One month ago today at this time we were on a plane from Chicago to RDU, heading home with our new little boy. I can hardly believe it has been a month since we have been home. It has been a great time of getting to know Joshua, introducing him to so many special people, and incorporating him into our home and lives!
He is growing - still small - but growing! He is still eating everything, which is good. I'm thankful he likes to eat and is easy to please! It gets to the point that I just have to stop feeding him...my strategy is to feel his little belly - when it gets nice and tight, I tell him he's had enough for now!
Today we received his medical records from Maria's Big House of Hope. This included the surgery notes and x-rays of his hand. I'm thankful for these! We are also supposed to receive pictures from Maria's when they finish compiling them together. I'm looking forward to those!
We also received his Certificate of Citizenship in the mail today. He was officially a citizen when we landed in the US, but now we have the actual certificate to prove it! It still seems surreal that everything has actually taken place - we waited, anticipated it and talked about it for so long! I am thankful that God had every detail in His hands, that everything happened in His perfect timing. His plan was far greater than anything I could have come up with on my own. I thank Him for His almighty hand at work in our lives. I pray that He alone has gotten all glory for the great things He has done!
I'll try to get some more pictures up here soon!
Monday, July 16, 2012
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Hello to all! I'm glad to have a few minutes to sit down and write out a few things here on the blog. Now if I can just stay awake long enough to finish it - and make some sense!
We started VBS tonight at church, which is always an exciting week! For the last several years I have helped lead the music for the older kids. I didn't commit to anything this year - at the time not knowing exactly when we would travel to China, and also knowing if we were back I would not have adequate time to prepare for it. So this year I'm just taking Joshua around so we can see what's going on throughout the church.
Every year the kids bring an offering and the money goes to a mission emphasis of some kind. I was so excited to learn that this year the money raised is going to be sent to Maria's Big House of Hope in China! If you remember, that is where Joshua lived for about 9 1/2 months, from Dec. 2010 - October 2011. As I watched the video tonight and looked at this beautiful place we actually got to go visit, I was so thankful to know that Joshua had been so well taken care of while he was there. In my last post I said I needed to share something that God had brought to mind...
Towards the end of 2010, Chad was out of work for about 3 months due to some physical issues. In October, Steven Curtis Chapman and his family were doing a tour and they were going to be in Durham. I tried several times to win tickets off of HIS Radio, and finally got through the morning before the concert. I was thrilled when I was caller #4! We were able to go to Durham and enjoy a very blessed evening. All through the night there were advertisements for Show Hope, their organization that helps raise money to help care for orphans. They were trying to get more people to become monthly sponsors to help give grants to adoptive families, and also help support Maria's Big House of Hope in Luoyang in the Henan Province of China. All during the night I kept feeling like we were supposed to sign up to become monthly sponsors of Show Hope. I knew it was kind of crazy - Chad was out of work and we didn't know what was going on or when he would go back. We really didn't know where $35 a month would come from, but as we've learned - when God leads, you follow and obey. At the time there were no prospects of anything adoption related happening for us yet. We knew we wanted to help a child, so we decided that we would sign up to become monthly sponsors. It was a leap of faith to fill out the information, but we did it, trusting that's what God was leading us to do.
As we have been home and I have thought about the timeline of events and how different things have happened it occurred to me - we signed up to be come sponsors in October, our first payment was drafted out in November, and Joshua went to live there in December! I was amazed when I thought of that and how God works! We were glad to know that we would be helping a child in some way - little did we know that God had placed our child in the care of Maria's Big House of Hope! He received such good care there, and also received the surgery he needed on his hand. I keep pondering all of this over and over, and the conclusion is this: God is Big! He is very real. He is constantly working in the lives of His children, whether we can see it or not. I am so thankful for Maria's Big House and the work they do in China. And the other miracle is this - China is a pretty big place! The fact that Joshua was born in the very city that Maria's is located is God's providence as well, which allowed us to be able to go there, visit and get this piece of the amazing puzzle God has so intricately put together.
Maybe you would consider becoming a monthly sponsor of Show Hope! You can visit their website at www.showhope.org. Read about the marvelous work God is doing for the least of these who are so precious in His sight!
We started VBS tonight at church, which is always an exciting week! For the last several years I have helped lead the music for the older kids. I didn't commit to anything this year - at the time not knowing exactly when we would travel to China, and also knowing if we were back I would not have adequate time to prepare for it. So this year I'm just taking Joshua around so we can see what's going on throughout the church.
Every year the kids bring an offering and the money goes to a mission emphasis of some kind. I was so excited to learn that this year the money raised is going to be sent to Maria's Big House of Hope in China! If you remember, that is where Joshua lived for about 9 1/2 months, from Dec. 2010 - October 2011. As I watched the video tonight and looked at this beautiful place we actually got to go visit, I was so thankful to know that Joshua had been so well taken care of while he was there. In my last post I said I needed to share something that God had brought to mind...
Towards the end of 2010, Chad was out of work for about 3 months due to some physical issues. In October, Steven Curtis Chapman and his family were doing a tour and they were going to be in Durham. I tried several times to win tickets off of HIS Radio, and finally got through the morning before the concert. I was thrilled when I was caller #4! We were able to go to Durham and enjoy a very blessed evening. All through the night there were advertisements for Show Hope, their organization that helps raise money to help care for orphans. They were trying to get more people to become monthly sponsors to help give grants to adoptive families, and also help support Maria's Big House of Hope in Luoyang in the Henan Province of China. All during the night I kept feeling like we were supposed to sign up to become monthly sponsors of Show Hope. I knew it was kind of crazy - Chad was out of work and we didn't know what was going on or when he would go back. We really didn't know where $35 a month would come from, but as we've learned - when God leads, you follow and obey. At the time there were no prospects of anything adoption related happening for us yet. We knew we wanted to help a child, so we decided that we would sign up to become monthly sponsors. It was a leap of faith to fill out the information, but we did it, trusting that's what God was leading us to do.
As we have been home and I have thought about the timeline of events and how different things have happened it occurred to me - we signed up to be come sponsors in October, our first payment was drafted out in November, and Joshua went to live there in December! I was amazed when I thought of that and how God works! We were glad to know that we would be helping a child in some way - little did we know that God had placed our child in the care of Maria's Big House of Hope! He received such good care there, and also received the surgery he needed on his hand. I keep pondering all of this over and over, and the conclusion is this: God is Big! He is very real. He is constantly working in the lives of His children, whether we can see it or not. I am so thankful for Maria's Big House and the work they do in China. And the other miracle is this - China is a pretty big place! The fact that Joshua was born in the very city that Maria's is located is God's providence as well, which allowed us to be able to go there, visit and get this piece of the amazing puzzle God has so intricately put together.
Maybe you would consider becoming a monthly sponsor of Show Hope! You can visit their website at www.showhope.org. Read about the marvelous work God is doing for the least of these who are so precious in His sight!
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Happy July 4th week! I can hardly believe it is July already. This year is going by so fast that it's making my head spin. July is always a busy month with different things going on, so I'm sure this month will pass by just as quickly as the others have.
Last month at this time we had just flown to Zhengzhou, with only a few hours until we would meet little Joshua for the first time. We were full of anticipation at what would take place, how he would react to us, and how he would adjust to our family. I am still amazed at the ease of the transition we have had. Joshua is such a pleasant little boy, happy most of the time. His biggest dislike is the car seat. He is getting a little better about it, not fussing quite as much. Since he is so small he has to be in the infant seat. But that's about the most fussing he does. He just crawls all around here with his sweet smile and gets tons of attention from everyone. I love to hear Hannah and Matthew playing with him. Joshua loves for Hannah to hold him and is always laughing at Matthew's silliness! I was watching them yesterday, thinking how undeservedly blessed I am to have been entrusted with these precious souls. What a responsibility that I am so inadequate for without the help of my Heavenly Father!
Joshua is still eating everything, and I mean everything we are giving him. I am feeding him only healthy foods so that he can get the adequate nutrition he needs to grow as he should. He's getting a tiny bit of meat on those little legs! I am trying to teach him a few signs so that he can communicate what he needs or wants to us. I know he'll catch on soon through lots of repitition and teaching. His newest things to do - he likes to wave and give high 5, oh and stand on his head!
Chad has been busy building a loft bed for Matthew's room. With the crib in there now, it is pretty cramped, so we decided to create more room in there by putting Matthew up high and being able to slide some of the furniture and toys underneath. It will look great once we get it all together and organized.
We have continually been blessed by people bringing meals, and showering Joshua with things he needs. I continue to marvel at God's faithfulness and His mighty hand. As I look back over the last couple of years, I am constantly seeing the ways that God was working, moving and bringing all of this together. I'm running out of time now, but I'll share later how a couple of days ago God really brought to mind something only He could have orchestrated.
Happy July 4th! We are so blessed to live in this country, even with all of its faults and failures. When we were in China, we had to go to apply for Joshua's passport. Our agency rep said that everyone we would see in that place that day was either adopting or was trying to immigrate to the US. The place was packed with people, mostly Chinese people, trying to apply to come over here. The freedom we have is a blessing I know I constantly take for granted. And while that freedom is such a gift, it could never compare to the freedom I have in Christ Jesus!
Romans 8:1-2 "Therefore, there is now no comdemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death."
Praise His glorious Name!!!
Last month at this time we had just flown to Zhengzhou, with only a few hours until we would meet little Joshua for the first time. We were full of anticipation at what would take place, how he would react to us, and how he would adjust to our family. I am still amazed at the ease of the transition we have had. Joshua is such a pleasant little boy, happy most of the time. His biggest dislike is the car seat. He is getting a little better about it, not fussing quite as much. Since he is so small he has to be in the infant seat. But that's about the most fussing he does. He just crawls all around here with his sweet smile and gets tons of attention from everyone. I love to hear Hannah and Matthew playing with him. Joshua loves for Hannah to hold him and is always laughing at Matthew's silliness! I was watching them yesterday, thinking how undeservedly blessed I am to have been entrusted with these precious souls. What a responsibility that I am so inadequate for without the help of my Heavenly Father!
Joshua is still eating everything, and I mean everything we are giving him. I am feeding him only healthy foods so that he can get the adequate nutrition he needs to grow as he should. He's getting a tiny bit of meat on those little legs! I am trying to teach him a few signs so that he can communicate what he needs or wants to us. I know he'll catch on soon through lots of repitition and teaching. His newest things to do - he likes to wave and give high 5, oh and stand on his head!
Chad has been busy building a loft bed for Matthew's room. With the crib in there now, it is pretty cramped, so we decided to create more room in there by putting Matthew up high and being able to slide some of the furniture and toys underneath. It will look great once we get it all together and organized.
We have continually been blessed by people bringing meals, and showering Joshua with things he needs. I continue to marvel at God's faithfulness and His mighty hand. As I look back over the last couple of years, I am constantly seeing the ways that God was working, moving and bringing all of this together. I'm running out of time now, but I'll share later how a couple of days ago God really brought to mind something only He could have orchestrated.
Happy July 4th! We are so blessed to live in this country, even with all of its faults and failures. When we were in China, we had to go to apply for Joshua's passport. Our agency rep said that everyone we would see in that place that day was either adopting or was trying to immigrate to the US. The place was packed with people, mostly Chinese people, trying to apply to come over here. The freedom we have is a blessing I know I constantly take for granted. And while that freedom is such a gift, it could never compare to the freedom I have in Christ Jesus!
Romans 8:1-2 "Therefore, there is now no comdemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death."
Praise His glorious Name!!!
 |
This is the latest trick he likes to do - stand on his head! |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)