For The Homesick Gal

She texted me today from her IPOD.

We chatted.

Normal, except that SHE is in Ireland.

And I am not.

SHE said she misses her family.

SHE has been checking the blog for news.

So this is for HER, our firstborn.

Playing with the new webcam.

Trey is first!
Took three tries to get him to look up.
Micah is next.
Smile, Kloey!
Don't be afraid.
Get ready.
Cheesy girl.
Look what happened while you were gone...his choice.
Mom, I want to make a silly face.
Look what else happened just today.
She wiggled that thing until it was oughta there.
He most definitely misses you.
Here is word from your brother.

Those LID eyes

Today we got news of our LID - Logged in Date.

The CCCWA logged our dossier into their system on May 26, 2011.

The very same day this picture was taken.

The SAME DAY that he was given a hug and told his family loved him.

13 days after DTC - Dossier to China.

I run the numbers in my mind constantly.

Like a calculator.

If this step completes on such and such day, we can go in September.

If this step completes later, we go in October.

Repeat.

Often.

Bargain.

Pray.

Plead.

Haven't cried yet.

But the eyes...

What do these eyes say to you?

Come and get me.

I want a family.

I need a mommy and a daddy
to love me and take care of me.

My heart hurts.

I am alone.

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

The Name Game - Part 2

Five times we have had the privilege of naming a child.

Naming a seven year old is a daunting challenge.

We have had his picture on the refrigerator since January.

Many a mealtime, we pondered what his English name could/should be.

Nothing seemed quite right.

Peter won't do.

It isn't Jonathan.

Seth didn't happen.

Luke could've worked.

Bob asked God to give us a name.

Something strong and biblical.

INTRODUCING:

JOSHUA FANKANG PETERSON
Joshua means "God Rescues"
God has had an indisputable hand
in bringing Joshua to be part of our family.

Praying to be united in September 2011
or sooner!

Abundantly Blessed By Lindsey B.

I have met some amazing people on the road to China.

Lindsey Brockway is one of them.

She and her husband met their daughter Malia this week and have been sharing the trip details HERE.

They are in Hangzhou and offered to take pictures of anyone who had a child at the orphanage.

LOOK WHO THEY FOUND TODAY!!!!!

Lindsey said she gave him a hug for me and told him that I loved him very much. She also confirmed that his little heart was beating fast and he does have trouble catching his breath.
Thank you, Lindsey, from the bottom of my heart. To know that TODAY he is okay is a gift beyond imagination. While we greatly appreciate the updates from the agencies/orphanages, realtime pictures and personal observations are simply priceless.

We are coming son.

Children's Museum

Monday, April 25, 2011

We headed downtown to the Children's Museum.

The little boys were NOT impressed with the life size dinosaur.

But they found plenty of other fun.
Shopping.
Dress-up.
The vet's office always gets a lot of playtime.
Dr. Trey.
Erik's tower got much higher before it tumbled.
Somebody knows what makes little boys happy.
The drums got a good beating.
Isn't Grandpa cute?

Put the pedal to the metal, Micah!
Even big boys still like to play.
After our playtime, the girls headed off to the tea house
and the boys went out for fried chicken.

Vacation was wonderful!

Adoption Hiccup

I am still swimming in paperwork.

The bright side is that it gives me something to do while waiting.

I800, D230, 864W, Affadavits, Agreements, Referral paperwork...

HICCUP.

Our home study agency will not be able to do any of our post placement visits or reports because they are losing their accreditation that would enable them to do these for China over the next 5 years. Sad because the social worker we worked with won't ever meet our boy.

AARGH.

Back to the drawing board to find another agency who is appropriately accredited with China and our placing agency. I think I found one.

BOTTOM LINE:

More money. Lots more money. Up front.

Fortunately God continues to provide in every way.

We are grateful that our hiccup will not affect our timeline.

Dossier went to China on 5/13 so we are at Day 10.

Mount Lemmon

April 25, 2011

We started our day in Tucson at around 2500 feet above sea level. I wanted to take the kids to Mount Lemon because in one hour you can witness incredible changes in landscape by just going up.

This saguaro cactus has an amazing amount of arms.
I think we will call him Father Abraham.

We came around a corner and all of the sudden the saguaros
were gone and all that was left was some scrub and rocks.

We literally hugged the edge of the mountain as we wound our way up.
Lots of fascinating rock formations to look at.

Incredible views.

Once we got to the top, we could see
another valley on the other side.
Only pine trees now.

As we ascended, Erika happened to look over Grandpa Jere's shoulder and notice the gas gauge was kind of close to the E side. Really close. In fact, unless we were willing to coast all the way back down, we weren't going to make it. I wondered aloud if there were any gas stations at the top.
Nope. Not a one. My father reasoned that we couldn't be the only dummies who drove up to Mount Lemmon without enough gas so he made inquiries at the little store. The rest of us took pictures in the parking lot and went and found the bathroom. Sure enough, the fire department was willing to sell us 2 gallons of gas for $20. Enough to get us back to civilization.
They had a fire in the mountains a few years ago and it was interesting to see where the wind blew. You could see where there had been swaths of fire moving through.
There is a ski area at the top of Mount Lemmon. It is about the same size as the local ski area that we all learned to ski at in New Hampshire.

The kids decided they wanted to show their Karate Kid poses.

After a good stretch of the legs, we decided to

head back down and look for a place to picnic.

I admit I kept a pretty tight rein on the kids.
We don't have poisonous snakes and bugs where we live.
Kloey was on the hunt.

She got it.

The temperature was about 65 degrees which felt COLD, believe it or not. We found a lovely spot for a picnic and ate sandwiches, chips, granola bars, and lemonade.

We made it safely back to Tucson.
What a great day complete with
adventure, fresh air, and good company.