Travel Group Reunion

Betsie, Julia, Abbie

These little princesses were all born within 10 days of each other and lived in the same orphanage for their first 10.5 months.

A little over 2 years ago, six families from all over the country shared one of the greatest adventures ever...the journey to China to meet ~ and adopt ~ six orphans from the Hunan Province. Our journey together began with a really LONG layover in an airport in Chicago, followed by two weeks of sight seeing, memory making, scary traffic, assertive street vendors, laughter, prayer, lizards, chicken knuckles, and tears.

On Saturday, for the first time since that great adventure, three of those families spent the day together in the Atlanta, GA area. It was so special to see how the babies, now preschoolers, had changed and grown. It was fun hanging out with people who became very dear to us two years ago. And I was so happy that I got to introduce my other two girls to them as well as meet a few of their family members as well. I can't wait for the next reunion (in Florida, right Heather?)!

Two Years!

This is the little one we met in China two years ago today. These photos were made in her home province (Hunan) just 5 days after we became her parents. She had been going through the attachment process pretty well and was comfortable with Jason and me but not others. During the photo session, there were about three people trying to get her to smile by shaking rattles in her face and making goofy noises, etc. She started to cry instead of smile. Jason couldn't take it anymore. He scooped her up and told everybody to leave his baby alone. (They couldn't understand his words but I think they understood that he didn't want her upset anymore.)

We did end up with some beautiful pictures and I got a glimpse of how much my husband loved his new little one and just wanted to take care of her. He wanted her to know she was always safe when he was around.

I can't believe it's been two years. I am so thankful to have my little Ying Hong. Happy Gotta Day, little one! And Happy Gotcha Day to Caroline, Julia, Mikayla, Abbie, and Hannah...oh and your moms and dads too.

Happy Referral Anniverary!

To all of our travel mates and their Spicy Girls, Happy two year Referral Anniversary!

Our first look at sweet Xiao Ying Hong from Zhuzhou, Hunan, who would soon become our little Betsie. My dad's reaction was: She's either really fat or really warm!

Remember Ellie?

She needs your prayers again friends. You prayed for her adoption to be pushed through so she could get proper medical help. She made it home with her new bothers in record time. And now she needs you to pray for her as she faces very serious and complicated surgery. Here is what her mom, Denise, wrote to our homeschool group.

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I've been asked to explain what Ellie's condition is...here goes:Ellie has Potts Disease. It is basically a name for TB of the spine. Ellie contracted TB while in Liberia. TB can go to the lungs, the most common form of TB, and the contagious type. OR, after it goes to your lungs, it will leave the lungs and go to a bone. This is the Non Contagious type. (Ellie is non contagious.) It is what the hunchback of Notre Dame was said to have...just some trivia for you. The TB eats away at any soft tissue around the bone. In her case, since it's in the spine, it has eaten away at the tissue between the bony discs of the spine. Not only has her spine collapsed at the point of the TB, but it has grown(and here is the miracle, seriously, a miracle) to compensate. Bad thing, it has grown inward in a v. Some kids with this have their spine grown outward in a v.

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Ellie's biggest problem is that the area is so high up on her cervical spine. It's right where the "nerve" center is for paralyzation of the legs....bowel, bladder, etc... happens.

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Ellie will have to be in traction in a halo as an inpatient for a week, then the following week she'll have two surgeries at the same time. She will have a neuro surgeon, the orthopedic surgeon (Dr. Mooney) and a Cardio Thoracic surgeon (someone that they'll bring in) to do the surgeries. They will go in the front of her neck(up around the lungs and the heart) and take out the TB from her spine, then they'll do the reconstruction through the back of her neck/spine.

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We'll know so much more after our pre op appt. As soon as I get dates, etc... we'll be updating. Here's the truth, and I ask that you ONLY share this with your children if you're SURE they will not say anything to my younger children about it. Ellie may come through it and live a very normal life. Ellie may be paralyzed. Ellie may die.

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We knew this going into her adoption. We are resting in God's plan and purpose for not only Ellie's lives, but our lives, the surgeons' lives, the nurses' lives, our friends, family, the World wide web...anyone.

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Am I scared, yep. Do I trust God? Absolutely. I can't trust myself. I can't trust Greg, the surgeon, etc... God's sovereign hand brought Ellie to the USA. Am I asking that she'll be healed, oh yes. We ask that you pray for her, and put her on every email loop, yahoo group, address batch, church website, etc... We grow to love her more and more everyday, but God loves her eternally more than we can ever imagine. Ellie's birthmother gave her up only for this physical reason. There was no hope for her in Liberia. We pray that her mother knows Christ, and that someday we'll be able to meet her when Ellie is an adult. Her birthmother loved her so very much.

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Please pray for Elliana Horrocks. Ellie is 3. She'll be 4 in May. Copy and paste, forward this, or send people to my blog please? Thank you so much!!!--Love,Denise

I Need Help

Update: Someone in my homeschool group is going to be making the quilt. Thanks to all who responded here and to my email!

When we were adopting Betsie, I collected quilt squares from family, friends, and many in the adoption community. Now I have a bunch of quilt squares and no quilt. (By the way, this tradition is called a 100 good wishes quilt...it kept me busy while we waited on the referral...I felt like I was DOING something!)



I am hoping to get Betsie out of the crib and into a big girl bed in the next...I don't know...4 years? (Ha ha!) Actually, it'll be as soon as we buy furniture for the big girls and give her their hand me downs. I would love to put this not yet made quilt on her "new" big girl bed! But I can't find anyone to make it for me! And believe me, I cannot do it myself. I got a sewing machine for Christmas about 5 years ago and I tried to thread it. Mom helped me with that. Then I tried to play around with it by putting some fabric in and just getting used to the feel of it. That fabric is still stuck in the machine, which is in the box in the hall closet. Ain't gonna happen. It's a great machine by Singer and like new. Make me an offer.


Anyway, if you or someone you know can make a quilt (I am willing to pay you of course), please let me know. I will ship fabric if you are not local. I have all the quilt squares plus fabric for the back of the quilt and borders. I am not picky about the design of the quilt and I am not a perfectionist. It can be crooked as all get out if you can just make the thing!


By the way, here are some pictures of the fabrics I have...





This "china doll" fabric is for the back of the quilt. I have a ton of it. I hope there will be enough for a few pillow shams too.

This is some pink ladybug fabric and yellow butterfly fabric I bought for the borders around the outside of the front of the quilt or for between the squares. I don't have a particular design in mind so whoever makes it can use this where it's needed.

These are a few of the quilt squares I received. I have over 100 squares. They are pretty much all colors and designs so it will be a real patchwork. So let me know if you are interested!!!

Snow in Changsha

This is a picture from Changsha earlier today. It has been snowing in Hunan, China, which is apparantly very unusual. It was HOT when we were there. Betsie was found near this same river (in Zhuzhou, not Changsha) on a sandpile. I have always been grateful that Betsie was found before she was too dehydrated in that August heat. I have heard that there are not as many abandoned babies in China as there once were, but I have no idea what to believe. Still, I am praying today for any little helpless babies that NEED to be found and taken to warm places today.

A Christmas Miracle For You

Last month I asked you to pray for little Ellie who was being adopted from Liberia. I know her mom Denise. The prayer request was urgent because Ellie needs surgery and she needed to come home to have the surgery.

I also asked you to pray that her two new brothers could come home at the same time.

All if this was impossible humanly speaking. But Denise and her husband made doctor's appointments for the three kids in faith. They prepared paperwork to take to Liberia for all three kids in faith. They bought clothing and toys and everything else in faith. They knew God could say no, and that if He did it would be for their good somehow. But they also knew that God is pleased when we come to Him believing He is able to do the impossible.

Last night Denise's husband and son arrived back home with not one, but three, little Liberian beauties! Just in time for Christmas! They have doctor's appointments already scheduled for all three and now Ellie can have her surgery. God has answered countless prayers for this family!

Thank you for praying for them. I hope you are encouraged by their faith. I sure am!

Merry Christmas!

Samuel, Joseph, and Ellie

She's On the Charts!

Yippee!!! Betsie is now on the growth charts! When she came home she was so tiny and under the charts. She is still only 21 pounds at 2 years and 4 months old, but she made it to almost the 5th percentile! Go girl! She is actually at the 25th percentile for height. The doctor predicts she'll be 5'4". Pretty cool. What a blessing that she is so healthy and growing so well. (Even though she is mad and telling us, "No doccuh!!!" meaning no doctor.)

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And I am blessed that Jason took her for me during his lunch time so I didn't have to take all three kids together to this appointment. I keep telling him thank you, but I don't think I can adequately tell him how that blessed me today. He is the bestest husband there is!!!

Urgent Prayers Needed for A Mom in China

Please pray for a mom in China now to adopt her baby. She is with Bethany Christian Services and her name is Sandi. She and her husband had received their new baby, Hannah, and some time later at the hotel the husband got very sick and passed away. I cannot even imagine the shock. The adoption is complete according to the Chinese government but the US consulate in Guangzhou is giving her a little trouble. They want her to fill out additional paperwork (which guarantees nothing). Her state congressman is now involved. Please pray that her adoption can be finalized. This is a real mess. Hannah is no longer a ward of the orphanage and yet our own consulate won't issue a visa for her to come to America. Please pray for Sandi as she adjusts to the loss of her husband and, Lord willing, motherhood without him.

Update: It seems that Sandi AND Hannah will be flying out with the rest of their travel group! Prayers answered! I am sure she would appreciate prayers for her as she grieves her tremendous loss.

Little Ones Who Need a Home

I asked permission from our adoption agency to post about these children who are available for adoption and need a home. If you or others you know are interested in one of these children, you can contact Carol at cwa@cwa.org . Put something about the special needs list in the subject line. Also, there are others on the special needs list as well. You can find the entire list here. There are some cuties on the list so consider yourself warned! Whether or not you feel led to adopt, we are all called to minister and pray for orphans. So please pray for these children to be adopted and ask God what He might want you to do to minister to the fatherless.

I am specifically drawing attention to these children because they are at the same orphanage that my daughter is from (Zhuzhou Children's Welfare Institute in Hunan Province). There were loving caregivers there and it was a clean place, but nothing replaces a mom and dad in a child's life.

First is this adoreable little boy who turns two in January. His special need is VSD. He recently had his surgery to repair this so pray for his recovery as well as his forever family to find him! His records say he loves to be held and kissed...isn't that sweet?

Okay, next is this little guy who also turns two in January. He has a repaired cleft lip as well as a cleft palate. His report says he loves baths and his lab work is all normal.

This one really makes my heart break because he was abandoned at five years old. He will be eight years old in January. He has some balding on the back of his head as well as some burn scars on his foot and leg. He is described as active, friendly, polite, and eager to learn.

I would like to add that CWA was a wonderful agency to work with. And there is a great group of parents who have adopted from this orphanage ready to answer questions in a yahoo group once you have a referral.

Do You Like To Drink Coffee?

And do you want to make a difference in an orphan's life? Well, now you can do both at the same time! Saint's Coffee is a new company, only a few months old. And they are doing a very cool thing. For every pound of coffee they sell, they are able to donate money to feed an orphan for a month! And if you head over to Elysa's blog before November 19th, you can enter her giveaway for a pound of this coffee. She has an interview with one of the owners of Saint's Coffee there as well so you can learn more about it. Or you can go to their website here. Just another way to help the fatherless.

"Adoption", Another Disguise of God's Hand at Work

I asked Jason to guest blog for me since it is Adoption Awareness Month. I thought it might be kind of neat to hear a different perspective for a change! I joke that if had all been up to me, we'd still be doing the homestudy. Jason was Mr. Steady during the whole process and it was Jason that made things happen so efficiently (if efficient can ever be used to describe an adoption). Betsie adores her Daddy and he adores her.

God is never doing just one thing. And adoption is no exception.

When God started dealing with me on adoption, He began His awesome work in many other areas of my life, as well as my wife's life, my children's lives, my new daughter's life, my extended family's lives, etc..... and on and on and on.....

This time, God used the process of "Adoption" to change His people. You see, that is what He is always working on.... change in His people. Sometimes it's a little painful, and sometimes the changes come easy. But change must happen.

He forced me to overcome my selfish desires to keep my lifestyle easy. My other two daughters were growing up, and I liked moving out of the potty-training era. Our kids were finally able to feed and clothe themselves. I liked that. But He told me to start over. It was the best thing for my new daughter... but He was also working on me (He just disguised the work through "Adoption").

And He dealt with my wife on trust. Can we do this? Can we afford it? And the questions got worse the longer we had to wait on our new daughter to arrive. What's wrong with our application? Are we really going to ever get our new daughter?

And, honestly, I don't feel like I've really grown like He wanted me to. But when I look back 5 years ago when God started this "disguised" work, I can say, "I'm not who I was". Jennifer and I can both say that! What a glorious thing that our Father pursues our change... ultimately, for our good! He is so good!

What about you? He's changing you anyway, why not let Him change you through a process called "Adoption?" It's not any scarier than the medical issues you are facing, or the financial issues you are facing, or the fear issues, or the pride issues, or the trust issues, or the covetous issues... you get the point.


And when you are done, you get a beautiful new child to love on - that's the cool part!

God Bless,
Jason

So What Made You Decide To Adopt?

This is one of those questions that I have been asked enough to wish I had a little money for each time I've heard it. I suppose having two healthy biological children already made us odd candidates for adoption. Infertility didn't make us adopt. And since we didn't adopt a boy after having two girls, people are sometimes baffled. The great thing about this question though is that it gives us an open door to give God some glory. The hard thing is that we (well, I) often fail to point to Him like He deserves.

Back in about 2002, Jason and I were in a really nice groove with our family. We had beautiful girls...ages 4 and 2 at the time. Both potty trained, sleeping in big girl beds, feeding themselves, etc. But they were still little and cute. Life was good. We were just beginning the homeschool adventure and had big dreams...then God gave us a new dream. And frankly, it scared the hound out of me.

We never even talked about domestic adoption. And I don't know why we were even thinking of adoption at all except that God put those desires in our hearts. We didn't know anyone who had adopted internationally at that point so I can only point to God when asked why we did this.

I remember researching countries and being determined that Korea was it. They would bring the child to us. And there was no way I was traveling half way around the world! Definitely Korea. Nope...we learned that we could only go the special needs route if we adopted from Korea. For some reason you could only adopt a healthy infant in certain states...weird. Then we learned what it costs to adopt. Whoa!!! I could not wrap my mind around those numbers. It seemed impossible. Still, we continued researching. Then I learned that Guatemala would also let the child be escorted to you. Great!

At the beginning of 2003 we had just about decided to go for it. We had signed up to go to a free seminar at an agency. Then we had a blizzard. Where we live, a foot of snow is a blizzard...you're homebound. This was fine with me as I was having NO peace about adoption at that point. I literally felt like throwing up when we would talk seriously about it. So we decided that it was not for us...at least not then.

And what do you know? The Lord led us to move in the spring of 2003 anyway. So the timing was an issue. But there was a problem...when we got to our new church it seemed that adoption was everywhere. One of our pastors had adopted and even had the nerve to pray that other families would do the same. You should see our church now. We have children from China, Russia, other Easten Europian countries I cannot spell, Japan, Guatemala, etc. It's so beautiful! And plenty of domestically adopted children too! We could not get away from it!

By 2004 we were seriously considering adopting again. But it was sooooo scary to me! The money, dealing with two national governments, social workers, paperwork, possible travel, the impact on Rachel and Mary Evelyn, etc. I really was afraid. But Jason was ready. So he just kept praying. I remember reading somewhere that the only things that last for eternity were God, His word, and the souls of men. This hit me like a ton of bricks...I certainly wanted my life to make a difference for eternity. Then I heard a pastor on the radio talking about "the least of these" and how when we do things for the least of these we do those things for Christ Himself. He addressed young mothers and encouraged them that taking care of children definitely counted. Oh goodness...God was really talking to me now.

I prayed that if God wanted us to do this, that He would lead me through my husband. Then I asked Jason if he would be ready if it weren't for my hesitation. He said he was ready to apply right then. So that was it! I knew God had answered my prayer. And I somehow knew that I would never regret adopting a child, but there was a real possibility that I might regret not adopting one day. By the fall of 2004, we were clients of Christian World Adoption, and life has never been the same.

And that's the story of how we decided to adopt.

An Adoption Story You Can Listen To

Since it's Adoption Awareness Month, I have to highlight today's broadcast of Family Life Today. It features an interview with Lysa TerKeurst and her adoption story. It's such an amazing story of how God called her family to adopt two teenage boys from Liberia...and then several of their friends as well! You can listen to the broadcast here.

It's Adoption Awareness Month! And An Urgent Prayer Request

I hope to find the time to post a little about adoption this month...not just my own, but adoption in general. But first I want to start by highlighting my friend Denise and her adoption. Denise is one of the leaders of the homeschool support group I am in and she is just wonderful. She has a heart for God, homeschoolers, and children who need families. She is already a mother of three and trying very hard, along with her husband Greg, to bring home three precious children from Liberia.

Denise gave me permission to share her prayer request with you all. I told her that I do not have a huge following, but that those who do read this blog are serious prayer warriors!

Denise and her husband are adopting two boys and a little girl (the beautiful girl in the picture!). And like many adoption journeys, theirs has had quite a few delays. Already they have seen a little of God's purpose in this because at first they were going to adopt the two boys, but one delay led to them finding sweet Ellie...and now they long to bring her home too.

Which brings me to the urgency of the prayer request. Ellie has a special need (Potts Disease and TB). It's something that can be fixed, but it MUST be fixed. And for it to be fixed, Ellie must come home. And that's where we are focusing our prayers right now...that the process in Liberia will speed up for Ellie. She needs at least two surgeries. The surgeon has done this many times...it's very do-able...but she has to get here! If not, serious things could happen. As Denise said on her blog, "Significant things. Think, nervous system shutting down...breathing, swallowing, bladder, bowel, etc..." Do you see why we need to pray her home?

By the way, Denise and her family really hope to bring all three children home together. Two trips would of course take more money, more vacation time, etc. And they will need some time for Ellie's out of town hospital stays as well.

Please do me a favor and pray for this family, and especially little Ellie's health. Oh, and pray for them to have perfect peace in the wait.

Thanks,

Jen