Audrey Bunny Book

It seems so unreal right now, but I know there is a day coming soon when we will have our baby girl in our arms. It will be such a great honor to be the ones who get to show her how beautiful she is, and how precious she is to God.

This book looks so sweet, I can't wait to share it with all my babies! 

LID Monthaversary!

We have now been logged in for TWO months! We are one month closer to knowing who our girl is, and we are just so excited! Just 2-4 months left now before we expect "the call"!  This time of the adoption process is a little weird, because after all the crazy work work work we've come to this point where there's really nothing to do but wait. It makes the whole thing seem a little surreal!

But while we wait, we are gearing up to celebrate the boys birthdays, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. We are also slowly filling up a closet with little girl clothes, making plans on how to get the boys together into one room, creating her adoption announcement, and making up a packing list for China - among a lot of other little things.

I have also really been enjoying this time of ignorance, before we see her face for the first time and I will inevitably become obsessed (there is really no way around this) with getting our baby girl home as soon as possible!

A Vast Sea

I read a blog of a fellow China momma today, who is in China as I write this to bring home their little boy (you can read her blog here). She wrote that a few days ago they were able to visit their son's orphanage - which looked from her photos to be pretty large. In talking with the orphanage staff she learned that on average only ten children are adopted from the orphanage every year. And in this past year, only five have been adopted. Out of what I can only guess is hundreds of children in that particular institution.

I was just reminded again of the vast sea of orphans (see this list of all of the orphanages) in China (Americans, who adopt more than any other country from China, provide families for only .4% of the orphaned children there).

Sometimes, in the midst of waiting, its easy to forget that there isn't any lack of need for families, just a long process to work through. But for one little one, we're on our way! And before we know it, she will be an orphan no more.

Our Adoption Interview

A couple of weeks ago our church hosted an Orphan Sunday, and they asked if we would be willing to share our adoption story. Here is the interview that was shared with our church! It's such a blessing that we will have this to share with our little one one day, and most importantly, for her to hear how God has been making a way for her since long before she was born.

Oh, how He loves her! 

Three Little Boxes

One of our family's favorite Christmas traditions is packing a shoe box of toys, school supplies, and other personal care things - to a child in need through Samaratan's Purse. I send one for each of our kids - this year we have three ready to send! Two boy boxes and one little girl box.

Our little girl is sending love even though she doesn't know it yet! :)
 

Where it all Began...

These are the faces... the ones that God used to start a stirring in my soul... that would become our lives today.

In 2003 - over TEN years ago, BJ and I were in this orphanage in the Dominican Republic. Holding and playing with kids that were desperate for attention and love. To know that they MATTERED.

It was at THIS moment that I realized I could give a child a home, a family, and show them love. Even as a college student with not much to speak of (we weren't even engaged yet, living in our college houses and borrowing money for pizza.)

I see now so clearly how God used this trip to help shape our family and show love to this little girl in China that we still don't yet know. 

These are children trying to get into the van with us as we left - event CLIMBING INSIDE - with people they just met. My heart still breaks for them and wonders where they are now. Whatever happened to these little ones within nothing and no one?

Enter My World

It's such a strange thing to invite people to enter into this crazy, expensive, long, and kinda-makes-you-nutty world of orphan care/ foster care / adoption... especially when we haven't yet seen the light at the end of the tunnel for ourselves. But I feel this "calling", if you will, to be a voice for these kids. These precious, innocent kids that need families and are DEEPLY loved by God.

I've shared this before, but it just sums up all that swirls around in my head...

"Orphans are easier to ignore before you know their names. They are easier to ignore before you see their faces. It is easier to pretend they’re not real before you hold them in your arms. But once you do, everything changes” -David Platt

It's hard to put your passion out there for the world and just trust God that He will move in the hearts of those who he has called.  I just want to snap my fingers and see everyone have this same passion. But I'm learning a lot about letting go, and just trusting.

And I'm seeing such cool glimmers of hope in our church. One (pretty awesome) family in our church, in particular, was moved by this past week during our Orphan Sunday. So much in fact that they have been working like crazy since then to complete an application (that included arranging and completing a visit from a social worker!) in THREE days... so that their family can GIVE UP THEIR CHRISTMAS... to host two orphan girls from Latvia this winter.

Oh. my. goodness.

I am SO in awe of how he's moved in this family... to such a dramatic action for the sake of two little girls on the other side of the world that they have never met. Two girls who will get to experience His love within the sphere of this (did I mention they are amazing) family. Without hosting, these girls have almost 0% chance of being adopted, but with hosting, their chances of finding a permanant family (by the host family or another family in our community) jumps to 65-70%! 

Isn't that just so AWESOME?!! :)