New Pictures of Nate!

We received some new pictures of Nate yesterday. I was so excited to see that the infection in his nose has cleared up. Of course they shaved his head. :( It is reported that he is very clever, has good language skills, and prefers the younger nannies. I hope I am young enough for him!!!! LOL. Here are some pictures.

One year ago, Lily joined our family

I can't believe that one year has passed since Lily joined our family. Time has flown by. The wait to adopt her seems like just a blip in time even though it was years. I will never forget the day that we met her.

That outfit . . .
The hair . . .
Her bare bum . . .

She was such a joy right from the start. The constant chatter delighted us and all those around her. Her sing-song voice made everyone smile. She slipped into our family as if there was never a time that she was not part of us.

Over time, she has grown so much. She has come from this:

To this:

The hair is growing:

This little bundle talks up a storm. She amazes us with her vocabulary every day.

She loves music and dancing. 

She is such a joy. My heart seems to burst with love for this child that God has placed in our arms.

What a great addition she is to this crazy family!

What a difference just one year can make in a child's life!

Not much to say

Not much has been happening around here lately. Our whole family has been sick. I've cleaned up more puke this week (2 times) than I have in 10 years. My kids just don't throw up. It isn't fun trying to clean purple puke out of carpet. I would like to not repeat that for quite some time.

We enjoyed our week off from school, but I sure could use another.

Still waiting for our Letter of Acceptance for Nate. We are only three weeks into that wait and it could be another three. Hopefully not more. Please pray that we have our travel approval before August 1st. If we don't then we will have added costs due to a change in post placement procedures.

A fun Lily saying today. "Once upon a time three bears went pee."  Then, "Once upon a time Mama went pee. Yay!!!!!"  Yes, we are potty training.

How God Has Weaved Them Together

During a quiet moment of my day, I pondered how God has weaved our adoptive children together. I had never fully put everything together, and today I am amazed at how He has tied them together.

On Jan. 6th, last year, we received an email asking if we were interested in viewing a little girl with albinism. Actually, we were the second family called for her file. The first didn't know what albinism was and our agency moved on to us. I am so grateful.

Here is the first picture we saw of Lily.

Around this time, our agency was advocating for a little boy with albinism. He was 2 and described as having red eyes. His picture was less than flattering.

I remember seeing this picture and feeling sorry for this little guy who was not being claimed. Time went by and his file was sent back to China.

We traveled to China in April of 2010. During our trip one family visited their son's orphanage and took multiple pictures of a little girl that just happened to capture their hearts. She, of course, is our daughter Mae.

For the next two weeks in China, this family walked around with us holding a picture of our future daughter.

Almost a year goes by, and we are compelled to move forward with the adoption of a boy with albinism. We will end up becoming the parents of the little guy who's file I had mourned over.

All three of these precious children are from the Henan province in China. Their stories and their future has been woven together by our amazing God.