In 19 Days...

In 19 days, the precious child of the KING in this photo....


will be meeting the people whose faces he first saw in these photos.

Our lives will change forever, but take a minute and imagine how his life will change.

He has only ever known the orphanage.

He has never known life in a family.

And, while we know his life will change for the better, he won't understand that. While we have been preparing for him for 15 months, he has only known our faces a few months. While we have fallen in love with him, he won't know if he can trust us.

Please begin fervent prayers for his little heart, for God to soften the blow that will surely come when he mourns his past. Pray with us that we will have wisdom to know when to hold him tightly and when to hold him loosely. We are so ready to be his parents. Pray that someone in China is helping preparing him to be somebody's son.

Needed--For the Boys' Room

So...I thought there might be a few of you out there who'd like to see this:



No...that is NOT the boys' bedroom, but it is the bedding I have purchased for them.

I am almost, but not quite, ashamed that the beds in that particular room are currently covered with the same comforters that I purchased for Caleb when we built this house...um....18 years ago...

Yes...go ahead...call me a trend setter.

Well, mine and Stan's room has been updated, the girls' room has too, but the boys...well they didn't really care.

And, since we leave for China in

SIXTEEN DAYS!!!!

I figure it is time to get busy with that room.

Whitney is, right now, as I type at 10:57 PM working towards getting the old Atlanta Braves wallpaper border off the walls. She has a desire to paint the walls, so I am going to let her...and she did get much practice painting during her mission work in San Francisco this summer.

Currently in the room are bunk beds, and they have long since served their purpose. We bought them for Whitney's room over 20 years ago when we were expecting Caleb!

Now, however, I do not want Drew or Zeke sleeping on a top bunk when we come home, so we are going to put a double bed in their room.

Since the title of this post is "Needed--For the Boys' Room," I should share with you what we need.

We need a set of full mattresses.

I figure there must be at least one of our readers who has an old set they would like to sell for a very cheap price...or maybe even just ask us to take them off their hands.

So, if you or someone you know is that person...and if you or that person you know happens to live in south Georgia...email me!

And, now that it is after 11:00 PM, and I must teach school tomorrow, while being kind to fourth graders at the same time, I am off to bed, just 1 1/2 hours past my bedtime.

Off to sweet dreams of China!

Making a List and Checking it More Than Twice

Plane tickets---check

Beijing Hotel reservations---check

We're Going to China in 3 weeks!

We have our dates!!!!

And, our wonderful agency was able to get the adoption proceedings expedited so we don't have to be in China 3 full weeks. Praise the LORD!

Pending the purchase of airline tickets we will:

Fly out on March 15
Land in Beijing on March 16
Visit Drew at Amazing Hands on March 17
March 18---Stan and my anniversary....take the train to Taiyuan
March 19--Drew's Gotcha Day
March 20--adoption proceedings--then fly to Zhengzhou
March 21--Zeke's Gotcha Day
March 22--adoption proceedings
March 23---Fly to Guangzhou
March 28--consulate appointment
March 29--obtain visas

Dates....Almost

Well, we're making progress.

Today we received our CA....that's our consulate appointment date.

Our consulate appointment is March 29th...which means our last day in China is March 30th.

The facilitators have to plan with the end in mind. They can make all of the other appointments now, with two separate provincial governments...since the boys are from two different provinces.

We should have more specifics in a day or two...but we are surely leaving a China the middle of March at the latest!!!!!

I Am Slowly Going Crazy

So...there's this song that I used to sing with the children when I directed children's programs at my church. It went like this:

I am slowly going crazy.

One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Switch.

Crazy going slowly am I.

Six, Five, Four, Three, Two, One, Switch.

Repeat.......

Repeat......

Repeat......

Repeat.......

Our case worker is trying to get information as to why our dates are taking this long to get.

Pray with me.....

And/or sing with me...

I am slowly going crazy.

One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Switch.

Crazy going slowly am I.

Six, Five, Four, Three, Two, One, Switch.

Repeat.......

Repeat......

Repeat......

Repeat.......

Waiting--not so Patiently

We are waiting to find out our final travel dates.

I must admit that I am not waiting patiently. Funny how we say we trust Jesus, and then we find ourselves growing anxious when we are forced to wait. Or is it just me?

I am growing anxious, too, about the amount of money we will need to be able to take the girls with us. I am growing anxious about the price of airline tickets. I am growing anxious about the amount of time we will be in China....is there a theme here?

I've said this before, but I believe today is a good time to repeat myself.

I feel like the Israelites. Praising God one minute. Murmuring and complaining the next.

Please join us in prayer. Like the man who said to Jesus, "LORD, I believe. Help, thou, my unbelief."

That's where I am today.

LORD, I believe. Help thou my unbelief.

DID YOU HEAR ME SCREAMING????!!!!!!

Did you hear me screaming??????????

You should have seen me dancing!!!

REALLY.

I was dancing all around the room.

I was squealing with delight!!!!

It's our TA!!!!!!!

Our TA is on its way.

For those of you who don't follow adoption websites, like crazy addicts...those letters mean one thing:

China says, "Come get your boys!!!!"

Sometime in the next day or so, we will have our EXACT dates. We've requested to leave four weeks from now.....FOUR weeks. Oh, my I will never sleep tonight.

The text came at 9:40.

Our agency needed some paperwork I was given last week. I thought I had at least one more week to get it done. HAHAHA!

So, I've been busy completing that paperwork...and now I should be going to sleep.

But...........

who can sleep??????

Waiting on Travel Approval

We are officially waiting on a most prized possession...our TA!

For those of you who don't know what that means...TA...is Travel Approval.

I can hardly believe we are just one step away from knowing our offical dates to China.

Pray and hope with us that we receive our TA in two weeks.....

Then, travel should be about 3 weeks later.

That means, travel in about 5 weeks....

Wanna guess why I'm not sleeping...what thoughts keep my head spinning everytime it hits the pillow.

Yipee! Jesus!!!

Zeke and the Shower of Blessings

And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing.(Ezkeial 34:25)

Stan and I have been studying Ezekial as we wait to bring home our Zeke. What a might prophet he was! What a mighty man of God we hope our Zeke will grow to be.

As I was studying during my Saturday morning quiet time, I came across the verse at the beginning of this post. I thought I would use it when we were in China, but then, just like my Jesus, he sent the shower of blessings earlier!!!!

We used Gifts to China with Love (highly recommended) to send Zeke a CNY gift. We found out yesterday he had indeed received the gift. Then last night while I was sleeping, these photos of him with his gifts were delivered to my inbox.

In the first photos, he is admiring/or playing with his gifts. We are excited to know he actually was able to see them and know they were from his family.




My Second Favorite Photo!
You've got to love that smile!!!



My Very Favorite Photo!
He's looking at the photo album we sent him, with pictures of his family. Click the picture, enlarge it, and you will see whose faces he is looking at.

You can't hide from God or Mama

This morning, I had an extended time with my BEST Friend Jesus. It was so sweet.

I had told the girls we would start house work as soon as I had my quiet time.

When I walked out of my bedroom at 10:30, here is what I saw.


I was fully aware that the girls were not asleep. We had already shared breakfast before my quiet time.

So, I took a picture and sneaked up behind them, began to tickle them, and heard Ellie say...

"It was worthy a try!"

Happy weekend everybody!

More Video From China

If you'd like to learn more about our Drew Zhuang Zhuang, there's still more to come.

Thank you for the financial blessing one of you sent us Saturday night! What an awesome way to end the day when God was smiling down.

And, even more blessings for a friend...who welcomed, through adoption, a precious newborn baby boy to their family. Read more here!

Then, come back and watch this video. I love the showers of blessings God sends after a storm.

Video of our Baby Boy!

What a precious treasure that arrived in our mailbox today.

The same friend Marsha, who prepared a package for her son Josh to take to China, sent another blessing to us.

Josh had taken several video clips of our Drew, and her husband made a DVD of them. The DVD arrived in the mail today while Stan and I were in Valdosta. It was the kind of yippee that keeps a tired body from resting.

We've been told by the founder of the foster home that God must have a sense of humor to place Ellie and Drew in the same family. We've been told our Drew is vivacious. Apparently, Amy was looking for the most pleasant of words to describe him. :)

Watch this boy in action...and I mean action. He is the loudest and the busiest of all of the children in the foster home. He is the center of attention. He is enjoying life (In case you can't tell which one that is, he is the one is the grey shirt, continually wrestling with Josh). Look out Stan and Brandon and Caleb and Kennith. We've got a ball of fire coming home from China. I hope you have the energy to keep up with him. (This is one of several videos. I hope to post a new one each day this week!!!!) Listen to that sweet voice.


Don't forget to pause the playlist player at the bottom of the page!

Mom and JT's Day Out

With the storm we suffered over the last few months, and the upcoming BIG changes in our family dynamics, I have realized that I need to give my kids some one-on-one Mama time. (Stan get's his share, too.)

Over the holidays, I spent a day out with each of the little kids individually.

I enjoyed my day out with Josie-Tatum as much, if not more, than she did.

We had gone ice skating with Kennith and his youth group before Christmas, and Josie-Tatum wanted to to back.

So, one day after Christmas, Josie-Tatum and I left for Savannah, just the two of us.

We did go ice skating and had such fun, while burning a few calories at the same time.



When we had gone ice skating before Christmas, we drove through beautiful downtown Savannah before heading to the mall. At the mall we met with Kennith and his youth group for lunch. As we drove through downtown on Abercorn Street, we passed the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist. The girls thought it was beautiful, so I told them how much more beautiful it was inside.

Josie-Tatum remembered my saying that, so she asked if we could go see the inside. After ice skating, I typed the address for the cathedral into the GPS and realized we were within walking distance. Since she loves a good walk as much as her mother, we decided to walk through the lovely historic city on our way to the church.




The weather was as beautiful as the city!


It had been at least 20 years since I had been inside St. John's, and I had forgotten how extravagant it was, had forgotten about the tree made of poinsettias displayed at Christmas, forgotten about the Holy hush felt when you enter the building.





We ended our date with a picnic I had already prepared. We sat in the park in the square around which the cathedral stands.

It was a God-given heavenly moment. A day the LORD made. A day to rejoice and be glad in it.

Not to be Outdone~ :)

Stan doesn't want Whitney's love to outshine him.

So.....

You should know that he does sometimes cook supper. And since I don't often fry foods, he usually chooses to fry something. And, if you grew up in the south, your mouth might water when I tell you he was frying porkchops the day I took these photos.

I wanted shots of him cooking, the evidence that he really can cook.....




He was more interested in showing off his handiwork.


If you're ever in south Georgia, ask Stan too cook up you something.