Two in Taiwan

Happy 2012!

2012-01-04T15:30:00.001-05:00

It's a bit colder here than in Colombia, but I've been enjoying the time with family!

Rebecca has been living in Washington State and I've been in Colombia, so it was good to have the whole family together.

The house flooded 2 times this past year and my parents were hoping to re-carpet before getting a Christmas tree. When they got a date for the carpet installation and it was after Christmas, they decided we might as well get a Christmas tree. The good thing about last minute Christmas tree shopping is that prices drop. Here we are buying a $10 Christmas tree 4 days before Christmas. :)

Here we are on Christmas morning in front of the Christmas tree at church.

While I've been gone the kids have gotten involved in the Society for Creative Anachronism (a medieval reenactment group). I went along with them to a sword practice session.

After the house flooded twice in one year, my parents decided moving to higher ground was probably a good idea. Here we are touring the new house which is still a work in progress.We decided to go into New York City one day. Central Park was a bit chilly, but fun for taking photos, and we all enjoyed exploring the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The Jungle

2011-12-24T15:00:00.004-05:00

Hi there- Annie posting! I haven't posted in awhile. I'm back from Colombia for a few weeks to spend Christmas with my family.

I've been busy in Colombia, working at Luz y Vida, a school for at-risk kids in disadvantaged neighborhoods of Bogotá. Another thing I've been involved in is the Jungle. Twice a month we invite neighborhood children to our indoor play space. We've been averaging around 150 children lately. The neighborhood isn't pretty- homeless men sleep on the street, the sidewalks are littered with garbage and dog poop, the smell of pot wafts from open windows, prostitutes wait in doorways a few blocks away. Many families rent rooms by the day, an entire family living in a room smaller than a walk-in closet.

When kids come to the jungle, they have a safe space to play. They scale the climbing wall, slide down the slide into the ball pit, cross the swinging bridge, slide down the fireman's pole, play foosball, soccer, ping-pong, basketball, mini-golf; make-believe in our playhouse, swing in the hammocks. Some of them come with guarded faces, but before they have left they are laughing, unguarded, free to be kids for a few hours.

After a couple of hours, we gather the kids together. They sing, they watch a puppet show or skit, and they hear us share God's word with them. We divide them into small groups and work on a craft with them that reinforces the message for the day. Before they leave we give them a snack.

Just last month we started something new- in another building down the street we've invited mom's to attend a program while their kids are playing. The first week, 30 women showed up to share, pray for each other and hear God's word. We're partnering with a local church that has begun to meet in the Jungle building. They've seen new people coming to their church as we recommend them to families that are looking for a church.

We would love to reopen a smaller program several days a week to reach out to some of the most consistent children. To do that we need to pay off the Jungle and complete a remodeling job to create classroom and kitchen space and update our bathrooms. We need your help to do that! A company has offered us a $36,000 matching grant- for every dollar we raise, they will donate a dollar up to the $36,000. We're hoping to find 1000 donors who will give $36! For $72,000 we could completely pay off what we still owe on the buildings and complete the remodeling project in the jungle. Click the link to find out how to give a tax-deductible donation to our matching gift grant! Your gift will be a blessing to kids in Barrio Santa Fe in Bogotá, Colombia!

On Hellos, Goodbyes and Water Buffalo Meat

2011-06-18T07:39:00.006-04:00

I visited Annie in Bogota, Colombia this month! It was wonderful to see her, meet the wonderful team of people she is working with, and get to know a bit more about the ministry first hand. My favorite activity was teaching in the first grade class room. What a riot! They were so cute, so rambunctious and so hard to keep focused. But I loved their enthusiasm and it was fun to see them actually learning to read!

Annie's house (behind the cars and sketchy guys)

At Oma, a cafe.

And some pictures about the city:

On the farm outside Bogota that the ministry owns. This is where they have a couple of houses that are used to help raise kids who have no parents or whose parents can't currently care for them. It was inspirational to see these homes where the kids were so well cared for and loved and instructed.

While I trotted about in Colombia Rebecca was kind enough to come home and stay with the kids. Great trade off for me! They had a great time.

Here are some great pictures she got:

I was worried after doing fun things like hiking and spending the day at the creek they might be sad to have me home. But they were all very excited.

However I've been left with a bit of a bittersweet ache in my heart. Being with Annie, helping in the school, realizing the stresses she is under and the sacrifices she's making, makes it all that much harder to be apart.

And having had Rebecca here for a week, and not being able to be here myself, was also a frustrating experience. Just before I left I'd bought all kinds of fabric to make medieval garb for the kids. This would have been something Rebecca and I could have enjoyed doing together--and she was here for a whole week!

It was really super nice when Rebecca made a short stop at home on Wednesday night on her way to the PAPA Festival. It was so good to be able to give her a hug and drink a cup of coffee together in the morning. She also left us with 2 pounds of water buffalo from the farm--an added bonus :-)

When my kids first left home I was happy for them and eager to see them on their way in life. I've enjoyed sharing their experience vicariously. But I think the coming and going of this month has made me realize more than ever that our old way of life is gone and "Together Forever" has taken on a slightly different meaning.

Anyway, we ate the water buffalo for dinner last night and it was chewy, but flavorful. A bit like life--the good mixed in with a lot of hard work!

MARANATHA!

2011-05-17T09:04:00.001-04:00

Come quickly Lord Jesus!

This Sunday our pastor asked us what would change in our lives if we knew Jesus was coming soon--tomorrow, next month, in two years. . .

He made a list of what that would mean to him and asked us to think about what it would mean to us.

Here’s my list:

* my sadness for the ‘bad’ in this life would be over

*I would “dwell in the house of the Lord forever”

*those who are currently not ‘paying attention’ to the things of God would PAY ATTENTION.

*those unsaved would perish

But wait, I don’t want those I love, or even those I just know casually, or anyone for that matter, to perish. So I guess it is with those in mind I write this post.

If God created the earth, and if evil and sadness have come into that earth so it is no longer the paradise God intended and if God in his mercy has made a way out from under that evil and a way to restore all things and if Jesus is who he claimed to be, “the Way, the Truth and the Life”

Then. . .

NONE need to perish! :-)

“But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” --II Peter 3:8&9

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” --I John 1:9

“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

--Romans 10:13

That is Good News! Maranatha, come quickly Lord Jesus.

HAPPY YEAR OF THE RABBIT!

2011-02-05T10:49:00.006-05:00

We had fun yesterday celebrating Chinese New Year. First we made egg rolls:

Then we made bubble tea:

Then we had a party with friends and family!

"According to the Chinese zodiac, the Year of the Rabbit assigns characteristics such as gracious, cautious, kind, elegant, reserved, soft-spoken, artistic, tender, self-assured, shy, sensitive, compassionate, flexible and lucky, but also opportunistic, superficial, moody, stubborn, self-indulgent and detached." (http://mansfield.patch.com/articles/uconn-celebrates-the-year-of-the-rabbit)

Daniel is the only rabbit in our extended family. Cautious, kind, artistic, tender, sensitive-yes, soft spoken-not so much. Those others-we'll leave unmentioned ;-)

Today we will go to the big Chinese Association New Year party and tomorrow we will celebrate at the Chinese church.

Christmas Pictures 2010

2010-12-26T23:11:00.005-05:00

Reading the Christmas Story on Christmas Eve

Christmas Morning

A whirlwind of present opening

At church on Sunday

Christmas Letter 2010

2010-12-25T20:20:00.002-05:00

All new for 2010! The Blakeslee annual (or semi annual or once in a while)Christmas letter now goes green. No more printing, no more stamps and envelopes, no more trying to fit pictures from a whole year on a 8x10 page. It must be the 21st century.

This year it seems I've heard many disparaging comments about 'Christmas letters'. So I decided to post mine on our blog where only those who wanted to read it would. So thank you for wanting to!

We thank and praise God for this year. Things have gotten smoother on the home front, but also quieter. Our family of nine has spent most of the year as a family of 6 with our three oldest out of the house.

Annie has been really stretched in her first year in ministry with Formando Vidas in Bogota Colombia. Rebecca is still enjoying her volunteer job at Overlook Farm in MA with Heifer International. She spends her time doing farm chores and being an educational volunteer . She shows people around the farm and encourages them to think more about world and their part in it. In her spare time she enjoys bread making and apparently, judging by all the hand crocheted gifts today, she has been enjoying crocheting.

Tim just finished his first semester at Adelphi College in New York. He did really well, but decided to take a semester off to work and look into another school for the fall.

Jonathan, Kai, Daniel and Sarah-Grace are all still homeschooling. This blog is mostly about them, so if you look back through the posts you can see lots of what they've been up to.

Dana and I are well. We can not believe we are in our fifties! Last night, after reading the Christmas Story and The Night Before Christmas to the kids, Dana admitted he was ready for grandchildren! He said the excitement level with our kids at Christmas time just isn't there anymore.

We hope Christmas and the New Year bring many blessings to you and yours!

What Kai Learned

2010-12-17T09:17:00.003-05:00

This is a manger scene made by Annie's students in Colombia

We've been looking into the Christmas Story this year for school. We've learned a bit about shepherds and sheep, St. Nicholas of Myra and angels among other things. I decided to do this because last year the entire Christmas season went by and I'd only read about 2 of our Christmas story books with the kids. So we've taken advantage of "school time" and read our favorites.

Of course among the favorites is the Bible account of the birth of Jesus. While reading from Luke 1 about John the Baptist's birth and the Angel Gabriel coming to Mary we read about the Virgin Birth. Surprisingly, this was a new concept for Kai. He had thought Joseph was the biological father of Jesus. Thus missing the whole glorious truth of "God becoming man." And he really seemed to get it. He looked totally awestruck. It was a good time for him to learn this fact because we are just finishing up a unit on human reproduction--so he knows all about how babies are conceived and grow in the womb. He was really amazed that God "put" Jesus into Mary and then he grew there--Son of God and Son of Man. It was also a wonderful time to talk about adoption. Joseph was the earthly father of Jesus; Jesus, had a "different" biological father than the rest of his siblings. I felt like it was an extra special Christmas gift from God for my adopted kids.

I'm really looking forward to Christmas this year. Feeling a bit overwhelmed with all the shopping I still have left to do. We saved getting our tree until Annie, with Jonathan who went down for a 2 week visit in Colombia, came home. So we have a busy weekend in store: cut and decorate the tree, Christmas choir/play rehearsal and play for Sarah-Grace and Daniel and of course the ever present shopping! Hopefully I can post some of these events with pictures!

Despise not the day of the small thing

2010-11-11T08:01:00.003-05:00

We've been working really hard here. All three of the younger kids are grade levels behind where they should be academically and sometimes that strikes fear into my heart. So this year we've really been working on English grammar, reading, phonics, reading comprehension, spelling etc. Hard work! However, I do see progress and that is good. But, all this hard work takes its toll. So over this past week we've taken a couple of "mental health days."

Last Friday was a cooking day. We made Lithuanian LOG for our co-op class to share on Daniel's birthday. He turned 11. We also made roast pork and a corn casserole for dinner because we filled out our state sheet on Iowa earlier in the week and Iowa is the top producer of both hogs and corn. And we made applesauce from some apples we had picked earlier in the season. Kai and Sarah-Grace were both surprised to see that applesauce was really just cooked down apples. We didn't even add anything to them but a tiny bit of water and the applesauce was delicious.

Yesterday I let the kids sleep in since they were up late playing with Daniel's new Wii game. Then we only did English and math. So they had a good bit of free time. While Daniel was eating lunch I looked over into the living room and Kai and Sarah-Grace were on the floor playing with Legos and cars. This is the first time I've seen them play at imaginative play alone together since Sarah-Grace came home last year. It really warmed my heart and made me realize that time for mental health is good for us all!

Fall 2010

2010-10-30T17:56:00.006-04:00

I've been wanting to blog and feeling guilty for not blogging--but basically my life feels rather boring right now--as far as new thoughts go. At least thoughts I want to share. So here are some pictures to save 1000 words:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my husband of 28 years this month!

Dana and Kai ready to go out hunting

Matryoshka dolls we made during our study of Russia in our homeschool co-op

Daniel as an Anglo Saxon for Halloween
Kai as a stickman and Sarah-Grace as a little person

The Beginning of the End

2010-09-02T08:58:00.003-04:00

I just dropped Jonathan off for his first day of work. As he walked into the local grocery/gas station I thought, 'it's the beginning of the end.' His first job, his first step towards real independence and my first "little boy" growing up.

Once they have a job, it's a lot harder to tell them what they can't have. After all, now they can pay for it themselves. But I have gotten smarter over the past few years. We have a new house rule: If you buy 'it', you must save the same amount you spend on 'it' in the bank and you must tithe 10% of the cost of 'it' to your church or favorite charity. This way I figure, I won't have the 'work to spend' problem I've been noticing.

I guess I'm thinking a lot about the beginning of the end. We dropped Tim off for his first year of college this past weekend. Tim is 20. I am of the opinion that 20 year old males should NOT live at home. Even mother lionesses agree with me! Don't get me wrong. Timothy is a great guy. Fun, intelligent, a creative thinker and he's been super helpful this past year since the his sisters have been gone. But, there is just something about the adult male psyche and moms that don't mix so well.

I'm looking forward to seeing my "boys" grown into men. I believe in them and I know God has a plan for them. It's the getting there that has me worried!

HONDURAS

2010-08-18T05:23:00.014-04:00

Finally I am taking the time to write about our awesome adventure in Honduras. When Kai first said he wanted to go with our church's children's program to Honduras I really did not want him to go. He has only been in this country for 2 years I thought. He is still adjusting to this culture and this language. He doesn't need a trip to Honduras to further complicate his life. But I guess God had other plans.

Our trip to Honduras was one of ministry for kids with kids. A small team of 5 children in 5th and 6th grade and 4 adults shared Bible stories, songs, crafts and games. I was so excited to share the stories of David and Goliath and Daniel in the Lions Den because they show the power and presence of God so well. I decided to share in Spanish to save the kids having to listen through a translator. I’m fairly proficient in Spanish, but it was a hard and humbling task for me. When I teach in English I will often interject with thoughts or other scripture that pertains as the Lord leads, but I can’t do that in Spanish and it was frustrating. Sometimes I wondered if it was worth it and if it wouldn’t just be better for the kids to hear the stories translated in perfect Spanish. But I just felt it was a good way to get their attention and also to relate to them.

Here is Kai with Morgan and Dan during our pretrip preparation(Dan is another adult member of the team--Kai is on his shoulders in this picture) Fortunately for Dan we only needed Goliath to appear once in the 90+ degree heat!

Children from a rural school with their lion puppets

We were in Honduras with CURE International. CURE is a non profit agency that seeks to help the world's poorest children and their families by providing medical care for surgically treatable ailments such as club foot and cleft pallet to name a few. They also provide spiritual counsel, love and treatment for the whole family. Some patients have said their experience with the hospital in Honduras is the first time they have felt loved and valued by those in authority.

We sang songs and shared games and stories and gifts with the kids:

We also visited a Nutrition center where children are brought who are not thriving. Here they are cured of intestinal parasites and given nutritional meals 3 times a day. To see the photo album of before and after shots was amazing.

I got to hold and feed a little girl who was there to get strong before she was operated on for cleft pallet. Although she was 7 months old I felt the need to support her wobbly head. However malnourished she appeared physically I really felt in holding and interacting with her that she had been loved and attended to in her short life. She made good eye contact and seemed really interested in what was going on around her. I’d love to see her in another 7 months with her surgery completed, healthy, and back home with her mom! About 50% of these children are able to go back to their families, who are given training in nutrition and health. Sadly, the rest end up in orphanages. There is currently no international adoption in Honduras.

Most of our ministry was done in schools. It was so much fun to work with the children and see our team kids interact and play and share their stories of God's power in their lives. The most awesome gift came in the testimony of a 15 year old school girl. I had shared how God had answered prayers and provided for us during our adoption of Sarah-Grace and asked if one of the students had a similar account they could share of God’s goodness. This sweet young girl came to the mike and shared a heartfelt and beautiful personal testimony as well as a theologically accurate gospel presentation sharing with all her classmates how sin separates us from God, but in his love he has made a way for us to come back to Him through Jesus Christ’s death.

Honduras is a beautiful country:

With beautiful people and beautiful places:

Good fellowship and good food:

There was also much sadness in ministering in Honduras. From meeting the young mom with the paralyzed infant and the couple with the dying baby to the garbage in the streets and the shanty towns I often felt as though there was nothing much I could do against such hopelessness. But again, God was good. In my devotional time God gently reminded me that this life we live in the flesh is not our final end. Here is just one of the verses from Isaiah chapter 35

“And the ransomed of the LORD will return.

They will enter Zion with singing;

everlasting joy will crown their heads.

Gladness and joy will overtake them,

and sorrow and sighing will flee away.”

While no one person or program can solve all the problems, deprivations and sorrows of poverty the Person of Jesus Christ is certainly enough hope and future for all individuals.

Kai and I at the Maya ruins in Copan on our recreational day.

A Good Day

2010-07-31T07:38:00.005-04:00

Here's what happens when you say no to electronics:

It only took them half the summer, but they found their imaginations. They are playing medieval times and they each set up shop. They played for about 4 hours outside on a really hot day. I made sure I told them how happy I was to see them play so nicely! I also let them know I'd post their pictures so their big sisters would be happy too!

Home and posting!

2010-07-19T21:00:00.006-04:00

Honduras was great and we had a safe trip home, but I haven't uploaded my pictures yet and I figure I'd better finish up with vacation!

The last part of our vacation was spent in the White Mountains in New Hampshire.

Psalm 90

1Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.

2Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.

It is definitely awe inspiring to walk among the mountains. I love to see the peaks rising all about me and look down into the valleys and rivers below. It has always astonished me that a person could look on these beautiful manifestations of God's greatness and not believe in the creator.

While we certainly noted and enjoyed the grandeur of our surroundings we also enjoyed some much needed exercise and GORP eating!

It was really windy at the top of Mount Washington.

We hiked from the summit down to the AMC Lake of the Clouds hut.

From the road we hiked to several waterfalls and 'the Basin', more beautiful, natural wonders :-)

Hola from Honduras!

2010-07-15T00:15:00.002-04:00

Sorry I have not yet finished posting my pictures from our vacation and I'm on to a new adventure, but we only had 10 days between getting home from vacation and leaving for our short term missions trip to Honduras.

This is a trip Kai and I are on with our church's children's ministry, Awesome Adventure or in the case of this trip to Honduras, Adventura Asombrosa.

We came down to share the love of Jesus and the Good News of salvation with the children of Honduras. We've been to 4 schools, the hospital clinic (where we are staying), a nutrition center and a church. We've shared with about 2000 kids--thats about 1500 more than we'd expected. God has been so good.

We come home tomorrow and I hope to have a few pictures and stories posted soon!

Prayers for a safe journey are appreciated!

Dios les bendiga.

Heifer International

2010-07-05T20:59:00.006-04:00

We enjoyed our day at Heifer International with our daughter Rebecca. We milked goats, fed a bottle fed lamb and toured Overlook Farm’s great ‘Global Village’ which has been constructed to show us how people in other parts of the world live and work and play and eat. I would like to say my kids were most interested by seeing the rich culture and material disparity between these cultures--but really--they mostly liked the goats!!!

Click on the title to link to Heifer’s homepage.

Watching the sheep and feeding the lamb:

At the Goat barn:

Boston Freedom Trail and Cape Cod Bay

2010-07-03T19:09:00.005-04:00

Our kids did great spending the day walking and touring through Boston. We started at the USS Constitution and made our way as far as Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market. The kids were as interested in the USS Constitution Museum, the elegant diners at the really cool North End restaurants with the windows that open right into the streets, as they were in the various street theater groups, jelly fish, crabs and even baby lobster in the ocean! It was fun to see them enthusiastic about so many things. Paul Revere's House

Living sculpture--if you gave a dollar, she blew a kiss--think we gave $3 or $4!
USS Cassin Young kitchen--I'm "cooking"
USS Constitution Muesuem--Sailors 'berths'

USS Constitution aka Old Ironsides

Jellyfish in the bay in Plimouth Harbor and kids at the beach Cape Cod

Plimouth Plantation

2010-07-02T20:15:00.009-04:00

A Blast from the Past

Located just outside of Plymouth, MA, Plimouth Plantation is a wonderful living history site. (Click on the title of this post to visit their website). It does a great job taking the visitor back to the past. In the Wampanoag home site the interpreters, all Native Americans themselves, share with the visitor both the culture of the 1620’s tribal people as well as the assimilation of Native American culture with American pop culture--if you care to ask.

If found myself more interested during this trip about one culture’s assimilation into another’s. In the past I had not realized there were still native people in the northeast. Having grown up in CT. I’d only had contact with people who might tell me, “I’m part Indian” the same way I might have shared, “I”m part Italian” An important part of my ethnic heritage and a large part of who I am--but it was no longer very relevant to my everyday American girl school life. When my family traveled west in the 1960’s I saw many people of Native heritage and naturally, at 9 years old, I was intrigued. But modern day native cultures in modern day eastern seaboard states--I just didn’t realized they existed. And to be honest, when I heard of the Foxwoods Casino, allowed to be built on tribal lands I really did think--oh, here are some people of Native American decent trying to cash in on a good deal. Now however, I see I was wrong. There really is a people group in CT. who remember their native, cultural past and feel a loss for it. I spoke to a Native American man last week who had a grandparent who had spent the first 6 years of his life in a Wetu (the Native American ‘wigwam’ of the Wampanoag people)right there in Massachusetts at the same time my own dad’s parents were starting their family in suburban Philadelphia. He talked to me about the loss he felt for the way of life of his grandparents and people and he spoke about the desire and goal to keep his culture alive and thriving for future generations.

I guess, with all my thoughts recently of my own children, coming to terms with who they are and how their past and ethnic heritage will fit in with their present and future, I have a lot more interest in these types of things. And I guess a bit more sensitivity too.

My pictures of Plimouth Plantation are not great. I guess I didn’t want to take pictures of the actual people, since they are real people and it’s not some kind of zoo! The interpreters in the 1627 village, a replica of the original Plimouth, stay in character as they talk and answer questions about their life and times.

Here is a picture of Kai checking out the dugout canoe at the Wampanoag site, the kids posing on a cannon from the fort (are you supposed to let your kids sit on the 400 year old cannon?), my family in a typical Plimouth home and the kids playing in the hands on area inside the visitor center(no problem photographing these living history interpreters). Top picture is the colonial village from the fort--note the beautiful bay in the distance.

WHAT I DID FOR MY SUMMER VACATION

2010-06-29T15:52:00.002-04:00

Or an essay in 5 parts--Now with PICTURES:

Vacation is wonderful. We just returned home from a week away and I am determined to take a vacation every year. Our last planned vacation in 2006 ended after 3 days of driving when we heard from home that our house had flooded. That put a bad taste in our mouths for vacation, as 2 years prior we got the same phone call at the end of our vacation!

So, braving the possibility of torrential rains on our home turf, we headed north to New England. We had a good reason to visit there. Our daughter, Rebecca, now a college graduate, is currently living up north. Plus, our home education studies of American History would really come alive with a visit to Plimouth Plantation and Boston.

Some of the best things about vacation for me are leaving behind all the “paperwork” of life. Those insurance phone calls to make, camp forms to fill out, emails to catch up on etc. Because I never seem to get to those things very frequently, and because they are vastly time consuming, they seem always to hang over my head. But not so while sitting on the beach on Cape Cod and listening to the sounds of water and gulls. Time away allows me to refocus and reenergize. I love to learn and see new things and take the time to enjoy my family. Over the next few days I hope to post some thoughts and share some pictures about our week away. I hope a peek into our week encourages others to take a minute and get away--whether by taking a long walk or taking a long vacation!

Ready to Go!

Not Great Traffic through NYC:

Good Morning!

Princess of Grace:

Camping:

Pictures are worth 1000 words :-)

2010-05-31T07:07:00.007-04:00

Easter Pictures

Look, Baby Bunnies!

Happy Mothers' Day!

2010-05-09T07:42:00.003-04:00

On this day set aside for moms, here are some things we'd like to share with ours:

Mom....

...is really cheerful....
...had such a big influence on my life, and continues to do so...
...thank you for putting your effort into me, and being nice and putting up with me all my life...
...makes us great food everyday....
...listens to me and encourages me...
...I'm so glad you chose to teach me, not only academic things, but spiritual things as well...
...thank you for taking care of me...
...is insightful...
...thanks for the completely selfless act of raising and instructing seven children...
...teaches me what's really important in life...
...puts up with a lot...
...supports us and encourages us to follow our dreams...
...thanks for being there for me, to love me, when my dreams don't always turn out the way I wanted...
...is self-sacrificing...
...thank you for seeing the big picture and teaching me to see it as well...
...loves us...
...thank you for being patient with me...
...I'm so glad that not only are you my mom, you're my friend...
...I will forever remain uncertain as to how you've managed so much without simply losing your sanity...
...and most of all we want to say:

We love you mom!

Thank you for everything that you do and for being such a great mom!
Happy Mothers' Day!

Much love,
Annie, Rebecca, Tim, Jonathan, Kai, Daniel, and Sarah-Grace.

A Bright Star in a Sea of Doubt

2010-04-13T00:37:00.001-04:00

Today was not a great day. I was not a particularly nice mom, because I felt harried. I knew I had to be out of the house by 1:15 for a DR apt. and I knew I had LOTS for these kids to accomplish during school before that time.

After a 2 hour appointment with a psychiatrist we were told that our child is ADHD and should be medicated. hmm. . .OK I guess. I mean at this point, what can it hurt? If it makes him happier, more able to cope, better able to learn. Why not give it a try? But I am not fully convinced. It would be too good to be true if a pill could solve a problem. Especially if that problem really resides in the brian and the heart.

So, since the appoint was 2 hours, rather than the one I had anticipated I was late to my Spanish class. I think the students dealt with that just fine. I think I was the only one who cared. Then we raced home so we could have dinner before the case worker for the family services organization came. She was coming to help us with post adoption permanency services. Sounds good. They will even pay up to $200 per month to help you with baby sitting! But she didn’t show up. .. .

The bright star?

The printer wouldn’t print and I needed papers for my class tomorrow. It is our last co-op class (YAY) so it couldn’t wait. So I had to call my husband at work (have I mentioned he is working nights--yes my 4 out of control kids and I try to stay quiet during the day so he can sleep and then he wakes up and leaves in for me to put them to bed)

Anyway, the bright star:

While on the phone with Dana we realized that one of the ADHD tendencies, not transitioning well, was something that we dealt with a lot with Kai. We’ve always attributed that to adoption related issues and institutional living.

He doesn’t have that problem anymore! As we talked we realized the Kai has learned to go with the flow. He doesn’t get mad if things change, are out of order or aren’t able to happen. We took a brief respite in berating our selves as parents to give us a pat on the back. In two years we have created enough of a secure and loving environment for one of our children that he doesn’t have that over arching tendency to “Keep things in Control.”

Praise God! Even in the midst of a really bad day there is grace and goodness!

HE IS RISEN!

2010-04-04T07:28:00.003-04:00

From our house to yours: HAPPY EASTER!

Grace

2010-03-09T23:58:00.005-05:00

“Who has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time,”

- 2 Timothy 1:9

I want to start living in this grace! I realized this week one reason why I’ve felt so “behind the eight ball.” I am currently teaching 5 classes.

I teach a 4th grade Sunday school class each week.

I teach a state history class for elementary students every other week.

I also teach an elementary art appreciation class every

other week.

Then I teach an intermediate level Spanish class to high school students once each week as well as an introductory 8-week spanish class to middle school students.

WHY AM I DOING THIS?!

I guess it was just there to be done and it was in my “ability” range and within my “enjoyment” range. So I did it. . .

Now I am also home schooling 4 kids. Three that are not fluent readers yet and need lots of one on one time. Even though I have been home schooling multiple kids for over 15 years I have NEVER had 3 kids who all need individual one on one time. A “good” school day can go till 2 or 3 in the afternoon.

What’s a good day? A day in which everybody gets their major subject work done (Math, phonics, writing, spelling and reading) We get our work in our curriculum done, My Father’s World (mostly Bible and history with a little science thrown in) AND we have some fun, read a bit together, and don’t have too many fights.

Back to grace. . .

It just hit me the other day that I am really focused on DOING -- but you probably knew that. . .

I didn’t. I guess there is something hardwired inside me that just believes life is about doing. I think Jesus, by his grace, is trying to teach me that life may just be about BEING. I find this hard to fathom. I also find it hard to fathom that the END RESULT is not what I am after. It is a curious shock for me to realize, that just maybe, how I love and deal with my kids is more important than how they “turn out.”

This has given me lots of room for thought and room for change and lots of need for prayer. Just the idea that I can stop beating myself up for not having all my ducks in a row and just give those very ducks over to HIM and he will see us through.

I recently had some very clear examples of just how this can work. We went away for the weekend, mostly to celebrate with some friends, but also to get some fun time away with our littlest three. We stayed at a hotel -- something both Kai and Sarah-Grace have complained they had never done in the USA--and had lots of time swimming in the pool.

But of course, before leaving on even a little get away, there is so much to plan. I wanted all my class plans out of the way so I wouldn’t have to do all that when we got back.

Well, God seemed to have other plans. I had my Monday AM class planning done by Friday. Then, we left. By His grace I was able to fit all those other classes in when we got back without a bit of stress.

In the same way, a birthday gift I couldn’t find time to buy at the last minute, I was able to pick up on the way to the party because I was asked to stop at a store.

Yeah, these are little things. But it just shows me in little ways that I don’t need to be planning and plotting, just living.

Thanks to Annie for some good thoughts

2010-02-22T23:09:00.003-05:00

Click on the title and it will bring you to Annie's blog where you will be challenged and encouraged to see just how little we really need to do to make this world a better place for "the least of these."

Kai Wei: HOME FOR TWO YEARS!

2010-02-15T20:18:00.004-05:00

When asked what it's like to be in a family Kai said, "This is hard to say. It's pretty fun."

What are some good things: "Going outside to eat, my family, playing."

What are some bad things: "There is more fighting, because there is a lot of people."

What did you do today to celebrate? "Eat outside food with Mom and Dad. I had grilled shrimp. It was a good place to eat. It was fun and cool in there."

What was special about yesterday: "Valentines Day, we give candy and thank you cards"

What ELSE was special about yesterday: "oh, Chinese New Year, we eat lunch at the church and we watched the performance"

And what did we do the night before: "Another Chinese Party! This one was best!"

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR! WISHING YOU HEALTH AND HAPPINESS!

Let it Snow!

2010-02-06T21:40:00.006-05:00

We had lots of fun in almost 2 feet of snow today:

Kai enjoyed his "Manly Man Run" and Jonathan had to get it on it too with a spot of tea:

Even the rabbits 'enjoyed' the snow:

HAPPY 10th BIRTHDAY SARAH-GRACE!

2010-01-31T21:28:00.009-05:00

Well, Sarah-Grace's birthday was exactly one month ago tomorrow, so I guess it is time to post!

She was really looking forward to her birthday and had a lot of fun, as the pictures show.

Because she was born on a holiday, she ended up with 2 cakes. One for just family on New Years Day and one at a birthday party with friends later in the month.

The kids played a few 'problem solving games' where they worked in teams to earn points and solve the mystery of the 'mysterious thief' (Daddy). Then the girls made some fun baskets to put party favors in. It was a lot of fun!

Who's the Man?

2010-01-24T22:56:00.002-05:00

I recently finished a study on the gospel of John. I decided to outline the book by chapter and interestingly I came up with the following list of just who this 'Jesus' is:

1. Jesus is the Word of God

2. Jesus knows hearts

3. Life is in Jesus only

4. Salvation and Jesus are the way for ALL people

5. Jesus is judge

6. Jesus is creator, sustainer, one must accept him alone

7. Jesus will bring division among outwardly "religious" people

8. Jesus is the truth who will set us free

9. Jesus has the power over physical and spiritual blindness

10 Jesus is the good shepherd

11 Jesus has power over death

12 Jesus will die for us, His life, light, word exposes and judges sin by its very nature

13 Jesus is the servant of many, He knows all things, He is in control and thus glorified

14 Jesus is the way, truth, life

15 Jesus is the vine, we are the branches

16 Jesus came forth from God and is one with the Spirit and God He has overcome the world

17 Jesus prays for his own

18 Jesus is betrayed--a guilty man is set free

19 Jesus is scourged, crucified, dead, and buried

20 Jesus is risen!

21 Jesus ministers to his own

So that's what it said.

The Best of Times/The Worst of Times

2010-01-18T23:00:00.006-05:00

Tonight my heart is heavy. Annie left for Colombia, with stops along the way to visit friends and loved ones. This in itself is a good thing, but her absence will be sorely felt. Even today when I came home this afternoon and the light was left on in her room I wondered, “Is Annie home?” and then remembered, “ Oh yeah, she’s not here anymore.”

I found out Friday my Mom’s diagnosis of cancer was the worst it could be. “Aggressive, invasive, can’t do surgery on an 83 year old woman. . .”

So many things unknown or unfinished. I found this “advice column” I wrote for myself after sending some “words of wisdom" to a friend. I’d wondered, “Gee, what would I tell myself. . .”

Dear Abby,

My son, home for about 18 months has really been regressing in the area of anger management. He is also far more hostile to our younger, bio son. He admits that he is mad that Daniel has had parents all his life and he has only had us since he was 10. He has also made comments that his newly adopted 9 yo sister needs to get a lot of attention now because she is new. Our life is becoming unbearable with the constant bickering and baiting.

Any suggestions?

Signed, hair pulling, war torn PAP

Dear Pap

It sounds like Kai is really struggling in the area of family identity and acceptance. Remember since he knows he was rejected once and placed and replaced in foster care he can not be SURE of the “forever” aspect of this forever family. He wants to believe you and is willing to discuss his fear, but he is still being driven by past experience to lash out at what he sees as a threat.

Evidently he knows he can not lash out at Sarah-Grace. Perhaps because she shares, in part, his “story” with her and perhaps because he has invested in the waiting period and therefore realizes the intrinsic worth of this sister, while Daniel just came as “part of the package”

His constant declarations that Taiwan is better may be a plea for you to say, “but we want you HERE”--just like we wanted Sarah-Grace here for all those months.

I would suggest you make opportunities to encourage him as part of the family. Praise him for jobs well done. Make meaningful physical contact and eye contact with him. Bring him small gifts from time to time since he sees this as part of love.

Here are some things you can work on each day--

On Sunday-- make sure he knows you THANK GOD FOR HIM when you worship and pray. Tell him how much you especially thought about him and missed him on Sundays before he came home to live with you. How you felt an empty spot in your heart because he was not here.

On Monday--tell him how glad you are that he is homeschooled now. Find a recent school accomplishment and stress the mastery. Infuse hope by painting a bright picture of what he will be able to do some day with that talent or skill.

On Tuesday--Remind him how good he is in a group setting. Tell him how much you admire him for his outgoing and fun loving ways. Tell him you are sure there are other kids in co-op who would appreciate his friendship and ask him to be thinking about reaching out to a friend. Try to remember on the way home to ask him how it went that day.

Wednesday--Tell him how big and strong he is getting as he gets ready for soccer. Tell him he is athletic and competent in the field. Tell him Uncle Doug likes having him on the team.

Thursday--Make sure you give him several hugs today and make him something he really likes for one of his meals. Make sure he knows you made it because HE wanted it.

Friday--Tell him how fun it is to see him go off to volley ball with JWB. Tell him how Tim and JWB always enjoyed playing and how it is so nice to see 3 of your kids playing now! Tell him you are looking forward to watching his team in the tournament and you know he will do his best and be kind and play with a good heart.

Saturday--Can be your day of rest. Pray for Kai. Express with gestures, words, eyes positives when you interact. Wait for him to come to you on this day instead of seeking him out. Make SURE you make time for him whenever he comes!

***************************

Pretty good advice, but I have not diligently followed much of it.

I’m so thankful tomorrow is a NEW DAY!

“We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.”

--2 Cor. 4:8-10

Merry Christmas

2009-12-31T13:03:00.006-05:00

Wishing your family many blessings this Christmas season and in 2010!

We had a lovely Christmas here! It was our first Christmas with all 9 of us at home, so it was very special.

These all loaded in reverse chronological order, and I don't feel like taking the time to fix them, so here is a

White Elephant gift exchange

Our cousins from out of state and their children came to visit. :)
All of us went out for lunch at a Chinese buffet on Sunday.

This is how the girls spent Christmas afternoon.
Opening presents at home on Christmas morning

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that Saint Nicholas soon would be there.

Listening to The Night before Christmas after the Christmas eve service at church
The lake froze! We all went ice skating. Sarah-Grace did awesome for her first time on ice skates, and Kai figured out how to skate backwards!

Decorating the Christmas tree

2009-12-12T13:03:00.008-05:00

So after waiting a week to get around to it, we began to mutilate our beautiful Christmas tree. Snow flakes made out of lace? Yup! Rudolphs made out of cloth pins? Yup. But wait... Isn't there only one Rudolph? Well we have about 12 so..... Plenty of angels and ball ornaments and anything else 27 years of having kids can get you. So after plenty of help,

Our tree is now mutilated and we still have 2-4 boxes of ornaments that we couldn't fit on!

Christmas trees

2009-12-11T16:37:00.004-05:00

So this last weekend we all got in the car and begain the epic journey for a christmas tree. My parents decided it was a great idea to take a two hour drive so we could cut down a tree with my sister. After a stop for a snowball fight,
We headed over to a tree farm with what seemed like 20 million trees. Gladly it was cold outside so we didn't spend long in deciding on a tree.
It was then killed by having it cut by daniel,
and Dad
And Daniel some more and I left out Sarah Grace and kai who needed a try

We then loaded up and went to my sisters apartment for lasanga.

It was great day and lots of fun. It was also cool because it was Sarah-Grace's first snow.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

2009-11-26T20:26:00.007-05:00

Psalm 100

A psalm. For giving thanks.

¹ Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.

² Worship the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.

³ Know that the LORD is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

⁴ Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.

⁵ For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.

This week in our curriculum we learned about the first Thanksgiving. We read a couple of pilgrim books, did some 'pumpkin' science and played some Native American Indian games. We made hand turkeys--a first for Sarah-Grace--Kai remembers making them last year.

Our kids did an awesome job making all the different parts of our Thanksgiving meal. This made it easy for me! It was Sarah-Grace's first time ever to eat a roast turkey. When asked how she liked it she said, "Good, it's better than chicken, for me."

Before dinner everyone wrote things we are thankful for on the 'feathers' of our turkeys.

Here are some of those things:

God-salvation
Clean water and food everyday
family
creation
kids
dogs
friends
clothing
nature/creatures God made
sense of humor
jobs
family
health
looking good bald
mobility
sight
faith
people
ears
feet
our whole family will at last be at home for Christmas for the 1st time ever!
house
5 senses
God
Jesus
being at Jonathan's house for Thanksgiving
my sisters
rainbows and butterflies
love
a real mom and dad
hands
smart and nice writing
photography
Mom and Dad
tofu
fun times
the world
opportunities
turkey
ham
pheasant
my husband
my wife
life
phone
my good looks
college
the Bible
flowers
cars

About Time!

2009-11-21T23:42:00.004-05:00

I guess since Thanksgiving is right around the corner I ought to post some pictures of Halloween. The kids had a fun time, but unfortunately they are STILL eating candy!

This composite shot is from Sarah-Grace's second post placement report. It is hard to believe she has been home 6 months.

These months have been both slow and fast. It is hard to believe sometimes it is ONLY 6 months. She feels like she has been part of the family forever.

Sarah-Grace is doing really well. She is growing very fast and her English is getting very good. She even prefers to say most things to Kai in English. She is enjoying the family and she (and we!) are glad she is here.

Kai is struggling some lately. Which makes life harder for us all. I think having Sarah-Grace home has made him worry again about his place in the family. Unfortunately this makes things difficult for Daniel, who is apparently a threat. And who does not have the maturity to always deal with things in the most positive way.

It will be nice to have Annie and Rebecca home for a while over the holidays!

A bit of sanity. . .or at least insanity grown-up style!

What We've Been Up To

2009-10-21T19:57:00.011-04:00

An easy day of school while we recuperate from a weekend of flu

I was actually afraid to start school this year. The attitude and backbiting in our family over the summer was getting really horrible and I didn't want to think about schooling this crew. But God gave us grace! While we still have attitude problems (myself included)and way too much competition among the ranks we are actually accomplishing our school work and sometimes (on those rare occasions) we have fun!

Here are some pictures since I've been such a poor blogger:

Making an American Indian wigwam

A sailing ship like explores of North American may have used

Observing how salt water is more buoyant than fresh

Another wigwam

A fun train field trip with Daddy

Painting the rivers on our salt map of the USA

Our salt map finished and labeled -- complete with our American Indian artifacts!

Another fun field trip--this time colonial style
Can these be my younger children and my youngest niece? Yikes--they look like preteens if ever I saw one! Dressed for the symphony (daytime--for kids)

A big thanks to Jonathan for the great pictures. He does lots of school work too--but manages to stay out of our pictures. Perhaps because he has become the photographer now that Annie is away!

Hi from Costa Rica!

2009-09-26T09:45:00.003-04:00

Hi everyone! I've been enjoying my time here in Costa Rica and learning a lot. Our lecture phase of the school I'm at just ended yesterday, and now we start the outreach phase. Our team of 10- 5 Costa Ricans and 5 Americans- will spend the next 2 months traveling to several different towns in Costa Rica (Talamanca, Jaco, and Tilleran) to do outreach. We'll be doing presentations in schools, performing dramas, sharing our testimonies in churches and as we meet people, working with youth in impoverished communities, and helping out the Red Cross.

Our whole team combined needs to raise $8,000. We're already halfway there. Would you consider helping us reach our goal? Posted to our sidebar is a chip-in widget. You can use it to make a donation through paypal. If everyone that each of the 10 of us knows gave even just $1, we'd probably meet our goal.

All of us (including staff) after a day of painting and hole digging

Our whole team plus staff the first week of school

The Distant View

2009-09-06T13:41:00.005-04:00

See this crazy, wonderful, insanely awesome stair-step family of mine (minus Tim, Annie and myself)? I've been away from them for two weeks now. It's been amazing.

I don't at all mean this in a nasty way, but you grow older and you need to move on. Even if your family is still so new and wonderful and growing into more of a family each day, you still have to step out and head off on your own. But sitting here in my blessedly silent apartment, fresh baked bread on the window sill and a 'to-do' list rapidly dwindling, I find myself looking through pictures of the summer - and drat it, but I miss those crazy little kids. My roommate and apartment, my books and walks to the park, papers and interviews, they are all great. But their entertainment (and irritant) value compared to a bunch of siblings? Pretty much non-existent.

So here are some of the best pictures of my crazy siblings that I really love very greatly (especially from a few hours away).

Sleeping with sunglasses...

Acting shy...

Being crazy with cousins...

Swinging...

Chillin' with Dad and Java...

Reading comics while dressed like Spiderman...

See what I mean about insanely awesome?

Rambling

2009-08-20T22:32:00.007-04:00

Summer has been too fast and furious for me.

There were 3 main things I wanted to do this summer: 1. clean my desk, 2. make photo albums for Kai and Sarah-Grace,

3. make composite pictures for my 3 youngest kids like the 4 older ones have,

4. finish up all adoption paperwork--hmm, that's four. Well, number one got done. Numbers 2 and 3 are being worked on as I type(I'm uploading 300+ photos to print). Sarah-Grace had her first post placement visit and we did get her COC shortly after she got home--now I just need a US birth certificate, adoption decree and ss# and I can be DONE with adoption paperwork. I'm trying to figure out what to do with it all. . .(does one need to keep triplicates?)

The end of July and early August were camp weeks around here. We started off with Jonathan going on a short term missions trip to New Orleans. They thought they were going to help with construction, but instead did mostly street evangelism, sports evangelism and prayer. He LOVED IT! He witnessed the salvation of five people and spoke to and shared with 100's. What an awesome week for a 14 year old boy. I'm really proud of him and the way he let God use him.

Daniel went to cubscout resident camp during the first week of August and Kai was at Chinese Culture Day Camp. I thought it would be a quiet week for Sarah-Grace and I. Did I have that wrong. We spent our time running between picking Kai up and dropping him off, visiting with Daniel (cubs are supposed to have a parent AT camp) and trying to visit and play with friends.

SO summer rolls on.

Our rabbits are getting bigger.

Our house is getting cleaner

And our dog, Java, is still bad--and he knows it

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Annie! & Hiking on the AT or What we did on Annie's birthday

2009-07-26T19:25:00.011-04:00

So today was Annie's birthday. She noted that she was a quarter of a century, which made me feel particularly ancient, since I will be exactly twice her age on my next birthday. We just finished a skype call with her where we watched her open the presents we'd sent down with a short term missions team from our church. How good is our God that he allowed us to know people going to the same place on our daughter's special day? It sounded like she was happy and had a nice day. Here is a picture from our call:

She was holding up one of the t-shirts we'd sent.

While Annie was celebrating in Costa Rica some of us were sick on the couch:

We assume the boys have 5th disease, judging from the nasty, itchy, rash. They don't feel too bad, just itchy. So it earned them much more computer time than usual.

In these pictures they were saying, "Hi Annie, HAPPY BIRTHDAY."

And here are Rebecca and Sarah-Grace celebrating Annie's birthday:

After church Dana and I took Sarah-Grace and the dogs to hike a bit on the Appalachian Trail. Sarah-Grace was a bit hesitant at first, as on our last hike Daniel had gotten multiple bee stings. But after a while she was enjoying climbing on the big rocks and finding dinosaurs:

Of Clothespins and Rock Band

2009-07-19T10:41:00.004-04:00

Sarah-Grace marched up to Dad the other day and proclaimed: "I'm a woman!" Apparently, earrings made of clothespins and sunglasses is all it takes to transform a little girl to a woman. They grow up so quickly...

(Sarah-Grace, our little woman)

Little boys, unsurprisingly, are less interested in becoming men then they are in becoming monsters. It comes so naturally, even without the clothespins to help the fantasy along.

(Daniel, as a monster. You should see his Gollum imitation.)

The easiest way to make this gang of hooligans happy might be letting them play Rock Band with Tim. Saying yes to their pleas results in crazy dancing around the kitchen table and squeals of joy in Chinese, English, and some language known only to those under 18.

Rock Band takes some serious concentration, man.

Happy 12th Birthday Kai-Wei!

2009-07-16T21:22:00.005-04:00

Kai is twelve today!

Celebrations and excitement ensued:

The bike from Mom and Dad earned four exclamations of "Awesome!"

He had a birthday phone call from Annie, who is far away in Costa Rica...

yet still managed to make sure Kai had a present from her.

(Including a gift card to the dollar tree, which earned a "Cool!...She should have made it 100!")

This picture was posed especially for Annie:

He opened birthday presents and cards...

And had birthday kisses....

And hugs...

And, of course, birthday cake!

Actually, Kai wanted cherry pie for his birthday, so mom made him two with fresh cherries.

Happy Birthday, Kai-Wei Michael Dragon-Breath!!

We love you!

Drama Queen

2009-07-10T22:59:00.002-04:00

Sarah-Grace is sobbing herself to sleep. Cold hearted big sister that I am, I feel no sympathy. Her teary-eyed mantra? "Me too, facebook. Me too."

Yes, my nine year old sister is in tears because I informed her that she was too young for facebook. What next - texting? Twitter?

It all started when Sarah-Grace looked over my shoulder at photos of my friends' children. She wanted to know why I didn't have a baby. I explained that I wasn't married. Which of course begged the question of why I don't have a husband. Which somehow dissolved into a tickle fight and me being called 'ugly face.'

And then we had to look at the picture Annie has of she and Sarah-Grace on facebook. And then we had to post on Annie's wall. And then came the inevitable: "Me too, Facebook."

Brushing teeth and going to bed is apparently not a good substitute.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA!

2009-07-05T21:30:00.003-04:00

Kai likes to call the fourth of July "America's Birthday." He had

been looking forward to the celebration:

Together no more :-(

2009-07-03T09:05:00.002-04:00

I couldn't resist that title, even though it is so negative, because it goes so well with our header and the way we feel.

HOWEVER, the good news is that Annie is off fulfilling a dream and we believe fulfilling a call God has placed on her. So what more could we want? We will choose to rejoice and be glad even though it hurts a bit.

We just returned home from the airport. Only Dana and I went, as getting the troops up at 3:30 AM did not sound like a good option. Plus it made the leave taking less emotional for all involved.

I did not cry :-) Yesterday God gave me the GRACE to wake up feeling excited for Annie. I have been excited about this all along, until we got home from Taiwan and I realized she only had 6 more weeks at home!

But now we will keep in touch via email and skype and blogs and I will be SO thankful for modern technology.

And for those who read this blog you will probably find fewer posts (although I do want to try) and fewer pictures (I meant to take one "leaving" picture at the airport this morning!). I wonder how long it will take me to realize I am back to being the designated "family picture taker?"

Thanks Annie! We love you!

Costa Rica here I come!

2009-07-02T22:17:00.003-04:00

I leave home tomorrow at 4 am to catch my 7:25 flight to Costa Rica! I'll be gone until Dec. 1st. Saying goodbye to the kids tonight was hard, especially Sarah-Grace. But, I know once I'm in Costa Rica I'll have an incredible time, and there's always skype. :) Sarah-Grace wrote a note for me and left it under my pillow and told me to read it in the morning. She's so sweet.

If your curious what I'm up to, hop on over to my blog. (The link to my blog is also on the sidebar. . .)

Guess what we got?

2009-07-01T22:34:00.003-04:00

Oreo and Orangybeau joined the family yesterday. Are they not the cutest things ever?

Pictures from vacation!

2009-07-01T21:50:00.007-04:00

We had a wonderful time on Assateague Island over the weekend. It was Kai and Sarah-Grace's first time at the beach, and they both loved it. Sarah-Grace was afraid at first, clinging to me and refusing to even get her toes wet, but it just took a few minutes before she was playing in the waves with the rest of the kids. Kai was a little bit nervous when he first saw the waves and kept asking if it was scary, but once he got in the water, it was nearly impossible to get him back out again. :)

(The pictures are in reverse chronological order, in case anyone cares. . .)

crabbing

the touch tank in the visitor center was pretty cool.

Too bad this one came out blurry. I love the joy both Daniel and Sarah-Grace are showing though.

Sunset over the dunes.

The kids LOVED the boogie boards.

One month home!

2009-06-23T22:53:00.002-04:00

Today Sarah-Grace has been home for a month. She's fitting into the family as if she were always here. She gets along well with everyone most of the time. She loves to give hugs and kisses and get piggy back rides. She's slowly teaching us Chinese, but learning English even more quickly. ("good idea!" and "spicy" are already part of her vocabulary.) She's helped cook over a fire, swum in our lake and the pool (and is already feeling much more comfortable in the water), gone fishing and out on the boats, visited out of state relatives, played volleyball. . . Summer is here and all of us are enjoying it!

We leave for the beach on Thursday, and we're looking forward to taking both her and Kai to the ocean for the first time. It should be fun!

Knight of Betrayal

2009-06-18T10:37:00.005-04:00

On Saturday, we had a very fun Medieval mystery costume party.

On Friday night, the village of Stretton was invaded and burned to the ground. The villagers fled in all directions.

Brave Gareth Thrompson rallied them to make a valiant effort against the attackers, and to attend to the wounded.

By Saturday evening, most of the villagers had gathered for safety at the Black Plowe, the one remaining structure in the village.

Children gathered to play, and tend cooking fires, while the adults discussed the events of the evening before.

Good father William prayed for the safety of the goodfolk of Stretton.

Food was foraged from the sacked village.

And cooking was begun.

When suddenly, Godwyn, the innkeepers son, came running across the bridge, warning to villagers of the approach of armed men.

That's when the plot thickened. Sir Walter of Admound posed as a good guy, and claimed Gareth was really an outlaw, but by the end we determined that he was the one who ordered the sacking of the village and that Gareth was our hero all along, and the right people were freed from the dungeon and there was much rejoicing and eating of food. Or something along those lines.

Sugar and Spice

2009-06-05T20:09:00.002-04:00

The other day, my Dad said Sarah-Grace was, "sugar and spice and everything nice, with a little bit of puppy tails thrown in". I think that's about accurate.

I'm enjoying being a big sister to a little sister. In many ways she's a perfect match for the boys- she's rambunctious and playful and a bit on the wild side. But, she definitely has her sugar-and-spice side too. The other weekend we went to the drive-in and didn't get back until 11. Sarah-Grace was NOT sleepy. So, as we lay in bed, we played a game that went something like this:

Sarah-Grace: A-n-n-i-e What?

me: Annie

Sarah-Grace: A-n-n What?

me: Ann

Sarah-Grace: I - l-o-v-e-y-o-u What?

Me: I love you!

Sarah- Grace: Your turn!

Me: I-l-o-v-e-y-o-u-S-a-r-a-h-G-r-a-c-e

Sarah-Grace: What?

me: I love you Sarah-Grace.

She kept it up for quite awhile. It was so cute. Eventually though, I was ready to sleep so I started spelling things like b-e-d-t-i-m-e and g-o-o-d-n-i-g-h-t. She ignored my not-so-subtle hints and kept spelling other things back at me. I finally had to tell her what time it was. Apparently she had no idea, because once I turned on the light and gave her her watch to look at so she would believe me, she quieted right down and went to sleep.

She thinks I speak Chinese. It's so funny. She actually told her English teachers I spoke Chinese, which was quite a compliment. When I'm around and she's confused, she looks at me and demands, "Chinese!". So, I stumble through some sort of approximation in my super-limited vocabulary and horrid pronunciation. (As in, my Chinese equivalent of "When Daniel is done vacuuming, you can vacuum the kitchen" became"you can, in the kitchen, with the thing Daniel has. Daniel first, you second" but hey, it got the idea across. And she was excited! Who would have guessed it. She can vacuum whenever she wants. . .) She kept asking for translations during the movie they were watching the other day. That was a challenge. When you have a vocabulary of roughly 300 words, how on earth do you explain that Davy Crocket was mad because another senator tried to get him out of town so they could vote on the Indian Act without his opposition? It didn't help that Daniel and Kai weren't sure what was going on at that point either and kept asking for the simplified English version.

A Picnic at the Park

2009-06-01T22:08:00.002-04:00

Otherwise known as, if you take 138 photos, you're bound to get some good ones.

Under Construction

2009-05-30T17:39:00.001-04:00

I'm fooling around with the layout, header, sidebars, and background, so it may take a few days until our blog has a new "normal"

Block Party

2009-05-30T16:08:00.006-04:00

Every year the school I work at has a block party. Last night Mom and Dad and I took the 4 youngest kids. The french fries, soft pretzels, games and bracelets and bubbles as prizes were pretty successful. :)

It was so fun to introduce Sarah-Grace to some of my students and co-workers. This past week each of my classes got a peek at our blog and heard some stories from our trip to Taiwan, and they've all been asking if Sarah-Grace would visit the school. Several of my co-workers were also following along on our blog, so it was really nice to be able to introduce them to Sarah-Grace.

Happy Memorial Day!

2009-05-25T21:49:00.006-04:00

Today we went to Aunt Beth's house for a memorial day picnic.

It was a beautiful day for a picnic, and it was even warm enough that almost everyone got in the pool. Sarah-Grace was a bit nervous about getting in, but loved it once she was in. She was still scared, especially after she stepped off the ledge into the deep water and went under without expecting it, but she didn't want to get out. She was shivering and freezing by the time we convinced her to get out.

Some cute pictures

2009-05-25T21:46:00.000-04:00

Daniel and Sarah-Grace walking with Rebecca into church

We stopped at Wal Mart on our way home from church. It wouldn't have been our first choice for a "first day home" activity, but she needed a swim suit for today, so it made sense.

Helping Daddy grill

Jet lag finally caught up with her. She fell asleep next to the boys on the couch around 9 and slept until 11 the next morning!

Homecoming photos!

2009-05-24T16:09:00.008-04:00

They say a picture's worth a thousand words. I think you can tell from these pictures how happy we all are to finally have our little girl home, and how happy she is to be home.

Scroll down for pictures of our last day in Taiwan

Our last day in Taiwan!

2009-05-24T16:07:00.000-04:00

After a trip back to Jonah House to visit with Sarah-Grace's foster family, we headed into the streets around Jonah House with Sarah-Grace as our guide. We headed down a little tiny narrow alley running between people's backyards and the backs of businesses- I was pretty sure we were the first foreigners to take that route. We were in search of a restaurant that a friend of ours from Taiwan recommended. Sarah-Grace knew the restaurant we were talking about and we found it. It was a beautiful setting with tables out in a courtyard with fountains and lots of plants. Apparently the area is popular with tourists, but definitely Taiwanese tourists, because the staff there did not speak English and the menu was only in Chinese characters. Sarah-Grace ordered a vegetable for us, and a dish that we had no idea what it was (it turned out to be really yummy shrimp and pineapples) and my Mom ordered the tofu that our friend David recommended (she knew what it was since he told her what it cost and it was the only thing with that price on the menu!). Then, I had a long conversation with 2 different people about beef. I'm not really sure what the conversation was about since it was all in Chinese. I know they asked if I wanted it spicy and i said no, other than that, I'm not really sure what else they were asking. I wasn't even sure if I ordered it in the end, or if I ended up canceling my order. I must have left them with the impression that I wanted it though, since they brought it out and it was delicious.

The river runs through town just a block or so away from Jonah House

The restaurant we ate at.

We were souvenir hunting at the little shops along the street. We found some gifts for the boys and some snacks to share with my parents' Bible study group.

Brick construction in Taiwan!

After lunch we met Penny and her daughter (who Sarah-Grace was friends with) at a science museum. There was a temporary "exhibit" which was really rooms full of blow up bouncy toys and the girls had a blast playing there until closing time.

My Mom bought them matching bears with sun glasses in different colors to remember each other by. They really liked the bears and thought the sunglasses were fun.

That evening we went out for dinner with Penny, her daughter, and Maria, Sarah-Grace's former social worker. She has since stopped working at Jonah House, but she wanted a chance to say good-bye.

Sarah- Grace with Maria

Over Easter we invited a Taiwanese student from Penn State to visit with us. I somehow ran out of time and never posted Easter pictures to our blog. :( But, at any rate, while we were in Taipei, her sister drove up from Tainan to visit with us. She and some other family members took us out to the night market. It was fun for all of us. I love the busyness of night markets, and the number of different crazy snacks for sale. Someday I have to be brave enough and hungry enough when I'm in Taiwan to get an octopus on a stick. We stuck to milk tea, games, and bag hunting while we were out.

We're safely home!

2009-05-23T21:09:00.003-04:00

It was a LONG day, but we finally made it. Sarah-Grace was so tired this morning after staying up late to go to the night market, and it was hard getting her out of bed and out the door to leave for the airport at 7:00 am. Once we got to the airport though, she woke up. She was so excited by the airplanes. We watched several take off and she shot some video footage. She pointed out each one, "cool!"

All of our flights were on time and uneventful. Sarah-Grace did a great job all day long. She slept pretty well on the first 2 flights and played with some toys and crafts my Mom had packed for her. She stayed excited about seeing the planes at every airport.

We made it home a few minutes early. Dad and all the kids except Daniel were waiting for us as we came out, as well as my Dad's sister and her husband. While were waiting for our luggage, my Mom's sister and her family and Daniel (who spent the week with them) met us there.

Now we're home and the kids are playing. The cousins came over for awhile and played tag and hide-and-go-seek outside. I think the nerf guns are coming out now. It's good to all be together as a family of 9.

I've currently misplaced my camera (but I know it's at home) and the batteries are dead and my recharger is packed in our lost luggage (the one problem we had on the way home), so pictures will come later.

We're off!

2009-05-22T18:37:00.000-04:00

In about 20 minutes we should be leaving for the airport! Pray for safe travels and NO delays. We've seen enough of Tokyo for awhile.

Some Comments on Yesterday from Debbie

2009-05-21T18:49:00.003-04:00

I realize I have not posted once since we left, but Annie is just so good at it! I love reading her posts and looking at the pictures at the end of each day. And I especially love reading the comments. Thank you all so much!

I haven’t been getting much sleep--so leaving this up to her has been great! Last night I actually slept 6 hours, so I expect I’m getting over my jet lag and nervousness (now that we have that visa!).

The people here are so kind, I feel like I did when we were here last year. That I need to stay and get lessons in niceness. It truly is a polite and caring culture.

Sarah-Grace’s English teachers were so kind to her and were so obviously fond of her. I just see over and over how God has taken care of her during this part of her life. Just as we have been praying!

The school visit was so much fun. It was a chance for us to see a very everyday part of the children’s life here in Taiwan. In doing this I also noted how different certain things are here than in the US.

There was actually a little ceremony of greeting Sarah-Grace and wishing her well and a chance for each student to share a good wish for her. When the principal arrived in the room we were all expected to stand (so different than our culture)All the adults were served tea. Even though I am sure each of these administrators is very busy they spent about 2 hours with us showing us around the school.

We were told that the school is built around a courtyard and from the sky the whole building looks like a fish with the fountain in the middle being the eye. The fish is facing toward a river that runs nearby. This goes with the story of Chiang Kai-shek, who when he was young, saw a fish struggling to go upstream and it convinced him to work hard in his life. The principal said this is their hope for the children in the school.

We also toured the goat pen and heard about the program they have of breeding and caring for the goats. The children in grades 3 through 6 cycle through the program. I thought Sarah-Grace was maybe a bit wary of those goats! She was too young when she attended this school to take part in the program. She was here in kindergarten, first and the beginning of second grade. She finished 2nd grade and most of third in the school near Jonah House. If you look at the pictures you will see that all the kids wear uniforms:yellow shirts and green shorts for gym days, pink stripped dresses for girls and blue shorts and blue and white stripped shirts with big collars for the boys. They all look so cute.

Another busy day

2009-05-21T08:22:00.007-04:00

Mom and Sarah-Grace looking at some of the videos we've taken.

Breakfast at the hotel.

Sarah-Grace helping me put in my earrings.
We got a late start today since we had to be at AIT at 11:30 to pick up Sarah-Grace's visa, and we didn't feel like rushing to get out the door early enough to do something before we went to AIT. When we got there, we were afraid we had the wrong time or the wrong place since there was not a person in sight, and all the interview windows were closed. We could see someone through the glass though, so we tapped on the window, they came over and gave us Sarah-Grace's visa and we were on our way!

With her English teachers, Penny, Penny's daughter and us

We stopped by the handicrafts market to do some gift shopping, then headed back to the hotel in time for our meeting with her former English teachers. They were so sweet and happy to see her.

Around 2 we left with Penny to visit Sarah-Grace's school from last year. She had asked if she could say good-bye to some friends there. The principal showed us around the school and Sarah-Grace got to spend some time with old friends. It was a neat experience for all of us. They told us there are 1,300 kids at her elementary school!

With the principal

A second grade class
Students leaving at the end of the day.
All the parents waiting on their motorbikes

We didn't get back to the hotel until probably close to 5, and when we did we ran into an unexpected problem- the safe would not open. Both of our laptops and all of Sarah-Grace's visa paperwork were in the safe, as was my laptop. I tried a half dozen times and it still wouldn't open, even though I knew I had the right code. They sent someone up to fix it and he tired the master code. It still didn't work. He changed the batteries. It still wouldn't open. Eventually he got some keys and manually turned the bolts. We were quite relieved when it finally opened.

Now we're back from dinner (at a Chinese buffet a few doors down from our hotel) and Sarah-Grace is playing with the Chinese yo-yo she bought today.

Taipei 101

2009-05-20T05:55:00.009-04:00

We had our AIT appointment this morning. Everything was fine and we should be able to pick up our visa tomorrow!

After AIT we went to Taipei 101. We went up to the viewing decks. It wasn't the clearest day, so the city was a bit hazy, but it's still impressive.

I'm tired, so I'll have to get my Mom to write a post to fill you in on some details and just leave you with the pictures. All in all we had a good day. Sarah-Grace was good all day, even while we were waiting in AIT with nothing to do (we forgot to have her bring along her little purse with markers and stamps) and while we were looking for some English language learning books and some Chinese books for Kai and Sarah-Grace to read. We played lots of "rock, paper, scissors" and thumb war. :) Now she and Mom are playing a board game. We'll probably head out to a night market later this evening.

I changed the template since that was a lot easier than fixing whatever was going wrong with the background before.

The post you've all been waiting for!

2009-05-19T09:43:00.005-04:00

We didn't make it to Jonah House until around 4, but almost as soon as we walked in the door, Sarah-Grace ran out of the room she was playing in and came straight to Mom and gave her a hug. We hadn't even finished telling the person who answered the door who we were or why we were there. She was so excited to see us!

Mommy and Sarah-Grace, together at last!

With Penny and her social worker.

Looking through some kindergarten mementos.

Her class made a beautiful good-bye card for her.

Sarah-Grace and I look at her card together.

We looked through a lot of things they have saved for Sarah-Grace through the years, including some adorable baby pictures and an amazing album from kindergarten. She was so excited and busy the whole time- I had a lot of trouble taking shots with her in the picture, because by the time the flash went off she was gone. Everyone at Jonah House was so kind to Sarah-Grace, and several people came to see her off at the door. We stopped back at the hotel to drop off Sarah-Grace's bags and realized we should stick around and call home before we left for dinner. We watched cartoons and chilled for a bit, then talked to Dad, Rebecca and Kai. It was good to see and hear them!
Then we headed off to dinner. It took us awhile to find a place, but after asking for suggestions at a convenience store, we found a place with a picture menu that sold dumplings, green onion pancakes, and whatever that green leafy Chinese vegetable I like so much is called. Everything was delicious! While we were at dinner Sarah-Grace looked through all the fun things in the purse my Mom had bought for her. She was so cute, sharpening her pencils, trying on the jewelry, and sticking money in her wallet.

After dinner we got a bit lost walking back to our hotel and passed a really fun row of shops all selling (and designing?) bridal gowns. Sarah-Grace was a trooper about all the walking and didn't complain a bit. She held our hands a lot of the time and has been very sweet. She's playing with her toy cell phone now, looking over my shoulder and watching me type.
It's so good to be together at last!

P.S. Can someone leave a comment and tell us if the page is still loading right? On my computer the tan background behind the words is only loading through the first paragraph.

P.P.S. I added some photos to the 2 posts from Japan, so scroll down to see and read about our little adventure in Japan if you haven't yet.

Almost complete!

2009-05-19T07:28:00.002-04:00

When there were only five kids in this family, when I only had three little brothers instead of four, and when a little sister was something Annie had given up praying for - back then, when we all sat around the table for dinner, I sometimes felt like someone was missing. This was all of us? All seven? Everyone always said that seven was a lot, and this didn't seem like nearly enough people.

It's funny how much more full one little boy makes the kitchen table. I think it will feel downright crowded soon.

This morning, dad was sitting at the same kitchen table, computer ready. I was making oatmeal when the skype call connected and I heard a little girl's voice squeal "Daddy!"

My mom and sisters - sisters plural! - were just getting ready to head out to dinner. The AIT appointment is tomorrow for them and tonight for us. I think. Hopefully we'll have some pictures for you soon! Scratch that, hopefully there will be pictures for ME soon. And hopefully there's nothing too mind taxing at my internship today, because most of my mind will be in Taiwan, along with the part of my heart that's been there for three long years.

-Rebecca

We finally made it!

2009-05-19T03:23:00.000-04:00

We're here, at the hotel in Taipei. We're off to pick up Sarah-Grace in a few minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!

We should have known it wouldn't be that easy

2009-05-18T21:57:00.001-04:00

Turns out I was wrong. I got to know the real Japan just a bit better. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 6:15. Shortly after 6:15, they announced that there was a problem with the fuel that they were working on fixing. We sat as they called in maintenance. After a bit of waiting, they turned on the in flight entertainment. I watched Quantam of Solace, interrupted every 15 minutes or so with helpful updates such as, “Thank you for your patience. We apologize for the inconvenience. It has been 15 minutes since our last update. At this point in time we still haven’t solved the problem. We are talking to maintenance and they are helping us solve the problem”, followed by very confidence-building announcements such as, “Well, we’re going to try to move the fuel out of the center tank, and then we’ll give it a try.” Give it a try? Please don’t take any risks on an airplane flight, thank you very much.

I finished watching Quantum of Solace. They were still giving us extremely helpful updates. “We are now headed back to the gate to take off” “It turns out, the problem was not fixed. We will now be offloading. “ We will not be offloading yet, we’re going to try one more solution”. We waited through close to 2 hours more of false alarms and very unhelpful announcements as the atmosphere on the plane got more and more tense. Finally, at 10:30, after sitting for more than 4 hours on the runway, we walked back into an airport that looked eerily familiar. United put us up at the Norita Hilton overnight, where we had free dinner, two 3-minute free international calls, and NO free internet. The free dinner happened to be spaghetti- we came the whole way to Tokyo to eat spaghetti? Oh well. It was pretty good. We finally got to bed around 1am, and had a wake-up call bright and early at 5:30. Our plane starts boarding in 33 minutes and we should be in Taiwan around 12:30. I suppose by the time this is posted, we’ll have much more exciting news to post, since we should still be meeting Sarah-Grace TODAY!

So near yet so far

2009-05-18T21:14:00.002-04:00

Just a quick post from the Dad. Deb and Annie were delayed in Tokyo, Japan last night. Seems that their jet was grounded with a faulty fuel pump. Kai Wei has been saying all along that he

hopes bad things don't happen when they are flying. At least this bad thing was on the ground.

Kai and I called the hotel in Taipei to let them know of the delay. When the desk clerk answered in a long string of chinese I asked for an english speaker. She answered in return that she spoke a little English. So I asked Kai to translate for me and his first words to her were "hello"...... In chinese I admonished him to which he then replied 你好. The conversation was to awkward for him so I ended up on the phone explaining the delay and letting the hotel know to expect them today. I think they understood. Deb and Annie, I hope if you are reading this, it is from the comfort of your hotel.

Welcome to Japan

2009-05-18T04:24:00.002-04:00

Well, we made it to the Tokyo airport! It seemed doubtful for a few minutes. Apparently the Japanese government recently decided to screen all passengers for swine flu symptoms and has plans to quarantine anyone who doesn’t pass their test. Well, my Mom and I both came down with colds on Thursday, so when we filled out the health forms I dutifully checked yes to sore throat and runny nose. Everyone else was issued a marigold paper declaring they had passed the health inspection. I had 2 red stickers stuck to my seat. Some uniformed health inspectors came and looked at me suspiciously and one of them finally asked politely if she could take my temperature. Of course, I complied, and she proceeded to pull out an old-school thermometer, which she instructed me to place under my armpit. We waited. And waited. And waited some more. I jokingly suggested that an ear thermometer would be better. She had one! It didn’t work. We waited a bit more. The thermometer finally beeped. (Ok, I realize a digital thermometer is not THAT old school, but I expected Japanese health officials to have the ear thermometers) I was fever free. She said, “ok, no problem”, and started to walk off. In a moment of near panic, I said, “wait! DO I get a yellow paper?” plaintively pointing at my Mom’s. She gave me one, and we eventually were all allowed to disembark- every single one of us wearing masks issued by the health inspectors that they requested we wear.

Other than that our flight was rather uneventful. We flew over Russia and crossed Siberia. Being exiled to Siberia takes on a whole new perspective after that view.

We were in the very back row of seats, so they didn’t recline much, so my Mom is catching up on some much needed sleep while I write this in the Tokyo airport (unfortunately the “free public WiFi” that shows up on my list of internet providers apparently isn’t really free, so I’ll have to wait to post it later.) I’m also keeping half an eye on the sumo-wrestling match on tv. That, the surgical masks, the take out sushi bar, and the shop selling kimonos is as close as I’ll get to the real Japan on this trip

How appropriate!

2009-05-17T10:30:00.001-04:00

I passed this sign outside of a church Saturday, and thought it was particularly appropriate.

We're flying out today! Next post should be from Taiwan!

We're Traveling, for REAL this time! --i think. . .

2009-05-15T22:51:00.005-04:00

I'm excited and nervous and it seems unreal. After months and actually years of waiting we are set to go to Taiwan and get our daughter, Sarah-Grace Ssu Ya. It hardly seems possible. Once they had all our paperwork in Taipei we were able to get an appointment to get Sarah-Grace's visa and make arrangements to travel.

We had a webchat tonight and Sarah-Grace seems just so nervous. Even more so than me! I just wished I could reach out and give her a hug and tell her it was going to be OK.

So, soon we will be a family of 9 all on one continent. Praise our God who has worked this all out. I am also so thankful for all those in our path who have helped us and supported us and kept us going along the way--all the agency workers, social workers, office workers, government workers, postal workers--friends and family--and even complete strangers-- who have reached out to us and wished us well.

Tonight was our last Bible study for the summer with the believers we have come to know and love from the Chinese Church. It was such an appropriate send off for me to meet with these dear sisters and brothers in Christ. Our leader asked us all to share a bit about what the group has meant to us. It was such an honor for me to do and also so hard to put into words. These folks have prayed for us, cared about us, embraced Kai Wei and the rest of the family and been there in spirit and understanding. I know their prayers have really sustained us on this long journey. And they, of all people, know what my children face as they leave a life and culture they have known for the unknown.

Of course I am unbelievably happy that our journey to adopt is coming to an end and our life as a completed family of nine is unfolding. But within my happiness there is a sadness for all the adjustments and losses this will mean for my precious kids. But I believe they will survive. They will grow in love and grace and security and God will call them into his will and his kingdom. What more could any of us want for a happy ending?

Many Blessings, Debbie

All About Annie and a bit more. . .

2009-05-09T21:27:00.005-04:00

So, someone asked for some information on what Annie's doing. And since I love to talk about my kids . . .
The Discipleship Training school (DTS)Annie is going on is through YWAM (Youth With a Mission) They are 5 or 6 month long classes that are designed to help people stretch and grow in their faith and learn more. They are required for anyone volunteering for a YWAM ministry for more than 6 months. They have a "class room " component, where you learn "stuff" and then an outreach component where you do "stuff". Hopefully putting into practice some of what you learned.

YWAM offers these courses all over the world and they are on all topics of interest to missionaries and people who want to help impact the world in a positive way. And you can even earn college credit through many of them. The first part, the learning part, would be at a discipleship train school location. During the second part you take a "road trip", often to another country. Annie's "road trip" part will focus on underprivileged kids in an urban setting. Which is perfect for her next step. After she finishes the DTS Annie will have a chance to come home over Christmas (YAY) and then in January or February she will begin her new life as a volunteer to a ministry in Bogota Colombia for two years that offers help and love to kids on the street. But I'll let her tell you more about that. She'll be setting up a new blog and asking for prayer support.

I'm really proud of Annie and excited for her. This is something she has had on her heart for years. She has actually put this dream on hold so she could be part of our family's dream of adopting a brother and a sister. She really wanted to be around to get to know our new family members. That's one reason we really want to travel soon!

We did get our fingerprint extension and our official approval. Now we just have to make sure it gets to Taipei and then we can go! Hopefully soon!

I'm proud of all my kids. Those big ones who have so graciously welcomed little siblings into their midst with joy and love and acceptance and those little ones, who while they have also welcomed siblings with joy, thave had to deal with a rearrangement of their lives and big changes in so many ways.

God is good and his love endures forever :-)

Still on hold

2009-05-04T23:35:00.002-04:00

Hi, I just wanted to give a short update to let everyone know we still don't know when we will travel. Sadly, our finger prints expired. (a paperwork detail I somehow missed)So now we are waiting for FBI clearance. Please pray this would not take too long. Also sadly, after we were all finger printed, Annie and I both had our fingerprints rejected. DON'T WORRY! This does not mean we are "bad guys." It just means we have dumb fingerprints! Well, actually, they are just full of lines over the swirls that are supposed to be read. Now if you want, at this point, to think that we are hard working women, with our our hands in the wash tub and soil, toiling all the day long--please think that. Make us in to good, hard working, 'women of the earth types'. Why not? But, to be honest, we just think we have the "barely there finger print gene" OR the "old and wrinkled finger gene" Which is a double bummer for Annie who is only 24!

On the subject of bummers for Annie. She will leave 2 months from yesterday for a six month discipleship training school. So each day we wait for our fingerprints to clear is another day she won't spend getting to know this little sister. So we really could use your prayers for God to speed things up.

Thank you. And I want you to know, even in this last minute, unforeseen and completely foolish delay( which I can blame myself for), even in this, God is good and his mercy endures forever and he knows the beginning from the end and he is the First and the Last. I am so thankful to serve a living God! Amen.

Daniel's video

2009-04-29T21:23:00.004-04:00

I made this video shortly after I made Kai's and Sarah-Grace's, but I got side-tracked (or tired of waiting forever for videos to load) and never shared it. Here's Daniels video. Photos are from spring 2007-December 2008. Enjoy. :)

IT'S FINAL!

2009-04-20T22:34:00.002-04:00

We heard today that the judge in Taiwan has made his final ruling! We are scrambling to make sure all the paperwork is in order here and half way around the world. We are hoping to travel in the next few weeks. Please keep our family in your prayers!