China Day 2 - William Day

This was a really tough day. William cried very hard and begged the orphanage staff not to leave him with us. He will not let us comfort him, and sat on a chair by the window for hours, just crying. He kept telling our guide about his friends that he misses and that he wants to go buy necklaces to give to the nannies. Tracy, our guide from Holt, said he is very articulate and expressive. When we got off the bus, he asked the driver to be sure to come back and pick him up and take him back to the orphanage. 

We walked to the mall and he cracked an accidental smile at me one time. He quickly recovered when he realized what he was doing. William had already told Tracy that he absolutely would not eat. She inquired about his favorite food and he said, "Coke". Papa Johns was the restaurant of choice tonight. Immediately we got him a Coke, yes me, the "no Coke mom". He allowed me to give him a few sips. Then when some spaghetti arrived I noticed an itsy glimmer of interest in his eyes. I offered him the noodles and he ate quite a few bites, just like a true Italian. At bedtime he freaked out at the idea of changing out of his clothes. He said they were gifts from the nannies. Tracy said he may want to wear them a very long time. So currently he is sound asleep in his jeans. 

We have to return to the Civil Affairs office in the morning to sign paperwork.Hopefully we can keep him from seeing the orphanage staff. We appreciate everyone's prayers for hope and healing for our littlest guy. 

On a positive note...he sure is cute and oh so 'cool'.

China Day 1

We said goodbye to big brother at the airport and had an uneventful 15 hour flight to Hong Kong, followed by a 5 hour layover and a flight to Nanjing, Jiangsu, William's province. We don't take uneventful flights for granted after Dan passed a kidney stone on the last trip home from China! 

Jiangsu is a city of 8.5 million people with many large manufacturing companies here. The Holiday Inn is very nice, and is adjacent to a large shopping mall with many American stores.  A great night's sleep made for a nice relaxing Sunday. The breakfast buffet was delicious and more food than you can imagine. Ivy enjoyed her three plates of food and bowl of noodle soup. She especially liked the congee and steamed buns. Pork dumplings were a hit with the rest of us. We ventured out on the streets and walked around the Confucius Temple area where there are a lot of street vendors. Macy is always the one that the Chinese people find most interesting because of her very fair skin. A lady stopped us and asked to take a picture with Macy, telling her how beautiful she is. (we know a few Chinese words) We get a lot of stares and quite a few laughs too, especially when we try and communicate! 

We met four other families today from our agency that will also meet their children tomorrow. We all board the van and 9:30 am and go to the Civil Affairs office for the arrival of our children at 10:00. We are all so excited and nervous to meet William.

"The Lord's lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness." Lamentations 3:22-23

Getting ready

 

We are finishing up the details before we take off on this journey to William.

 

 

 

Emotions are all over the place..stressed, nervous, and excited all in one. God has provided for every detail and need over the last ten months, and we lean on His protective care for the coming days.

 



Updated Photos

 

Friday afternoon surprise in my inbox!

 

 

 

We're goin' back to China

Introducing our newest family member...

William Asher Wen Jun



 Little Wen Jun will turn six on November 1st of this year. He has lived in an orphanage in Jiangsu, China since he was a few days old.

We received the official document from China today that states we are approved to adopt him.

We are rejoicing that there is one less orphan in the world today.

"Like cold water to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country."

Proverbs 25:25



Forever Family - 2 years later

We have a lot of catching up to do. Two years with Ivy is a special place to be. We are so proud of this girl. I really do love adoption, more all the time. Watching God transform a family through this process has been one of my greatest joys in this life.  I recall the pain of natural childbirth and the joy that followed. Adoption is no different. The pain is real. The joy takes longer to show up in some cases. I never want to minimize the hard part about adoption, especially older child adoption. It's just plain difficult on everyone involved. So for the people who said, "This is going to be hard". I say, "We expected hard. Some things were much easier than we anticipated, and some things were much harder."

 

Ivy has grown physically at least three years of typical growth in two years. She still finds great joy in each and every meal and snack! Imagine living the first five years of life without a full tummy, or the experience of asking mom for 'seconds'. She's still making up for those early years. Food is a real big deal to her. So she fits in well here with this group!

Emotionally, she has matured at least four years in two years time. This part is impossible to put into words. Ivy was like a two year old in many ways when we brought her home at just under five years. She was grabbing kitchen knives and was basically out of control and doing all the things toddlers do. Tantrums and meltdowns were daily or hourly occurrences. Imagine never having a 'voice'. If you cry, no one comes. So while our patience was tested, we still embraced the screams as a good sign - a sign that she realized for the first time someone was listening, and her voice mattered. Through lots of prayer and begging God for wisdom, we have found ways to validate her 'voice' and still maintain some peace in our home! God is so faithful to lead us in this journey.

 

Academically, Ivy is remarkable. She is reading and doing first grade work. Her favorite things to do are to listen to "Little House on the Prairie" books on CD, read books with mom and sisters, and do crafts of most any kind. Swimming would also be high on the list. Her vocabulary seems to have surpassed the average American child at this age. It really is remarkable. So to the people who said, "How will you teach her the language?" I say, "I really don't know how it happened, but it was much easier and faster than we ever dreamed it could be."

 

I must also mention how proud I am of the growth in our other children. The reality is they have had to make many sacrifices and changes. Watching God transform their hearts is an unexpected joy. I am so proud of them for hanging in there and allowing God to grow them. So for those who said, "This will be hard on your other children", I say, "True, hard it is. But I want my children to be challenged by the fire of adversity and to see their need to be dependent on their Savior. I want them to learn to love what God loves rather than have satisfaction in the world's things."

And for those who said, "Why would you want to do this at your age?" We say, "When God calls we must respond. This is His work. He knows what is best for us. Yes, we sometimes dream of quiet days and nights and cruising in a convertible. But the fact is, there is no where else we would rather be.



So Ivy Ruth...She's full of life, full of joy, spunk, creativity, hilarious comments, and huge emotion. She is brave and never quits at anything. She is strong-willed, never at a loss for words, and always the first to love and forgive.

So for the many people who have said, "She's so lucky!" We say,
"Trust me, We are the blessed ones."
Thank you, God, for the transforming work you have done in ALL of our lives the last two years.

When colors fade

I  love how Macy caught these sweeties on the camera.  When we brought Ivy home, one concern we had was how she would treat her younger nieces who are close to her own age. We obviously didn't know what training and experiences she had in the orphanage. It has been a joy to see how Ivy has loved and adored the little ones from the beginning. She intuitively knew how to be gentle and sweet with them, and she lights up when they are around.

These two were born an ocean apart.

 One with Ebony eyes...The other Icy-blue

One spirited and sprightly.

One calm and calculated

So different.

So much the same.

Both love a pretty dress.

Both love to sing a song of praise.

Both love bubbles and play dough.

Both love to laugh and cuddle.

Our creative God lovingly planned for them to be in the same family.

Woven miraculously together by His great providence.

From his abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another.

John 1:16

New Additions

Meet our two newest family members

These cute characters have added a whole new meaning to the "dog days of summer."