Kindergarten graduation

Kindergarten is officially over. I thought I would be teary, but I wasn't at all. My favorite part of the ceremony was when the children recited the scriptures they learned all year, from A to Z. Very special! All of the children were honored in one way or another for their unique gifts. My child wasn't the one winning any awards for kindness or gentleness or self-control (we keep working on these things!), but she did earn several academic awards. I was proud of her, but more importantly, she was proud of herself.

The end of kindergarten is a little bittersweet because we won't be back at this school next year. The Lord is prompting my heart in a different direction for Amelia's academic needs. I am so thankful, though, for the wonderful start she had at this school. Here, she learned to trust new places and people, she learned to be proud of her Chinese heritage, and she learned to be concerned for the physical and spiritual needs of people here and around world.

After the graduation ceremony, we celebrated with our friends Cece, Mariah, and Sara over a giant brownie ice cream sundae. Then we went out for Amelia's big surprise of the day: to have her passport photo made! She is so excited to get what she calls "my first American passport". The passport is in preparation for travel to China and maybe Taiwan later this year. Plus, it's just a good idea to have one!

Praying that the Lord will continue to gift Amelia and bless her and develop her spirit all the days of her life.

The toothless wonder

Every mom has one - the obligatory, kid-without-front-teeth photo. Here's mine. Now I can't call her Snaggletooth anymore.

Amelia does not like pain. To avoid pain, she refuses to let anyone wiggle, pull, or otherwise mess with her loose teeth. She let her first loose tooth (a bottom one) go until it literally fell out of her mouth on its own in the middle of the night. I guess inflation is real because the Tooth Fairy left a $20 under the pillow. Hmm...that's the same tooth fairy (also known as Grandma) that used to leave ME a quarter.

When it was time for the first top tooth to come out, it was hanging weird. I didn't think it would come out its own. We were en route to the dentist to have it pulled when Amelia decided she would rather pull it herself, so she did, in the parking lot of the dentist's office. My pocketbook thanks her. She repeated the drill - again, in the parking lot of the dentist's office - when it was time for the second front tooth to come out.

In the meantime, I was getting ready to go to trial on a dental case and was studying up on dentistry and tooth anatomy at home. Amelia was fascinated with some of the dental photos. She began talking about becoming a dentist. Who knows...maybe she will. I think that plan is a little more potential than her current plan - ballerina.

As she said, "I can be a dentist-ballerina!" Fine. Just don't pirouette with a drill in your hand.

April 12 - Double referral day

I left you with my parents' request for a waiver for the adoption of XiaoChun. At that point, I still had no word on when my referral from Taiwan would come. I had been sitting in the #1 spot on the waitlist for months and had been 'passed over' for referrals for one reason or another. I was discouraged that the Lord would not release me to move to the China program. I was excited, though, that my parents had decided to pursue XiaoChun's adoption.

In an instant, the story changed. In an instant, it all made perfect sense. In an instant, discouragement turned to joy, and TWO children were added in our hearts as "family" just as the Lord had spoken back in March.

April 12, 2011, was just a normal day. I was crazy busy getting ready for trial on a complicated case. My parents had submitted for preapproval less than 48 hours earlier. I was expecting nothing special out of the day. Sometime that morning, my mother called me at work very excited. China said YES. Already?!?! It usually takes more than 24-48 hours to get preapproval, especially when waivers are needed! Not this time! China said yes immediately to my parents as parents for XiaoChun and granted the waivers! I was stunned and very happy.

I thought that was the WOW of the day.

Ahh, but the Lord wasn't done.

You see, He had told me back in March there would be two. I guess He wanted to make sure I really, really "got" it. Just hours after my parents received their formal preapproval/referral for XiaoChun, I received the phone call that I had been waiting on for over a year. A referral! For me! On the same day!

I was expecting a tiny baby, but the referral came for an 18-month old little girl. An exquisite 18 month old gem who desperately needed a family. In so many ways that I won't share publicly (to protect her privacy and the privacy of those making decisions for her future), the Lord showed me that this little girl needed me to be her mother. As far as I know, I was the only person on the waitlist who had previously adopted a two year old and who had a homestudy written for a toddler or older child, not only an infant. I said yes right away, but it was later that night when I realize there even more confirmation.

We went to dinner to celebrate both children, and the owner of the restaurant, being from Taiwan, looked at her name and told me that it means "gift of peace." The scripture I had read about joy and peace was confirmed.

Since my parents and I share a household, in most ways that matter, both of these girls will become Amelia's sisters. In a way, Amelia got the "twins" she prayed for so very long ago - two little girls sent to our family on the same day.

Introducing sweet Yu-An, my daughter:


I have to admit...I wondered how the Lord would top "stretch out your hand toward Ai." Then He did. By sending both children on the very same day, He was true to His word to me.

I am 100% certain that THESE two children are the ones He is sending to our family. Not by accident. Not by happenstance. Not because we were in the right place at the right time or just by luck the next in line. These children are part of this family as part of a greater plan. It is true that unfortunate and sad things happened to bring them both to the place where they needed families, but out of the ashes, our Father makes beautiful things. I am certain that He is writing a story for these girls that is nothing short of miraculous. How humbled and honored I am to be a part of their story!

Oh, what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us that we should be called His children! Truly, it is more than I could have dared to hope, ask or imagine.

Amy

My parents are adopting!

Since she was 4 years old, Amelia has been praying - begging - the Lord for siblings. She prayed regularly for twins. I remember well the day she bowed her head in the frozen food section of the United grocery store and asked God for not one sister, but two. She believed; I didn't.

Months passed without any hope of adopting again before my agency told me that they were accepting single applicants for their Taiwan program. I continued to seek the Lord's will, but all I really heard Him say is that she would be a girl. He did, however, repeatedly confirm my being in the Taiwan program.

Months passed, until suddenly, we were coming up on a year of waiting for a referral at a time when others were being matched more quickly. I knew the Lord had me waiting, but I didn't really know why. Amelia continued to pray for siblings (in the multiple!).

An amazing thing happened. China re-opened its doors to single women wanting to adopt waiting children. I began to question whether I was to stay in the Taiwan program or move to the China program. I wanted to adopt a child who needed me. It seemed kind of silly to sit on a waitlist when there were children all over the world already in need of a family. I began to quietly search the waiting lists of Chinese children. Oh, I could love any one of them! Love is the easy part!

I came across this sweet girl:


Who would not fall in love with that photo? She was three years old, with mulitple special needs, and waiting for her family to find her. I asked for the file and discovered her name was Xiao Chun - "little Chun" - and my big girl is AiChun, also known as The Chunster. Xiao Chun's birthday was also special. XiaoChun was born October 1, the same date as my beloved Grandpa B. And she had that special something - the sparkle in the eye that made me smile. I showed her photo to my mother, who immediately announced, "that child was meant to be in our family." I prayed about adopting this sweet one, but in the end, I just felt in my heart that God was telling me to NOT transfer out the Taiwan program.

Not long after that, I was working when the Bible verse of the day came across my computer screen. It was from Isaiah 55, so I clicked over to the chapter to read it in context. Oh, my heart! Do you ever have those times when you just KNOW the Lord is talking directly to you? I knew. I knew He was telling me that Amelia's prayers were heard and there would be two children. Everywhere in the chapter, there are doubles....joy and peace, snow and rain, the juniper and the myrtle. I can't say how I knew, but I just knew He was telling me to prepare my heart for two. It was such a strong sense that I went into my supervisor's office, closed the door, and told her. I wanted a witness! I also marked the date in my own Bible once I got home...March 3, 2011.

I called my agency to ask if I could pursue a China adoption while remaining in the Taiwan program. They said no. I asked the Lord whether I should switch to China and try to adopt two children from there. He said no. Everywhere I turned, it seemed like no was the answer, and I was no closer to completing my Taiwan adoption than when I began in over a year earlier. Still, I looked at the waiting children list to see whether the Lord would allow me to move programs.

Then one day, rather suddenly, my mother asked me how I would feel if she and my dad were to adopt XiaoChun. I actually laughed! I said I would love it and promptly dismissed the idea, thinking my dad would never decide to adopt. But life is funny. When my dad, known as Papa, went to China with me to adopt Amelia, he witnessed first-hand how, in a matter of moments, a child can go from abandoned orphan to beloved daughter. When my mother asked him about adopting XiaoChun, he said yes. What??? He said YES. I even questioned him privately, "really?" My sweet dad said, "if not us, then who?" I guess that's a question we should all ask ourselves.

My parents made the joint decision to pursue XiaoChun's adoption, but there would be hurdles. They are too "old" by China's standards. Also, my mother had a health issue that would need vetting. They talked to an adoption agency, and they agreed to submit a request for pre-approval and a waiver to China.

The rest of the story is still to come.....

Happy Chinese New Year!

Grilling with Papa

What's not to love about grilling with Grandpapa? Amelia loves being outside with him, and he always indulges her by grilling fresh corn on the cob - her favorite!

Let's try this again - - Play the "Guess My Referral Date" Game!

This past August, I invited you to play the referral-date guessing game for a chance to win a donation to your favorite orphan/adoption cause. Alas, there was no referral by the end of the year. Now I am upping the ante! I will make it worth your time to play along, so keep reading to find out how you can win a chance at $250for your favorite adoption cause, orphan charity, or fundraising adoptive family.

As I explained previously, I failed miserably at waiting gracefully while I was waiting for travel approval for Amelia. This time around, I told the Lord early on that I was *determined* to wait patiently...calmly....serenely. Quit laughing!!! It's rude!!!

I know, I know...just saying that should have clued me in that the Lord was going teach me a thing or two about waiting. Yes, as you might have guessed, what was supposed to be a short wait has turned into a longer wait. I know 9 months isn't so long compared to how long some families are waiting, but it's forever to me, and forever to The Chunster, who is on a mission to become the World's Best Big Sister. Also keep in mind that I have never waited for a referral before. The last time I adopted, I was matched right away with a waiting child.

My agency's program in Taiwan is rather new, and there is not a list of waiting children. Also, this time, I really feel impressed of the Lord not to leap with my heart first, but to TRUST and WAIT. That is really hard for me! I have always thought myself to be the kind of person to just say yes to the first opportunity, but this time the Father is teaching me that sometimes obedience is NOT walking forward, but standing still. Ouch! Double ouch because I am having to eat some words and attitudes I held before...judgment in my heart about others who have chosent to wait instead of to say yes to other opportunities.

I confess to judging harshly people who were being "picky" about what children they would or would not adopt (that's what I thought...maybe they were just being obedient to God - like I said, I am eating my judgmental thoughts!) Sometimes, for reasons we don't fully understand, God asks us to say no to things we would ordinarily think are from Him. Why? I am not sure. Sometimes, I think it might be an exercise in hearing His voice and obeying. Sometimes, I think it might just be He wants us to know that He has something different in store - maybe not any better or worse, but just different.

Which brings me to this post. I am in the waiting room. I don't know when I will be let out of the waiting room. I don't know when the "wait" will lift and it will be a resounding "GO!". But I do know this: I have decided to have FUN while I wait! What's more fun than a bloggy game?! (Don't answer that!)

Here’s how it will work: You select any date from today’s date to December 31 to choose when you think I will receive my referral. Whoever is closest to the right date, without going past that date, is the winner. So, for example, if you pick February 1, and someone else picks February 3, and the referral comes on February 2 (picked by nobody), then the winner would be the person who picked February 1.

The prize: I will make a $250 donation to the adoption/orphan charity of your choice or to a family of your choice who is in the process of adopting a child (any country). If there is more than one winner (i.e., more than one person picks the same date, and that date is the winning date), I will split the prize among the winners.

How to play: Leave a comment with the date you think the referral will come. Leave the name or website of the charity or family of your choice (yes, it can be your own family if you are adopting!)

To help you narrow down your date selection, here are some “helpful” hints: I am currently sitting at #1 on the waitlist. My dossier was approved on April 29, 2010, so as of right now, I am 9 months into the waiting phase. My agency told me in June that it might take 9-12 months for a referral (and they usually estimate conservatively). In December, they told me they expected to match me "in the next couple of months." As of today, no match...but who knows what tomorrow will bring.

Happy date-picking! Date-picking closes at midnight on Saturday, January 22.

Amy