh the unspeakable joy of opening up emails to new pictures of our daughter.

Rosalyn, we just love your smile, your sunny outlook, your servant's heart.

How we thank God you will be coming home to us soon.

We are still awaiting our Letter of Acceptance.

STILL

We were supposed to get a faxed copy from Ch#na last week, still not here today!!

OK, I know, all in His timing, and it will all work out the way it is supposed to, when it is supposed to.

It is reassuring to hear it was being faxed-

we are preparing the remainder of our paperwork, so when we have our LOA, it is

off to the races with the final count-down to TA-travel approval.

We are one of 4 families whose paperwork is being "pushed" at our agency, due to 14th birthdays coming up-I feel confident, we are in good hands. We have time.

It's just SOOOO hard to sit back and watch the days tick off, and the ceaseless wondering, checking the computer for any emails, watching the caller ID for our agency's number.

But, oh, how sweet it will be, when finally we get on that plane, headed West.

All in His timing!!!

Blessings and Love

Chris

ps-

the picture is from Lori B, Rosalyn's foster mom-giving us a glimpse into our daughter's daily routine, before it becomes OUR daily routine!

Singing as she hangs out the laundry

and or course, all smiles

PPS

we got updated info on Lili-that post will be coming soon-with new pictures of

our little princess

It's the Little Things in Adoption Life

2011-10-04T22:34:00.000-05:00

Oh the simple joys of life.

oh, the simple joys of this adoption journey.

Oh, the blessed joys of hearing our daughter say

"Hi Mommy" and "Hi Daddy"

Be still my heart!!!

Our sweet Rosalyn, what a precious gem God is giving us in you.

We were able to skype with Rosalyn at her foster home tonight. What a thrill we had when her big "sis" emailed asking if we wanted to do that, and what a panic set in when we chose a time only a few hours away, on top of an action-packed day in which we had NO time to sit down and come up with some questions or really gather our thoughts on what we wanted to say-

but, the sweet joy of seeing our daughter's face, and hearing her lovely voice-I wish I had a good video of it, but we will work harder on that end of it next time.

Tonight, we sufficed to bring all the kiddos into the camera, and Nick even showed her one of our kitties.

Rosalyn apparently likes cats and dogs, so next time, we will introduce her to our boxer pal, Sadie. Daddy thought maybe we should show her a chicken, but I think she may see enough of those where she is at!! LOL

Kendell talked with her for a few minutes and asked a few questions so I could get some pictures.

We found out she likes the color blue-so does Kendell.

The only problem is, their room is Purple!!!

I think we may be doing some painting next spring!!

She likes to eat potatoes!

Good thing, we grow a lot of potatoes in the garden, and eat them in many different way, shapes and forms.

She likes her camera we sent her, and is using it a lot.

She is learning the names of her little brothers, but doesn't always remember Nick and Kendell.

We also got to visit with our dear friend, Lynnea's daughter. They were matched with Josie last week, and now await the official word from China that she is theirs. Shouldn't be long now. Visit her blog above for some of the great pictures she received, and the awesome video they took the day they informed Josie that she was going to be a Hameloth.

We loved her smile, her joy, and her interest in all of us. These are for you Lynnea.

Love you!!

Josie was studying the screen so hard, and Hannah B and a couple of her little charges also made it into the picture. 2 precious little ones that she and her parent's joyfully and selflessly care for through their foster care program.

we need to do this skyping again-hopefully with a little better plan next time.

We loved our 1/2 hour chat, and hope to do it again next week.

If that doesn't get you hungry for LOA, and TA, I don't know what does.

How bittersweet-yet how awesome we are able to do this.

Smiling ear to ear tonight-and praising a mighty God who orchestrated every little detail of this for us.

Praising Him!!!

Love

Chris

"In Process"

2011-09-26T22:24:00.000-05:00

Don't you just love all the lingo with China adoptions?

Goodness, I don't think I will ever have it all figured out-

BUT, I do know our paperwork has been moved to a new status-that of

IN PROCESS-meaning we are in examination mode now, waiting for some very kind, smart, wonderful reviewer of adoption papers in Ch!na to APPROVE us for our 2 girls!!

Our Caseworker says things will go fast from here

I am praying so!

Some blog friends have been waiting over 100 days for their LOA's!

Some have received them in 38-40 days:)

Guess which I am hoping for?

We are going to get a care package together for Lilianna, and we have asked for an update from her orphanage. I so can't wait to see a new picture of her, and find out how she is doing-we feel like we don't even really have a clue about her, but trusting God to knit our hearts together before we even get there.

I am sorry for the lack of photos lately-my laptop has been in surgery-now it is awaiting me to retrieve it-so, we will upload a few pictures of Rosalyn

I haven't gotten any new pics of sweet Rose lately, but we will just keep digging through our collection we have gotten over the last few months-I think maybe one of her very early pics? We will see what I find!

Hopefully soon I will be able to do a big post on our end of summer activities, and you can see how much my 2 little boys are growing up and changing, right before our eyes!

Until then, May God Bless You ALL!

In Him

Chris

Oh my sweet girl, we have missed out on so much of your life,

but we sure hope to enjoy sharing our life with you very soon!

May God keep you safe until we bring you home--sigh!

love all the smiles at their little table! Can you say HAPPY?

Some fun during a family singing! I can just hear the giggles and laughs going on, can't you?

Until next time....and I found a f ew more pictues in my "archives" I hadn't seen for awhile, so now I have something else to use if my laptop doesn't come home soon :)

LID LID LID LID :) :) :) :)

2011-08-30T16:03:00.000-05:00

Doin the HAPPY DANCE right now!

Heard from our caseworker, our paperwork was officially Logged Into the Ch*na system on 8/23/11. We are now OFFICIAL, and are waiting for our Letter Of Acceptance, the really official paperwork we need that approves us to adopt our girls!

HOORRAY!!!

Praise the Lord!

Blessings!!

Chris

Some Pictures of our Girl

2011-08-19T15:22:00.002-05:00

While we settle in for more waiting, I thought I should put some new pictures on the blog.

It's not that I don't think of blogging all the time, but boy, time has certainly been at a premium for me this summer.

2 little boys in therapy 1 day a week, a new living room floor, gardening/canning/freezing, yard work, house work, school preparations, medical issues, paperwork, and then you add in the regular duties of momma, laundry, cooking, cleaning, walking, Bible and prayer-WHEW!!!

We have been so blessed throughout this adoption with many pictures of Rosalyn-I thought I would share some today-We just love her sweet smile, and just can't wait to have her here with us.

Rosalyn is part of a foster care system hosted by a wonderful family. She is pictured with some of the other children in the foster home-and her foster mom says she is a delight, and a real helper with the little ones, many of whom have some serious issues requiring lots of care.

Rosalyn and her foster sister Josie. Josie will hopefully be soon matched with Lynnea and Steve Hamaloth of PA. Lynnea is the one responsible for bringing Rose into our lives, and we love that our 2 girls are so close now, and will be able to maintain a relationship once they are both home in the US. Lynnea's blog is here. She writes frequently, much more than I do, so if you want to really know what is going on in our life, check her blog :)

I love this picture of the 2 girls, having fun, enjoying each other, and loving life.

The most recent pictures we got, just last week, of the 2 girls loving on each other.

The most recent picture, sent from Rose's foster mom just this week, of Rosalyn and little baby Ellie.

An older picture of Rose, from earlier this year, sent by another mom who has met her, and wanted to share in our joy of bringing her into our family!!

I certainly can't wait to see that beautiful smile in person, and to give her lots of hugs, and I am sure the parting with her foster family will be painful-I hurt for that pain she will be feeling.

I also hope I stay really busy throughout the fall, as it has really helped the wait time go by quickly-yes, it is still painful waiting, but is does go by when there is much to do!!!

and there will be a July post with all our family happenings, once my laptop is repaired, and we can get at all our pictures again!!!

so stay tuned, hopefully it won't be long!

Blessings

A slice of summer-June

2011-07-26T22:31:00.000-05:00

It may look like winter in this picture, but we started the month out with a graduation party for another niece, Cassie Marie!! We are so proud of her, she will be attending U of M this fall for Ag Education. She is a born teacher, she loves music, drama, ag, her family, and life!!

Our little boys have been spending quite a bit of time in their pool this summer.

Sometimes, all you can see is 2 little black heads in there, as they are both bent over their little projects...

which are quite often, aggravating one another...

Isaac has really gotten the idea that he SHOULD have whatever Isaiah has, and he makes no bones about it, when he wants it, he will really go after it!!

(Much to his big brother's dismay)

Nick and Tyler like to visit the creek-Kendell goes along to take pictures, and sometimes goes in the water, but it must be adolescence, she is much less ambitious this summer, and tends to prefer household forms of work and entertainment...

building a dam, or trying to, is the highlight of their day!! Oh to be a boy, and enjoy playing in the mud...

They really do love each other-most of the time, they even remember that!!!

this was actually a May picture of our garden when it was just getting planted-only a small portion of it!!

Here we are, with peas popping up, and tomato plants put in and next month, you won't believe the jungle out here!!!

With June comes heat, and with heat, came the need for an air conditioner. Father and son working together to get in installed and runing-Nick loves this kind of stuff, and is a great helper for his Dad.

One of the hottest days of June was also one of the most educational for my 2 oldest boys.

My Dad needed help putting a new roof on his shed-the ONLY day of the whole month that worked for all of us was a 94 degree, sticky, icky day, but Nick and Tyler were real troopers and learned somthing along the way.

My Dad was a roofer in his younger years, and he loves to show Nick and Ty how to build things, how to fix things, and how to figure things out!! Thanks Dad, I really appreciate that!!

Little Man enjoyed toddling around the shady yard and experimenting with the different tres.

First he pulled maple branches down into his face and giggled and giggled, then he played with the soft new growth on the pine trees-he is quite the goer, and it took all of us to keep an eye on him...

Grandma engaged the little boys in some catch, and rock throwing, but mainly, it was, "where's Isaac?"

After a hot day at my Dad's, we went to my mom's and she had the cousins over and the 7 kids enjoyed an evening together with Grandpa!

Isaiah was learning to actually use the pedals on the trikes-he still prefers to push himself on the ground, but we are really working with him to use the pedals!! If we had a little more cement at home, I think he would have better success...

What's that green mesh I see? It looks like fencing. It feels like fencing, IT ACTS LIKE FENCING!!!

Praise the Lord, a fence for our little toddler, who had us in fits a couple times when he "disappeared" for a couple minutes-Thanks Mom, we really needed this fence, and it has worked wonderfully all summer long-Isaac's giant play pen!!

It runs the whole length of the shed, and gives them both PLENTY of room to roam, and they actually stay pretty happy and content in here, for sometimes 1-2 hours.

The only downside to is it there is NO shade, and it can get pretty hot, but then, the pool goes in there, and they have cold, even if no shade!!

We were finally able to go to the garden and work for more than 5 minutes without someone running after Isaac and dragging him back to the sandbox, or the dirt, and then he would be off and running again-

I FINALLY got my Grandma's clematis planted in my own yard. A dear friend housed it for me for 3 years while we were in various shades of selling and buying, and it looks fabulous, and handled the move very well.

Home made pizza-can't wait to be using my own pizza sauce again-and by the looks of my tomato plants, I should have plenty of everything tomato this year!!!

Next up, July!!!

Blessings

Chris

A slice of summer/ok, May!!

2011-07-25T23:19:00.001-05:00

I have so many things I want to share about the goings on in our family-5 children does keep us really busy, and we have been having a lot of fun this summer, even if it's not the TYPICAL summer fun.

Mostly, lots of lazy, hazy days of summer type stuff. And throw in a lot of gardening and flowerbed revamping for good measure. Lots of play time in the sand, lots of little boy pool time, lots of big boy creek time, and throw in the never-ending paperwork for our adoptions, and you have a busy summer for the Waughtals.

I thought I would do a catch-up post for May, June and July, but I have excruciatingly painful slow picture upload tonight, lost all my pics once and had to start over again, and decided we would make it a 3 part post-May, June, and July!!

For Wisconsin, May was cold, wet, and COLD!!!

Not as wet as last year, but lots of rain, none-the-less, and below normal temps for the whole month. Crops started out very slow, our garden took forever to get going, but we are also in a valley, and I have never gardened on low ground before, so this has been a learning year for me as well-and things grow a lot slower down low, especially when it is WET and COLD!!!

We started the month out with a bang, with Mother's Day, and such a blessing with gifts from the children, and a special email from Rosalyn!! The next weekend, one of our nieces got married.

We welcomed Torrey Berendez to our family. He and Nicole had a very nice, small wedding, and we are very happy for them.

Next, our big adventure included ordering chicks. We hadn't gotten around to getting any chickens in the hub-bub of last summer, and this year, we were determined to add a flock to our farm.

I think all 7 of us were giddy the day they arrived-we are just really animal lovers, and LOVE to know where our food is coming from, and homegrown eggs are THE BEST!!!

Yes, it will still be a while before we have any fresh eggs from our own chickens, but the chicks have been fun to have around again.

YES, that is my kitchen table, but it all washes off, and what can I say? I love the little critters too, and wanted to get some pics of my little boys with their first chicks!!!

Everyone got into the act of dipping their little beaks in the nutrient pack they needed right out of the box-quite a way to spend a Friday morning-and we all loved it.

Tyler loved getting his hands on the furry little critters, he wasn't home yet the last time we had chicks, and he was super-excited. He has turned into a real animal lover, especially the small ones he can hold.

Isaac is thrilled with anything that moves, and though he wasn't sure he wanted to hold one, he was sure intrigued with them. Don't those eyes just spell trouble???

We became an official TODDLER family this spring, and boy, life will never be the same. Isaac started walking the end of April, and by the end of May, there was no holding him back. He is ALL OVER, and I do mean, ALL over. You would think it would be easy for me to lose my winter weight chasing him all over, but actually, I think that's what Kendell and Nick have been doing, losing weight, and patience, with chasing their little brother All over!!

We just love that little high step he does, and the way he holds his hands out for balance

we call him our little penguin!

First, he was our seal, now a penguin. I wonder what will be next???

Well, I will be back soon with a June update, and hopefully, the picture upload won't be quite so painful next time!!

and it was Definitely Warmer in June-so more summerish stuff coming up!

Blessings

Chris

USCIS APPROVAL!!!

2011-07-23T14:19:00.000-05:00

Oh Happy Day!! We received our I 797 C, an official Federal Govt form that states we are approved to adopt 2 children from China!!

YIPPEE!!!

We just received our documents back from the Secretary of State on Thursday with their official State Seal on them, and sent them out to the Chicago China Consulate for their authentication.

Now, we have to do the same with this approval, and, THEN.......

we can be Dossier to China.... DTC!!!!!

Oh, things are moving along really well, and our girls are getting closer to coming home to Wisconsin!!

and we are getting closer to heading to China!!!

Another big hurdle this week was crossed. I called the IRS to see how they were proceeding on our Tax Review.

I had faxed aboutt 30 pages of adoption paperwork concerning our 3 little boys, and all statements of fees paid, on July 7, and was only calling so make sure they had received it.

To our surprise, we were told our case was closed on July 15, and we were approved for our refund!!

YIPPEE!!!!!

Now, we wait to actually see the funds show up in our account!!

Oh, God is so good, and I just need to keep trusting Him that this will all be completed in HIS perfect time!!

Blessings

Chris

The special faces of Special Needs

2011-07-10T18:08:00.000-05:00

Did you ever wonder about Special Needs? I mean, what it looks like, what family life is like, how people adjust to children with different needs, whether they be emotional, cognitive, behavioral or developmental or physical?

A few years ago, I would have confidently said, "we don't do special needs."However, our son Isaiah has changed our outlook, or maybe it was God changing our hearts!! We now know that any children added to our family will be special needs. They will have some issue, some illness, behavior, or delay that is termed, "special need". In the case of our 2 new daughters, their special need is quite simply age, although Rosalyn does has a repaiared cleft lip as well.

We have acknowledged that physical special needs can be challenging, as can mental and developmental.Let's face it, all special needs are stretching for the family. But, I wouldn't have it any other way. We see love, laughter, joy, excitement, fulfillment, growth, and many other things as we parent our boys with extra needs. It can be frustrating at times, it can be exhausting, it can be difficult, BUT, it is also truly a delight to watch them come out of their shell, to grow, to acquire new abilities, to accomplish tasks, to comprehend beyond what we thought they would understand, and to begin to truly understand what being a part of a family is all about.

In the past couple months, we have watched our little rag doll Isaac blossom into a true, independent toddler. Exploring, learning, challenging, enjoying, and loving have all become words we use with him. He is truly becoming loving, truly accepting us, truly accepting his boundaries (ok, not ALL the time) and learning that he has a momma and daddy and siblings that will be here for him.

Isaiah has gained so much confidence, he has gained so much strength, body control, and tried so many new things, and loves it when he succeeds at something that 6 months ago he could not have done.

Our home is filled with lots of therapy type toys, tons of educational opportunities, and lots of daily learning happens, even in the midst of daily life.

I spend a lot of time trying to implement pt, ot and st (occupational, physical and speech therpay) into our day, but when you see success, and you see them come out of their shells, and you see the light come into their eyes, it is all worth the extra work and energy it takes to parent boys with special needs.

Blessings abound as we continue on this journey with special needs children.

Below are some pictures of a day in April when my mom came for a visit. She got a first hand experience of our "pre-school", as we played with stacking pegs and tubes and tents. Yes, it takes time, energy, and money to meet their needs and help them, but wow, what would we do without them?

Isaac shows Grandma how to stack (and throw) pegs

Isaiah and Tyler enjoy playing together too

Isaiah's eye-hand coordination is so much better, and the control he has for fine-motor skills has really improved

TA DA!!!

Our living room becomes a tent city when we give them time in their tunnels and ball tents! and they all love it

Thanks for stopping by for a tour of a day with 2 little boys with special needs!

Blessings

Chris

Keeping a Quiet Heart

2011-06-13T07:40:00.000-05:00

I have to be honest with you all! I have not had a peaceful or quiet spirit in the last couple months!

It seems this adoption process is getting tougher on us, even though we aren't first-timers. We are struggling with many things in the last few weeks, and I am in dire need of a major dose of His peace to stabilize me and keep my ship afloat!

I need some serious lap time with my Savior. I need to nestle into His chest, feel His arms around me, and let His quiet heart quiet my troubled heart. I need to let my plans and agendas drop, and let His will be done. I need to allow Jesus' peace to fill me and quiet me, and still the storm that is raging inside me.

I am like the faithless disciples, in the midst of the storm. They feared, they cried out, they were sure their ship was doomed. And basically, Jesus said, "Where is your faith?"

and I heard Him, in my tumultous heart, say that to me this morning.

Why am I letting myself get worked up into a frenzy of disappointment and despair, when we have the assurance that this adoption is part of God's plan for us, that our 2 girls will come home to us SOMETIME in the near future, and that we are in the business of ministering to orphans?

Why do I keep focusing on the "what if's" instead of the truths?

Why do I let myself "go there?"

Why am I like the raging sea, waves billowing about, feeling no sense of peace and calm?

Because I have chosen to allow myself this "luxury" of wallowing in self.

And boy, has it ever been HORRID!!!

My morning devotions consisted of near tears because I couldn't find my book I started re-reading this weekend-oh boy, how sad is that? And then I had real tears, because after I found it, the reading for the day was JUST what I needed to hear, see, meditiate upon, and cling to for dear life.

Of course, there comes with it a chastisement form the Lord for allowing myself to get to this point. The obsessing over how long, how many days, how much longer.....

trying to track every detail, trying to anazlye every possibility, trying to "make" it all happen according to MY plans-

Guess what? That's not how God does life, is it?

and it's certainly not how a godly woman (trying to be a godly woman) handles life in the midst of storms.

To say I have seen the light is an understatement. God has shook me good this morning, and I am so thankful.

He has shown me, again, that my unbelief, my fear, my anxiety, are not going to bring me peace, or bring Rose and Lilly home any faster. Nor will it provide a safe haven for my 5 children already in my home, nor provide my dear husband with the love and support he needs during the storms of his life!!

God is good, all the time. He put a song of praise in the heart of mine!

I am determined, and with His help, I will succeed, to quit obsessing, to quit over-analyzing, to quit raging, to quit denying He is in control!

A quote from Streams in the Desert, my devotional, will stay with me for the day, and hopefully longer than that:

"The beginning of anxiety is the end of faith, and the beginning of true faith is the end of anxiety." George Mueller!!

Another quote from today's devotion: You will never learn faith in comfortable surroundings. God gives us the promises in a quiet hour; God seals our covenants with great and gracious words, then He steps back and waits to see how much we believe; then He lets the tempter come, and the test seems to contradict all that he has spoken. It is then that faith wins its crown. That is the time to look up through the storm, and among the trembling, frightened seamen, cry, "I believe God that it shall be even as it was told me."

With God's grace and help, I will begin today to BELIEVE Him for all His promises, and all His plans, and "look up and claim victory"!!

Be blessed

Chris

Auction Time at the neighbor's farm

2011-05-25T15:58:00.000-05:00

We had quite an event in our neighborhood the last Thursday of March.

Our neighbor had an auction, and most of the Amish from the county must have been there. It was just down the road from our house so we had a front-row seat for all the activity.

3 boys checking out the buggy on the sale-we kind of kidded about needing one with the price of gas and all!!! But, of course, we would have needed a horse too!

Kendell visiting with Jaime and Gail

admiring the Amish sickle mowers-all ready to be used

Dad and one of his friends having a good conversation

too cute!!

Isaiah enjoyed himself too!

The day will live in infamy for us, as it was the day we got our Pre-Approval for Rosalyn!!

Thurs. March 31, 2011!

Blessings

Chris

Happy Mother's Day!!!

2011-05-07T21:25:00.000-05:00

This was waiting for me in my inbox this afternoon!!

Absolutely beautiful,

signed, Love Rosalyn Hannah

Pictures do say 1000 words, don't they!!!

Love, Chris

Another Daughter???

2011-04-23T16:47:00.000-05:00

We are so thrilled to announce another wonderful Blessing we have received this week.

China has accepted our initial request to adopt 2 girls from the Guizhou Province.

Lillianna Grace, who will be 6 in June, has been living in a foster home since she was just days old.

We found her through another wonderful friend on our advocacy email group, and we feel she is another perfect fit for our family.

She and Rosalyn do not know each other yet, but we are sure having 2 older sisters along for the trip home will hopefully make her transition to our family a bit smoother.

She looks like she has tons of personality, and perhaps a shade of naughtiness in her.

We LOVE her pigtails!!

Tyler is beyond excited that he will have a little sister very close to his age.

Kendell is thrilled to have be adding a little sister to our family.

Nick is just happy our family is growing, age, gender, none of that matters too much to him.

We are flying through our paperwork and are very happy to have about everything done that can be done before our homestudy is completed.

There is way more paperwork than we are used to with Taiwan, and lot of hoops to jump through, but they all lead us down the road to our children, and we are pretty excited that this could all happen yet this year.

Actually, because of new regulations China has coming down the pike, it pretty much has to be done this year, and that has given us all a sense of urgency to keep on processing paperwork, filing for certificates and writing out checks.

Our social worker is on-board with an expedited process, and we hope to have the homestudy done by the middle of May-a new record for us, if we make it!!

We met with our homestudy sw on April 15, and can't believe that was only 1 week ago. It seems like so much is happening so quickly-BUT I know things can slow down when we file our immingration approval ap with the USCIS once the homestudy is done.

We have had notoriously horrid experiences the last 2 adoptions, and we are praying our success improves dramatically this time.

We will keep you all posted, as things come up, but keep us in prayer, as the timeliness of this is extremely crucial-the faster, the better!!

Blessings

Chris and family

Spring days on our deck

2011-04-16T15:38:00.000-05:00

We had a happy little camper the day we set up a play yard on our deck. It was one of those really warm spring days, lots of sunshine, but still a nip in the air, and our housebound little boys just needed to get out and pig in some dirt. We left a pile of leaves for them to play in, brought up a pail of sand to spill all over, and a few fun toys, and then let them have a fun-filled afternoon.

Isaac is not climbing up the slide yet, by himself, but with some help, he can get up there, and he loves the sliding down part-smiles, giggles, and even when he lands, he is still all smiles.

Tyler had to give a few examples of how to use the triki-Isaiah is still not sure how to ride these things, but he will try anything if Tyler shows him first.

Isaac likes the sitting, not the moving part of these toys. But if you push him slowly, he will walk his feet along side it, so it won't be long and he will discover weigh-bearing and actually pushing himself along is very possible.

2 little boys enjoying the sunshine

Isaasc does not have an aversion to mud, but grass, that is a different story.

Kendell took Isaasc out into the cornfield to watch his big brothers try to fly kites. He had no problems scooting around in the mud, quite a difference from last fall when he wouldn't even touch it!

It was a great day for flying kites, but we didn't get a good picture-but they sure all had a great time!!

Now, this Saturday, we have SNOWagain, and cold wind, so we will have to stay indoors and look at these nice pictures to remember how much fun it was just a couple weeks ago!!

Blessings

Chris

INTRODUCING....

2011-04-09T20:53:00.001-05:00

Rosalyn Hannah

We are thrilled to bring you the latest news:

our family is adopting again, and we are even more thrilled that we will be adding another daughter to our growing family. Kendell is beside herself with glee over having a sister, she simply can't wait to travel to China to bring her home.

Rosalyn is living in the Guizhou province, in a conservative Christian foster home. She is learning English, she is homeschooled, she has made a profession of faith already, and we can't wait to see what more God has in store for her.

It was truly His hand that brought this all about, as we had no intentions of going this route, but through His carefully orchestrated events of the past month, we are very sure that this is His will for Rose, and for us.

We began to wonder about adding an older girl to our family, and raised some questions about how well a child living in a Chinese orphanage would adapt to our pretty conservtive lifestyle. There were many definite issues raised, and they were mostly things we had already considered-the extreme cultural change, their love for technology and tv and video games, their view of American families coming from Hollywood, and we sure don't measure up to a typical American family via Hollywood.

We were getting a bit discouraged, and all of a sudden, we received an email from a mom who had just returned from China, who knew the PERFECT girl for us. In fact, they have known her for 5 years. And to say she is a perfect fit for us is an understatement.

Rose is 13, and will age-out of the adoption process by her 14th birthday early next year.

We do not want that to happen. We are doing all we can to push through the very monumental mountain of paperwork in record time, so that we can bring her home well ahead of her 14th birthday. She is 11 months older than Nicholas, and will be 14 months older than Kendell. Both children are fine with that. Nick says, "I will still be the oldest boy!" and Kendell is only concerned with having a sister-age matters not one bit to her. A forever sister, a forever friend, a forever bond that she will have with Rose, that will last into eternity!!

We know not everyone will agree with us, not everyone will see eye-to-eye with us, and not everyone will even LIKE our decision.

BUT, we ask you to keep it to yourself, ok? This is our family, this is our prayerful decision. We have done many things in the past few years that many other families have not been asked to do, and we are being obedient to our Lord and Savior. It does not have to make perfect sense to everyone, as long as we are at peace with the decision, and we KNOW this is God's will for our family.

"I am a rose of sharon, a lily of the valley" Song of Solomon 2:1

This is the verse printed on Rose's prayer card, and it is also the verse God used in the past 10 days to reconfirm in my heart that she is meant to be ours.

We ask for prayer during this time for peace in her heart, and in ours, for strength to cheerfully get all the paperwork done, for speed for the process, and for God to knit our hearts together in love and joy before we even travel to bring Rose home!!

We know most of you reading this are thrilled for us, and Rose, and we are so happy to have you along on our journey.

May God's Blessings abound

In Christ's Love

Chuck, Chris and family

TA-DAA!!!

2011-04-08T19:30:00.001-05:00

In case you are wondering, "what is all this about", take a look HERE, and Here, then come back and read our story tomorrow!!
I promise, it will be unleashed in detail!!
Thanks for sticking with me this week-It has been fun reviewing the past month, leading up to some more big news for our family!We have been on a true walk of faith, and are learning that nothing happens by accident or luck, it is all orchestrated by our Heavenly Father.
Blessings
Chris
My morning meditation from an old puritan prayer book, The Valley of Vision:
"I am a poor, feeble creature when faith is not in exercise,
like an eagle with pinioned wings:
Grant me to rest on thy power and faithfulness,
and to know that there are two things worth living for:
to further thy cause in the world,
and to do good to the souls and bodies of men;
This is my ministry, my life, my prayer, my end.
Grant me grace that I shall not fail."
This could be our family's cry to God for the coming months: "Grant us to rest on thy power and faithfulness."
Amen!

Isaiah's trip to out-patient surgery

2011-04-07T20:32:00.000-05:00

March has been a super-busy month for us. Isaiah needed some teeth worked on. We were so worried that he would lose most of them during the procedure, so when only 2 were pulled, and 8 capped, we were quite happy about that. Of course, it is hard to teach someone to talk when he is missing his 2 front teeth, but we are happy that he feels better, and does not detest having his teeth brushed any more.

The pediatric dentist was very nice, and loves my little guy. Of course, when you see him playing before the procedure, and smiling at everyone with a genuine welcoming grin, who could not love him?

He had fun waiting for his time in surgery-they had quite a selection of toys to keep him occuppied.

Once we were taken into the pre-op area, they brought him some bristle blocks, which we don't have, and he really liked building with them.

He wasn't too sure about getting into pajamas in the middle of the morning, but he is so agreeable, that it didn't take much coaxing, and he as dressed and back on the floor playing and waiting again.

I don't know how we would have handled the morning if it had been his baby brother. Going without food is pure torture for Isaac. Isaiah did smack his lips a couple times, and say, EAT, but was never ornery or upset when food did not present itself.

After they gave him some really foul tasting stuff, he started to relax and wind down. He is the hardest kid to get to sleep if there is anything going on aroung him. He will not shut his eyes-I don't know how he held them open as long as he did!

Still hangin on, and they were late in coming for him-almost an hour!! Momma and Daddy were starting to get a bit perturbed, but he just decided to lay down and take it easy!

Poor little guy-he did not do so well after recovery-he was quite cranky, and very tired, and very HUNGRY!! Goodness, it was 1:30 in the afternoon, and he was finally able to get some apple juice.

All in all, he did super, and we were very proud of him. His mouth healed up very well, and he is doing great now. He has issues with biting toast or apple slices-he forgets those front teeth are gone, and Mom has to remember to break things into smaller bites for him, but he has really done well since healing.

There is still more to come about our monumental month of March

Check back tomorrow for more!

Blessings

Chris

A Day in the Life of 2 little boys!!!

2011-04-06T21:03:00.000-05:00

I don't think these pics need a lot of explanation!

2 little boys, enjoying a mild March afternoon

A big sister following them around with a camera!!

God is Good!

Blessings

Chris

The Little Boys have official names!!

2011-04-05T19:14:00.000-05:00

Tuesday, March 8, 2011-Readoption Day!!

Tuesday, March 8 was also another special day for our family this year.

Our 2 littles, Isaiah and Isaac, truly became Isaiah and Isaac. We had our readoption done in Wisconsin, and it feels really good to have all the stuff done that we need to do. EXCEPT FOR THE OFFICIAL SOCIAL SECURITY CARD NAME CHANGE!!

We keep waiting every day for the mail to bring our boys' new birth certificates, so I can scurry to La Crosse, again, and get their names changed, so we can then scurry to our accountant who is holding our taxes up for the new names on our tax return, so we can get our very nice adoption tax refund.

I don't think the day held much interest to either of them, although they did get a new teddy bear out of the deal. And we did some vehicle shopping, and we had lunch at Culvers. The eating out is definitely a highlight for both boys, as they love Culvers custard. Isaac is not talking yet, but his squeals/screams are heard throughout the house when dessert gets brought out, and he is equally loud when we are out in public, much to Nick and Ken's dismay!!

We have been home 10 months. I am sure we have a current record for the fastest readopt so far, within 9 months of coming home.

I look forward to our 1 year post placement report-there is just so much to say about each boy, they have each grown SOOO much, both physically, developmentally, and emotionally. It truly is a gift from God to receive such bundles of love and energy, and then have the privilege of raising them up for His kingdom.

May He find us faithful!!

Check back again, more updates to come throughout the week!!

Blessings

Chris

Celebrating Tyler

2011-04-04T21:53:00.000-05:00

Tyler and his 3 brothers having fun with MORE pictures

Tyler is definitely the ring-leader of the 3 little boys-today, it was making a train!!

Checking out an amish buggy at a neighbor's auction-he thinks we need on in our yard, for his personal entertainment!!

Love that toothless grin!!

The studious side of Tyler

Tyler and his big brother Nick sure get after each other sometimes, but they SURE DO LOVE EACH OTHER-even if we have to remind them of that at times! They love exploring outside together.

He's got some big boots to fill if he wants to grow up to be like his BABA!!

I am so glad he still likes to play tractors and trucks-it does my heart good to see him on the floor with Isaac and Isaiah!!

Tyler loves to create-with anything-and he has a very active, vivid imagination!

He is also the family clown-he still loves to make us laugh

On March 8, we celebrated 3 years as a family with Tyler. It is so hard to see the years go by so fast. He is still the smiley, animated, excited, busy, happy boy he was in Taiwan, but without all the naughtiness of those first few months.

No, not ALL the naughtiness, just not as much as we went through in the beginning.

Tyler is going to be 7 in July, and we just can't imagine life without him. He LOVES, LOVES his little brothers, and has taught Isaiah so much about playing farm, tractor, and ball. He also loves to hold his baby brother, even though baby brother is not much into being held by anyone. He also loves his big brother, and they spend many happy hours outside doing boy stuff.

His relationship with big sis Kendell is equally wonderful-he will play dolls with her, tolerates her dressing him up like a girl, and loves it when she reads to him.

Tyler is doing very well in math in school. He has a very quick brain, and is very visual. I have a logic workbook that he LOVES working out of, and I think that is part of the problem with his regular school work, it is not very exciting. Doing his 10 facts just doesn't compare to visual stimulation like drawing like patterns, finding differences in pictures, and things like that.

Although he is doing well in math, I am not sure the program I am using is enough of a challenge for him. I may need to change his curriculum a bit, as if he is bored, he is extremely difficult to teach, and can't even pretend to want to be doing the day's assignments.

He is very readable, especially for his momma and big sister. His expressions are always a give-away to what is going on in his heart and mind. BUT he is also one of his sister's favorite photo subjects. He loves to have his picture taken, and it shows by the photos we have of him-almost as many as baby brother Isaac.

We celebrate you Tyler-We love you, and are so glad God brought you into our life.

You write your own story in our family, and we are blessed by it!!

Love

Momma and Daddy

A Day Helping Grandpa and Grandma

2011-04-03T17:29:00.000-05:00

Hello All,

We have had a busy month of March, and I have several posts I will be doing this week to get us all caught up with the excitement in our family!

To start the month out, we visited my Dad and his wife Ann Saturday, March 5th and helped them cut and haul some wood that was in their yard. It was a really nice March day. Warm enough to get kind of sloppy by later in the afternoon, and also warm enough we didn't need tons of winter clothes on.

The children absolutely loved helping cut, haul and throw down the wood. I am very proud of how hard they are willing to work, and how much they can get done in a short time.

I am also thrilled with how well Isaiah did for the afternoon. I am sure, without all the exercises we have been doing with him, he would have never been able to hold up, nor move around very well .He has gained so much strength in the past couple months, he is like a new boy!!!

We want to go back this summer and do a whole day of hauling again for them. And it makes us want to have a wood stove for our heat, as Grandpa shared how much it has helped cut their heating costs over the year.

Please stop back again, there should be a new post each day this week, as we have some exciting things to celebrate that happened throughout the month.

Blessings

Chris

The Ministry of Adoption

2011-03-10T07:14:00.000-06:00

An orphanage is not a home, it does not have the loving arms of a mommy and daddy

It is a facility that meets their basic needs.

Children are not meant to be raised in cribs

Not much here to stimulate and encourage any child...

Our first visit with Kendell, almost 11 years ago

Nick's roommates, all lined up on their potty chairs after lunch

Our little boy, so forlorn, on his little bed, one of 14 in the room

Lunch time for 14 little people-and lunch consisted of a very thin broth, maybe a crunchy piece of crust, and a cup of water

I have been giving a lot of thought to why people adopt. I have to be honest, the reason we continue down this road is not the reason we started out 11 years ago. We started out wanting a family. Desiring a family. "NEEDING" a family. I guess that is where many people start out, wanting children of their own.

Who knew, 10 years ago, when we made that first trip to Russia, met our soon-to-be daughter, and had to leave her there while we waited for a court date, that our lives would be forever changed by the "call" to adopt.

For reasons unexplainable to those who have not walked the road we are on, orphans, and the need to make a difference for them, becomes intermixed with your very being, the very fibre of your soul. After walking the halls of an Eastern European hospital/orphanage, after witnessing the mass-feedings, mass-potty training, mass-naptime, and huge ratio of children to care-givers, the unbelievable lack of toys, lack of adequate nutrition, and the very sterile environment the orphans are growing up in, not many come away without tears and aching hearts for the ones left behind.

But no one told us this when we signed on the first time.

No one said, "It's more than making a family"

No one said, "You'll never forget the tears, the sad eyes of the ones left."

It was all about being a momma and daddy. About getting a baby to parent.

BUT...

It is really so much more than that, and only God knew what He would have in store for us over the years.
I have had my moments, ok lots of them, of selfishness. Of thinking, I'm done, I need to take care of the ones I have, I don't need any more to do in a day, I need some free time in a day, I need a quiet, restful night, I need, I need, I need.
But guess what? What does Jesus say? He came to serve, not to be served. He said, who ever gives a cup of water to one of the least of these, gives one to Him. He said, we need to lay down our lives, and take up our crosses, and follow Him.
For us, following Him has meant giving up many of the things many people consider needful.
TV, video games, jewelry, fancy clothes, lots of "stuff" that only controls you and wastes your money. Fancy vacations, fancy vehicles, LOTS of vehicles, being controlled by high-powered jobs, desiring and striving to make lots of money, the list is endless.
But really, as we walk with Him, as we seek to serve Him and become more like Him, shouldn't those things go by the wayside? As we yield our bodies to His service, and say "Yes" to His call on our lives, don't we lay down our fleshly desires and lay up treasures for ourselves in Heaven?
We had just come home with Tyler 3 years ago, and were thinking, "we need to do this again" but not sure if it was our emotion, or God. I was praying about our ministry, asking God to give us a ministry, thinking, maybe it is hospitality. I love to cook and entertain, but we had not made a huge habit of doing so, yet we had company coming that day, and I wanted to be a blessing, and not be stressed by the chores both before and after our company left.
I heard very clearly, "Your ministry is adopting children."
WOW-I had not considered it a ministry at this point. Yet, as God moved us to a special needs adoption, 2 little boys, one with a brain injury, and one with a heart condition, and we felt no fear, only peace, we got a bigger vision of what we were really doing.
Over the next 14 months, while waiting to bring our little boys home, we heard many times, "This is your calling." It was repeated by many people, and it ministered grace to our sometimes fretting hearts.
Because, sometimes our flesh does kick in, and we get tired of the issues, tired of the late, sleepless nights, tired of the sibling rivalry, tired of the questions that come at you 24/7, tired of the mountains of laundry, tired of fixing food for all those hungry little mouths, sometimes, just plain tired.
Yet, that is when we have to go back to Jesus, and beg for mercy, and for grace, and wisdom and love.
Parenting is not for the faint of heart. It is a 24/7, 365 day a year job. And adoption is not for the faint of heart. It is a long road, filled with tons of paperwork, lots of appointments, lots of BIG checks written out, answering lots of questions you really don't always feel like answering, and lots of emotions that go up and down all day long.
And there are always the ones who think, enough is enough. Take care of the ones you have. It's too expensive. You can't do any more. You are overloaded. You have too much on your plate already, how are you going to put them all through college?
Really, if I kept my eyes on all this stuff, who would have the energy to do this parenting stuff right?
But, it is about more than just parenting. We are trying to disciple our children, to raise them for Heaven, not Harvard.
We have a God-given call on our lives, and obeying that call is of utmost importance, even when it is inconvenient, even when it is expensive, even when it is HARD!!!
I read on a different blog a few weeks ago about a mom's uncertainty of why they would be called to adopt yet again. I admit, it really struck a cord with me, because I feel so unworthy, so needy, so incapable, so sinful, why would God entrust more children to my care? Yet this mom's revelation was something that has stayed with me over the weeks. She was reading about Gideon, the "wimp" who was threshing his grain while hid inside a wine press, so the Midianites would not see him and come and steal his wheat.
Yet, God saw something in him, and sent an angel to greet him, "The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valour." Judges 6:12
What? Mighty man of valour? Hiding away? Yet, God used Gideon in an amazing way, to defeat the huge Midianite army with a small band of 300 men.
What was so amazing about Gideon? Was he capable? Was he wise? Was he brave? Wasn't he fearful?

But what he was, was obedient! He had a heart to follow God's call, and to lay down his fears, and stand up and make a difference.
Am I fearful? Yes!! Am I sinful? Yes!! Do I have it all figured out? NO!!
BUT, I do desire to walk where He leads, to be obedient, to listen to His call on our lives.

The ministry of adoption, no we can't save all 147 million orphans, but we can sure save some. We can nurture, and love, and care for, and educate, and guide and disciple some.
Because it matters to that one, or 2 that we may bring home next.
What is your calling in life?
Are you being obedient?
Blessings
Chris

Little rays of sunshine

2011-03-07T23:12:00.000-06:00

What are little rays of sunshine in your life?

Smiles on the children's faces

Laughter from your loved ones

Good books with curling pages from so much page-turning by the children

soft beds

warm homes

wonderful aromas wafting from the kitchen 3x a day

piles of clean laundry ready to go into dressers

a closet full of games

a floor covered in baby toys

HOME

Our homes should be rays of sunshine, and how often do we take our homes for granted?

How often do you think about those without homes?

Without families?

How often do the 147 million orphans in the world cross your mind?

and if they ever do cross your mind, what do you do about it?

What do you think would bring a ray of sunshine into an orphan's life?

Home

Family

Brother and sister

pets

HOME

FAMILY!!!

Is there something you can be doing to bring a ray of sunshine into a child's life today?

Consider adoption

or how about sponsoring an orphan?

How about helping someone who is fundraising for an adoption?

We know God's heart is with the orphans-the fatherless

If it weren't for adoption, we would not be a part of God's family, for it is only by grace we are accepted into His family.

Be a ray of sunshine today!!

Blessings

Chris

Horse-Drawn Sleigh Rides-Oh My!!

2011-03-03T18:07:00.000-06:00

Our family had a wonderful opportunity a couple weeks ago to go for a horse-drawn sleigh ride.

Even though we live in Amish country, we have never had that chance before, and we really enjoyed our afternoon. It was a cold, brisk day, clear, and peaceful, and the 5 children and I left Daddy behind to do his work, and headed for a drive. We ended up in the bluffs, on a very quiet, peaceful road, and even though we didn't know anyone except the driver of the team, a young man from our church, we were very blessed by the outing.

We were glad the weekend event occured when it did, as the next week, we went through a pretty major warming spell, and most of the snow disappeared in a week or less. Since then, we have had a bit more snow, but spring thaws are headed our way, rain and all, and we don't think there will be much snow left by next week.

I am working on some more posts, hopefully we will get time over the next few days to make some more changes to the blog, and give a few more updates on our family and our boys!!

Blessings

Chris

Our baby turns 2!!

2011-02-11T13:15:00.006-06:00

Oh Happy Day

Well, I think so anyway-it is always bittersweet on the baby's first birthday at home, and it was no different yesterday when we celebrated with our little man, Isaac.

Despite chronic ear infections, 5 rounds of antibiotics, 2-yr molars trying to come in, and ear tubes going in on Wednesday, we had a great day with our son for his 2nd birthday.

Kendell baked cupcakes, and he sat on a chair and watched her frost them, and I just thought his view of the cakes was adorable-they were JUST out of reach, and did he try to get to them-it was quite the sight.!

Here he is, just can't wait to get his hands on them, but not too sure what to do with it when he does finally get one on his tray!!

Such a look-do you mean I get all of those???

He was the calmest he has been in days-didn't even try to touch them, in fact, didn't even want to touch one when it was finally time to eat them

everyone gets into the act of blowing out the candles

so cute, so tentative, we could not believe he did not just devour it-but he had to play with it first, and make a total mess of crumbs, then try to pick up the crumbs to eat it!

it is amazing how much better his fingers work now that he has been crawling on all 4's for a couple months-although that will be changing soon as he is starting to "stand" unassisted for a few seconds at a time-and no, this momma is NOT ready for that

finally, presenttime!!

OK Daddy, let's get this show on the road, it has to come out of that box NOW, and I will show you how to do it

what a great musical toy from Grandma and Grandpa-and he loves it too, but big brother Zaya has claimed it for the interim, as he can pull it all over the house and listen to it singing to him!!

They all got in on the action with his new Fisher Price Little People garage-we were all impressed with how Isaac actually played with it-all afternoon, and all evening-it was quite cute watching the 3 little boys playing together after supper last night-and a first for Isaac, he actually stayed with a task for more than a minute!!

everyone had to get into the act with the little people garage

We are so blessed to have such wonderful children, and to be able to celebrate Isaac's2nd birthday with him-he is definitely our motor man, and does he make noise when he wants to, and he will be walking soon, we are sure of that-he has come SOOOO far since coming home last June-it is hard to imagine the changes in him from our first view of him as that little rag doll in the orphanage, to the perpetual motion he is now.

How great is our God!!

Thanks for stopping by

Blessings

Chris

A look inside our science notebooks

2011-02-07T16:15:00.009-06:00

While finishing up our co-op work, I thought it would be kind of nice to show some of the actual work my children do for their notebooks. Instead of workbooks, we have folders and notebook pages we use to review our facts and retention of the info is so much better for us this way than with fill-in-the-blanks, and t&f questions. They love to show off their notebooks to friends and family, and explain most of the info while they look through their books.

We glue the folders onto cardstock with glue sticks, and then put the pages into page protectors. Page protectors are not necessary, because they do slow down the review and looking through the actual folders, but they preserve the folders-we never lose anything since we started using page protectors, and some of their work requires lots of little, bitty pieces.

We also print off lots of pics off the internet for them to use for collage pages or for their title page for each chapter. Then, we also print all sorts of photos we take at co-op, and they scrapbook them and add them to the appropriate lessons, so all their memories are preserved, and in one place.

As I read the lessons to the children, we have vocab pages I create for writing down the definitions of the countless vocab words in the lesson. They also work on coloring pages while I read, and it is amazing how much they absorb while they are listening and coloring. Sometimes I have a high-quality coloring book to use, often I just print some coloring page off the internet. While searching the internet takes time, I can find very specific pages when I want them, and it adds to their fun and helps cement the facts if they are coloring pictures of the comet or meteorite while we read about it.

I will buy some special scrapbook pages, and stickers if I can find them, and they really enjoy putting it all together to showcase their semester of study.

We have done 4 books of science this way, and look forward to doing Anatomy next year with a different approach-the Notebooking journals. We still plan to do folders at co-op time, and lots of diagramming and notebooking, along with lots of our own photos, and we will add those to a separate binder. We had the notebook journals for this year, but decided to just use a few pages out of them, and save them for the next time we do Astronomy.

Enjoy your tour through Kendell and Nick's binders, and see you next time

Thanks for stopping by

Blessings

Chris