A Little Bite of the Big Apple

This Wednesday Heath and I will have been married for 9 years! To celebrate we spent this past weekend in New York City. We'd been there once before for a few hours--just to see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. This time we skipped those two things and saw "everything" else. Our highlight was going to "Phantom of the Opera" on Broadway. Wow--very powerful! Awesome music! We also enjoyed a delicious dinner at a French restaurant. The rest of the time was spent just gawking at how big and bright and loud everything in NYC is! The stores, the buildings, the prices . . . everything's just huge! I really enjoyed walking across the Brooklyn Bridge, and there's a big difference in atmosphere once you cross the river--much more peaceful. We also took a nice carriage ride in Central Park (which is 843 acres big by the way!) We walked everywhere the first day, and took a double-decker tour bus the second. If we do it again, we'll stick with the bus--much more relaxing! We had a great time, but I don't think either of us could take city life for very long! We're quite happy being country folk. :) It was really nice to just have a little time to ourselves away from children and responsibilities, and just enjoy being together. It's been a good 9 years . . . now onto our 10th!

While I'm Waiting

Today's another day where my patience is running low. Scratch that--my patience is gone. I thought we'd be finding out our travel dates this week, but it could be up to another month before we know. Our LOA is currently at the US Consulate in China, waiting for a signature. After that it's passed on to China's adoption center, and from THAT point it's 3-4 weeks until we get our travel notice. The US Consulate has had our LOA for almost 3 weeks, and it's still there. Does it really take that long for someone to sign their name? Waiting to be approved as an adoptive family or to be matched with a child is one thing--it's important to make sure someone will make a good family for a particular child. But once we're determined to be suitable to adopt and we have a child waiting for us, why all this beaurocracy? It's been 5 months since we accepted Tabitha's referral, and another 1-2 months until we get her. Though not legally ours yet, she's already our daughter in our hearts, and that's 7 additional months of her life that we're missing just because of the red tape.

Another part of my discontent is that I feel like our life has been on hold for the past 20 months. We started the adoption process in December 2007. We took our time at first because we had 6 months until we'd be old enough to adopt from China. By the time our birthdays came around, we had bought land to build our new house and were trying to sell our current house. (This was supposed to be a great financial move because Heath built our house himself (thus giving us enough equity to get a loan for the land) and he would build the other one too, so we could be almost mortgage free after selling this one.) We put a bunch of stuff in storage and "staged" the house for potential buyers. We weren't upset with a few adoption things taking longer than we'd expected because we were hoping to sell the house and move before getting our homestudy done. Our last house sold the first day it was on the market, but this house was on the market for 9 months without a single offer. When we got Tabitha's referral we took our house off the market because we didn't want to delay the adoption by moving. So now we're sitting here paying interest on the land we bought, throwing away money that could've helped pay for this adoption (or a future one). Maybe we should've never bought the land, but at the time it seemed like a great idea. And I'm sure it will be great one day, but the timing stinks! We probably couldn't sell it now even if we tried. We're going to try again to sell our house as soon as we get Tabitha, but even if it sells quickly, that may not leave time for groundbreaking on the new house before winter. Which means it'll sit until spring--almost 2 years after we bought it. And Tabitha keeps adding more days to her time in the orphange and away from her family, while government employees take their good old time signing paperwork. I know I shouldn't be complaining, and I do have so much to be thankful for, but this is so frustrating!

I want to post lyrics to a song sung by John Waller. Right now, it's a goal, not a description of how I'm actually living. But if you hear it on the radio, think of me, and pray for the Lord to give me patience. Thanks.

I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am hopeful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it is painful
But patiently, I will wait

I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am peaceful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it's not easy
But faithfully, I will wait
Yes, I will wait

I will move ahead, bold and confident
Taking every step in obedience

While I'm waiting
I will serve You
While I'm waiting
I will worship
While I'm waiting
I will not faint
I'll be running the race
Even while I wait

Prayer Requested

We know we have a lot of prayer support around us for this adoption. Thank you so much for all of you who pray for us regularly or occasionally. We really appreciate it! We're still waiting for our travel dates, but in the meantime I thought I'd share our prayer requests with you, so you can have some specific ideas to pray about. Thanks again!

For the Adoption Process
* Timing. Thank God for bringing us this far—so close to having our daughter! Pray that we receive our travel notice soon and that God would work out the perfect dates for the trip.
* Finances. God has provided so amazingly for the adoption costs. (Mom & Dad and Mom & Dad, thanks so much for your help!) Praise Him for providing; pray that no unexpected expenses arise that would complicate or delay things.
* Smoothness. China’s adoption process is slow, but very straightforward. Thank God that everything has gone smoothly so far, and pray that no technicalities or surprises come up that would complicate or delay finalizing the adoption.

For Tabitha
* That she is receiving good care, and that the caretakers are preparing her for us. We’ve sent pictures of our family, but we have no way of knowing if she’s actually seen them or not. Our prayer is that they’re frequently showing her our pictures and telling her that we are her family and that she’ll soon get to come home with us.
* Medical needs. Please pray that things go smoothly during our stay with her in China—that we receive adequate training for dealing with her catheter and that there are no complications while we are there. Also pray for our peace and comfort in being suddenly confronted with special medical needs we’ve never dealt with before. Pray that her condition may be correctable so that she won’t have to have a catheter for her whole life.
* Adjustment. Pray for Tabitha’s emotional needs. She’s already lost her birth parents, she’s lived in two orphanages, she’s been hospitalized, and she’s about to leave everything she’s familiar with and go with complete strangers who don’t speak her language, to a land that looks, smells, tastes, feels, and sounds very different. At 2½ she’s definitely old enough to be affected by these changes. Pray that she quickly bonds with us and soon feels at home in her new family and country. Pray for wisdom and patience for us as we help her through the transition.

For The Trip
* Travel Arrangements. Pray that we’re able to get the direct flight from DC to Beijing, making it a 12-hour trip rather than 24. Pray that we get seats together on the airplanes. Thank the Lord that we are able to bring Ethan and Jesse, as well as Stephanie (Heath’s mom) and Amy (Heath’s cousin). Pray that the children behave, especially on the plane.
* Safety/Health. Thank the Lord that we are all in good health overall, and we were able to get travel immunizations. Pray for safety while we’re in China, and that the boys wouldn’t have any serious injuries before or during the trip. Pray that no one gets sick or injured while we’re traveling. Pray that we’ll have no problems with the swineflu and tuberculosis political issues, which could significantly delay everything.
* Attitudes. Pray especially for us adults to maintain Christ-like attitudes despite any challenges. Being tired and hot with cranky kids can bring out the “best” in me, and I’m sure all 3 of those things will be issues at some point. International travel, with children, with adoption details, with the emotions of adoption . . . even without any problems those things are enough to make for a challenging time. I’m also not great at flexibility, and I’m sure this trip will be an opportunity to practice it. Things in China don’t tend to run as efficiently or on time as they do here in the States. Pray that no matter how well or how poorly things go, we will all have a go-with-the-flow attitude, and choose a joyful heart no matter what.

Blessed Again!

As if we hadn't been spoiled enough at Tabitha's shower a couple weeks ago, this Friday our church Home Group had another celebration! This was a party for us and for the Clarks, who are expecting Baby Boy #2 any day now! Each family received a basket full of gifts from everyone. Ours was full of lots of fun stuff for Tabitha to enjoy! There was also an adorable cake, fun decorations, yummy food, and lots of fun. We even got to play the sniff-the-diaper game. (If you've never played it, don't ask . . . you probably don't want to know. Let's just say even chocolate can look disgusting if displayed in certain ways.) =)

We've only been part of this home group for a few months, and we feel so blessed to be celebrated like this. Everyone in the group is eager to meet Tabitha, and we appreciate the love and support so much. Thank you all so very much!

Kindergarten Commences!

I never thought I'd be a homeschooling mom. When I was a teenager and then when we were first married, I had no intentions of homeschooling despite the "homeschool heritage" Heath and I both have. (I was homeschooled 2 years, and he was homeschooled about 6 years, and we both have many homeschooled siblings and relatives.) Maybe I'll share in a future post about our reasons for deciding to homeschool, but in summary, a couple years after Ethan was born, my thinking started to change. I (and Heath) gradually started to become open to the idea of homeschooling and eventually became excited about it. Now I can't imagine NOT doing it! So, being the planner that I am, for the past 3 years or so I've been reading, browsing, chatting, and making plans for homeschooling. And yesterday, the fun began. . . Ethan started kindergarten! (We're starting early this fall so that we can take off a few weeks for our trip to China and Tabitha's adjustment.) We've been doing preschool stuff at home the past couple years, but this is the first year where we actually have official goals and plans on what needs to be accomplished.

I was a bit nervous that Ethan would complain about having to do any type of work that requires sitting at the table (he'd much rather be outside all day). But he has been so excited! Today he wanted to start school as soon as breakfast was done, but I made him get dressed, brush his teeth, and clean his room first. Now, granted, it's only the 2nd day and I'm sure it won't always be so easy. But it's off to a great start, and I'm very excited! Jesse's doing well too--he does his "school work" or just entertains himself while I work with Ethan. I know there will be many challenges to come, but I'm very thankful for the good start, and I'm looking forward to many great years of learning together as a family!

There's a quote I read somewhere, that I plan to stencil on the homeschool room wall after we build our house. "Education is not the filling of a bucket, but the lighting of a spark." The spark is just barely lit, and I pray it'll grow into a raging fire of learning over the next several years!

BEHOLD: The old has gone, the new has come!

It started as a perfectly normal day. This past Tuesday I had plans to meet my friend Kim at the park for a play date. So I start driving there, and all is going well. About 5 minutes into the drive the car starts making a strange sound. I thought I'd run over a stick and it was caught in the wheel or something. (Heath later informed me that the sound I actually heard would've been nothing like a stick in the wheel. I guess my engine-listening abilities leave something to be desired. But I'm getting ahead of myself.) Anyway, I was just about at a stop sign, and as I started up again from the stop the noise was still there, so I started to pull over to investigate. As I was pulling over, the steering locked up as the engine quit altogether. Hmmm...interesting. It wouldn't restart. At this point I realized we weren't going to make it to the park. I called Kim, and she was kind enough to come rescue us. Thank the Lord she had a large enough vehicle to fit the three of us! Next, I called Heath. I even put the phone on speaker so he could listen to the engine try to start. "Hmmmm"....he says. I'm sure that sound wasn't one of his most-hoped-for sounds to hear that day. Next I called AAA, quite excited to actually be able to use the service we've been paying for for several years! They told me 45 minutes for a tow truck, but they actually got there in about 20. The car was towed back to our house, and Kim drove the boys and me home and we had our playdate at home instead of the park. So, all was well.

When Heath got home and took a look at the car, it turns out it was not much at all like having a stick stuck in the wheel. Instead, it was more like a melted engine. Turns out the water pump went out, the car overheated, and I failed to notice the climbing temperature gauge. Now, to my credit, I'd only been driving 5 minutes, and I had other things to watch--like the road, the kids, the speedometer, and the scenery. Who bothers to look at a pesky thing like a temperature guage?!! But I guess that pesky little thing could've saved my car. Too late now! Though my trusty Camry has lasted us 6 years, in those tiny 5 minutes its life came to an abrupt end.

Fortunately, I have a very forgiving, patient, and slow-to-anger husband. Though there's been a lot of eye rolling and several comments about female drivers, he's not mad at me. In fact, to show his forgiveness he brought home a little present for me today! It's a 2002 Mazda MPV (minivan)! Now, as some of you may know, I've been wanting a minivan for awhile because once we have Tabitha it'll be nearly impossible to cram 3 carseats in the back of a Camry. But I did not, I repeat, did NOT kill my Camry on purpose . . . even if all the circumstantial evidence seems otherwise!

We'd had a plan of eventually buying a nearly-new Honda Odyssey, but that's not in our price range right now. Well, actually no vehicle is in our price range right now with the cost of the adoption. But, God has provided a lot of sidework for Heath lately, Heath's parents are helping financially with the travel costs for the adoption, and we should still be OK even with this. And now Tabitha can fit in the car! So, in a way, I'm glad the Camry died when it did. But I repeat, I did not kill it on purpose! =)

So, as we say goodbye to the Camry and let it go to the big parking-lot-in-the-sky, we say hello to a new era of life . . . the minivan years. Happy Travels!

Showered with Blessings

Friday night Stephanie (Heath's mom) and my friend Kelly Hills surprised me with a shower for Tabitha! Unfortunately, I can't get the pictures to upload, but from the invitations to the decorations to the food to the favors to the gifts . . . it was beautiful! There were framed pictures of Tabitha and a slide show of her playing on the computer. There were even fortune cookies with different prayers for her inside them! Right at the beginning some of the ladies prayed for us about the adoption, Tabitha's adjustment, etc. It was very meaningful to hear our family lifted up in prayer like that, and I had to work hard not to cry!

So many friends and family gave us presents for Tabitha. Our house has never had so much "pink" in it! =) It will be so fun to have a little girl to dress up with all these fun clothes, to decorate her room with pretty things, and to see her playing with her new toys (even some baby dolls--another thing our house has never seen!)

I came home feeling so blessed, knowing that Tabitha is already loved by so many people who can't wait to welcome her home. Thank you all so much for a very special evening.

And thank you to all the rest of you--near us or far away--who continue to support us and pray for us and for Tabitha. We appreciate each one of you so much and can't wait to tell you the good news when we have her home!

God has blessed us in so many ways throughout our lives, and this special shower was just one example of His love, shown in a very practical way through some of the very special people He's put in our lives. We love you all.