Shirts!!

Hi all! We are selling these t-shirts to help bring Sweet T home! As I said, we are not doing a lot of fundraising and this is a fairly easy one! They are $15 each and we have all sizes. (not colors!) If you are interested, please email me, comment on here, or reach me somehow. Payment is due at the time of purchase. We will make the order at the end of November (to give everyone plenty of time) and you should have your shirts within the next week. I love these, don't you??

Update and Fundraising News!

Hello family and friends! We have not updated in a while. Life has been crazy around here, but a good crazy! We spent two weeks in CO! We were blessed by my sil's parents and were able to stay in their home on top of a beautiful mountain for FREE! We have started Peter's "Operation Mouth" process which requires a visit to Dallas every two weeks. Abi and Andrew have both been actively involved in our local children's theater in different ways. (Love Artsview!!) Peter has started flag football and it's so cute..I mean..awesome. ;-) Hunting season is upon us and the kids and dad have been preparing a lot so they can provide meat for our family. And during all this, we have been working on adoption paperwork. Here is where we stand with adoption as of now:

To reuse our dossier, we must have our homestudy and I800A complete. The homestudy was a quick update, medicals and Texas has a new law requiring fingerprinting for those 14 and over in the household for background checks. (sigh) We have done our update, our medicals will be completed Monday and we will be fingerprinted on Tuesday. Jenna, our amazing caseworker for our homestudy, will then furiously work to get that completed and send it to Lifeline. Lifeline will then hurriedly schedule fingerprinting (on a national level) for our I800A. In the meantime, we will be calling our officer for the fingerprinting begging for a quick appointment. Why the rush? Our dossier expiration date is January 14th! We have heard the wait time for all the fingerprinting is 70 days. We do not have that so we are going to be begging. ;-) China needs to receive all this information by that date. When that happens, Lifeline will then asked for Sweet T to be moved to the Special Focus list because the new law in China is that you cannot reuse your dossier for a Special Needs child. So...we need prayers!! We covet your prayers!!! Now on to fundraising....

We will be hosting our big fundraiser on Saturday Nov. 2nd! We are SO excited! We will have multiple vendors set up for Christmas shopping, a bounce house and train for the kids, a soup competition, a bake off, cake walk, movie, popcorn, live music and more! This event is FREE except for $1 entree for the cake walk. We are not hosting this event to just raise money. Yes, that is a plus to this event but we also want to thank everyone for their support and to involve you all in Sweet T's life. If God leads you to give, that would be great! If not, please continue to pray for us! This event will take place at my dad and stepmom's house 900 Stonelake Rd. (please enter from Hamby Rd. not 1845) from 4:30-??? My sister says it's a true party when there is not an end time!

We have also started our puzzle fundraiser for Sweet T! Just as we did for Peter, every $5 you donate to bringing her home, we will write your name on the back of a puzzle piece. It will hang in her room as a forever reminder of how loved she is and how much we prayed for her before she arrived. You may hand us donations, mail them or enter them at our GoFundMe page. Here is the link: http://www.gofundme.com/4z4q40

We cannot thank you enough for all your prayers, support and love! You will never know how much it means to us! We love you all!

Here We Go Again!

We are so excited to announce that our new puppy was born on September 10th! We will not get to see her, actually pick her out, for about three weeks but we are thrilled!! The kids have been waiting forever. Having three dogs will be a challenge, but we are up for it!

I bet you thought we would be announcing something else, right? Well, if you did..you were right!

We are adopting again! 

Well, we have started the process to adopt again. Because we do not take the normal route of adoption, (choose an agency, have most of your paperwork done, then chose a child) we are announcing this earlier than most families would. Think along the lines of first 3 weeks of pregnancy. Yes, that early. The reason we are doing this is for prayers. We need them.

Backstory: We have known for quiet awhile that we wanted to adopt again. Most of you are probably aware that we wanted to adopt two on our first trip but we never felt "right" about any of the children and were not comfortable as the situation progressed. So, we held off but kept it in the back of our mind. We know now that this was God. Having Peter come home by himself was the best decision for all of us. We receive about 5-10 notifications a day from different advocacy sites but have stopped looking because it hurts that we cannot get them all. I joined a group on FB that our adoption agency has for support. On the first day that I looked at it, the very first post was about a little girl that needed a family and the title was "Be still my heart." Well, I looked. Looked again. And again. Showed Eric. Looked again. Started to fall in love. Eric started to fall in love. Requested her file. And we prayed. HARD! We wanted to make the right decision. This was all during the visits to Children's for Peter. We were being thrown so much and I wondered if Eric would not want to purse adoption because of all this. Would it be to hard? I actually spent an hour on the phone with a friend grieving this. Then Eric said these words: "It's never convenient to adopt. Let's go for it." Oh my word! Be still my heart! I fell in love with him all over again. We contacted Lifeline, told them our decision and that's where we are.

Where we are: Sweet T (as we will be calling her) is on the Special Needs list. We have no problem with that because so was Peter. But this is causing a bit of a slow down for us in locking Sweet T for our family. If C*ina had placed her on the Special Focus list, we would be able to reuse our dossier from Peter and lock her in right now. But C*ina has been placing more kids (girls specifically) on the Special Needs list. Because of this we cannot lock her file until our new dossier is completed. A dossier can take about 4-6 months. Our agency is trying to have her moved but there are no promises. And if they move her, our dossier may have expired by this time. (we are pretty sure we are looking at no longer than a three week window) We have already contacted our home study social worker and they are hurriedly updating our home study. To continue with the rest of the paperwork, we must make our first payment which is not exactly small but God can do it! As soon as that is done, (please pray for this week!) we will have our medicals done, (again) and start processing the rest of the paperwork. Because we cannot lock her file, we will not be sharing much information on Sweet T. We will tell you that she is younger, (God can work a miracle on this stubborn mama! HA!) is the most precious little Chinese version of Abi and Grace ( our friends daughter and what our Abi prayed for) that we have ever seen, and has a smile that lights up a room. If we have shared video, pictures, or information with you, we ask you to please keep that private. (we have showed family) Lifeline and C*ina are pretty adamant about keeping a file private until the file is locked. This also means that another family that is farther along in the process could get her file and start the process. This hurts to type but we know God has a plan either way. If Sweet T is not to be ours, then God has the perfect child for us. We are praying that it is her because we are so in love. Yes, we will grieve. Adopting is a bit like a pregnancy; you fall more in love with the child every day, you dream about this child, you make plans. You cannot simply forget. We have lost a child and know the grief that goes with it. The difference with adoption is the grieving period. There is hardly any wait time before you must decide if you will pursue another child or stop. All adoption paperwork must be dated at certain times so you can lose months of work, plus thousands of dollars, if you do not decide quickly. That is hard but again, God has this!

Questions you may have:
Why? We expect this question. Why in the world would you want five kids? Why would you go back to C*ina when there are so many kids here? Why would you spend the money again? Let me answer  these for you.
Why? Because God has commanded us to. We are to be the clay; He is the potter. We are to mold to His will, not the world's. What we are doing does not make sense to the world. That's ok. It doesn't make sense to us sometimes. But He has specifically commanded all of us to care for the Fatherless orphans. Over the years this command has looked different to us. At this moment, it is to adopt and make them our family.
Why 5 kids? Why not?? Since when did children become 'leeches', 'problems', and 'annoyances?' Children are a gift from the Lord!! Yes, our children are not perfect but we are adore them. They are so much fun! They bring us such joy. Yes, there is heartache but life has heartaches. Eric and I have always wanted a large family. And here's the shocker: We may not stop at 5! *Gasp* It's all about where God calls us! We cannot be fruitful and multiply due to medical issues so we are thankful for the mommies who have been fruitful, made a hard decision, and allow us to participate in this wonderful journey! We are not the typical, normal American family who needs the latest and greatest. Do we want the latest and greatest? Yep. But do we need it? Nope. These kids need families more than we need the best clothes, cars, house, and material items. Yes, supporting five kids will not be easy but it's doable with Our Lord!
Why C*ina? This is where our hearts are. When we were there, Eric and Chelsea twice and the rest of us once, we all left a part of hearts there. But we are not to be guided by our hearts; we are to be guided by the Lord. And the Lord specifically led us here again. Yes, there are kids here but there are kids there too! Does that mean we do not care about the orphans here? No!! We are all called to different places for different reasons.
Why spend the $$ again and where is the money coming from: Again, the Lord has led us to this so He will provide. We saw this happen with Peter. Yes, we will be fundraising. We do our very best to make sure the fundraising is fun and that you also get something out of it. We do our best not to bombard you. We know God will supply the funds however possible. We have seen Him do this multiple times and we know He will again. If He leads us to this decision, He will guide every step of the way. We have faith that He will provide all of the funds needed to bring Sweet T home. We have told the kids if they want to go, they will have to raise their own funds also. Look for Abi's fundraisers to begin soon. (ha!) She's been preparing them for awhile. The boys are on the fence. Peter does not want to spend his money or work for it so he may stay home. He did not like the "20 minute plane ride" (hahahaha!) home when "he could not play outside" so that's another con for him. He found out he could stay with his grandparents (who "buy him stuff and are cool") and Caden so we look for him to stay home. Andrew hates the plane ride, loves China, but really hates the plane ride. ;-) So we look for him to stay home also. We will not just leave one child at home. It's either 2 staying home or they all go. We could use prayers in that area. We are not even close to this point yet but the thought is hard!
How are the kids taking the news? Very well! Abi is beyond excited! She has wanted a little sister forever and she cannot wait to have her "little doll" (as she calls her) home! (I'll let her live in her fantasy world for a while! LOL Kidding! I love having a little sister!) Chelsea is excited and was expecting it. Andrew and Peter are good with the news. We weren't sure at first how either boy felt so Eric and I talked to them individually. Once we convinced Peter that she wouldn't take his video games, he handled it better. ha! Andrew is just a typical teen boy(nonchalant in his emotions) and told us he would be honest with us about every decision. He assured us that he is excited about it. I am sure that this princess will have them wrapped around her finger before we know it! We are really talking it up to Peter about being her big brother!

Prayers:
Funds-Please pray that God will provide the funds just when they are needed. He is never late. He is always right on time!
Sanity-LOL We've done this and we know it's consuming. It's hurry, wait, hurry, wait. We also are in the first year still with Peter and do not want to miss these exciting moments with him. (like right now as he is walking around with his shirt unbuttoned so I can see his muscles. My word)
Locking of the file-We want God's will in this but we also know we are to pray our hearts desire. Right now, it's Sweet T! We are not sure how this process will end up, but we know Who guides it.

Thank you for reading all of this if you did! This is mainly a documentation for Sweet T when she asks for her "birth with us" story. We do ask you to please be excited for us. We are excited! It's a new child!! Yes, it's like a second pregnancy but every child is to be celebrated! We love you all and are so excited to start this adventure with you again!!!

8 months...somewhat normal...

Well, almost 8 months. It's so hard to believe it's been eight months since we traveled to China to bring Peter to his forever home. A wise friend told me that at eight months you start to feel normal again or in better words, to be a bit more adjusted to your new normal. And you know what...she was right! Yes, we still have bad days, but all kids have bad days. Are his bad days like my bio kids? Yep, except my bio kids were smaller when they had them and did not have a bad past to add to the mix.

What has been going on in the last eight months? A LOT! Let's hit the main parts:
-Peter performed onstage in his first musical! He had a speaking role, danced and sang.
-He has learned to spell some words and to read a few at the same time
-He can now count by 10's very well and almost has the 2's and 5's downs.
-He has told all of us that he likes us.
-Peter has made several good friends and has what he considers a "best" friend.
-He hosted his first party and he was a great host.
-He has started speech therapy and loves his Mrs. Mallary. He cannot wait for Mrs. Mallary days.
-We visited Children's in Dallas and have a bit of a plan, along with some answers, for the future.
-He is enjoying reading time with mom and will even snuggle up on the couch with mom.
 -The dogs seem to truly like him now.
 -The fits are farther apart. They are hard but we can talk through most of them now.
 -Peter is starting to believe that he is smart.
 -He attended Pine Cove Base camp at our church and had a great time. He prayed out loud several times.
-He attended an overnight 456 retreat with our church and fell in love with horses!
-He has been expressing emotions to us which is a big thing.
-Peter has now met most of his extended family and did great at the meetings. They were all big parties. 
-His English has gotten so good!!
-He and his siblings are forming good, solid bonds!

and the best one of all:

HE ASKED JESUS INTO HIS HEART!!

He came to Eric and I one morning and told us he had asked Jesus to live in his heart and he would be in Heaven with us. We think he fully understands this because we have talked about it a great deal. Just this morning he spoke up in front of 30 kids and asked for prayers for a friends dad. He is working hard at learning the Bible and to apply it to his life.

What he has coming up: so you know how to pray and stuff!

-Flag football evaluations on Tuesday. He doesn't know a soul but since they pray there and talk about Jesus, he wants to play "Jesus football." How adorable is that?! He may also play with our local homeschool group, depending on the times and how much he likes it.

-He will be taking a homeschool class at our local children's theater that will involve writing. They will give him grace, of course, but this class will make him think. He's not always fond of that but they do such a great job of making it fun that he will not even notice.

-We start back to our co-op classes on Wednesday and he will be more active in them this year. Because mommy wants him to be. 

 -We will be adding more to school this week because he can handle some of it now. We will be working on maps and some history. He still does not like things that do not look like a 'normal' school but is getting better with playing games to learn, etc.

So that is what our life looks like now. It's not easy; it's hard. But life is hard. And I'm glad that God chose this life path for us. I wish I could share everything on here because it's amazing to see God at work. Some of it is very personal and some you just cannot put into words. But to see the hand of God at work is such an amazing thing. We say it over and over again that Peter has brought silly back into our family. That statement in the best description of what he has done. There are tears, there are hurts, there are days that all I can say is "Jesus!" but I would do it all over again (and I am sure that I will!) to have this young man as part of our lives. He is a such a precious gift to us and I am glad that we were chose to be his parents! Now I must prepare to be invaded by him and his friend tonight so..

For your viewing pleasure.....make sure you scroll to the very last picture for the cutest one!

 Pine Cove

 First sleepover!

 Zoo trip with all the cousins (on my side)

 Scary, aren't they?

 First to us tooth to lose!

 Peter and his Pine Cove counselor

 I have a picture of Andrew and Jared just like this! I love it!

First time playing in a water hose outside

 Pop!

 Rockin' C Ranch Retreat!

 First 4th of July! It was comical!

 I told you! Progress! I do not have many of him and Andrew together because they are always beating each other up. I am told this is 'normal' for brothers? They do find if funny!

Oh and did I mention that he got a Mohawk?? Adorable!!

Grief....

   Grief is a 5 letter word about loss which applies to so many different areas in life; loss of a loved one, loss of a job, loss of life as you know it, etc. Grief explains a feeling that seems to consume me lately.. Well, along with weary but that's another post for another day. :-)

   It has hit me lately that Peter was an orphan for 10 years. Ten years...That's a long time. Ten years of never knowing what a family really is, what true love is, or who Jesus is. He was taunted, teased, beat down by words, told he was not smart, and many other things that we can never imagine. I was raised in a divorced home but I always felt loved. I experienced a rough moment during my childhood but I had loving parents to get me through it. When things got rough for Peter, he had no one to turn to. Yes, there were adults there but they were to busy obeying the government and raising more kids. When he fell and scraped his knee, there was no one there to kiss it and tell him it would be all better. When a fellow student was mean to him, he had no daddy to teach him how to stand up for himself. All he could do was be in survival mode, never expressing how he felt because people may make fun of him and never putting down his defenses because you cannot be weak in this environment. Ten years of this....

   But the saddest of it all..he didn't even have Jesus to turn to. According to Chinese law, you are not allowed to talk to children under the age of 18 about Christ. You can be the hands and feet of Jesus (Thank you BMH!) and kids can ask you but you cannot initiate the conversation. Peter had no idea that His Creator loved him so much that He made him, died for him, rose for him, and is eagerly anticipating his return to Heaven. What a sad situation! Jesus is the only One who gets me through life. I have no idea what I would do without Him. I am getting a glimpse of the emptiness and confusion I would have if I had to endure this through Peter.

   I am grieved by the fact that this sweet boy knew none of this. I am grieved by the fact that Peter has to learn what a family is and that we will always love him. I am grieved by the fact hat he's never had friends who like him for him. I am grieved by the fact that there are so many more children over there just like Peter who will never have what he now has.

   This is new for all of us. Yes, Eric, Andrew, Abi and I are experiencing some grief. But when I feel grief over the fact that my life is not so 'easy' now, I ask God to remind me of what Peter has gone through. Life is not supposed to be easy and all about me. That's not what the Bible promises.  What it does promise is that Our Savoir will be by our side throughout each moment. Our lives are supposed to bring Him glory and how can that happen when people only see a life of ease? So yes, life is pretty difficult right now. BUT what a joyous thing to see God at work. It's not always right away, it's not always when I think I need it but it's always at the right time, which is His time.

   I rejoice that Peter is able to experience a family and love now. But I look forward to the day when he receives Christ as his own so we can rejoice over the fact we will have eternity together with Christ! That is true joy!

*FYI..Peter talks daily about Jesus. There is much confusion for him on the subject of Christ. He does not understand Who God is. He does not understand why he's just now hearing about this and questions it a lot. I have told him that it's ok not to have Jesus in his heart right now because he is trying to figure out who Jesus is but one day Jesus will come and knock on his heart and whisper the sacred question.."May I enter?" And that's when it will really matter..

I Dare You...

I dare you to read this post and not take action...

 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. James 1:27

Orphans- Well, the first thing you can do is pretty obvious...you can adopt or foster! Adoption and fostering can happen in many different ways. You can adopt because you cannot have children, you want to add more to your family, you are crazy, (!) and the best reason, because the Lord calls you to do it. You can adopt internationally, locally or decide not to adopt but to foster different children who need a safe and loving family. You can spend $40k or nothing at all. But to look after the orphans doesn't mean you must adopt or foster. There are many other ways to do this. You can come help a family as they raise money to bring their child home, you can come alongside a family and take them meals when life gets crazy, you can help babysit when the parents need a moment to breathe, you can pray with the parents for their children and the biggest of them all: You can understand. You can understand that this new life is just that; new. It's not always easy, it's different, and most people just do not get it. They want you to be the same person/family as you were before. That cannot happen. You are experiencing life and seeing life in a new way. Dare I say, you are catching glimpses of God that you would never see unless you were doing this. But you can also catch these glimpses when you are a part of it. Become a part of this change and see if you are not changed..for the better. Your eyes are open to things you never imagined. All because you decided to follow part of what James 1:27 says. I recently read an article about a family who started an adoption ministry at their church. Get this: They were not adoptive parents. They saw the need to be the hands and feet of Jesus. This ministry has grown in leaps and bounds and now have a paid staff member. Incredible.. A blurb on fostering; This is not an easy road. It's a road filled with heartache because you have no idea how long these children will be in your care. A day or forever. But you love them for the time you are granted.  When CPS decides it's time for this child to be moved, it's heartbreaking. No matter how hard this child is, they are a part of your family. Be sensitive to the parents when this happens. Do not make comments on how much easier their life will be with one less child. They carry these children in their heart forever. Most of the time they will be given no updates whatsoever on the children. Can you imagine having a child in your life for a year then it's gone? Yes, they sign up for this but it still hurts.

And let's not forget about the widows 

Widows-Ah, the widows of this world. Most of us picture a sweet old lady sitting in her chair just doing..nothing. She has no life and is waiting on us to rescue her. Beeeep!! That is wrong! Not all widows are people who cannot get around and not all of them are ladies. Thanks to the wonderful movie "Up," we all had an "AHA!" moment where we realized that men are widows also. Now, some of you are out there saying, "I just do not know any widows." Well, I am here to tell you that they are pretty to easy to find. Talk a walk down your street. I had no idea there were 3 widowed women on my street, along with one man. Offer to mow their yard, walk their dog, or just visit with them. Having someone to talk to is such a treasure. Take some coffee and cookies down to their house and give them the best gift; a listening ear. You may even gain a new friend! She may even want to join you in a zumba class! He may want to train for a 5k with you. I know a lot of spunky golden oldies who are not letting life pass them by! I am pretty sure that you have a nursing home in your area. A majority of the residents there are widows. Maybe you can take flowers on Valentines Day to them. How sad to receive special gifts for years then, bam!, nothing! How about a retirement community?  Go and have dinner with these wonderful people. What a wonderful gift they give us when they tell us their past. They lived through times we have only read about. Well, if they are an older widow. Yes, it's shocking, there are younger widows. I truly believe that this word can now encompass those who are divorced. I may be wrong in saying that. But I do not believe you will be punished for helping the divorcee, so I'm not going to worry about it to much. They, too, are alone now. Some with kids to raise on their own. This is not an easy life to live. Sometimes you are judged because of the divorce. You are judged when you decide to move on. It's not easy. Divorce is an ugly, ugly word and reality. It's not fun for anyone involved. But unfortunately, it's a reality that we have. (I say this with the understanding that you all surely know I am not for divorce. Ever. God can work miracles. But divorce is alive and well in our communities and we can't ignore it. Do not embrace the idea; embrace the person) Come along beside this person as they are experience a new reality. Offer to help the newly divorced mom with her yard work that her husband always did. Offer to help the newly divorced dad fix his daughters hair. And most importantly, do not shun them from the church! (or 'your out of church' clique. Don't act like you do not know what I am talking about) They need the church more than ever at this point! Yes, a sin has been committed but a sin was also committed when you ate one to many M&M's while watching that sinful show on television. So save the judgement and show some love. Just because you love on a person does not mean you accept the sin. I recently read a great statement that said you do not have to compromise your personal convictions to be compassionate. Amen!

So, are you ready to live this verse out? Are you ready to leave your comfort zone and embrace the uncomfortable for the sake of Christ? I surely hope so because your life will never be the same. Thank you Jesus!

Growing Up

When you have a new baby, it seems time goes quickly but you do have a little time to adjust to each new stage. There is always some preparation. Not so much with the older child adoption....

 Peter had his first sleepover last night! He asked to spend the night with meme and we allowed it since Andrew went also. He also asked to go to nini's tonight but I think once a week is good! He did great and had a good time!

Today he stayed with a friend for the first time! What meant the most to me is the friend begged for him to stay!! He had such a fun time. His friend Colin taught him to play a new game and Colin told me he did very well!

He's had quiet a few fun days and being home is now boring... Oh well. Entertaining himself is good! He did entertain himself the other day and built this!