Anna's room

With little exception, Anna's room is ready for her!
Amy was playing in Anna's crib this morning while I finished hanging the curtain panels.

It is SO hard to see in these pics, but the walls are light blue (above chair rail) and lavender (below). It is kind of "shabby chic and we didn't buy a lot new for her room.

I did find a beautiful quilt (Pottery Barn Kids) that I liked (the colors were perfect). I made Amy's quilt, so there is a twing of "guilt" for not making one for Anna, but I had a LOT more free time while I waited for Amy.

We re-used some of Amy's green gingham bedding for Anna's room and added some of the lavender gingham (to match the quilt).

We have a really yucky brown bookcase that I am going to strip and paint light blue.

Also - We have this really cool shabby chic chandelier in her room.

I opted to skip the $10 per letter PBK name and went with the $2.97 Wal Mart one this time. I added lavendar ribbon for something different.

A trip down memory lane...

...to a wonderful thing that happened one year ago today!

(Below is a post that I added to a personal blog I was keeping as we waited for Amy. It was a year ago last night...)

Sunday, March 26, 2006

I will see the goodness of the Lord...
Chris and I just had the most awesome time of prayer!The Dunlaps and the Smiths joined us in a corporate time of prayer this evening at 9 pm. We just decided that it would be of great benefit to join together in prayer for our girls and for travel approval.As Chris prayed, I began to feel a strong sense that I should pray more boldly than I have before regaurding Amy and travel approval. As I prayed, my heart was filled with such gratitude for the awesome things God has already done on this journey. God has provided two other families to become very dear friends to us. Friends that share the same heartache that we do; friends that understand the pain and joy of this journey. He provided that at the time of His choosing - that Mia, Jaelyn and Amy's files would all be sent to Dillon at the same time. He provided that their three families would all live within 4 1/2 hours of eachother!I prayed boldly that God would keep Amy healthy. I prayed that His Spirit would move another believer within CCAA to move our file where it needed to be in order to have travel approval today.I also prayed that God would give us the strength to wait patiently and faithfully for HIS BEST for all of us. It is so hard to have a heart broken and waiting for our daughter and yet - to give all of our feelings and emotions to God and trust His timing for our families coming together.It truly is His. I believe that all three families prayed tonight for travel approval this week; I believe, too, that we all want the BEST God has for us; not our man-made version of best.

And - as you may remember - a year ago today started with our travel approval received (even while we were praying the night before on the fax machine at our agency). Two days later - on the 29th - we had our consulate appointment scheduled. A week after we received our travel approval, I was holding Amy in my arms! How's THAT for a miracle!?

It's a good reminder - as we find ourselves again waiting for travel approval (for Anna) that we serve a BIG God that can do "immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine".

Mom My Ride

This was just TOOOOOO funny not to post!

Logged-In

Yes! We got word yesterday from our agency that they received our Log In Date (LID)! We were logged-in on March 2! That is a week after we were DTC!!!

That is great news.

I haven't taken pics in awhile; I will try to do that since the kids are on Spring Break this week!

Not only did we survive...

...but we also THRIVED!

We traded our three kids (thanks to Christopher and Joy) off and picked up 16 Jr High kids for the weekend!
Wow.
We took our Jr High youth group to Kansas City for a youth conference geared specifically for them - Encore (Stuck in the Middle).
It was a wonderful weekend with some of the greatest 7th and 8th graders you will ever meet!



Here's our kids as we wait for a session to begin

Here are the kids killing time doing the limbo!

Our fearless leader... knawing on an onion ring at Red Robin

Our group (minus the two who were playing video games... oops!) with Word recording artists Jackson Waters! Did I ever mention WHY we are huge fans of JW? I mean - besides the fact that they are awesome!? The lead guitarist is grew up in our church and is the son of one of our pastors! JW did the music/worship for the conference and - well, there ARE perks to knowing a member of a band!

Aside from being a little (or a lot) starstruck this weekend, we also learned a LOT! Two little nuggets I "gleaned"...

*Jr High ministry is relational. I try SO hard to teach our kids stuff. It might just be more important to imitate Christ in our realtionships and teach them some stuff accidently along the way.

*Enjoy my own pasture. See Psalm 37 for more details. Basically - God has me here right now for His purpose. If I keep looking over the fence into someone else's pasture, I might just miss out on what God's doing in my pasture.

Slight oversight

A good friend pointed out that I totally neglected to update the blog on our DTC (dossier to China) status... I keep a private blog for Anna and updated it, but forgot to update our family blog. Enough rambling...

We were DTC on February 23! We are currently awaiting our log-in date (LID). From there... well, there isn't a lot of predictablility... We wait. Right now, it is taking slightly longer than 100 days to receive travel approval from China. It is looking more and more like June...

But as for today (because it could very well change tomorrow) I am going to live in the grace God provides for TODAY. I can't fathom that long of a wait! My heart aches to think that 8 months may go by from the time we saw Anna for the first time (and knew she was ours) and the day she is placed in my arms...

So. For today - grace. For today - His strength. For today I cling to this promise: His love endures forever...

A lesson from David

... as in "King David - a man after God's own heart". A lesson from 2 Samuel 12. A lesson that comes from the lowest point AND one of the highest point in David's life. Bathsheba. Hmmmm. The prophet Nathan had just told David that the son to be born to Bathsheba would die. He mourned and wailed and prayed for God to spare the life of his son.

God still allowed the baby to die.

And David rose and cleaned up and changed clothing and praised God in the midst of his grief.

Now - I must quote the writer of my study - Beth Moore - in order to do 'justice" to my lesson...

(from "David - A Heart Like His" - day 60)

Did David waste his time pleading with God over the life of the child? After all, God's message through Nathan was painfully clear. Before we attempt to determine whether or not David's efforts were wasted, today let's peek quickly at just a little of the intense intimacy David shared with God.

When he fell on his face before God, the prodigal returned home to the place he belonged. He was bankrupt in soul, demoralized, and terrified, but he was back. To many months had passed since he had last entered the indesrcibable place of God's presence, but he still recognized the Father.

Through David's crisis, he was reminded of all he knew of God's ways. David did not plead with God out of ignorance or naivete but out of his intimate knowledge of Him. God does indeed hear our prayers and reserves the right to relent if the change does not compromise an eternal necessity.

Wow.

So here's my heart...

If the only thing keeping us from getting Anna sooner is the humanity involved (i.e. the people who make things happen in China) then I am pleading with the Father to make it happen sooner - according to His power. However - if the long (and I mean LONG) wait is attributed to something of "eternal necessity", then I am content to trust His plan. So, I guess as I pray, I am preparing for glorifying Him - regaurdless!

So pray with us. And watch to see how God answers. And praise Him with us WHATEVER His answer is - because either way - He is worthy to be praised!

Same address - new title...

I feel like a Momma Hen lately.
I have this desire to gather my chicks under my wings. Not to "protect" them, but to show them some things that only a Momma Hen (and maybe her fabulous Rooster) could show them. I think that the other chickens have a lot to contribute, but I really want to show my "peeps" the world from the Hens perspective. Maybe to "show" them the way to go (Proverbs 22:6).

Hence - the new title to my blog. Same address... new title.

Happy Birthday Amy!!!

And now... the pictures you have all been waiting for...
(that may be a TAD bit dramatic!!!)


Birthday morning - present time!

Time for the birthday doughnut! And THREE candles! Making a wish...

Amy had a "pretend" slumber party with some of her little friends (and a few special big friends) on her birthday! Here are all the little girls - in jammies - listening to one of Amy's favorite stories ("Shoey and Dot")

One of Amy's favorite gifts (from Lily) - a bath time Dora doll (in the kitchen sink!)

More birthday pics...

Again - more pics - from her "family" birthday party on Sunday night...


Amy poses with her Dora the Explorer birthday cake

SOOO many grandmas and grandpas... Here Grampa T directs Amy to Grandma T :)

Uncle Andrew, Aunt Clarisa, Grandma and Grandpa L, Uncle Jon, Ash and Grandma B

And now - the "thing" I am now famous for :)

A - Amazing. Go check out our Story of You site for our journey to Amy and you will KNOW just how amazing this journey has been!

M - Miracle. The miracle of just HOW God created Amy for US never ceases to amaze me.

Y - Yielding. I remember having a conversation with my friend Jim (in a desperate moment in the early days home) when he prayed that Amy's will might be broken and I prayed her SPIRIT would not. God faithfully answered that. Her heart is so sensitive to correction and growth...

H - Happy! I couldn't imagine 11 months ago that "happy" would be an adjective I could use for Amy, but it is - indeed - one of the BEST ones! She makes everyone smile...

U - Unique. God made her one of a kind.

I - Inquisitive. She's a sponge... always trying to figure it all out... and actually DOING just that!

keep holding on...

...I know. Amy turned three on Thursday! She had a fabulous party with her little friends (and some big ones) and we have a party planned on Sunday with family. However - right now I am keeping my two nephews - and I am stealing a minute to type this even as Baby Tate is fussing (not going back to sleep after his EARLY morning bottle).