Two Favors

I have two favors to ask of anyone who may be reading this. First, please go to You Tube and type in "Lost Children of the Coal- China". It is a short documentary about a tiny little woman in China who is doing amazing things. It was filmed just this past May. I know that everyone has not been called to adopt, but we are all asked to care for the orphan. There are many ways of doing this. I am going to post tomorrow how we are going to help this tiny but mighty woman. That is where the second favor comes in. I have spoken with her oldest son, and I would love your help in helping this family.

"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." Matthew 4:19

A special surprise

On Thursday a very special piece of paper came to us via Fedex. A piece of paper that we had been praying for daily. One huge step closer to a very special little person. About eight weeks away from holding a little guy who has only lived in an orphanage. Who has never felt the arms of a Mama or Daddy, the laughter of brothers and sisters. And we cannot wait to be the ones who show him.

I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. Psalm 40:1

The Beach

We had such a great time at the beach this year! Our family piles into one house and spends a week eating, sunning, playing, fishing, reading, laughing and eating some more! It just doesn't get any better. I can honestly say that it is the best week of the year for us. We are so blessed with such a great family who genuinly has a ball doing everything together! It is always so hard to leave after our beach week together. Thank you, Granny and Granddaddy! We love you so much.
I am going to try to do a better job at keeping up our blog. I have said that before so we'll see how it goes, but I would like to print it one day as a little family journal.
The summer has literally flown by, and I have no idea where it went. I can't believe it's time to start thinking of school supplies, and school activities already. Ugh. We enjoy our summers.
The past year has been a hard one for our family. We have experienced a lot of transitions. We are finally at a point of healing. We need it very badly and are ready to heal together as a family of seven.

A Miracle for Mei Mei

If anyone still checks in with this blog, please look at my friend Jan's blog, http://www.lillymakesfive.blogspot.com/. Jan brought home their daughter, Leiney Grace, three months ago. And while Leiney Grace is thriving and loving her new family, she did leave behind a special little friend who she calls Mei Mei (little sister in Chinese). Mei Mei doesn't have the best looking medical file. She has spina bifida. Her feet are also deformed. She has never had surgery to correct them, so she has carries her weight on these poor little feet. They are sad to look at. But one thing you can't miss about Mei Mei is her beautiful smile. When it was time for Leiney Grace to leave the orphanage to meet her family, Mei Mei held back her tears and told Leiney Grace "Go with your Mama and Baba".  I think it's time for Mei Mei to meet her Mama and Baba too. Jan and her friend Jennifer have decided to begin fundraising for Mei Mei. They don't know who her family will be, but their goal is to raise the funds for Mei Mei's adoption. Please check out "Moms on a Mission". Every little life is equally important. It's very easy to forget they exist while we hurry through our busy days. While everyone doesn't feel the call to adopt, everyone can help in some way to give a child a family.
Proverbs11:25  A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.
Luke 6:38   Give, and it will be given to you...

Last Call For Luke

This may be long. I have been thinking about what to say on this blog since it be will used one more time! Not that it ever gets read! My words are never as eloquent as I would like for them to be or express how my heart really feels. And I have sooo much that I would like to say about how I feel and how we feel and why in the world we are doing this again??!!?? Being placed in the "crazy" category was never really a life goal of mine but neither was having seven children. But things change. And lives..and hearts..and even goals. And I am so happy that they do. See, when we started Cate's adoption, it was pretty much still about us. Cate was a cute little girl with a very manageable special need. But our family began to change a little. We began to have this overwhelming feeling that we should be doing more. That we are here to do a little more. We felt like we have been blessed with so much, and we knew that we had the room in our home and hearts for another child. And then another. And another. I know that some people just can't imagine. Because they tell me. And I understand that too. Because children can be hard and time consuming and expensive. But when they say that God does not call the equipped, He equips those He calls, they were not even kidding. I remember sitting at my computer in China when we were there with Cai. Her special need was feeling quite overwhelming and we were actually surprised with a need that we were unaware of. Greg was here at home and I remember wondering how in the world were we going to do this? But we were given a peace that surpasses all understanding. We have seen answered prayers and healing and a love and peace that only comes from Him. It has had absolutely nothing to do with us. So, the newest member of our family is a beautiful little boy who we have named Luke. He is in an orphanage in the same province that Cai is from, but his orphanage is about six hours away. I promise to post his picture here soon. We would love your prayers for Luke and for our family as we travel this road one last time.

A Fairy Happy Birthday!

Happy 6th birthday Cate!

The Happiest Birthday!!

Happy Birthday to Cai! Cai has been so excited about her birthday! I have to admit, I was pretty excited about her birthday too, since it is her first with us as her family! She wore a smile ALL day long! It was so sweet. She was just so happy! She loved her pink princess table cloth, her pink plates, her cake, and of course her presents. I'm not sure whether she had ever opened a present before- she wasn't really sure what to do at first. But she caught on fast!

I know it's a little mushy, but today I kept thinking of her first Mama- the Mama that wrote on a little piece of paper Cai's birth date and time, so that someone would always know. And I know she was thinking of Cai today too.