ONE YEAR HOME AS A FAMILY OF 9

Where does the time go?

I can't believe we have reached the mark of our first anniversary HOME with our family of 9!!

Today, when we should be in church, and 5 of us have a flu bug, maybe the dreaded influenza, but it gives me time to ponder a bit and remember what was going on 1 year ago.

All month, I have been remembering where we were 1 year ago, what we were thinking, how we were feeling while in China, and now that we are HOME for 1 year, I think it is time for a NEW beginning.

Rose and Lili have been thru SO much in the last year.

EVERYONE has been thru a lot. And it hasn't all been sweet or fun.

There have been so many days of despairing, of disagreements, of disappointments.... YET, thru it all, we have seen how sweet it can be when we are all clicking and things are going well.

There HAVE been good days, in fact good weeks. There have been lots of smiles, giggles, sharing, learning, loving, and bonding.

There have been moments when we see, AHA, it WILL work out some day.

What I need to keep in mind, is that what I expected, and what is reality, do not mesh, and I NEED TO ADJUST my expectations.

Reality is not THAT horrible.
It is not unliveable.

It is not unbearable.

It is just hard, BUT whoever promised me a simple life?

Who ever said parenting 7 children would be easy?

Who said parenting 7 children, 4 with special needs, would be a storybook fantasy?

I have been doing some real soul-searching lately, and while I still lose patience, and want things easier, I am trying to have a better attitude, and realize, its really not about me, or the family we were 2 years ago. Its about who we are now, and what Jesus is trying to do thru us and with us and for us.

Rose really enjoys days when life is predictable, and she knows what will be happening. When she can get up, dress, make the beds, and come down and help in the kitchen, without lots of rushing and being pushed because we are headed out the door for some unknown reason, she has a lot better day.

SCHEDULE is crucial for Rose.

She likes routine, and she likes doing things the same every day.

When we upset her routine, she does not do well.

SOOO, we need to work harder at having a better schedule, and FOLLOWING it.

WHICH, while we are moving, will be a challenge, but hopefully we can keep our eyes on the end result, a new farm, a new house, more space, and we can all work towards that, and keep our attitudes in check, even in the midst of the flu bug.

Lili is doing very well lately.

She ADORES her daddy, and needs a ceratin amount of time snuggling with  him, holding his hand while he was sick, sitting beside him by the parlor stove, anything.

She has been trying very hard to be a good sister to Isaiah and Isaac, and seems to really want to help with little chores with Isaac.

She loves being outside, but chores, especially egg chores, are not good for her unsupervised. We usualy end up with scrambled eggs when she is collecting eggs:)

Her speech is really not doing very well tho, and tho her comprehension seems pretty good most days, there are days, when I am sure she does not understand a thing we have said.

She has this horribly nasal speech, and many sounds are just about impossible for her to even try.

She loves the one on one time of speech therapy, and we have nick-named her little sarge, as she certainly likes to be in charge-even with the speech pathologist-who loves her anyway, and is always eager to praise her and tell me how hard she has worked during her session.

I often wonder what the next year will bring for the girls.

Moving must be unsettling to them, yet neither has the words to express what may be going on in their minds and hearts.

YET, we have such hope that more space, and more time working as a family for chores, and more school time will make a difference for everyone.

There have been times in the past year when I honestly felt like, "why did we do this!!"

YET, today, I have peace, and I know that I would have done it all over again, even knowing how hard some days are, how the emotional battles and behavioral battles can be sooo draining and frustrating, how the lack of communication skills for BOTH girls can hugely impact the family dynamics.

I really need to keep MY focus on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who put our feet on this path, and who WILL give us all the grace and strength and wisdom that we need to make this family a cohesive unit.

Satan is dead-set against adoption.

We know he hates it when the fatherless find forever homes.

SO, we know he has been having a lot of fun with our family in the past 6 months, as we have been wallowing in pain and pity and despair, instead of looking up and claiming VICTORY!!!

I will always be brutally honest about older child adoption-IT IS NOT EASY!!

BUT, I will always stand behind the decision we made to follow Jesus and do it-it's like marriage, thru thick and thin, good and bad, sickness and health, we will survive, and be the better for it someday down the road!!

We are hunkering down for the arctic blast that is headed our way tonight-windchills of -35 are expected for up to 3 days-sounds like some good nights for snuggling, reading, and loving on our children-can't even think of moving on days like this, its all we can do to stay warm, and do the simple chores we have around here right now, and pray no one else gets the BUG!!!

Blessings to each of you

Chris, for all 9 of us

one year ago on gotcha day!!

 

gathering to sing Happy Birthday to Daddy via the web

from the lobby in our first hotel in Guiyang

I think they have all grown up a bit since last year!!!

 

Blogger is not letting me upload any new pictures tonight, so these will have to suffice for a quick snapshot of where we were 1 year ago!!!

almost 6 months since a post....

 

I find it hard to believe it was June the last time I wrote a post, and put pictures on this blog. YET, I know the last 6 months have been more busy than I could ever have imagined, with more ups and downs than I would have dreamed, and life has yet to find a "new" normal for our family.

I have always loved blogging, and sharing joys, dreams, fears, discouraging times, and meeting new friends along the way. I have gone back and read all the comments since the first of this year, and it has brought me great joy to know that we are NOT alone on this journey.

Adoption is SOOOO not for the faint of heart. It is exhilerating, it is exhausting. It is joyous, it is sad and filled with hours of grieving.

It is painful, yet it is like giving birth (or so I 've been told :)  )because you do forget all the pain when the hours of labor are behind you.

It is bone-wearying, soul trying, and mind stretching.

It is days of peaks and valleys, hours of training, training, training; it is minutes of praying, Help me thru this moment!

This past year is like nothing I/we have ever been through before.

To say there haven't been times when I wanted to just throw my hands up and say, I GIVE, I CAN'T DO THIS ANYMORE would not be an understatement.

It has been a hard year.

It has been trying.

It has been filled with moments of defeat, yet hours of great WINS.

I have spent more hours on the road to or in Dr's offices ( and don't even go there with the $$$ for gas this year) and the year is NOT over yet.

I have spent more time looking at symptoms, analyzing behaviors, asking questions and researching chromosome deficiencies and talking to genetics specialists than I EVER thought I would be doing.

There have been days when we were sure we were tearing apart our family, instead of building a new one.

There have been times of deep grief over the family that was.

There have been days of deep pain over the family we are trying to become.

It has been hard.

no 2 ways about, just plain HARD!!!

and it hurts.

BOY, does it hurt.

The sleepless nights worrying about children's issues, worrying about siblings not loving one another the way we had hoped, worrying about why I/ we don't feel the way we THINK we should be feeling by this time into this new family.

The days of trying to stop 3 little dynamos with LOUD mouths from destroying the house,(and my sanity) yet trying to school 3 who don't have any issues, and trying to figure out how to school our oldest daughter so that some day, she can GET IT!!!!

Do we regret the past year?

I don't think so.

Do we wonder what would have happened if we hadn't gone this route?

I think we do sometimes.

Yet, I hate to say it, but those are the times when my selfish, what about me attitude really comes to the front, and I want to say, WHAT ABOUT ME.

Yet, it's not about me, or Chuck, or the 5 who were home first.

It is about 2 new girls, who are still trying mighty hard to find their way in a world that still leaves them quaking in their shoes.

It's about 2 sweethearts who, until 11 months ago, did not have a forever mommy and daddy, sisters and brothers.

Its about trying our hardest to blend all our lives together, and to give honor and glory to our Father, who orchestrated it all from the beginning.

The tears can come easily some days, but there are days when the laughter, giggles and simple joys win out over the night's tears.

We still have lots of diagnoses to ponder, lots of issues to work through, lots of PAIN ahead, as we continue to forge this thing called FAMILY.

Please keep us in prayer. Please continue to check in, leave encouragements, and keep loving us from afar.

We don't mean to be distant, we are just busy about our Father's work-even on the days when I think I have done everything wrong-and there are alot of those kinds of days around here-I am a very fleshly creature, I have discovered, and don't like to have so many unknowns, so many what ifs, so many unanswered questions still hanging.

And for those of you who knew we were buying a farm, the deal is off-yes, another MAJOR disappointment-and another MAJOR unknown as we ponder what next!!!

What is next for us Lord?

We are really trying to listen-even when our flesh gets in the way!!!

Blessings and love

Chris for all 9 of us:)
A few pictures from the last few weeks-
I'm not going to try to recreate the whole 6 months, blogger is way too slow for me!!

enjoying some fall fun in the leaves

a homeschool fieldtrip, and daddy got to go along too:)

the joy of cows in the barn, fresh milk in the fridge, and making butter and cottage cheese

another field trip-and a chance to hold a skunk

good byes are hard, and our beloved Speech Pathologist had worked with Isaiah for 1 1/2 years-but her schedule did not allow for 4 kids in Hillsboro on Thursday morning anymore-sigh!!!

yes, that's FOUR dogs-2still very much all puppy!!!!

fun on the gator this fall-all 7 fit!!!!

our first Christmas for this year-and 9 cousins gathered together at Grandma and Grandpa's house:)
I think we are stretching them a bit!!!

Rosalyn just discovered a BABY in her box-and she LOVES her

we might have a way to make these 2 best friends yet-they both LOVE dolls, and Grandma sewed some awesome clothes for the new dolly-who is named Jessa

after Christmas at Thanksgiving, some of us hit the woods with my Dad to bring in some wood for him-and it was a COLD day

mama duck hatched 4 ducklings, and did we enjoy watching them grow over the summer

I w as thankful to find pictures of the fireworks I missed as Isaac screamed through the whole show-the ONLY thing he is scared of, besides a car wash:)

 a family picture at the park after the girls' readoption in September

 Double the trouble, but 2x the amount of sweetness and cuteness!!!

2 little boys playing cars

gathering at the waters for baptisms this fall

14 is a beautiful birthday

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!!!



HOME

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

Travel Plans are coming together

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!!!!!

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

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

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

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!!

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

3 girls, 3 stories, 3 homes

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

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

LOA

LOA

LOA

LOA

LOA

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

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

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.

W

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