Sola Gratia

Two Little Swallows

2011-09-06T22:40:00.000-06:00

Our adoption process is progressing...although it feels painfully slow to us. We have been waiting for about six weeks for a paper from immigration that will enable us to move forward. I'm sure the neighbors are wondering why I check the mailbox twenty times a day!

Meanwhile, we continue to be reminded of God's care for us and for our boys. If you can follow this story, it's really a neat demonstration of God's care. Hopefully, it's not too confusing.

A few weeks ago, I received an e-mail from our friend, Pam who lives in China. She has our little boy, Isaac, in her foster home which is called Swallow's Nest. She forwarded an e-mail from a family who adopted a little girl in April. This little girl, Lydia, was asking about our Isaac because they had been good friends while they were in Swallows Nest.

As I read the e-mail, I smiled because I realized that I have spoken with Lydia's mom before. Laurel put me in touch with her when we were first considering adopting two boys. Since they had several biological children and had just brought two girls home from China, Laurel felt that it would be helpful for me to talk with her. We had a good conversation back in May. But I never thought to ask her where her little girl had lived in China.

When I realized that it was our Isaac that her Lydia was asking about, I got in touch with her again. We were thrilled to realize that our two children who lived as brother and sister on the other side of the world, will live in the same city and be able to see each other again.

Lydia has been concerned for Isaac's well being. She has been praying that he would find a family. At one point she even told her mom that she didn't want to live in the US because Bao Tao (Big Head...yes, that is his nick name!) needed her to take care of him. There were four little ones about the same age who lived together at Swallow's Nest. Three of the four are now home. Only our little Isaac still waits. As Lydia's mom shared with her that we are going to bring Isaac home, she was so happy. I am amazed to think of the closeness of the bond that they must have shared for her to care so much about him. With tears in her voice, Lydia's mom shared that Lydia recently told her that she doesn't want to move back to China anymore. She is glad to live in America because Bao Tao will have a family, too. A lot of her longing to return was China was stemming from her concern for him.

We are planning to send a care package soon to Isaac and Joshua. Little Lydia sent a note to include. This is what she wanted us to tell him:

Xiao Hui (Isaac),

I am so glad your family has found you. I am happy you will live in America in Colorado. I live in Colorado, America too.

You are so nice. We will be friends in America.

Be good in China. I miss you. I love you. I am happy with my family in America. My leg is getting better and stronger.

Your friend,

Lydia
(Gong Li)

Isn't that cute? I can't wait until the day that we can get these two together again. The Bible says that God sees each little sparrow that falls from the nest. This whole story reminded me again that He knows all of the details and cares so much for us and for our boys. Rather than being fearful or full of anxiety, I can trust that He who sees the sparrows sees these little Swallows and every detail of their lives is in His care.

Our Isaac with a volunteer. This picture was taken about a week ago.

Isaac is on the lower right. He is the oldest child at Swallow's Nest now. Look at all of those cuties!!

We've moved!

2011-07-25T15:52:00.000-06:00

I'm now blogging at http://kcjmlfamily.blogspot.com

Miscellaneous Update

2010-05-13T07:24:00.006-06:00

After Moriah's Dr. appointment, we

checked out the new American Girl

Doll store in Denver. Kimberly kept

saying, "Why didn't they put this in

a few years ago?? Moriah loved the

Bitty Baby section. (Andy's mom went

with us.)

We went to the Broadmoor with Andy's folks

for a Mother's Day dinner. I am so blessed to be

called "mom" by these four.

Lip stick girl. She knows she is allowed to

use this clear one.

Looking at flowers from our tree.

The grass is green now and the flowering tree in the front yard is in full bloom. It still seems cold to me, though; even this morning our furnace was running steadily. I had the fireplace on this week as a few snow flurries flew through the air. That is spring in Colorado! The weather never stops my boys from playing outside. They have been using their super-soaker squirt guns even when they have to have a coat on!

We are nearing the end of our school year. I have been reflecting on how far we've come. There are some goals that we have not met, but all of us have grown in many ways this year, so I am thankful. Both of the boys have made huge strides in math and language arts. Kimberly has almost finished her year of on-line school. She has gained a great deal of independence. We have worked really hard and we are so ready for a break.

Moriah is finding out that she is not in charge of the household. She was so mellow during the first year and a half that we had her that I was beginning to wonder if she would ever go through that defiant toddler stage. I didn't need to wonder for long. She is definitely trying to be more independent and is testing lots of limits. I remember with all of the children that the defiance increases with the vocabulary, and that has certainly been true for her. She is talking a lot now. We love the funny things she says. She puts an "um" on the end of a lot of words. Such as "read a book-um" or "have a snack-um." She has also learned lots of words from the older kids. "Dat is totawy awethom (totally awesome) "

We had our typical three month x-rays and appointment with the surgeon to check on Moriah's back last week. We were happy to find out that the curve in her spine has not progressed. Our physical therapist is convinced it's because of all the work we've been doing to strengthen the muscles in her back. We will go to Denver again next month to meet with a group of doctors who are traveling here from all over to see patients. They are all amazingly accomplished pediatric orthopedists, so we feel honored that they will look at our girl. This is the first time that Moriah has had the vocabulary to express her feelings about this whole routine. When we came home, I was looking at some x-ray pictures on the computer and she said, "That Mei-Mei's back. That scary! I don't like those pictures!" We just try to remind her that God made her just right and that we love her very much.

A couple of weeks ago, Andy's great-aunt Ruth died at the age of 93. She died at home peacefully resting in her easy chair. Even though she had suffered in recent years with heart problems, she was able to stay fairly active right until the end. Her mind also stayed very sharp. We went with Andy's parents just about a year ago to visit her. How thankful we are now that we did that! The kids loved meeting her. We will always remember laughing with her about the man who tried to ask her out on a date at the gas station. He was in his 60's and he was a little shocked when she told him she was in her 90's! She took us to Salvation Army where she loved to shop. She was a spunky, funny delightful, kind, generous woman who will be missed very much.

I have been thinking about how the pressures of the normal routine are used by God to refine me as much as some big trial. Just being faithful in the daily stuff is hard sometimes. But every time I cry out to the Lord, He answers with renewed energy and strength...not my own, but His. With that thought, I'd better get this day started. Homeschooling and laundry await!

Moments...

2010-02-18T14:16:00.003-07:00

Precious moments seem to come and go through the course of every ordinary day. How often it is easier for me to focus on my worries or frustrations rather than treasuring these moments for what they are: gifts from God.

As I type Moriah is snuggled on my lap...still her favorite place to nap. Someday, she'll be too big to snuggle here. So I will treasure this today. The lunch dishes still sit. The laundry isn't done. The school books are still all over the table. But I want to treasure this moment.

Another moment to treasure (or at least to laugh about) happened yesterday when we were in the car. Caleb has a Beetles song on his i-pod. So he asked me, "when were the Beetles popular?" I answered that they were popular about the time that I was born, or maybe a little before. "Really?" he said, "I didn't think they were that OLD...like maybe they were popular about the time you and Dad met." It's funny to hear their perspective of time.

One more moment that I am holding in my heart today: Last night Josiah was reading Moriah a book about Chinese New Year. The words were a little hard for him, but he was really trying to read it with expression. It was cute and she was loving every minute of it. Both of my boys need a real reason to read. I love that Josiah is starting to see that it is fun to read and not just a school assignment.

Yesterday a woman at Moriah's physical therapy asked about our family. She said, "Those three all look like they go together, that one looks a little different, and none of them look like you!" Kimberly thought it was a little offensive, but I knew she didn't mean to be rude. And I felt happy to explain that "those three" don't look like me, even though they're biologically mine, because of their handsome half-Chinese father, and that "this one" is mine by adoption. I am so blessed by all of them.

Birthdays and Other Daily Blessings

2010-02-04T08:16:00.009-07:00

Kimberly's slumber party friends with the ugly

cake that I made. It tasted good...but it sure

looked terrible.

Moriah is Picasso in the making! She stuck

with this project for close to an hour.

Happy Third Birthday, Moriah!!

It has been such a long time since I have made time to post some pictures. We are all still alive...and thriving at that. December flew by in a blur. January is gone, too. On to February!!

Some recent highlights: we celebrated Moriah's Birthday on February 2nd. It was fun because she was so excited about everything this year. She had been talking about her Birthday for days. "Mei Mei presents?" "Mei Mei Balloons?" She loved being the center of attention. We made a simple flower cake and hung balloons. My parents came over to share the evening with us. The only bad part of the day was that Josiah was sick with a bad cold. He lay wrapped in a blanket on the couch through the whole evening. You know he is sick when he doesn't even want cake and ice cream! Due to his sickness, Andy's parents opted to celebrate with Moriah another day. We have decided to get a boquet of flowers each year to honor Moriah's birth parents and all of those who cared for her before she was ours. She doesn't really understand it now, but we hope someday that it will be meaningful to her.

Way back in December, we took a quick trip with Moriah to Shriner's hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah. We wanted to get another opinion about her spine. The doctor we saw is world renowned for spine care for kids. He was kind, humble and gracious. He felt that we should stick with the surgeon in Denver and confirmed that it is ok to wait awhile for surgery if we keep careful track of her spine with frequent x-rays. After traveling in snow going to Salt Lake and coming home, the idea of staying in Denver for her care was quite appealing. We felt very good about our trip and the confirmation that it gave us. So, last week we returned to the surgeon in Denver for x-rays. It was good to talk with him again. He was glad that we went to Salt Lake and talked with us some more about the various specialists who have looked at Moriah's case and all of their opinions. The good news from the x-rays was that her spine is mostly unchanged since October. We are hopeful that it will continue to progress slowly (or not at all!) and that we can continue to postpone surgery. The physical therapists has been working so hard with her. She is using muscles in her back that have really improved her appearance and flexibility. Another area of growth this time was that she was absolutely silly while they were trying to take the x-rays. In the past, she has been very flat-faced and distant. It made it easy to take pictures, but showed me that she was anxious and uncomfortable. This time, she kept giggling and wiggling. The x-rays were more challenging, but it illustrates how much more comfortable she is becoming in all kinds of different situations. So we will press on with therapy and x-rays every 3-4 months for now.

Kimberly celebrated her twelfth birthday on December 28th. This year she decided to have a New Year's Eve slumber party to celebrate. We got lots of poppers and confetti and sparkling cider which the girls enjoyed at midnight. We had fun snack-type foods and the girl's did a craft and watched a movie. They all had a great time...though cleaning up the confetti from the yard the next morning wasn't so fun! Kimberly is blessed with really nice friends from church. They are always a delight to have around.

We are pressing on with school for the older kids. This is a hard time of year to stay motivated. We have been at it for a long time, but we still have a long way to go! The boys and I are enjoying our study of botany this year, but talking about flowers and trees sure makes me eager for spring! We have decided that Kimberly's current method of school (on-line school) is not the best fit for her. We are looking into other options for her for next year. She longs for more direct instruction from expert teachers and more time with peers. Currently, she is on the waiting list for a classical charter school.

The boys have become lego experts. They used to need Andy to help them with complicated creations...but not any more! They have recently built about 17 sets of legos between the two of them. (All of them gifts for Christmas). The challenge now is how to store these large creations without letting them get broken. We have a medieval village, a large crane, several star wars ships, a plane, a fire truck, a semi truck with a race car...perhaps we have some future engineers on our hands.

Even the monotony of the routine is a blessing when I remember that God is sovereign over all of our days. The discipline of staying positive and focused in the ordinary is a process of Spiritual growth for all of us. It's not that life is dull around here...four kids make that impossible! We are always laughing (or crying) about something! We are thankful for the good gifts the Lord gives us each day.

Out of the Mouth of Babes

2010-01-02T10:02:00.005-07:00

This was a comment that was shared on www.aplacecalledsimplicity.blogspot.com in response to an unkind comment that was made toward their newly-adopted daughter from China. I loved this response and thought it was worth sharing. We have received a few insensitive comments ourselves toward Moriah. I hope that I am able to prepare her to respond with wisdom in those situations.

The family who writes on a place called simplicity truly have an amazing story. We met the father at one of our adoption classes while we were waiting for Moriah. It is a wonderful story of God's faithfulness through very difficult trials.

Our daughter Abby has a physical disability since she had brain surgery at 3. We have had to teach her from the very beginning how to handle questions from people. I didn't realize how much we had prepared her until about a year after her surgery and we were on her make a wish trip to Disney. We were actually visiting Universal that day, and it was VERY hot, and being with a make a wish kid we got to skip the line and go to straight to the front of a ride. The people had obviously been waiting a long time, and the man who was first in line was none to pleased. You can't see her disability unless she is walking, etc. and she was 4 and in a stroller. He started cursing loudly and talking about how unfair it was that we got to cut because their was nothing wrong with anybody in our group. My tiny little 4 yo stood up, put her good hand on her hip and said (with speech difficulty - couldn't say r), "I am on my make a wish twip. I had bwain surgery and work real hard for my body to work. My bwain is bwoken, but yours is just mean and wude - and you shouldn't say those words." The rest of the line clapped, but that man turned bright red, and had to walk away. We saw him in the park later and he apologized.

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-19T18:18:00.002-07:00

Just Pictures

2009-11-20T07:15:00.003-07:00

Reformation Day costumes...two pink divas, a hunter, a German boy and cheerleader...the Reformers would be proud!

(The other Diva is my niece, Sophia)

Snow Fort!!

Moriah's first tea part with her big sister.
A "Madeline" outfit...She wore it a couple

of times last year, and we were so glad that

it still fits this year. She was very funny about

the hat...wanted it on ALL DAY!

The Next Step

2009-11-19T06:41:00.003-07:00

We are all fully recovered from "the surgery that wasn't." It really did take us several days to readjust our minds and hearts to this change of plans. It wasn't that we were looking forward to the pain that Moriah would experience, but we were ready to be on the other side of it. We were really geared up. Andy took a few days off work since he had already planned to be out of the office. We just needed the time to regroup. After we had been home for a couple of days, as we were about to head out the door to get some Subway for dinner, our pediatrician called. He raised a lot of issues regarding the surgeon in Denver that we had not really considered. He was quite upset about the emotional roller coaster that this surgeon has treated us to over the past several months. He strongly suggested that we consider getting another opinion...out of state. We had considered this option previously, but we were really hoping to stay in Colorado if we could. So, our next step is an evaluation appointment at Shriner's Hospital in Salt Lake City. The date of our appointment is December 23rd. Crazy timing. But we are thankful for the opportunity for Moriah to be seen by a very experienced pediatric orthopedist. Shriner's Hospitals offer free care to their patients. They are even giving us some money to help us get to Salt Lake. God is faithful! We know He will continue to guide us through this process.

Meanwhile, we have received some funding for Moriah to be able to increase her therapy. Now she has PT twice a week and OT and speech each once a week. It makes our weeks extra busy, but it is a help to her growth and development. She is a hard worker. It is amazing to see her progress.

The older three have really been focused on school this fall. Most days it seems like that is about all that we do. And that is good. But we are all ready for a break. We had a piano recital with my brother's kids last Saturday. It was a really special time. I love living near grandparents at moments like that. Kimberly and Caleb each played several pieces. They did a great job.

Pictures to follow as soon as I get a chance to upload!

Thirty Years

2009-11-10T07:02:00.003-07:00

Yesterday was the thirtieth anniversary of my mom's homegoing. She has spent the last thirty years in the face-to-face presence of the Lord. What a glorious time she has had praising Him without the weight of sin. It is easy to think of the things I wish we could have shared over these past thirty years: my wedding, births of my first three children, and Moriah's adoption. But how much more glorious it has been for her to be with the Lord. I rejoice that she has not had to deal with life in this fallen world. And I rejoice that we will be together for eternity.

How thankful I am for the seven years that the Lord gave me with her. She was a wonderful mother who loved me and cared for me very much. She made my early life joyful and secure. I have lots of precious memories of life in our happy home. She was a very friendly and outgoing person who always looked at the bright side of things. Some of her friends have shared stories with me through the years of her optimistic view and her faith in Christ. I remember many of the things she taught me and I find myself saying those same things to my kids. "A soft answer turns away wrath" and "let's talk about something pleasant instead." It's amazing that I can hear her saying those things even though I was so small when she died.

Now that I have my own husband and kids, I can imagine a little bit more the sacrifices that my Dad made for us. His career couldn't be his focus as it can be for many men. He always made sure that he was available for us. He kept our home and gave a wonderful home life, even though we didn't have our mom there with us. The Lord blessed us with many people who helped my Dad raise us, too. How faithfulHe has always been to us! And now we have our wonderful step-mom, too. Though none of us like that term : )

Someday, my children look forward to meeting their "grandma in heaven." They know that she is waiting there for them. That will be a great day! Meanwhile, we rejoice in all the good things the Lord is doing in our lives here and we eagerly await all that He has planned.

Calendar

2009-11-06T07:55:00.002-07:00

Moriah is in print!! The foundation which is raising money to help in Moriah's home province has put together a calendar just in time for Christmas!! How fun to see that little face that we love so much on the pages!!

If you would like to see what the Henan Kids International Foundation is up to, or order a calendar, you can follow this link:

www.henankids.org

I am hoping to update more about Moriah's postponed surgery and where we are in the process of figuring out the next step for her. Maybe later today...

Surgery...Or Not

2009-10-26T21:02:00.003-06:00

We went to Denver this morning for x-rays and a last pre-operative visit with the surgeon. First we checked ourselves into the Ronald McDonald House. Then we headed over to the hospital for x-rays. We have been gearing up for this day for months. The grandparents were set to watch our kids. Andy was off work. Snacks and clothes and movies were packed so that we would be ready for at least a week in the hospital.

We got the x-rays and went to the orthopedist's office. He began to talk with us about Moriah's x-rays. Then he told us that he had been at a conference this past week where he discussed Moriah's case with 12 other doctors. He said they had a split opinion about whether or not this is the appropriate time for her surgery. There are lots of pros and cons on both sides. If we do it now, the rate of correction will be better because her bones are softer. However, the pins have a greater risk of coming out which would require further surgery. If we wait, her spine will have more curvature to correct, but the bones will be stronger and will hold the pins better. Also, they may be able to use a stronger rod and pin because she will be bigger. We spent about an hour talking about these and lots of other issues. Finally, Andy asked the Doctor what he would do if it were his daughter. He said he would wait. Specialists had flown in from Massachusetts to help with the surgery. Special titanium rods and pins had been ordered. But we agreed together that waiting would be the best thing for Moriah. We will have x-rays every three months. If there is rapid progression, we will know it is time to do the surgery. If it continues to progress at the rate that it has been, we can wait awhile for her to grow.

It was such a strange thing to be so geared up for something so major and then to change gears so suddenly. We feel a little like "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" because so many have been praying. One of our major prayers was for wisdom for the surgeon. So we are thankful for this answer to prayer. We are also thankful that the surgeon chose to share the opinions of these other doctors with us. We feel confident that he has her best interests at heart.

We had already made plans to have dinner with some friends who live in Denver, so we gathered our wits and enjoyed a great evening with them. About 8:00 we got home, sent my parents home and resumed normal life. It feels a little strange to be home again. But we are thankful for His leading in all of these things.

Butter!

2009-10-21T08:22:00.003-06:00

Caleb and I were working on school in the dining room the other day when I heard a strange noise from the kitchen. It was a rustling kind of sound. I listened for another minute or so and finally decided I'd better see what Moriah was up to.

That girl loves butter!! She had the whole stick in her hand and was munching away with abandon. I like butter, too, on some toast or homemade bread. But eating it straight from the stick...ugh. I'm glad the camera was handy.

The evidence!

caught in the act!

Anticipation

2009-10-21T07:45:00.003-06:00

We had fun at a farm! Moriah thought the hayride was great!

We are in a strange state of mind this week. The sense of anticipation is very strong. I expected to be feeling dread or fear as we draw closer to Moriah's surgery, instead I am feeling peace and eagerness to move ahead. I am thankful for the weeks that we have had to prepare and pray and think it through. Even though the waiting has been hard, I have needed the time to process it all.

Meanwhile, Moriah is spending each day in her usual joyful way. She can put her shoes and socks on by herself (not always on the right feet.) She is talking a lot and gaining more confidence all the time. All of her earlier attachment issues with Andy seem to be forgotten as she joyfully greets him at the end of each day. She stops whatever she's doing and runs up to him to be picked up and hugged. She loves to play outside. She must have gone down the big slide at the park twenty times the other day. She wasn't phased at all by the fact that it was crowded with kids three times her size. She loves to play with other kids and gets along very well with them.

Today will be our last "normal" day of school. Tomorrow we go to Denver for blood work and other pre admission stuff. Friday we have a pediatrician appointment. Monday we head up to Denver for the pre-op appointment with the surgeon. Then bright and early Tuesday morning, Moriah will have surgery. We plan to spend about a week in the hospital. Our parents will be holding down the fort here. (Say a prayer for them!) The goal is to straighten and stabilize her back so that she will be able to stand straight and tall. The deformities in her spine will cause her kyphosis and scoliosis to continue to progress, so action is definitely needed.

We know that lots of people are praying for our little Moriah. We are comforted by that and so thankful that our Sovereign Lord is holding her in His hands, as He has since her birth. When I feel fearful, I only have to reflect on all of the amazing ways that He has cared for her throughout her life. What comfort to know that she belongs first of all to Him.

We will try to update here from time to time next week.

Thanks for your prayers.

A Visit to a Special Place and a Dr. Appointment

2009-09-20T07:38:00.014-06:00

How often I dreamed of taking a photo like this!

Last Monday, we went up to our adoption agency as a family. It is located in the south part of Denver. Andy and I have been there lots of times for parenting classes. We wanted to take Moriah there so that the ladies in the office could meet her. It was also a great photo opportunity! We have been very impressed with our agency, CCAI, since we started our adoption way back in 2006. They do a great job! They have a school there, too, where kids can learn Chinese culture, dance and language. They don't have classes on Mondays, but they opened up the little store for us and we had fun shopping. Moriah grabbed a cute Chinese doll with a pacifier that is held in her mouth by a magnet. She is a super cute. We got a couple of books about the Mid-autumn festival, because that is the time of year that Moriah came to us. Kimberly found a necklace she loved that has the Chinese characters for "sisters." After we shopped, we ate our picnic lunch on the playground.

The other part of our day wasn't as much fun. Our real reason for heading up to Denver was to see Moriah's orthopedic surgeon again. We took the kids this time because it seemed like a good idea for them to meet the doctor. The boys didn't seem to care, but Kimberly went back with us and looked at the CT scan and listened to our conversation with him. (And critiqued his fashion sense.) He gave us a few more details about the surgery and we set a date: October 27th. Now the waiting begins. We are convinced that this is the right surgery and that this is the right time, but it doesn't make it any easier. The Lord has been faithful to remind us that He is sovereign and that He is working all things together for our good and His glory. I hate the idea of the pain that she will experience, but we trust that it will make the way for her to have a full and healthy life in the future. We are constantly amazed at the treasure that God has given us in this brave little girl.

One Year

2009-09-13T16:16:00.005-06:00

We celebrated the first anniverary of our forever family day a week ago. It is so amazing to reflect on the journey that this past year has been for all of us. A year ago a little girl was delivered to our hotel room door (kind of like a pizza delivery). She was scared. We were happy, but scared, too. Even though we had anticipated that moment for years, it felt surreal. A little, tiny girl in a big jacket, a couple of strange people, a pile of money. Everyone left within a matter of minutes and Andy and I looked at each other feeling amazed that we were now responsible for this little person.

We have reflected in new ways on God's sovereignty. He saw her unformed body in her mother's womb. He brought her into this world. He saw her when she was left that day on the steps of the hospital. He was with her when she went to the police station and then to the orphanage and then to foster care. He saw her when she went back to the orphanage and to another foster care home. And finally, on that day, September 8, 2008, he saw her as she was placed in our arms. And He is sovereignly in control of every day of our lives together. We have understood the wonder of our own Spiritual adoption more clearly. Not every day has been easy, but God has been faithful to us.

We decided to celebrate on Labor Day. We went to see the hot air balloons and to a potluck breakfast at church. Later in the day we went to Andy's parents for some crab legs. We put her gotcha day outfit on her again to see how much she had grown. She thought it was fun because she loves to play dress up. The shoes wouldn't even fit on her feet! We gave her a book wrapped in lady bug paper. We decided this will be our tradition. Each year we will give her an age-appropriate adoption themed book for Gotcha-Day.

We are so thankful for this year that we have shared. We are looking forward to seeing what God has in mind for this little miracle.

It was bit bright! We watched the balloons from

the top of Palmer Park.

Cousins and our kids watching the hot air balloons

Moriah modeling her gotcha day clothes...one year later.

Note the tiny shoes and short pants. Still plenty of growing room in the jacket, though.

A special book to celebrate the day.

One year ago...first breakfast with us.
In our arms at last! One year ago.

New School Year Underway!

2009-09-05T07:21:00.005-06:00

It is hard to believe that a year ago we were in China getting ready to meet Moriah for the first time. Kimberly and I have been re-reading our journal entries having fun remembering all of the details of that life-changing time. How far we've all come in a year! How much we have to be thankful for!

We have finished our fourth week of homeschool. It is beginning to feel like we are in a good routine. We have slowly added subjects and everyone seems to be doing well. Kimberly is doing an on-line based school this year, which is totally new for us. She is doing great with it and it seems to be the change that we needed. The boys go one day a week to an enrichment program through a classical charter school. It is a blessing to live in a state that is so friendly to homeschoolers. Moriah motors around making a mess most of the time that we are doing school. Her attention span is really improving, though, so it is easier to keep her occupied. We have some baby videos that she likes and she likes to draw or play with her toys while we do school. (And eat snacks and sing little songs to herself.)

Ready to go to in her ride (as she likes to say)!
Kimberly does her school work at her own computer in our bedroom. Not an ideal set up, but it's working.
Josiah's ready for his first day at TCA!
Caleb ready for his first day at TCA!

Moriah is a future scientist!

We are gearing up for another surgery for Moriah in October. They will fuse a section of her spine to correct her kyphosis. It's a pretty major surgery that is necessary to prevent paralysis in the future. She continues to have physical therapy and speech therapy weekly and occupational therapy monthly. It is amazing to reflect on where she was a year ago and see how far she's come. We know the Lord formed her in her mother's womb and all of her physical challenges are being used for her (and our) good and for his glory. We are honored that He chose us to parent this precious child.

Moriah calls almost every round fruit "apple."

She loves peaches!

Chapmans Bring New Hope from Sorrow

2009-08-11T08:01:00.002-06:00

Chapmans Bring New Hope from Sorrow

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Check out this great clip about Steven Curtis Chapman and family's work in Moriah's home province!

Summertime!

2009-07-14T06:10:00.006-06:00

It has been a busy summer so far. We started off in June with a trip to Washington DC and Pennsylvania. We felt like it was important to go to that part of the country to visit with Andy's great aunt who lives in Pennsylvania. We travelled with Andy's parents. After spending three days with her, we drove down to DC to spend about a week. Several days were spent visiting with family on Andy's dad's side and several days were spent seeing the sights. Andy spent the first eight years of his life there, so it was fun to see the house where he lived and some of his favorite places from childhood. It was a busy, exhausting trip, but a good one. Many of the relatives had never met the kids, and it was fun for the kids to meet their second cousins for the first time. There is so much to see there. It seems like we barely touched the surface, but hopefully the kids got a little taste of some of our country's history. They were all good travelers, but it sure felt good to get home!

We had dinner in Alexandria at a tavern where

George himself used to eat.

The boys with Abe

Aunt Ruth, 94 and still charming everyone she meets

Hot kids in front of the Washington Monument

When we got home, it was almost time for Josiah's 7th birthday! Hard to imagine that he could be seven already! He wanted a big cookie instead of a cake. We had both sets of grandparents over for cookie and ice cream and his cousin Stephen spent the night. The next day, we went to see Night At the Musuem 2, which was especially fun after having just been in DC. Josiah is a great blessing to our family. He has a gentle spirit which endears him to everyone he meets. He shows a lot of spiritual insight and makes all of us laugh.

July 2nd, just one week later, was Caleb's 9th birthday. I guess as a mom it is always surprising how fast the years are ticking by. I found myself thinking that our time of parenting Caleb is now half over! (At least in the formal sense of him being a child in our home.) For his Birthday, we took cupcakes to a huge park and met some friends for a little party. We played a couple of games and let the kids run around a lot. They had a great time. We also tried to make a cake to have with the grandparents in the evening. But it was a complete flop, so we ran to the bakery and grabbed a beautiful and far more delicious cake than I could have ever made. It is handy to have the best bakery in town less than a mile from our house! (Even better that the owner is a friend from church). Caleb is quickly becoming a young man. He shows initiative and leadership with his neighborhood friends. He is concerned with doing the right thing. He is creative (quite a lego designer) and kind.

What a blessing these boys are to our family!

We have also been taking swimming lessons, trying not to forget everything we've learned in school, playing with cousins, and generally enjoying a beautiful Colorado summer.

Happy Birthday, Caleb!

Caleb and birthday friends at the park

Happy Birthday, Josiah!

Moriah's Favorite Things

2009-06-07T09:30:00.006-06:00

Nine months ago, Moriah was placed in our arms. She was so small and vulnerable. She was brought to the door of our hotel room by people she hardly knew and given to people she didn't know at all. God's grace has been so abundant to all of us in this process. I am amazed when I think of all that He has done in her life and in all of our lives in the past nine months. To remember how far our little one has come in these nine months, I would like to share some of Moriah's favorite things.

1. Having a forever family! She has definitely found her place as the baby of our family!

2. Eating yogurt. "Yogi," as she calls it is her favorite way to start the day. We had quite a few tears last week when we ran out. No other breakfast is quite as satisfying.

3. Playing outside. Moriah knows how to open the screen, so if we don't lock it we are risking an escape. If the boys are outside, she will head on out. Last night we sat down to dinner and everyone looked around and said, "Where's Moriah?" She had followed Josiah out, but had not followed him back in! Yikes! Thankfully, she was still in the yard. Not one of our most glorious parenting moments!

4. Sleeping with sister. She always goes to sleep in her own bed, but every morning we find her snuggled up with sister in her bed! She gets up and goes over to Kimberly sometime in the night and says "up, up" until Kimberly puts her in her bed. Thankfully, Kimberly doesn't mind. But if she keeps this up, they are going to be pretty crowded in Kimberly's twin bed!

5. Mo Mo. This is our family's word for pacifier. Kimberly started calling it that when she was little and it stuck. Moriah's first full sentence was, "Mo, Mo, where are you?" Moriah did not come to us with a pacifier, but when we got pictures from her time in foster care in China, we noticed that she always had a pacifier. Andy bought a variety of types trying to match the one in the pictures and she was hooked (again.) Is this a good thing??

6. Bath time. She would take several baths a day if we let her. She doesn't mind getting water in her eyes and could stay in forever. For some reason I have always sung a bumble bee song to the kids when they get out of the tub. The song has nothing to do with the bath, but somehow it became the bath song. So now she begins to sing "bumble bee" when she gets out.

She is growing and learning so much each day. She brings us great joy and many opportunities to rely on the grace of the Lord.

Happy nine months in your forever family, Moriah Mei!

More Parenting Tips

2009-05-18T19:35:00.002-06:00

9. Train them to a habit of obedience.

"Parents, determine to make your children obey you, though it may cost you much trouble and cost them many tears...when you give a command let them see plainly that you will have it done."

This point is made clear multiple places in the Scripture. Ephesians 6:1 and the fifth commandment are two that come immediately to mind. This is exhausting, often discouraging, work. It helps to remember, as Ryle reminds us, that training them to obey you goes a long way toward training them to obey God. "Teach them to obey while young, or else they will be fretting against God all their lives long, and wear themselves out with the vain idea of being independent of His control."

A happy child is one who knows that Mom and Dad are in charge.

10. Train them to a habit of always speaking the truth.

God is often presented to us in the Old Testament as "the God of Truth." Surely it is an attribute He would have us cultivate in ourselves and our children. Ryle also points out that being able to trust your child's word goes a long way toward your own comfort and assistance in dealing with him. I would rather have my child confess his wrong than to find out later that he lied about it. The children have some friends who like to tell incredible stories. The boys know that a lot of what they say is not true. The problem is that it has come to the point where they don't really believe anything these friends tell them. And, as Caleb told me the other day, "one lie always leads to another and another."

11. Train them to a habit of always redeeming the time.

Oh, yes...this is a struggle at my house. I get very frustrated when my children come to me and say that they are bored. They have healthy bodies and minds and more than enough toys, but they are bored. I don't know why they even come to me with this complaint, because it almost always gets them at least two or three chores to do immediately. I like Ryle's reminder that all creatures were made for work. The angels in heaven work as they serve the Lord. A horse is never so healthy or happy as when he has work to do. Our bodies whither when they do not have regular work to do. I have found that we are all much happier when we have enough work to do that, when we have free time, we are thankful for it. I want to meet this challenge head on as summer approaches. We will have less school work but, by God's grace, we will have lots of things to keep our bodies and minds busy.

All of these "tips" remind me again of my utter dependence on the grace of Christ. It is only by His grace that we can train the little ones that He has entrusted to us. It is also only by His grace that they can learn to do what is pleasing to Him.

The Boys

2009-05-12T07:11:00.003-06:00

Pikes Peak...how I love this view. Our house is

in that little valley.

This hill is just a block or so from our house.

It is the entrance to a wonderful, natural park

with trails for hiking.

Best Buds!

On top of the world!
Hiking with Dad is great fun!

A quick break from parenting hints to post a few pictures of our boys. Caleb and Josiah went with Andy for a hike on Saturday in the hills behind our house. They had a great time and Andy got some good pictures. These two are best friends. It is fun to see them enjoying one another as they explore God's world. They love to be outside checking out the bugs and rocks and whatever else they can find. We are looking forward to doing more hiking this summer.

Duties of Parents: Part III

2009-05-07T07:26:00.004-06:00

The previous two posts contained the first four "hints" for training children by R.C. Ryle. I love his practical, timeless advise. Sometimes it is encouraging to read things written long ago. It is good to be reminded that the parenting joys and challenges we face today may look slightly different, but Biblical truth never changes.

5. Train your child to a knowledge of the Bible.

"See that they read it reverently. Train them to look upon it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the Word of God."

"See that they read it regularly. Train them to regard it as their soul's daily food." We have struggled over the years to have consistent family worship. Sometimes it can be discouraging when the busyness of life seems to prevent us from spending that time together as regularly as we would like. But it is encouraging to remember the cumulative effect of all of the hours that we have spent in God's word as a family.

"See that they read it all. Children understand far more of the Bible than we suppose." It is amazing what kids can understand and retain. I fear that many children see the Bible as little more than hero tales. The characters can easily take on fairy-tale proportions. When we teach the Bible to children, we must always emphasize the gospel and make the glory of God the focus rather than the feats of men.

6. Train them to a habit of prayer

"Prayer is the simplest means that man can use in coming to God. So long as you have a tongue to tell your soul's state, you may and ought to pray." We can teach our children to pray long before they can read. We can teach them what to say and how to say it. And we can encourage them not to be hasty, irreverent, or careless. I love to hear the children pray. It is always a blessing to my soul to hear them open their hearts to the Lord.

7. Train them to habits of diligence, and regularity about public means of grace.

The reality (at least in our home) is that Sundays are hard days. The "day of rest" is not actually very restful for us in some ways. We love our church and our souls are always fed when we are there, so in that sense it is restful. But it is also a busy day that can leave us physically exhausted. We have kept our children with us in the worship service since Kimberly was little. It takes a lot of training at first, but the fruit that worshiping together as a family bears is great and worth the trouble. We recently got the older kids new Bible covers which hold paper, pencil, Bible and mints. This has eliminated our usual Sunday morning scramble to find all of these things. We have begun to encourage the boys to write the sermon outline in their notebooks. Kimberly can pretty much take notes on her own now. And then there's me on the end of the row wrestling with Moriah for an hour and a half. Yes, we are back in that season of training with her! Thankfully, our church views children as part of God's covenant family and a little noise, and cheerios on the floor are expected, even welcomed. There is a real danger, I think, when church becomes a place where children must be constantly entertained. There is great gain in having them watch how their parents worship and learn to participate with God's people.

8. Train them to a habit of faith.

"I mean by this that you should train them up to believe what you say." The point that Ryle is making here is that children need to understand that you know some things that they don't. What you say is for their best whether they can see it right now or not. He warns against reasoning too much with young children. Let them just understand that you know what is best for them, and they can trust your judgement. I think this applies especially to very young children. As they get older, it is important to give more explanation for things. Haven't we all had a three year old say, "why?" twenty thousand times when a simple command was given? In our house, we train them to say, "yes, Mommy," or "yes, Daddy," rather than "why." When they continually ask for a reason to do what they have been told to do, I have been known to say, "for a reason." In other words, I have a reason, but you don't need to know it right now.

Ryle uses the excellent example of Isaac when his father, Abraham took him up Mount Moriah. He asked only one question, "where is the lamb?" His father said, "God will provide." and that was it. He believed that all would be well, because his father said so, and he was content. (This is where we found Moriah's name. It's meaning: God will provide. How fitting that has been for her life.)

There is a lot more that could be said about each of these, but hopefully they are at least some food for thought. If you can hang in there, we will eventually get through all of them. There are some good ones coming up!

Duties of Parents: Part II

2009-04-28T21:39:00.010-06:00

This is part two of a series of posts from J.C. Ryle's book, The Duties of Parents. It was first published in 1888, so it definitely has time-tested advice.

3. Train your children with an abiding persusion on your mind that much depends on you.

"...all this is God's merciful arrangement. He gives your child a mind that will receive impressions like moist clay. He gives them a disposition at the starting point of life to believe what you tell them and to take for granted what you advise them, and to trust your word rather than a stranger's. He gives you, in short, a golden opportunity of doing them good. See that the opportunity be not neglected and thrown away. Once let slip, it is gone forever."

These are challenging words to me! I can hear myself in my children's words...sometimes it makes me smile. Other times it makes me wince. I want to take advantage of the opporutnity to "do them good" by filling their hearts with Scripture and Biblical truth. We have been greatly helped by teaching our kids the children's catechism from the time they could speak. It is amazing how easily they can memorize things when they are young. Of course we want these truths to be imbedded in their hearts, so we try to talk a lot about Spiritual things in every context. It doesn't seem like they are listening sometimes, but we trust that God will bring the fruit in his time.

Whether it is the deliberate things we teach them about the Bible or God, or the unconscious things they pick up from us (the way we talk to/about each other) their clay-like hearts are being shaped.

4. Train with this thought continually before your eyes--that the soul of your child is the first thing to be considered.

"In every step you take about them, in every plan, and scheme, and arrangement that concerns them, do not leave out that mighty question, how will this affect their souls?"

There are so many aspects to this point: schooling, friends, actvities...but it is definitely a question that bears asking often and honestly: will this affect my children's souls in a positive or negative way? We are facing this more as the children get older. When they were small, our home was the center of their universe. Sesame Street was about the most dangerous influence they encountered! But as they are getting older this is a question that we need to ask a lot. The boys have several neighborhood friends that pose a challenge in this area. The television shows targeted at their age group are questionable at best. The things they can find (without even trying) on the computer are frightening. As parents, we have to limit the negative influences and maximize the positive ones. The struggle for me is that it takes a lot of time and effort to create positive, soul-nourishing experiences. It is easier to just let them watch a show or play outside with the neighborhood kids so that I can get my stuff done. But this isn't always what is best for their souls.

One positive thing that we have done is to purposely limit our evening commitments so that we can spend that time as a family. We have made the unpopular decision to forego baseball and softball this year in favor of having that time together. Last year, it seemed like we were all going different directions several nights of the week. It made family worship, and even dinner together, a huge challenge. The kids are disappointed, but we feel that is the best decision for all of us. We are hoping for some fun, soul-enriching times with friends from church and with each other instead.

There are many things that are culturally acceptable that might not be beneficial to the souls of my children. Sometimes it means going against the tide and making tough decisions. Ryle says, "The time is short--The fashion of this world passesth away. He that has trained his children for heaven, rather than for earth, --for God rather than for man--he is the parent that will be called wise at last."

Again, we thank God for his grace. We cannot even begin to fulfill the task of parenting these children without his daily mercy and grace. His mercies are new every morning.

The Duties of Parents

2009-04-26T06:55:00.005-06:00

This past week, the ladies from our church met for our monthly Bible Study. I have made it to very few of these studies this year, but I am always encouraged when I get to go. This time the topic was "Raising Little Ones." My friend who led it has raised four girls, so she knows what she's talking about! She used a little book by J.C. Ryle called "The Duties of Parents." J.C. Ryle was a preacher in England a long time ago (1816-1900). I love the richness of the language that he uses. I highly recommend this little book to anyone looking for a little bit of encouragement in Godly parenting.

I would like to take several posts to highlight his "17 hints" and make a few comments about each one. We have passed through the "little one" phase a few times, and now find ourselves in it again! How gracious God is to give us His Word to help us train our children.

1. Train them in the way they "should" go rather than in the way they "would" go.

Amazing, isn't it, that we don't have to train our children to sin? They come by that naturally. Instead, we must train them to righteousness.

Proverbs 22:15 Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline drives it far from him.

Proverbs 29:15 The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother.

I remember so clearly when Kimberly was getting close to two, she would stomp her little foot and say, "NO, Momma!" I was shocked! I knew that we needed to train that will. But the idea of spanking my sweet baby was hard for me. I scoured the book of Proverbs and came away a very clear conviction that we needed to use the rod and reproof (spanking and instruction). The book that helped us the most was Shepherding a Child's Heart by Tedd Tripp. What a blessing this book was. He taught us how to use spanking in a Biblical way to train the hearts of our children.

The key to Biblical discipline is to keep my own emotions in check. We must never spank in anger. Sometimes, we have had to send the kids to their rooms so we could cool down before dealing with them. We follow a clear pattern outlined in Tripp's book so that we both always know what is happening. We never spank until they can tell us what they are being spanked for. And we always finish with prayer, an assurance of both God's forgiveness and ours and lots of hugs. Tear stained, but smiling, we emerge to continue our day. We decided early on we would rather miss an opportunity for spanking than do it in anger. This is very different from what most of us have witnessed in the grocery store where an angry Mom is "disciplining" her wailing child. Ugh.

The other point here is the importance of consistency. Kids are smart and they quickly figure out where or when they can get away with more. My brother and I knew that we could set the house on fire and my mom wouldn't notice if she was on the phone. (Or so we thought, until we got spanked for something we did while we thought she didn't notice.) It is never appropriate to discipline in public. If you have to go home and come back for the groceries later, then do it. (And you'll probably only have to do that once or twice because it will make a pretty big impression on the little darlings.)

It is interesting, isn't it, that the Bible talks about the rod and reproof, but time out and counting to three are never mentioned. Hum....

2. Train them with all tenderness, affection and patience.

Be willing to enter into childish joys and sorrows. Love, kindness and gentleness will give you access to your child's heart.

Col. 3:21 "Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged."

Some days I find this very difficult. I tend to be a planner and I have an agenda. When the kids need a lot of extra attention, I can respond with impatience rather than tenderness. I often worry that they will remember me grumping at them rather than hugging them and listening to them. With my older three, I see the increasing importance of this. I want them to continue to share their hearts with me, and I know it has to start when they are little.

Andy's mother had this down to an art when he was small. Every night she would sit on the edge of his bed and talk about his day. She would ask, "What was the worst part of your day?"

"How could you do things differently next time?" and "What was the best part of your day?" They continued this little routine through high school. They both say it was big part of what made them close.

My son, Caleb, can tell a LONG story. He is very detail oriented and he wants to be sure that you understand EVERY detail. It is hard for me to stop and really listen sometimes. It is worth it though, to enter his world in this way.

I think this point is especially important for Moriah. I don't know how or when she will need to process through thoughts and feelings about the first 19 months of her life. She will need a tender, compassionate Mom who will listen with great acceptance and tenderness.

There you have it: J.C. Ryle's first two hints.

I am so thankful for the grace of Christ as I look back on the early childhood of my older three and think about the present with Moriah. I have made so many mistakes! But the grace of Christ gives me hope. These little ones are His and I can trust him to use even my mistakes for their good and His glory.

Look for two more soon!

Six Months

2009-03-23T07:53:00.007-06:00

Six months ago

Today

Is it possible that we have been home with Moriah for over six months? The time has gone by so quickly. It is amazing to reflect on how far this little one has come in those months.

Then: she wasn't walking. She had skinny little stick legs and arms. Her shoulders were hunched so that she couldn't get into crawling position. She wanted to eat all the time (ok, maybe this one hasn't changed much!). She had constant ear infections. Her right thumb was turned in and hardly used. She would give a little fake smile if she thought that was what we expected. She didn't understand much of what we said, and we didn't understand what she said. She needed a family.

Now: she is walking well and trying to run. She has rolls of plumpness on her legs. Her shoulders have opened so that she can crawl and climb. She has had surgery and hours of therapy. She uses her thumb a lot. She has been baptized and heard the Gospel and been loved by God's people. She can say quite a few things and understands just about everything we say. She has opened her heart to us and allowed us the privilege of becoming her family. Her smile lights up her eyes and her face. She is no longer an orphan but a daughter.

Bringing Moriah home has changed all of us.

Kimberly went from being the only girl to having a baby sister. She has learned to share her room. She has taken a lot of responsibility for Moriah and is such a huge help. I don't know what I would do without her. She is always willing to help. Saturday, she got Moriah's breakfast, gave her a bath and got her dressed. What a blessing to have two daughters!

Caleb is no longer the middle child. He also has learned more responsibility as he has helped with Moriah. He does a great job of keeping her out of trouble and entertaining her. He is a fabulous big brother. I know he will always protect his little sister. He has a lot of nicknames for her.

Josiah went from the baby of the family to the big brother. Moriah loves to play with him and he always finds ways to entertain her. They sit together on her little scooter toy and scoot around the house. It isn't always easy for him as he was the youngest in our family for six years. But he has done a great job in his new role.

And Andy and I went from being parents of three to parents of four. Somehow having four kids seems like a lot! We have had to remember how it is to have a little one again. We have had to work harder to carve out time for each other. And we have had our ups and downs with the attachment process. But most of all we feel honored and blessed to have this little bundle of God's grace in our home. Sometimes I still can't believe that she is ours. When there is yogurt on the floor, toys everywhere, dishes in the sink, laundry overflowing, I have to stop for a minute and reflect on the wonder of this little life born so far away, protected so lovingly by her Heavenly Father, and finally brought to us. Everyday we have among us a living, breathing picture of what God has done for us in adopting us into His family, putting His name upon us, and calling us His own. Once we were far off, but now we are brought near through Christ.

Happy six months home, Moriah Mei!

No Hands But Ours

2009-03-21T08:59:00.003-06:00

You can read a short summary of our story on the website "No Hands but Ours." Just click on the button on our sidebar and then go to family stories. Be sure to read some of the others as well. Each one is a testimony to God's grace as he brings these little ones home. I love to read all of the stories and see how each child is uniquely suited to his or her family. I am constantly amazed at the way that God brought Moriah to us and how He is knitting her into our family.

Happy and Busy Days

2009-02-27T11:35:00.005-07:00

Our four plus two cousins!

Moriah Mei has a new bed!

Grandma plays the Wii!

These past couple of weeks have been full of the normal, happy busy stuff that makes life good. I am thankful for God's faithfulness as He shows it in the day-to-day things. I have been especially thankful for the opportunity to live near family. We lived away from Colorado for the first twelve years of our marriage. While we knew that we missed living near our families, we had no idea of the rich blessing that awaited us when we moved back. Some recent examples include attending church with Andy's parents. It has been exciting to sit under the same great teaching with them and discuss the things we are hearing. I also love it when we can just join them for a meal and hang out together like we did last Saturday. The kids thought Grandma hadn't had enough time on the Wii yet!

My parents, despite having nine kids and many, many grandkids, have made time to help me with my laundry, cleaning and ironing. What a huge blessing...not only having the jobs done, but spending the time together.

Along with my parents, we have been caring for my nephews while my brother, sister-in-law and niece are in Africa. I have enjoyed watching my boys enjoy their cousins. It is also fun to hear the cousins laugh at Moriah. They think she's really funny! We have managed do our school work and keep everyone fed...no small task with six kids in the house!

We had a recheck at the neurosurgeon for Moriah's spine last week. Everything looks great. She is back to her physical and occupational therapy as well. She is beginning to show her two-year old will more and will make quite a racket when she doesn't get her way. She is growing in her attachment to Andy which is very encouraging. She greets him happily when he comes home from work.

Last night as I was reading books to her, she looked up at Andy and then back at me and said very happily, "MaMa, Dada." It seemed like she was thinking "Life is good. I have a forever family!" As the days go by, I think how good it must be for her just to have day after day of normal routine stuff. She is sleeping all night in her own little toddler bed. It has been great for all of us to have her sleeping so well in her own space. Sometimes I have felt frustrated with our sleeping arrangements. We have three bedrooms upstairs, so Moriah and Kimberly share a room. There is a ten year age difference between them, so sharing a room poses challenges. Kimberly has lots of tiny stuff, Moriah puts everything in her mouth. Kimbelry is a young lady, Moriah is a stinky baby. Kimberly wants a little privacy, Moriah wants to be wherever Kimberly is. You get the idea. The thing I have realized, though, is that this arrangement is actually a benefit for both of them. Moriah doesn't like to be alone. I'm sure that she sleeps better knowing that Kimberly is there. It is also an opportunity for Kimberly to learn to keep her things picked up and to learn to be patient with her sister. The good thing is that they love each other very much. I pray that they will always be close even though there is a big gap in their ages. Moriah has been singing a little made up song that goes, "Jie, Jie, yuv you, Jie, Jie yuv you." (Jie Jie is her Chinese version of big sister). It is super cute. Moriah also says "Lia Li" for Josiah, but she doesn't have a name for Caleb yet (much to his disappointment). I'm sure his turn will come to have his own cute nickname from Moriah.

We continue to rejoice in God's faithfulness and provision for us!

My Valentine

2009-02-13T14:08:00.004-07:00

This was taken last May in Vail. We got

away for acouple of days because we knew

it would be harder when Moriah came.

When we first started dating (14 years ago) I loved to refer to Andy as "my Andy." It seemed so romantic that we were going to belong to one another...that I would be his and he would be mine. At the time I never could have known how wonderful it would be to live each day loving "my Andy." This year especially I am so thankful for the one the Lord provided for me. It was a big year for us. I think we will always treasure the memory of our trip to China. It was such an exciting time...not only because we were going to get Moriah but also because China is the land of Andy's ancestery. It was so great to see him on the Great Wall and the Forbidden City. He was able to connect with his own heritage while experiencing Moriah's.

Adding Moriah after life with three had become fairly comfortable has been a huge adjustment. Andy has had to sort through a lot of emotions as he parents a child who doesn't always respond to him with the warmth he would like to receive. He has had to deal with the added stress of Moriah's medical appointments and expenses. He has had to come home to a messy house and an impatient wife more often than I would like to admit. How often has he had to reuse dirty socks or fish a half-dry undershirt out of the dryer because I didn't finish the laundry? He has had to juggle a long commute and busy job with church commitments while also faithfully leading his family. He gathers all of us for prayer and Bible reading almost every night. He makes time to talk and play with the children when he would rather relax. He listens to me when I don't really have anything important to say, but just want some adult conversation. He has done it all so faithfully and well. I admire and respect him more with each day that passes. I can only humbly thank the Lord for giving him to me. I love you, Andy!

Jer.29:11

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you. To give you a hope and a future."

Presurgery Fun

2009-02-06T20:25:00.005-07:00

Delicious!!

A cute Birthday cake for Moriah Mei

Yum! Fried wontons just for me!

Happy Chinese New Year!

It's funny how just a couple of days away can seem like a long time. We were all glad to get home yesterday and be together again as a family. Moriah is amazing. You would never know that she had surgery this week. She is full of energy and mischief! She is on some Motrin, but that is it.

Before the hospital adventure, we did a few fun things that never made it to the blog, so I thought I would catch up a little. Last week we celebrated Chinese New Year with Andy's parents. We went to their favorite Chinese restaurant. It is our kid's favorite restaurant now, too, because they have been given red envelopes with money in them for the past two Chinese New Years. Andy's folks have also started the red envelope tradition with the kids. It was a lot of fun. The first time we went to this restaurant with Moriah after returning from China, she was very timid and unsure. Not this time! She went after her lo mein and fried rice with great enthusiasm.

We also celebrated Moriah's second birthday last weekend. All four of her grandparents were here. We have a great bakery near our house, so we had them make a lady bug cake which was cute and delicious. We began a tradition of honoring all who cared for her before she came to us with a bouquet of flowers. As she gets older we will talk to her in more detail about her birthparents, orphanage nannies, and foster families. For now, we just told her that we wanted to honor those who cared for her before we could. She loved the presents, cake and icecream and balloons. I loved seeing her surrounded by her family...our treasured daughter.

We are so thankful for the gracious hand of the Lord in our lives. His mercies are new every morning. Great is His faithfulness!

The View from the Hospital

2009-02-04T14:51:00.008-07:00

Amy and Moriah in the hospital kids room

Mike Leach #83 Denver Broncos

Today is our second day at the hospital in Denver. Yesterday morning we got here bright and early for Moriah to have her surgery. After we were all prepped and Moriah drifted off to sleep, the doctor came out saying, "What is that on her neck?" She has a strange, scaley patch of skin on her neck that had gotten very red in just the last couple of days. I had put some anti-fungal cream on it, but it looked pretty nasty. The doctor made a quick call to infectious disease to decide if they could continue with the tethered cord release surgery. I was really praying that they could go ahead. The thought of anticipating all of this all over again was more than I wanted to consider. Thankfully, they decided they could go ahead. By about 11:00 she was out of surgery and recovering. My parents came and sat with us during the surgery and spent a little time with us after she got setttled in her room. The doctor said that her cord was very obviously tethered and it was definitely the right decision to fix it now rather than waiting. Lord willing, by freeing it now, we have avoided any serious nerve damamge. We also had a ENT put tubes in her ears while she was out. Most of yesterday Moriah was really sleepy and groggy. I left about 8:30 last night and went home to sleep. I was super tired. (Maybe I'm not as over the mono as I thought I was). Andy stayed with Moriah. We figured it was good bonding time for the two of them. Our room is private, but very small, so it would have been difficult for both of us to sleep. Tonight Andy will go home and I will stay. We are hoping to be released from the hospital tomorrow (Thursday).

Today Moriah is sitting up, eating lots and quite restless. She pulled her IV out which caused blood to go all over me. Thankfully, they let us just leave it out since she is eating and drinking well. She is such a trooper. We are so proud of her. Meanwhile, Kimberly, Caleb and Josiah have been hanging out with their grandparents (both sets). We have certainly needed their help in these past months. Words cannot express out thanks to them.

This morning a Denver Bronco, Mike Leach (number 83), came to the hospital with his family to visit with the kids. Moriah wasn't impressed (she fell asleep). But it was fun for Andy and me and some of the older kids who are here. Channel 4 and 7 news along with the Denver Post captured the moment so you may see us on the news! Thanks again for your prayers for Moriah.

January Sunshine

2009-01-22T17:16:00.004-07:00

This is what homeschooling looks like on a

warm January day.

Swinging is fun!

What do you think of my new hair-do?

Moriah pulled the big Quaker Oats

tub out of the pantry. I figured since

they were already on the floor, I'd let

her play in them for awhile.

It is hard to believe how warm it's been the last few days. Could this really be January in Colorado? We tried to soak up as much sun as possible, but as the clouds rolled in this afternoon and the air cooled, I felt like we should have been outside more while it lasted. We went to the park for a picnic today. The sun was still warm, but the wind was starting to pick up. Every time a big gust would come Moriah would say, "Woah, Woah!" She loved swinging (as always) and sliding down the slide. It felt good to be out and about.

My away-from-home activities for the last several weeks have been limited due to a bout with mono. Andy had it soon after we returned from China. I thought I had dodged the bullet, but I started to feel pretty bad around Christmas. I am doing much better now...thanks to lots of rest, meals provided by friends and family and a wonderful husband and kids who have pitched in a bunch. It did bring to light what an eleven, eight and six year old consider a good lunch: nachos and ice cream. I didn't care as long as they fixed it themselves. We also supported our local economy by eating out quite a few times. Moriah was sick for part of the time, too. She ended up with yet another ear infection and a bad cold. It does make me appreciate my normal energy level and feeling good.

We are preparing to head to Denver on February 2nd for Moriah to have a tethered-cord release surgery and tubes placed in her ears. It appears that her spinal cord is connected at the base in a way that will cause nerve damage if it is not corrected. It is a simple procedure (for a neurologist) that will take about an hour. We will be in the hospital for a couple of days. While we are in Denver, we will also see another specialist about some of the other concerns with her back. We would, of course, appreciate your prayers about all of this. She is a brave little girl and we expect that she will do fine, but it is hard for us to put her through it and to be away from our other three.

Our favorite thing the last few days is to hear Moriah say, "Yuv You!" It just melts our hearts. She is just a joy. It is amazing to remember that scared little girl who was placed in our arms just four months ago. She has grown so much in every area. We can only give thanks and rest in His grace.

Happy New Year

2009-01-02T23:30:00.006-07:00

Does Josiah look happy about this Clone Helmet?

Moriah on Christmas Day with Aunt Connie

Moriah on Christmas Eve with one of her gifts

(and Mommy) These wooden fruits are great for

practicing fine motor skills. Thanks, Grandma and Grandpa!

It wouldn't be Christmas without Legos!

Kimberly got lots and lots of beads!

It's hard to put into words the swirl of emotions that filled us this Christmas. There was a sense of completeness as we watched Moriah joyfully tearing paper and enjoying her new toys. Her little face was alight with all the wonder of Christmas. How long we have waited for her and what a huge blessing to have her home at last! At the same time, my mind often went to the little ones in China (and around the world) who do not know the joy of having a family. I don't think we could have experienced all of the things we did this year without it impacting us for a lifetime.

We spent Christmas Eve with Andy's parents and Christmas Day with mine. Our families are quite a contrast to each other as Andy is an only child and I am one of nine children. So Christmas Eve was peaceful and fun with lots of presents to open and play with. Christmas day was crowded and loud and lots of fun as we enjoyed three new little ones who have joined the family this year. Moriah loved rolling around on the carpet with all of the cousins. She fits right in.

Our good friends were also here with us from Albuquerque. Moriah loved playing with their three little girls. I am so glad that she enjoys other children and doesn't seem to feel threatened by them.

As always, the Lord has been faithful to us and blessed us in so many ways during this holiday season.

Honestly

2008-12-22T07:15:00.002-07:00

We have been talking for awhile about writing a post about some of the more challenging aspects of our adoption journey. While we rejoice in God's goodness in bringing Moriah to us, we have also had some struggles.

One of the hard things has been Moriah's attachment process to Andy. While we were in China, she didn't have a preference for one of us over the other. That quickly changed when we got home. Andy returned to work, and Moriah decided she didn't really like all that coming and going. By the time he gets home, they are both tired and it is hard sometimes. I am ready for a break, but Moriah doesn't really want to have anything to do with her Daddy. It is interesting that on the weekends, she does much better. We know that this will improve over time as she learns that Daddy will always come home. Andy enjoys playing rough with the kids. The older ones know that is Daddy's way of playing and they love it. But I don't think Moriah knows what to do with that kind of play yet. He has had to change his approach to find things that she will allow him to do with her. She likes it when he gives her a bath or reads her a book. Some days are better than others, but we are trusting the Lord to build this relationship over time.

Another challenge has been chasing down medical appointments and information. There are a lot of things going on with Moriah which have required multiple tests and appointments. It is interesting that her biggest medical concern, which involves her spine, was not in any of her paperwork. And her heart problem which was one of the major things in her paper work is a non issue. We are glad to do whatever Moriah needs, of course, but this process has been tiring.

And finally, in all honesty, I think we have struggled emotionally more than we expected. Sometimes it is painful to accept that Moriah had a life before we were her family. She will always bear some scars from the hardships of that life. We didn't know how intensely we would wonder about all that happened to her before she came to us. We take comfort from the knowledge that God knew and that he saw her in her mother's womb and every day after that. He sovereignly cared for her and brought her to us. In this we rejoice!

To end this slightly depressing post, I will include some funny pictures of the kids. This is what happens when I tried to get a good picture of all four of them. God has been so good to us. We are so thankful that he chose us to parent this special little girl (and our other three). Each day we see His faithful provision for us.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

2008-12-12T07:26:00.003-07:00

These are all the Leongs who have sat in this high chair!

I love to sing!

Moriah loves Grandpa

The days and weeks are slipping by so fast. Fall has definitely transitioned into winter here in the Rockies. We have had a couple of small snows, which the children have thoroughly enjoyed. We have a small (and I mean small) hill in our back yard that has provided hours of fun.

Moriah is becoming more and more at home with her role as the youngest Leong. She likes all of the attention that the other kids give her. She is starting to say a few more words such as "hi" to everyone in the mall, "all done" accompanied by the sign, "bye-bye" with vigorous waving and several others. She gives kisses (ok...licks) freely. Especially nice just after she's had a snack.

She has been struggling to overcome a persistent ear infection. We are on our third antibiotic. Next step may be tubes. She is excelling in her OT and PT. I think the therapists look forward to seeing her cute little face. Her right thumb, which was almost completely turned in and unused, has strengthened a lot. She uses it quite a bit now to turn pages in a book or hold a spoon or cup. Her back has straightened quite a bit, too which has improved her walking. She is not doing her bottom scoot at all anymore. When we first started going to the therapy, she was very timid. Now she walks in like she owns the place. The therapists are excellent, so we are thankful.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving at Andy's parent's house. It seemed that Moriah knew it was a special day. She ate her turkey and all with gusto! Grandma has a Little People Thanksgiving set complete with pilgrims and Mayflower, so she enjoyed playing with that.

And now Christmas is just around the corner. Andy and I have had some trouble getting into the Christmas spirit this year. Could it be because we feel like we have already received the greatest gift that we could wish for? The older kids are busy lobbying for their wish lists and working on school. It is a great blessing to live near family again after living away for twelve years. We have lots of fun things coming up with both of our families. What a blessing it is to add our fourth stocking to the mantel and have our little Moriah home at last.

Love Without Boundaries and Swallow's Nest

2008-12-12T06:43:00.005-07:00

I have wanted to write about foster care in China ever since we got home. Somehow life with four kids has been busier than I expected. So I am finally getting around to this post!

Moriah was blessed by two separate foster care situations. The first, Love Without Boundaries, is an organization that was started by families who had adopted from China. They wanted to do something to improve the lives of those orphans who were still in China. Over time their work has grown to include nutrition support, homes for children who are not sick enough to be in the hospital, but not well enough to be in the orphanage,foster care, help to pay for surgeries, coats and cribs, etc etc... They do a huge amount of amazing work.

Moriah was one of five children who came to the Zhengzhou orphanage in the winter or spring of 2007. The orphanage director felt that these five children would do better in foster care than in the orphanage. There was no Love Without Boundaries foster care program in Zhengzhou, so he made arrangements for them to be taken to Keifeng, which is another city about two hours away. There, each of these children grew and thrived. They received loving care from their foster parents. We prayed daily that Moriah would be loved and cared for until we could come for her, and by God's grace she was. The agreement between the Zhengzhou orphanage and Love Without Boundaries lasted for only one year. The logistics of the arrangement made it complicated. So in June, all five children were brought back to the orphanage. They all got sick within a short period of time.

That is where her second foster care home came into the picture. Love Without Boundaries made it possible for all five children to enter another foster care program called Swallow's Nest. This was another huge blessing for Moriah and the others. Each of them received tender care which restored their health and prepared them for adoption. We were able to meet Pam and Clay who run the Swallow's Nest. What a highlight of our trip that was. They have given their lives to investing in "the least of these." And we are so grateful.

We knew that Moriah had been in foster care, but we didn't know very many details about it until we got home. At that time, Love Without Boundaries sent us the pictures and reports that had been written about Moriah. What a treasure to have these early pictures. One way that Love Without Boundaries raises funds is through a sponsorship program. Our Moriah had two sponsors who helped to pay for her care. It is just amazing to see God's hand of Providence as he cared for our little girl long before we even knew she would be ours. We will never be able to thank her foster parents in Keifeng personally, but I hope by spreading the word about this great organization, more little ones will be able to be helped. You can visit their site at www.lovewithoutboudaries.com.

The Swallow's Nest is funded by donations as well. Their site is www.swallowsnestzz.org We will never be able to thank these folks enough for the love they showed to our little girl. And we continue to pray for them as they help so many little ones in China.

Finally...An Update

2008-11-05T09:36:00.016-07:00

Reformation Day...heading over to V7 Presbyterian Church for their Reformation Celebration

Here is the crew with grandma

B-2 flying over our house for the AF-Navy game...Go Falcons (Andy's alma mater '95)--we won't mention the final score :(

Caleb watching the football practice at the park near our house

Kimberly and Moriah at the park

Out for a family stroll at dusk...

Moriah takes in God's snow cone

First haircut in the US...not too sure about this

Getting ready for the winter!

Opening gifts from our church's welcome home shower

Moriah in a bowl!

We have been so remiss to get an update out (by about a month or so)...but finally some new photos. October flew by as we were busy with lots of doctor appointments, homeschooling and just getting settled with Moriah. Overall, she is doing very well. Kimberly, Caleb and Josiah love her very much. It feels like she has been with us for a very long time. It is hard to imagine that a short two months ago, we were meeting her for the first time. It has been a great joy to watch her get to know her grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. It has been hard for her to have Andy coming and going to work. She isn't too thrilled about him when he comes home at night. He leaves before she gets up, so in her little world, he is gone for a long time. On the weekends, she seems to do better. We know it will take time, but it is hard for both of them in the process.

Instead of big shower, our church had a mini-celebration between church and Sunday School for us. Our pastor prayed for Moriah and we had cake. We brought the gifts home and had fun opening them as a family. Everyone was so gracious to us in showering Moriah with cute clothes. Kimberly was relieved because she thinks it's embarrassing that I sometimes put Moriah in some of her old clothes. I think it's fun to see her in things I remember Kimberly wearing, but Kimberly thinks they're very outdated. (They are 10 years old.)

Moriah was baptized at our church on October 26. We were blessed to have lots of family and friends at church and later at our home to celebrate with us. Our pastor preached a wonderful sermon about baptism. It was a special day that we will always remember. Thanks to both of our moms who helped a great deal by making chili and cookies and staying to clean up. Sadly, we were both so busy and preoccupied, that we didn't take pictures! argh! I will put Moriah in her baptism dress again and get some pictures soon.

We had a lot of fun on Reformation Night with my brother, sister-in-law and their kids. Village Seven Presbyterian Church does a great job of teaching the kids a little about the Reformation while also having a lot of fun. Our costumes weren't all Reformation themed, but the kids had fun. Moriah's squeaky shoes from China were a hit. The place was so loud that they didn't drive anyone crazy. She had a great time walking all over. I burned off the extra candy calories chasing her! I am thankful that in God's providence this positive event in church history happened on October 31. It is a wonderful things that we can celebrate and teach our children about. We will choose Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation over witches and ghosts every time. It always gives the kids something to talk with their neighborhood friends about, too.

We have gotten a fairly predictable school routine going. Moriah is pretty happy to play with various toys while we do school. I am trying to keep some activities just for school time for her. Her attention span is about 30 seconds, so we can go through quite a few things (and make quite a mess) in the course of a few hours. The older kids are frustrated with the added noise and chaos at times, but we all seem to be adjusting to this new "normal" for our school day. We all appreciate nap time, when we can dig out from the mess and finish up our school work.

Our doctor appointments have included multiple x-rays, two MRI's, an eye exam, ear exam, heart exam, orthopaedic exam, and PT and OT evaluation. We are waiting for results on some of these. Her heart is fine, though, so we are very thankful for that. Ears and eyes are great, too! She will start PT and OT to address some of her developmental delays next week. I am excited to be done with all of these appointments. She handled each one very well. She is quite relaxed and curious in each new situation. She makes everyone who meets her smile. We are so blessed to have the privilege of parenting her.

We have changed our blog name in hopes that we can continue to post occasionally about our family as a whole. The Latin words "Sola Gratia" refer to the grace of God alone by which we are saved and by which we live our lives. His grace brought Moriah into our family, and by His grace we live each day seeking to glorify Him.

Pizza and Fried Rice

2008-09-27T21:35:00.008-06:00

We have been home for just over a week now. We had a good week. God has been so faithful to us during some tiring days as we recover from jet lag and adjust to being a family of six. Andy had to return to work on Monday. He was tired, but he made it through each day. The kids and I attempted some homeschooling on Thursday and Friday. I definitely have some fine tuning to do to figure out how to help the older ones while also keeping the little one out of trouble. I had forgotten how short a 19 month old's attention span is!

It was a week full of "firsts" for our little Moriah Mei: First time to the park, first ride in a car seat, first time to church, first time to try a popsicle, first time to see the Colorado sky. It was fun to see her delight in each new experience. It was great to go to church last Sunday and let her meet so many people who have been praying for her for so long. She also got to spend some time with each set of grandparents which she (and they) enjoyed. Tonight she had her first trip to Fargos Pizza. This has been a favorite pizza place of ours since Andy and I were kids. She tried some pizza and some tastes of items from the salad bar. She was far more excited about the Fried Rice that we had the other day, but she seemed to enjoy the experience. She has slept well for the most part and continues to eat with gusto! This week she also decided to take steps on her own. Her record is ten steps! She has a delightful personality and seems to really enjoy meeting people. We are encouraged, too, that she is beginning to identify us as her parents and to differentiate between us and other people. It was wonderful to have meals brought to us this week by my family and Andy's parents. What a blessing to not have to figure out what to fix each night!

This week we were also thankful to receive some pictures of Moriah from the first months of her life. Love Without Boundaries is an organization that sponsored her to be in foster care. Every other month, a report was made on her progress. What a treasure to have those pictures and reports. She seems to have been well loved and cared for there and later in another foster home. We know that these kind people made a huge difference for her. God was so faithful to provide for her needs. Love Without Boundaries does a lot of great work for orphans in China. You can check out their website for more information. (www.lovewithoutboundaries.com)

So week one is in the books. We continue to rejoice in the honor of parenting these four gifts from God...and continue to rely on His grace for wisdom and strength for the journey.

Day-16(x2): Homecoming!!!

2008-09-20T07:38:00.023-06:00

Phew...What a journey!!! We saw two sunrises and two sunsets for 19 Sep--what a long day. But by God's grace we arrived safely (albeit tired and somewhat frazzled) in Colorado Springs!! Moriah (and mom & dad) had a rough flight from Hong Kong to San Francisco. She was overly tired from our early morning departure (along with everything else that is new, etc.) from Guangzhou and cried inconsolably for the first 8 hours of the 12 hour flight. And no I'm not exaggerating or embellishing, it was really that bad. We felt like we had parents of the century posted on our foreheads (along with the major loser sign). Wouldn't you know it there were no other toddlers in her age group on this huge Boeing 747 and so she and her parents were the scourge of the flight. Gotta love those "do something about your kid" stares. Had they had ejection seats on the plane, the passengers would have punched us all out over the Pacific! We were really at a loss and tried everything (except the Benadryl which we had hastily deposed of because of the increased security measures...yep, we were regretting that we didn't find a smaller bottle). She did finally settle down and rest near the conclusion of the flight and thankfully she slept the entire flight from San Francisco to Colorado Springs. No we never want to get on an airplane again (at least any time in near future:) . I told Moriah her folks were going to need trauma counseling! But we made it!! We were met at the airport by a huge welcoming party of our family...what an absolutely joyous moment. For her it was like she became an instant rock star with the paparazzi shooting off flashes like she was Princess Diana. But the sweetness of the moment was to see her united with her brothers and sister, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and all these people who have loved her and prayed for her before she was ever born. As I reflect on our journey to Moriah, Amy and I have been profoundly shown (albeit imperfect) a portrait of our Lord's grace in adopting us. Except in God's work of adoption it is not some sweet little child who needs a home but He adopts wicked, rebellious, evil objects of wrath whom He makes children of the Most High God. The doctrine of election seems to capture what we have in some faint measure been able to see in a more profound way. Moriah could never have come to us or chosen us (of course if you asked her about her new parents after this long journey yesterday I'm sure she'd have some comments to make), it was us choosing and coming for her. Thanks be to God that He has adopted us (His people) and brought us to Himself and into His own household. Eph 2:19 "So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God..." This has been such a spiritually profound experience for us in so many ways, emotionally draining and trying, yet all so rewarding. We are so blessed and rich in Christ...His benefits are eternal and unsurpassed in joy and fulfillment. We want to first and foremost give our triune God the praise and glory for Moriah and His hand upon both her life and ours. He has blessed us in our journey to Moriah and now as we begin our lives together as a family He leads us. Next we want to thank our family and friends who have encouraged, prayed for, and supported all of us through this adventure (which is just beginning). We love you and are so thankful for each of you. We do plan to keep up with this blog, although not each day as we have been. So please check back whenever our adventure comes to mind. Blessings to you all from Colorado Springs, CO, USA!!!

Day-15: Last Day in China

2008-09-18T06:24:00.006-06:00

We stayed around the hotel this morning. Moriah enjoyed practicing her walking in the hotel lobby. While we packed, she hung out in the big drawer where we kept her toys and in the empty suitcase. This afternoon we took a forty minute bus ride to the visa section of the US consulate. The oath we took stated that everything in our adoption paperwork was acurate to the best of our knowledge. The room was filled with about 30 babies and children and their American parents. After the oath, the room burst into applause. It was a great moment.

It is with mixed feelings that we finish our last day in China. We are so eager to get home, but it has been a wonderful experience to see the place of Andy's ancestery and to add Moriah to our family. We've enjoyed getting to know our travel mates and look forward to keeping in touch with them. We've enjoyed meeting many other people as well. We had terrific guides who held our hands through each step of the way. Here in Guangzhou we've met lots of other adoptive families. It is neat to see so many little children getting ready to go home with their forever families. We'll never forget the sights and experiences that we've had and we look forward to sharing them with Moriah as she grows older. Our faith has been strengthened as we have experienced the miracle of adoption first hand.

We're packed and ready to go. We have to have our luggage outside our door by 5:20 a.m. Then we will head to the airport for a very long day of travel. Lord willing, we will arrive at the Colorado Springs airport about 6:30 p.m. How good it will feel to be home! We can't wait to give those three kiddos and grandparents at home a big huge hug. Thanks for all of your prayers and comments during our time here. It has been fun to read them each day and encouraging to know that so many were praying for us.

Day-14: Red Couch Day

2008-09-17T07:10:00.011-06:00

This morning after breakfast, Moriah and I went to a children's park while Andy stayed at the hotel. Our guide took our papers to the consulate, so one of us had to be available in case there were any questions. The children's park was fun, but it was so hot and humid that we didn't stay very long. We rode on a carousel and a little train. The most exciting part of the outing was trying to catch a taxi home. It was a busy time of day and it took us a long time. I forgot the camera, so there are no pictures of this little excursion.

This evening, we had the "red couch photos." This hotel has a lot of red couches, so it is a tradition for groups to have pictures of the kids on the red couch. The little boy who is crying is usually a very happy boy, but he didn't like the idea of sitting on that couch with all of those girls! Moriah entertained herself by pulling off her shoes and pulling out her little friend's hair bow. The parents were laughing and taking as many pictures as we could. The kids were not as amused as the parents were. Then we all walked to an Italian restaurant for dinner. During dinner, Moriah and Daddy played, "eat the cheerio off of Daddy's nose." She thought Daddy was pretty funny today and laughed when he tickled her. She has decided that she is not too crazy about nap time, but other than that she is such a happy girl. We are really enjoying her. We get a lot of comments that she looks like her Daddy. She seems to think my nose and hair are funny and likes to touch them a lot. We bought a $15 dollar suitcase today to help us get all of our stuff home. We hope it makes it home in one piece. It says "Polo" on the outside, so it must be high quality. : )

We would like to continue to ask for prayer for our friends in Colorado whose infant son is gravely ill. We know that God always does what is right and that all things work together for our good and for His glory. Yet our hearts are heavy for these friends during this time. We would ask for prayer for peace and wisdom for them as they face difficult decisions.

Day-13: Medical Checkup and Pearl River Cruise

2008-09-16T08:44:00.005-06:00

As we reflect on this day our hearts are heavy at the news of a hard Providence our dear friends in Colorado are facing. We received word this morning that our friends newborn son who suddenly became gravely ill may not survive the day. We have spent as much of the day as possible in prayer for God's grace and comfort upon them during this time of great trial. While we know that the same sovereign God who brought the affliction can certainly remove it, we are comforted that His will is perfect and that our Lord has so ordained each of our days for His own purpose and glory. Our hearts and prayers have and continue to be lifted up to our great Physician on their behalf. It is difficult to be away from our church congregation at this time and this makes us all the more eager to get home. But we are thankful that we have a faithful and merciful High Priest who hears the prayers of His people wherever they are physically located.

Today Moriah had her final medical appointment and we were able to enjoy the dazzling night scenery of Guangzhou during an evening dinner cruise on the Pearl River.

Day-12: Shopping and Thai Food

2008-09-15T06:41:00.006-06:00

We are at the end of another pleasant day in Guangzhou. Andy spent some time doing some things for work this morning while Moriah practiced walking around the lobby of the hotel. She especially enjoyed dipping her little hand in a very low, shallow fountain. There is also a large cage of birds in the lobby which she liked watching. We spent some time in the Swan Room which is a play room furnished by Mattel. She enjoyed playing with the toys and other kids in there. I enjoyed talking to some other adoptive parents. We went to Starbucks for a little lunch. It was really nice inside. It smelled and felt just like a Starbucks should. After lunch we did some shopping for gifts and souvenirs. We found some cute clothes for Moriah and a few other fun things to bring home. We liked the one called "Andy's Shop" When Andy told them that was his name they said, "Oh, you are our boss!" Andy is very good at the bargaining thing. He got some good deals today. This afternoon, Andy went to our guide's room to do some paperwork and then several families from our group met for some Thai food for dinner. It was a delicious meal. Moriah hung in there well even though she was tired due to having only had a short stroller nap today. She wasn't quite as cheerful as she has been on the other days. She woke up kind of grumpy this morning and had a hard time off and on all day. It would be nice to know what is going on in her little head, but we'll just keep loving her and trusting the Lord to give us wisdom in how to meet her needs. We are getting more and more eager to get home with each passing day. We are so ready for this little girl to meet her brothers and sister and grandparents. At the same time, it has been a wonderful gift to see some of China, to learn more about the culture of this vast country and experience it first hand.

Day-11: Mid-Autumn Festival and other stuff...

2008-09-14T08:49:00.013-06:00

We enjoyed an interesting day in Guangzhou. We started with the very nice White Swan breakfast buffet. It was quite a change from Zhengzhou where we were often the only Americans there. Here, there are many adoptive families. The place was full of little ones and their new parents. It was neat to see all of these children beginning their new lives. Moriah especially liked the tater-tots and scrambled eggs.

At 9:30, we left for the Six Banyan temple. It is a Buddhist temple that was build in 537 AD. The picture of the pagoda is from there. It made us sad to see the people so overtly worshiping idols. We thought it must have been something like what Paul saw at the Areopagus in Acts 17: "For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription 'to the unknown God'. What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man..." It was sad to see so many walking in darkness, but it also made us rejoice that Moriah will be able to learn about the one true living God. May our Lord continue to build His church here and shine forth the light of Christ to give sight to those who are blind.

Next we went to a famous house that is now a museum called the Chen House. There were rooms with beautiful art and embroidery (even one of Hu Jintao), ivory carvings, and original furniture. It had beautiful architecture with ceramic figures on the roof line as well as intricate carvings throughout. Finally, we stopped at a store which offered lots of neat Chinese things for sale. Across the street was a little grocery store. We found a few things (diapers and snacks) but not what we were really looking for: Cheerios. Moriah loves them! We did find some later near the hotel, but we held off on buying them because they were about $6 for a small box. Maybe we can find some other snacks for her to enjoy. After all of this, we came back to the hotel for a much needed rest. When Moriah woke up, we headed out for some shopping and dinner. We ended up at Lucy's again because all of the restaurants were quite busy because of the Mid-Autumn Festival (also known as the Moon Festival). After supper, we went for a walk along the river. It had gotten dark and the moon had risen. River boats which offer dinner cruises and sightseeing floated by. There were many families out. The children had paper lanterns with candles inside. It was a festive atmosphere. Moriah enjoyed looking at the lanterns and the people. We did buy some lanterns to bring home. A few other highlights of the day: some Chinese teenagers wanted their picture taken with me, we received the special Barbie doll with the Chinese baby that is given to adoptive families who stay at the White Swan Hotel, we got Moriah some squeaky shoes (they squeak each time she takes a step), and we got to know some new folks who have joined our group. Their babies were in this province, so they have been here the whole time. One has adopted a two year old girl and the other has adopted a set of two year old twins. It was nice to meet them today.

Moriah is continuing to do very well. She seems a little more relaxed each day. She didn't seem quite so frantic about food today and seemed to stop when she'd had enough. She really liked drinking water out of the lid of the water bottle today. It was pretty hot, so I'm sure she was thirsty. She tried Gatorade, but I think she liked water better. She likes french fries, but not ketchup. She is happy and cheerful and makes everyone around her smile. We met a young woman working in a store who is from Kaifeng, which is near Zhengzhou. She was so excited when we told her where Moriah is from.

It was a great day!

Day-10: A Narrow Escape

2008-09-13T05:28:00.009-06:00

Warning: If you are planning to travel to Zhengzhou in the near future and you are at all anxious or fearful about it, you might want to skip this blog entry!! (Did that pique your interest? :)

We had an eventful day. We began by going down to the lobby ready to get on the bus at 8:40 as we had been instructed. There was only one problem: the bus wasn't there. After lots of heated phone calls to the bus driver by our guide, the bus finally arrived. This put us on a tight schedule to catch our plane. Our guide had our passports in hand ready to help us through the security checkpoints at the airport. She was telling us that we would need to hurry when we got there when all of the sudden, a little old man carrying lots of cabbages on his motorbike basically ran into the side of our bus! I watched it happen. The bus driver tried to swerve away, but the little man just kept coming. He flew off the bike and landed on the ground. The cabbages went everywhere. The driver and our guide jumped off the bus. We watched as a crowd gathered. Our guide stood in the road with all of our passports in her hands shouting at the people in the crowd who were (I guess) giving the bus driver a hard time. On the bus, we agreed that we would probably miss our plane. We were trying to keep the kids calm. We watched as a police car drove right past, then a military officer bicycled past, then another official looking vehicle drove past. None of them stopped. The crowd stood around but it didn't seem like anyone was giving attention to the poor old man laying in the street. Finally an ambulance came and they loaded him up. Another bus came and the men in our group shifted all of our stuff to it while the women shifted the kids. We hurried off the airport. Because we were late or because we were Americans with Chinese kids (who knows), the security people decided to give all of us an extra hard time. They held the plane until we all finally got on. We made it!! The stress level in our group was quite high, but we all arrived in Guangzhou in one piece. We were sure glad to be in a new place. Zhengzhou is an interesting place. I think it will take us a little while to process everything that we experienced there. We will always remember the place of our daughter's birth and we feel privileged to have seen it for ourselves.

We have a different guide here, Grace. She seems to have everything well in hand. We are hoping for an uneventful time! Shamian Island, which is where we are staying, is a fascinating little area. It has a lot of British influence with architecture from the late 1800's. There are large banyan and palm trees everywhere. The consulate is here, so every adopting family must come here before going to the United States. There are lots of little souvenir shops that cater to the adoptive families. Tonight we ate dinner at a restaurant called "Lucy's" that specializes in American food. They were playing American music and had American movie posters on the walls. It was a refreshing change for us! The White Swan Hotel is beautiful. The rooms are clean and bright...not smokey like our last one was. We are looking forward to a wonderful week here before heading home.

Moriah did ok on the plane ride. She was a little fussy, but after about an hour she fell asleep. On the bus and the plane she wanted to eat lots of snacks. We think it is her way of trying to find comfort when she is stressed. Once we got to our room here, she played happily for quite awhile. We were able to borrow a stroller from one of the shops for the time that we are here. She really loved riding around in that. She is sleeping peacefully now.

Tonight we are so thankful for the Lord's protection over us in so many ways today. We should also note that our guide in Zhengzhou has been doing this job since 1995 and she said nothing like that had ever happened to her before, so it's not as though it's a common occurrence. The traffic is insane, though, and I'm sure there are many accidents every day. Most of the time, it is more entertaining to travel about than scary, but there are those moments...

Day-9: Last Day in Zhengzhou

2008-09-12T08:39:00.012-06:00

We had a good day today. After breakfast, Moriah played with the other little girl in our group, Emma. They got along quite well and Emma shared her bread with Moriah, which of course made Moriah happy. We went with the Johnson family to the New Island Coffee House which is right by the hotel. They have good affordable food. Moriah loved the noodles and had them all over herself and me. Andy had some sort of dish with meat and vegetables and a fried egg on top. We also shared some fried dumplings which were very good.

We had our laundry done today. It came back wrapped so beautifully we hated to open it. The shirts were folded like you would buy from the store, complete with plastic over them and cardboard in the collar. I think they even ironed my nightgown. Amazing! We came back to the room for a nap. We found a food that Moriah doesn't like at dinner tonight. So far she has eaten everything we gave her, but tonight we tried to give her ice cream. She made a really funny face and decided she didn't want any more.

This evening we got packed and ready because tomorrow we will fly to Guangzhou. We are looking forward to the change of scenery. It is about a two hour flight, so it will be good practice for Moriah and us. All adoptive families must pass through the US consulate there before they can go back to the USA.

Moriah is continuing to do well. She smiles and giggles a lot. She is also getting quite loud and insistent about what she wants (usually food). We taught her the sign for "please" today and she seemed to learn it quite quickly. She was funny in the bathtub tonight splashing and giggling. She has been practicing her walking in the hall of the hotel. I think she will take her first steps by herself soon. We got her Chinese passport which will allow her to travel to the USA. She is a precious gift and we are very thankful for her.

Day-8: Zai Jian (Good-bye) ZZ SWI

2008-09-11T07:40:00.007-06:00

John 14:18 "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you..."

Today we visited three important places in Moriah's first nineteen months of life. It was a hard day in some ways, but a good day. First, we went to the hospital where we think she was found after being abandoned. It is a huge, busy place. The original hospital has recently been replaced, but we took pictures of the old parts that remain and the gate at the entrance. It was a busy, bustling area, so it is easy to imagine that she was quickly found after being placed there.

Next we went to the Zhengzhou Social Welfare Institute (ZZ SWI) where Moriah spent some time. We are not exactly sure how long...possibly six months. We were welcomed by the orphanage directors and staff. We were shown to a conference room where we talked with the staff for a few minutes. Next we walked through the grounds to the orphanage. There were some very beautiful gardens and a vegetable garden that was being cultivated along the way. Another large building housed an old folks home. When we went into the orphanage building itself, we were ushered upstairs to a school room and play room (yet noticeably there were no toys around). There were about twenty children in these two rooms. We passed out lollipops to the children and took pictures. Some of their sad faces broke our hearts. It was especially sad to see older children who are past the age of being adopted. We were not able to see any sleeping or eating areas and I don't think we saw all the children. But we were thankful to see the parts that they were willing to share. We enjoyed seeing some children who will soon be adopted by people we have met through CCAI. It was great to tell them their parents will be coming for them soon. Before long, we were being ushered back out to our van. We said our goodbyes. It was good to hold her and remind her as we left that she is no longer an orphan, but our child and a child of the King. I also felt a deep sense of thankfulness to the orphanage staff who had put the paperwork together for Moriah to be adopted.

Our next stop was the foster home where Moriah has spent the last two months. It was a blessing to meet her caregivers and the other children who were there. She clearly enjoyed being there and felt at ease. It had a wonderful homey atmosphere full of warmth and love. This dear family has blessed us and we are thankful that He brought them into her life and ours. After a delicious Chinese food lunch with her caregivers, we headed back to our hotel.

So, we come away from today with a deep sense of the goodness of the Lord in His many Providences in Moriah's life. Clearly He has had His hand upon her. It was a great feeling to bring her home in our arms knowing that all of those places are behind her now. She fell asleep on the way home and slept hard for several hours. At one point during her nap, she woke up, looked around and saw us, gave a sigh and went back to sleep. She is a brave, sweet girl. It is exciting to think what the Lord has in store for the rest of our lives together.

2 Corinthians 5:17b "The old has passed away, behold the new has come."

Day-7: Our New Noodle

2008-09-10T07:49:00.007-06:00

Today was a slower pace than the last couple of days and for that we were thankful. Little did we know we have a giggle monster, eating machine (and yes my grocery bill is now going to skyrocket!), and a smushable little noodle. She has really opened up more and more...last night she had a 30 minute giggle fest, combined with a funny type of Chinese baby talk/grunting that really is hilarious (at least she thinks so:) before she finally drifted to sleep. I find myself (Andy) having to try and refrain from squeezing her too much or too tight as she is just that lovable. And for Kimberly, Caleb and Josiah you can sympathize for her (check out the updated photos in the slideshow--she has discovered the scissors!!!). Today we went to the Henan Provincial Museum...an interesting place filled with ancient artifacts dating back to 16th and 17th century BC. Somewhat of a strange layout and lots of empty space but supposedly one of the oldest Chinese museums. Zhengzhou is situated in what you might call the cradle of Chinese civilization and seeing some of these ancient writings, pots, etc. was quite interesting. Although I have to admit I would have much more preferred to see some MiGs, Sukhois, and military stuff. But it got us out of the hotel room. Tomorrow we will be journeying to Moriah's orphanage (Zhengzhou Social Welfare Institute), her finding site (steps of the Henan Provincial Hospital), and a home where she has been lovingly cared for for the past few months. We have struggled with whether we would both go and take her with us to the orphanage or one of us go so the other could remain with her at the hotel. We have decided to both go to the orphanage together hoping that Moriah will understand that she now belongs to us while at the same time being sensitive to how she may feel during the visit (one of us may stay outside with her, should we need to). Please pray for her and us tomorrow as it will be a very emotional day but a necessary one for closure and for us to understand another part of her life. We also look forward to passing on some news of children who were adopted earlier from ZZ SWI and those whose parents want to send hugs and tell their sons and daughters they will be here soon. Blessings from the PRC...Andy

Day-6: Getting a little more adjusted

2008-09-09T00:18:00.009-06:00

(Yesterday's post has also been updated with some pictures and more details about our day.)

Today is Moriah's first full day with us! She slept well and woke up looking a little surprised to see where she was. She drank some water and ate some cheerios. She really seems to like Cheerios! We got dressed and went down to breakfast. She was very quiet and still but she ate well: congee, eggs, and watermelon. We went to the Lotus Superstore which is kind of like a Super Walmart but it is actually a popular chain from Thailand. We are really thankful for the baby carrier that we brought. She seems to like being in it and it makes us feel secure when getting in and out of taxi's and busy places. The store was busy and kind of crazy but really interesting. It had three floors. The first level was jewelry, the second was groceries and the third was household goods and clothes. I put a few pictures of the store up (the chicken legs are for you, Dan.) The escalators grabbed onto the wheels of the carts so we could go from level to level with our cart. It was really busy when we came out and difficult to get a taxi, but we made it back in one piece. (Riding in the taxi was an adventure in itself!) We decided to eat some pizza at the Italian restaurant here in the hotel. Moriah enjoyed sitting in the high chair and eating bits of bread, pizza and some mushroom soup. We haven't found anything she won't eat yet. During lunch, she began to smile and giggle and babble. It was almost like a switch went off and she decided to show us her true personality. When we came back to the room, she started to give me kisses and babble some more. I got her some little books at the store which she really enjoyed. She is really a cutie. Her smile could melt your heart. Andy is trying to get her settled down for a nap now. It is less rainy today. The sun even came out for awhile. Perhaps later we will go out for a walk and explore around the hotel a bit. It is amazing that we can love someone so much whom we have only known for a short time. We just can't take our eyes off of her beautiful face. She has beautiful, long eyelashes and the sweetest little nose and lips that you can imagine. Once again, thanks so much for all of your prayers and comments. It is so great to know how often our little one has been brought before the Father.

Day-5: Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

2008-09-07T20:39:00.011-06:00

More to follow...off to some appointments...

1930: It is difficult to find words to describe today's experience! Since we are quite exhausted as you can imagine we'll try to capture the day after a nights rest (hopefully...she's sleeping peacefully right now:). We want to thank all of you for your prayers and encouragement--you all are a tremendous blessing to us!!! Bid you all a good evening (morning) from Zhengzhou. What a glorious God we serve!!! 1 Thes 5: 24

It is now Tusesday afternoon. I have had some time at last to reflect on yesterday in a little more detail. At about 9:30 a.m. yesterday, our guide Yisha came up to our room with the orphanage director and a nanny. In her arms was our Zheng Mei. She had been asleep on the drive over and looked pretty stunned. We went into our room and they placed her in Andy's arms. She didn't cry or whimper. She just looked kind of dazed. She let us pass her back and forth and take lots of pictures. After we signed the papers, the orphanage director and nanny left and we had a few minutes with her. Soon, we had to go out to several offices to sign papers. It was a strange walk on a street that was all torn up. We got a family photo for the adoption certificate and did lots of other paper work. It was hot and smelly and while we were out it began to rain. We were all feeling pretty tired and stressed. We came back to the hotel for a couple of hours. Moriah seemed a little more alert. She ate some snacks and played with some toys. We were a little concerned because we couldn't get her to drink anything. At about 3:00 we had to go out on the street again to finish our paperwork. It took about two hours to get it all done. We came back and ordered some room service. We tried to give her a bath, but she wasn't too thrilled with that. She settled down about 7:30 and slept through the night. She is unbelievably cute and so sweet. We saw tiny glimpses of her personality, but we could tell that she wasn't sure about all of this and us. She never gave out a big cry, but she often gave little grunts of unhappiness. Before bed, we sang together (Jesus Loves Me, Psalm 1, and the Doxology) and read John 10 (the Good Shepherd), she went from whimpering to a quiet contentment. Perhaps it is us hearing things but she seemed to say "Bible" and pat God's Word as Andy read. Her life was changed forever on this day and so was ours. Our hearts are so full that it is hard to express in words. Psalm 116:12 and 17 seem to express our feelings best, "What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits to me? I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving." We brought a little booklet with us called "Helping Your Adopted Child" by Paul David Tripp. We thought this quote was appropriate: "on the hard days you must remind yourself, What I am doing right now, although hard, is close to God's heart and what I am doing is exactly what God has called his children to do." (Psalm 68:5, Isaiah 1:17, Jeremiah 5:28) We have been blessed beyond measure. Our hearts are full.

Day-4:Arrival in Zhengzhou

2008-09-07T07:07:00.007-06:00

Andy and I awoke at about 1:00 a.m. and couldn't go back to sleep. It was thundering very loudly for hours. We seem to be having trouble getting over the jet lag. So we are tired, but excited tonight. We are hoping to get some good rest tonight because tomorrow is the Big Day!!

We left the hotel in Beijing at 8:30 and drove as close as we could get to the Bird's Nest and Water Cube. It was wet and rainy, but sill neat to see. You can see us with our guide Helen and her uncle in the photo above. That is the Bird's nest in the background. From there we went to the airport. Our guide helped us to get our luggage checked and after about an hour and a half plane ride, we found ourselves in Zhengzhou. The airport was large and clean, but mostly empty. We took about a 45 minute bus ride to our hotel--the Crown Plaza. There are several restaurants inside, including an Italian one where Andy and I got some pizza tonight. There is also a Cuban cigar store, which Andy thought was pretty neat. The differences between Beijing and Zhengzhou are quite obvious. Beijing is clean and modern (at least the changes made for the Olympics make it seem so) while Zhengzhou seems much poorer. Zhenzhou (ZZ) is the capitol of the Henan province which is the poorest province in China. The contrast is absolutely striking compared to Beijing. In many ways it feels as if we arrived in another country. ZZ has a population of 7 million and is mostly an industrial city set on agricultural land and the haze smog and dreary weather certainly contribute to our first impressions of the city. But we are also reminded that this is Moriah's city, so while it is very foreign it is very special to us and will always be. Andy and I are already looking forward to the time we can bring all of the family back here to Moriah's birthplace.

Mr. Zhou, the orphanage director will bring Moriah here to our hotel room tomorrow morning around 9:30. For those of you in Colorado, that will be 7:30 p.m. Sunday night. Our guide brought some milk formula powder and some snacks by for her. We've got her toys and blanket all ready. It is all beginning to feel very real!

Day-3: The Great Wall

2008-09-06T05:40:00.009-06:00

Once again we enjoyed a busy day playing tourist in Beijing. We started off with a beautiful drive out of the city. It was interesting to see the city give way to countryside. There were lots of beautiful trees and flowers all along the road. It made me think of Hawaii with Oleander and Hibiscus. There were also many colors of roses and huge fields of cosmos. After about 30 minutes of driving, we stopped at a jade factory. It was interesting to see some craftsmen working with jade and lots of jade pieces for sale. I did not know about the "jade culture" in China, but we learned a little more today. It is traditional for a mother to give her daughter a jade bangle when she gets married. Then the daughter wears the bangle until her daughter gets married and she passes it on. At one time only the emperor and his court could wear jade.

As we continued our drive, we began to see the mountains and then the Great Wall. It was a stunning sight. The mountains were kind of misty and we could see layer after layer of them. Curving through it was the wall. We began to climb the very uneven and worn stairs. I quickly got tired and quit. Andy, on the other hand, went up quite far. He hiked with our guides uncle and the grandma that is accompanying our travel mates. Several others in our group went up some distance, but those three went the farthest. I spent my time at the bottom exploring around and people watching. I kept thinking how much Kimberly, Caleb and Josiah would have enjoyed. It was easy to imagine the invading Mongols coming over that ridge and the Hans defending their land. What an amazing place!

We had lunch at a touristy restaurant and store and then headed home. We tried to go by the Bird's Nest, but it was blocked off because tonight is the opening ceremonies for the paralympics. We are hoping to drive by it on our way to the airport tomorrow morning.

It was nice today to have some time to get to know our travel mates better. We are all getting eager to meet our new family members and we are looking forward to sharing this experience with each other.

Tonight Andy and I walked down the street to McDonalds. We stopped for awhile on a pedestrian overpass to watch the crazy traffic. There were bicyclists and pedestrians, cars, buses and taxi's all going in every direction. It was entertaining to stand above it all and watch.

We're packed up and ready to head to Zhengzhou tomorrow. Monday morning is "gotcha day" for Moriah Mei! We are so thankful for the Lord's faithfulness in all of these things. We want to say thank you for all of the prayers that have been lifted on our behalf.

Day-2: How to Overcome Jetlag: Beijing style

2008-09-05T06:22:00.000-06:00

Our guide Helen (also known as "Super Helen" )

took us so many places today that we forgot how tired we were. We started the day with a breakfast buffet here at the hotel. They had lots of familiar breakfast foods as well as many Chinese options. At nine o'clock we met our travel mates and got on the bus bound for Tian'anmen Square and the Forbidden City. It seemed a little surreal to be standing in such historically significant places. The Forbidden City goes on and on with layer after layer of courtyards and buildings. It is an amazing place. Next we went to a 400 year old restaurant for lunch. We're not sure exactly what we ate, but it was good! After lunch, we went to a silk factory where we learned how silk is made. Then we were off to a Huton, which is an ancient type of Chinese home. We rode on rickshaws through tiny alley ways. Andy and I felt sorry for the fairly elderly man who was pedaling us around! We stopped and had tea with a gentleman who told us about his family and his life. He had grown up in this Hutong with his brothers and sisters. The Hutong is built in a quadrangle with one portion for each of the three generations of family. The fourth side is for the servants. The center is a garden type of area where there are trees and plants. It was interesting to see this simple and ancient way of life. Along the way there were tiny produce shops and other shops. People were gathered to visit, smoke and play majong. After just enough time to get a bottle of cold water, we were off to a Chinese tea ceremony. We sampled lots of different kinds of tea and bought some to bring home. Then we were back in the bus to go to an acrobatic show. Incredible only begins to describe the things that these young people could do. They were all under twenty years old. They were so strong and flexible. It was amazing. Finally, we went to a traditional duck dinner. By this time we were almost too exhausted to eat, so Helen mercifully brought us back to our hotel. Part of the adventure of the day was just travelling on the Beijing streets. It seems miraculous that no pedestrians or bicyclists were killed by our bus today. The driving was at least as entertaining and thrilling as anything else that we experienced! It was a terrific day. We are excited to be here, but our beds will feel awfully good tonight! Tomorrow, we will go to the Great Wall and a jade factory.

Thanks for your comments and prayers!

Day-1: Lighter is Better

2008-09-04T05:41:00.002-06:00

We arrived in Beijing. Hooray! One tip if you're ever coming to China....pack light! Our bag which was 5 pounds over the fifty pound limit was going to cost us an extra $400! Yikes! Thankfully we were able to do some quick repacking. We were left with two very heavy carry-ons but our checked luggage fit under the weight limit. Otherwise our trip was long but uneventful. There were a lot of Paralympians on the plane with us. The opening ceremonies for the Paralympics are tomorrow. At the Beijing airport there appeared to be many people arriving from many different countries for this event. We met our guide, Helen, easily. She took us to our hotel and gave us lots of good information as we travelled along. The parts of Beijing that we saw were really beautiful. The flowers made me think of Hawaii. Every few blocks there would be a beautiful park with large weeping willow trees and flowers. Tomorrow will be an exciting day as we will see many of the sights in Beijing. Hopefully we'll get some good pictures to share. We will also meet the other two families who will be traveling with us for the rest of our trip.

We are so thankful to the Lord for His faithfulness in bringing us to this point. We are also thankful to our parents who are helping with our kids at home. Even though we miss them, we know they will have a great time making memories with their grandparents. And in just a few short days, we will have Moriah in our arms. Now we are going to go to bed because we cannot keep our eyes open! Thanks for all of your prayers!

The countdown is on!

2008-09-02T07:00:00.000-06:00

We spent a wonderful last weekend as a family of five. I had hoped that we would be able to make some sweet memories and we did. Every so often one of us would say, "this is the last time we'll eat Chinese as a family of five" or "this is the last time we'll go to church as a family of five." Sunday night we had a wonderful time of hymn singing and prayer with my family. On Monday we went to the Balloon Classic. The winds aloft were headed in a westerly direction which prevented some of the balloons from taking off. The ones that did take off were beautiful. Afterwards we went to our church for a potluck breakfast. Last night we went out for Chinese food with Andy's parents. We checked off a lot of things on our to-do list, but today will still be quite busy with last minute packing and preparing.

We want to thank everyone who has responded to our blog. It has been fun to hear from friends and family from around the world. It reminds me of how richly we are blessed by God. One of the best things about our 12 years in the Air Force is the wonderful friends who blessed our lives in each place we lived. Each of you holds a special place in our hearts. We are thrilled to share our journey to Moriah with all of you. We will do our best to respond to e-mails and comments.

We will leave our house very early tomorrow morning. My parents will come to stay with the kids tonight and Andy's parents will take us to the airport in the morning. We are ready to go!!

--Amy

A little more about our little girl

2008-08-29T20:22:00.000-06:00

We thought we would back up a little bit and share a few more details about Moriah. She was born February 2nd, 2007 in Zhengzhou, which is in the Henan province. This is the most populous province in China. It is south of Beijing. Up until recently the orphanages in the Henan province did not participate very much in international adoption. Thanks the the hard work of our adoption agency and others, many more abandoned children from this province are finding forever families. They are also working to improve the care that the children in the orphanages receive.

Moriah has spent some time in the orphanage, but most of her life has been spent in foster care. We are thankful for this and know that the Lord has had His hand on her life in many ways that we will never know. She will be just over 19 months when we meet her. Her current weight is 19 pounds, so she is a little peanut. My dilemma has been what size clothes to buy? Should I take size three or size four diapers? We're going to take a variety of sizes and hope for the best. It's nice that the weather will still be warm, so our packing can be light.

We were required by the state of Colorado to take 24 hours of parent training. We had been putting it off for many months. Finally, we got serious about taking our classes. We weren't sure how much we would learn. (After all, we have been parents for 10 years, we thought). Surprisingly, the classes were very good. Many of them focused on attachment and development issues which can occur with adoption. We both felt like we learned a lot. We also met some wonderful people who are in the same process.

The directory of our agency reminded us this last week to "hope for the best, but be prepared for the worst". We are trying to keep that perspective, while remembering always that God is in control. We know that while this is a wonderful and exciting event for us, it may not seem so for Moriah. She is being removed from all that is familiar to her and being placed into an entirely new situation. We have prayed for her for months and we continue to lift her to the Lord: that he would comfort her heart and give us wisdom in helping her to grieve her loss and adjust to us. We were able to send a care package with a little photo album, so we hope that our faces won't be completely strange.

It is exciting to see how God has brought us to this point. Next Wednesday, September 3rd, Andy and I will head to Beijing. We will spend a few days there and then fly to Zhengzhou where we will meet Zheng Mei (soon to be Moriah Mei). We will spend the rest of the week there and then finish up our trip in Guangzhou. It will be an exciting and life changing two and a half weeks. Meanwhile, our parents have graciously agreed to tag team to care for our other three children.

So, this weekend we plan to finish packing, finish building the crib, spend lots of time together as a family of five, and reflect on the goodness of the Lord to us.

Our Journey to Moriah

2008-08-27T21:56:00.000-06:00

It has been quite a journey and the adventure is about to begin. We began this journey in Feb 06 when the Lord placed upon our hearts the name Moriah from Gen 22: 14 "The Lord will provide; as it is said to this day, "On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided." And indeed our God has supplied more than we could ever think or imagine.

The purpose of this blog is to chronicle our journey to Moriah Mei Leong and share it with you, our family and friends. As we have come to discover throughout this process that this has been more a journey of faith and dependence in our Lord Jesus Christ than anything else. We have been reminded throughout this journey that we too were once orphans. Moriah, Andy, Amy, Kimberly, Caleb and Josiah all have this in common, that we were once foreigners and aliens, strangers to the promises of God. But it is written, "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you." Thanks be to God that we now love Him because He first loved us! Well, it has been a long road filled with seemingly endless trips to base legal, Fed Ex, and our adoption agency (CCAI) but now finally on 3 Sep that often long and winding road heads to China! So, our hope is that you will join us as we embark on our journey to the little girl the Lord has called to be ours...