Jonathan's surgery

Little Jonathan was able to have his heart surgery - praise the Lord! Please keep this little guy in your prayers, though. It was a 3 and a half hour surgery, and the doctors are concerned about the healing of his heart and lungs. As his body fights for strength, let's pray that the Giver of all strength and life would heal this little guy!

Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

This will be short, but I just want to post a HUGE thank you to everyone who has contributed to the Surgery Fundraiser! I will have an update very soon on the surgeries, Lord willing. :-)

God is so good, and He is working mightily. We have been praying that He would "Wow" us with who He is through this adoption, and although we can't post details yet...He is doing it. Your prayers for our family are coveted. Thank you again!

We have a birthday boy!

Maggie and Abby love being "territorial" at the pool stairs! :-)

Drew, the birthday boy, and Brooke


I can't believe he is 11!!

Maggie and Bailee (our fantastic helper and friend!)

Well, we celebrated Drew turning 11 yesterday - I can't believe it! We spent the day at the pool celebrating with a few friends and family. We all had a great time. What was really special though, in the midst of all the celebration, we had (of course) our little guy on our minds. Continually, both Mike and I were reminded of Psalm 46..."Be still and know that I am God." So, we were able to relax (as much as you can with a bunch of kids in a pool) and enjoy a very special day - the birth of our firstborn child!

Persistence

Maggie the "Persistenator"(hey, it's my blog, I can make up words :-)

So, I was really discouraged this morning with our news from our agency. Yet, tonight, as I was reading Answers to Prayer by George Mueller (fantastic book, by the way), I was greatly convicted by my discouragement. Whenever this amazing man was faced with challenges, this is what he said about them, "The difficulties, which He is pleased to allow to arise, are only allowed, under such circumstances, for the exercise of our faith and patience; and more prayer, more patience, and the exercise of faith, will remove the difficulties."

Now, we have prayed, if the Lord has another home for this precious little guy that we have fallen in love with...we want him there. We want him where the Lord wants him because that is what is best for him. But, I realized, that we weren't given a definite "No" today. Our agency was frustrated because it wasn't a definite "No" or a definite "Yes". Yet, to me, that is a green light to keep praying and exercising our patience (which, by the way, is not my greatest virtue). I realized that George Mueller was like my Maggie...she really doesn't like to take "No" for an answer. I know that most kids don't like to take "No" for an answer, but Maggie just doesn't give up. And sometimes, even though this goes against EVERY parenting rule in the book, I will give up after she has asked me 109,000 times for a lollipop...I will give it to her just because she keeps asking. I wonder if the Lord sometimes just delights in us asking. So, until we are given a definite "No" we are going to keep asking for our little man. And, if in the Lord's sovereignty, he gives us a for sure "NO" and sends this little guy to a different family, then that is what is best for him, for us, and for God's glory.

All that to say...we are still holding out hope for our little man's file!

One last quote from Muller, "I have thus minutely dwelt on these various matters for the encouragement of the reader, that he may not be discouraged by the difficulties, however great and many and varied, but give himself to prayer, trusting in the Lord for help, yea, expecting help, which, in His own time and way, He will surely grant."

When nothing makes sense, where do you go from here?

So, we were just sure that we would be getting our little guy's file this morning...we just knew that the good news was coming. Our agency seemed sure...we seemed sure. This whole time I have been praying, "Lord, don't allow us to get so emotionally close to this child if YOU don't want him for our family." We got word today that it looks like his file will be going to another agency...we don't know which one, we don't know for sure it is even going to another agency, we don't know why we weren't matched with him. Actually, what we don't know exceeds what we do know.
So, where do we go from here? We proceed with our homestudy knowing that there are many children in Ch*na that need homes. We believe that the Lord will guide us to exactly the child that He has intended for our family. I just must remind myself that "Many are the plans in a man's (or momma's) heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails." I also must remind myself that "All things GOD works together for the good of those who love him and who have been called according to His purpose." Please pray with us and for us that the Lord would guide our footsteps and that we would not try to run ahead of Him.

Helping Paige and Jonathan

Back in July 2009 when we received Abby's referral, we were told that she had ASD (a minor heart condition) that may or may not need surgery. We began praying for her healing, but we also began researching pediatric cardiologists, finding out what would and would not be covered by insurance, etc. Soon after we got home, we took Abby to see one of the greatest pediatric cardiologists (a shout out to Dr. Romp :-) He took great care and time with her and explained that her heart was FINE! A miracle, we believe...but she would have been no less of a miracle if it hadn't been healed.

Now...we have a couple of little ones that I want to advocate for. I am not a fundraiser-type person, but this is something I am passionate about and truly feel led to advocate for. Currently, these 2 precious babies don't have a forever family to research the leading pediatric cardiologists in their area or to check and see what will and will not be covered by health insurance. They don't have mommies to hold them as the doctors do all of the needed tests. But, they are at an amazing foster home in Beij*ng! This foster home is near to our hearts and works tirelessly to get these children what they need. Paige and Jonathan desperately need heart surgery. They will need this to make their physical hearts whole. Please consider donating even $10 to help cover their surgery costs - every dollar donated up to $2,000 will be matched! So, when you donate $10, it is like you are donating $20!! :-) I would never post anything on this blog that isn't safe and secure and reputable - to "Chip-In" you just click on the link, and you can chip-in without creating an account or anything. I have had a link to New Day Foster Home's blog on my site for a while...check it out...see the precious children's faces and lives who will be impacted through your donation. These kids are amazing, they are real, and as believers, we can't ignore their plights.

Little Jonathan

Jonathan peeking at you :-)

Precious Paige

Paige...playing with her hands? :-)

A Fantastic, Whirlwind Trip to Florida

We celebrated a birthday - Maggie turned 4!!

visited the St. Augustine Lighthouse...


spent precious time with family...

and precious time with friends! :-)

We just got back from a great trip to Jacksonville visiting our family and catching up with friends. We didn't have time to pack in all that we would have liked to do...why can't vacations be 3 weeks instead of 1? :-)