Finally!! We have a total!

Thank you so much to everyone who participated in my fundraiser to help with adoption expenses. Through Sarahs Treasure Box on her Etsy store and a very generous donation we have managed to raise $400 of the $1500 needed for our homestudy. I have to confess that I was a teeny bit stressful in the late afternoon when Sarah e-mailed me that we had only sold a few necklaces. As I began receiving e-mails of purchases and e-mails of encouragement it dawned on me that "yes" the money will come. It may not all be in this fundraiser, but it will come. I had started stressing over something that God has total control over. This adoption is in God's hands and He will provide. So onward we go. I have another fun event coming hopefully next week. Thanks again for helping us along our journey to our daughter, Faith!!!!

Trust in the power of the Lord:

"Do not be anxious about anyting, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God".
Phillipians 4:6

Fundraiser wrap up today!

Well I had several sweet friends who were not able to place an order
last Thursday, the day of our fundraiser. I made a comment to Sarah that I probably would have had a few more orders. I checked my e-mail late Saturday and had an e-mail from her saying she would extend the orders through the weekend. What a sweet lady to do this for me. Thank you Sarah again!! So I hope to have the final tally tomorrow and will announce it here. What sweet friends I have made through this fundraiser. More to come tomorrow!! Stay tuned.

Fundraising today to bring Faith home

Well it's finally here!! Our fundraiser through Sarahs Treasure Box. I've not known Sarah for very long and in fact found her site through another mom's blog who did a whole lot of fundraising to bring her two sweet darling girls home. That day that I visited the blog, she had posted some of Sarah's necklaces as well as written that Sarah conducted fundraisers for adoption. I'll have to say that I was hesitant to contact her. I always have that fear of rejection. But I did and this sweet lady was very happy to work me in with a fundraiser date. She has the most stunning necklaces!!!! And she just added more Chinese pendants. I know you will love every one of them. So what are you waiting for? Click on the Sarahstreasurebox button on the right of this page & place your order before your favorites are gone. What great gifts these necklaces make whether it's for Christmas, birthdays, teachers gifts, etc. There is something for everyone! I'm posting a couple of my favorites. Thanks so much for your help!!!



God's tells us to take care of the orphans and widows. Do you think people know how many orphans there really are? It just breaks my heart when I see this number.

Faith

Fundraiser Our first fundraiser is through Sarahs Treasure Box. What an amazing lady to work so diligently to prepare her beautiful necklaces and give so much of herself to help others financially help bring their child home. Thank you Sarah again, and again, and again. I just can't say it enough. This is our 4th adoption and the financial piece is what was holding us back. I'm diving in and trusting in God that He will provide for us through this journey.
The fundraiser begins next Thursday, Oct. 21st. I have Sarahstreasurebox link on my blog. She is giving $5 of every purchase towards our adoption. Some of you may have already visited her etsy store and even ordered her beautiful necklaces. If not, you are going to be in for a real treat. I ordered two and am so impressed with them. They look beautiful with a t-shirt or dressed up. So pretty!!! These necklaces make great gifts for teachers, co-workers, family members, kids (my daughters just love them too), etc. And the price certainly makes them affordable to give as gifts. So I hope and pray that you will get out your Christmas list and start looking at Sarahstreasurebox. You can begin placing your orders at midnight, Thursday morning 12:00a.m. Again, it's a ONE day fundraiser and orders must be placed Oct. 21 in order to count for our fundraiser.
I'm also asking that you please post our fundraiser on your blog, facebook, twitter, etc. Her link is http://www.etsy.com/shop/sarahstreasurebox

A little more about our daughter:
I title this post Faith, as that is the name we hope to give her. I guess we'll wait to see what she thinks about it. However, As I have pondered an English name for her, the first name that really popped into my head was Faith as I know this adoption is in God's hands as He has lead us to this sweet child. From reading my previous posts, you may already know that this child tugged at my heart the first day I saw her. For the last 7 months I have thought about her day and night and prayed earnestly to God that if this little girl is to become part of our family, that he keep her on my heart. Not knowing what my husband would say about adding a fourth child to our family, I also prayed that God would give him a soft heart. I honestly thought that my hubby would say "are you crazy?". I could not believe his positive, open reaction as he was so compassionate to her need of a family when I told him about her. That's my hubby!!
A little bit about our girl:
Wang - means "accumlate"
Xia - means "rosy clouds" "morning or evening glow"
SN - sequelae from brain trauma - cp
age - 10 years old

As an infant, before 6 months of age, she had a head injury. Her reports state that she loves school and does well in school. She loves to dance and perform. I'm so fortunate to have pictures of her performing on Children's Day this year. I also have a video of her performing. Emmi, takes dance, so I hope Wangxia will be open to learning other forms of dance, ballet, tap or jazz. We'll see!!
I also have a video of her being interviewed during an agency camp. My heart just melted when she was asked what she most wanted and she replied "to have a family". Hopefully the paperchase will be speedy as we are so looking forward to bringing her home!

Again, I hope you will pass our fundraiser along and post it on your blogs and facebook especially the day of the event, Oct. 21st. I forgot to add that custom orders do not count on the day of the event. Thank you so much!

Maggie, our little gymnist

Oh my, I don't think I could do the flips and flops that Maggie does at gymnastics when I was her age. In fact, I can't even do a cartwheel (then and certainly not now). Out of all three kiddos, Maggie is the one that honestly can't sit still. I love that God blessed us with three children who are so very different. And out of the three, Maggie is Miss congeniality. I get so tickled when I go to school and see her in action. Every teacher she meets, she gives a hug. That's my Maggie!! Oh, and did I mention that she is a wiggle worm. Of all the activities that she could possibly participate in, gymnastics is just right up her alley. She loves gymnastics!!!! It amazes me to sit and watch her do the rotations. She has the upper body strength like no other in her little class. She runs at everything she attempts and keeps trying until she gets it right. In fact, she taught herself to do the cartwheel (in our living room). I knew she would love gymnastics when one day on our jungle gym at home, I turned around and she was sitting on the top of the swingset. I just about panicked. Nope, she didn't go for the little trapeze bar, she went for the top of the swingset. Just sitting there like a bird pirched on a tree limb. She has no fear, which scares me a lot. I hope this little video clip works. This was from this afternoons gymnastics class. I finally remembered to take my camera. And no she doesn't use up all that energy at class. She has plenty left over for the rest of the night. Me, I'd be plum tuckered out.
The video would not upload so I'm adding a couple of pictures. Unfortunately, the pictures are kind of dark, especially the one of Maggie on the bar.

Walk of Faith

Mike and I have been so blessed to have three beautiful children, all adopted from China. We will be celebrating our 25th wedding aniversary Dec. 21st. Wow, where does the time go? I remember thinking years ago about our 25th anniversary. What would be my dream getaway to celebrate such a milestone, Hawaii? When Mike and I married we openly talked about adoption. I'm adopted, my dad wasn't actually officialy adopted but found a family (I'll tell the story a little later) and so adoption just seemed right. We began the adoption process in 1998 and in 2000 I traveled with my mom to bring our first daughter home, Emmi. It's hard to believe that 10 years ago we were waiting on our TA. Emmi was 1 year old. As I was an only child, I knew she had to have a sister. So in 2002, our agency, Childrens House International, introduced the first waiting child list. There she was, our Maggie. I never in the world thought that I could possibly adopt a sn child. But I knew in my heart that she was ours. God had a special plan for our family and Maggie was part of that plan. I did all my research on cleft lip/palate. You know crossed all the t's and dotted all the i's. This need is so manageable. We traveled in Feb., 2003 to bring her home. She was 20 months old. In 2004, I thought maybe we could adopt another little girl. However, God had another plan. You see, there was a little boy, 3 years old, who's file was going to be returned soon. I started advocating for this little boy and never thought about adopting him. I just knew he needed a family. His special need was club radial hand. As I advocated for him, I started feeling a pull. Why couldn't we be his parents? So I started praying about this cute little man becoming our son. Was he our son? I felt that tug and at church on my Birthday, it all came together. We traveled in Feb. 2006 to bring him home and he was 3 3/4. Another manageable need, club radial hand, Jacob had surgery to straighten and lengthen his arm. We plan on another surgery next year. He can throw a football better than most boys in his class and loves to play basketball.
As we sit down for dinner, there's always that empty chair. In the van, there's empty seats. And for some reason, 4 has been on my mind now for the past few years.
Back in February, I decided to visit the rainbowkids website. Having a routine of work, school for the kids, homework, dinner, etc. I really didn't take the time to check my favorite blogs and groups or even post on my own blog. As I visited rainbowkids, I knew I could open my heart to an older child. There were two girls whose needs seemed so manageable (although I knew nothing about either one). I remember thinking, "I could adopt either of these girls and be their mom". How in the world would I decide. Now these were just thoughts, nothing serious. As I thought about both girls days later, I went back to rainbowkids. One of the girls was no longer listed. The other child, that I was drawn to the most, was still there. Her need was listed as CP so I e-mailed the agency regarding more information. Financialy, we just weren't ready to start another adoption, maybe next year. However, my heart just kept being tugged. I joined the agency's yahoo group. I found more pictures and even video of her as well as researched her need. Over the past 7 months I have prayed and prayed and prayed about this child. I've thought about her day and night, night and day. I know it's God's plan that she too be a part of our family.
We submitted our paperwork and received PA today. So now the paperchase begins. Her name is Tammy on the agency list, however, we're thinking about the name, Faith. This is a walk of faith. So I hope you follow along to see God's work. I have several fundraisers planned with the first one on Oct. 21st, more to come.
MY DAD - as I wrote above, my dad was never officially adopted. As an orphan, he rode one of the last orphan trains. I can just imagine it traveling through Kentucky and stopping in every little town. As the trained stop in one of the last towns, my dad with all the other kids walked to the courthouse steps (not far from the train tracks). There was a man there that saw my dad and took him home. Unfortuately, this man's wife didn't want a son, so this man called a friend of his. As this man too took my dad home, again he was rejected by the wife. Another call was made, and the last family accepted my dad. The first two men were pretty influential in the town. The family that finally found him, wasn't, but they had the biggest heart. I'm so grateful that that train stopped in my home town that day. And I'm so grateful that when my mom and dad asked for a boy to adopt and received an extra picture (of me, hee hee) my dad had a change of heart. Yep, I was a daddy's girl!! I love and miss my dad. The gift of family, what a treasure!
So for this 25th anniversary I can honestly say that I'm not dissapointed that we're not going to Hawaii, or probably anywhere else. But I'm so grateful that I have a husband that has a love for the orphans as I do. Afterall, I was one.