7

Seven days until we leave! One week! The pressure is on. So in recap for my memory purposes:

• We attempted to home school today and completed reading and math. That's it! I think I am done with homeschooling until we board the plane, then I will have their undivided attention for 14 hours! They will have no choice but to listen to ME! He he he!

   

• I played Thomas the Train with my son and we had lots of train wrecks and flew the airplane and helicopter over the train world to rescue people and train cars. It was a blast!

   

• I attempted to exercise today. I fell off the treadmill twice, dropped the top to my water bottle, dropped the earphones to my ipod and finally gave up! Fifteen minutes, 100 calories. That didn't cover the sweet tea and chocolate pudding I ate last night.

   

• I cooked dinner, made lots of phone calls and took the kids to choir. While they were at choir I hit the mall because believe me, you don't want to see me wear the same two shirts every day. And that's about what I have. Other than t-shirts and yoga pants that I live in everyday!

   

• Jeremiah and I made some important decisions today. Like where to stay; Victory vs White Swan and whether or not to purchase the breakfast bar. White Swan won out and so did the breakfast bar.

   

8

I said to Jeremiah the other day, "Just because we leave for China in one week, doesn't mean life stops for us". He said, "No, it just accelerates"! So, eight days before we leave, I went to my regular Tuesday morning Bible study with the ladies at my church, because I need that fellowship right now and desire to remain in the Word now more than ever! It was so apparent that this morning, the Lord and I had an appointment! Beth really sat on the subject of fear and how we let it control us, take root in us and often cause us to miss our calling in life because of self – preservation! Man, did anyone else feel their hiney getting warm firey -hot? I am so right there! And honestly, so much about this pending adoption has been wretched with fear lately and I have allowed Satan to get a foothold in this area. Fears of adjustment, the travel with my kids, the weather, the actual plane ride, the money, bonding, his heart, the list could go on and on! But friends, no more! I gave that over to the Lord and I am looking forward to experiencing this adoption with the freedom of knowing who is in control and if my fears come to fruition, the Lord is still on his throne, is still in control and will be by my side every step of the way! There may be hard times, there may be days I might doubt this calling, but the Lord will prevail and I do not want to miss a divine appointment in my destiny because of fear. Can you tell I needed to hear that Word from the Lord?

I also got to spend some wonderful time with my mom, sister and my two nieces, whom I will miss dearly but can't wait to surprise them with sweet gifts from China. Devin and I attended the consignment sale and scored big with cute clothes, toys and even a little room décor for the girls!

We had Upward practice tonight and as the season comes to a close, I cherish the relationships I have made with these precious girls. Knowing the Lord has used me to make an impact in their lives is priceless and I am humbled!

9

I am exhausted! Let's sum up the last 24 hours with three bags of trash, 12 trips up and down the attic steps, 4 rooms vacuumed, 4 closets cleaned out and organized, two loads of laundry, and the list is not quite finished! I have about 1 ½ hours before I leave to go to a HUGE consignment sale I attend twice a year to pick up little things here and there! I am feeling just a little overwhelmed right now, so I thought it was the perfect time for me to sit down with my laptop and lay in bed and rest my weary body. Aside from the exhaustion, I am sooooo glad I had this opportunity to do some intense "spring cleaning" before we leave. We still have to finish the girls room, but we are going to wait to paint and order the girls bunk beds when we get home from China. It will give them something else to look forward too.

The Lord continues to be good and overwhelms me with his grace and his mercy! I am so humbled as we watch his plans unfold before us and am learning more about his sovereign love everyday!

10

The countdown begins! We leave in just 10 days for Beijing! I must admit, I'm in a slight state of denial that this is actually happening after so many years of dreaming and planning to bring this child home. It is certainly not what I envisioned, but I know it is just what the Lord had in mind!

So what I am doing just 10 days before we leave for China? I went to church this morning to worship and praise the almighty God who made this adoption possible, whose hand has been upon this adoption from the very beginning! I cried as we sang of his great love for us and thought of how much love I already have for this little man that I have only seen in pictures! I also had lunch with some precious friends from church and a Valentine's dinner with my mom! My sweet valentines are out of town for the long weekend, which is giving me the chance to do some cleaning out and preparations for bringing our little man home!

I certainly cannot leave out our exciting weekend! Could you even imagine what we did? We played in the snow of course! We got about 4 ½ inches of snow here in North Georgia and we were so excited! Of course we built a snowman, made snow angels and had some pretty intense snowball fights! Now that the girls are older and stronger, they are also tougher when it comes to throwing snowballs!

Of course I have tons of beautiful pictures but my sweet husband left town with the camera and the kids before I could download the pictures! I'll post them as soon as he returns!

China, Here we come!

The purchase of airline tickets made it official last night! We leave on February 24th and return March 14th! Our flight route will take us from Atlanta to Toyko to Beijing and back the same way we came!

We Have TA!

I'm in the grocery store and a familiar 303 area code shows up on my phone. I knew it was Colorado, but I didn't get my hopes up just yet, even though I "heard" that a package was on its way to CCAI. When she told me we had travel approval I said, "I hoped that's why you were calling! I can't believe it!" Then, she rocked our world and said, You could leave a week from Wednesday. "You've got to be kidding me" were my next words! Nope, she wasn't kidding. Of course we do have some other options, but leaving this soon would put us there on his birthday! Woo Hoo! We are on cloud 9 and are in a total state of shock!

Good thing I've been packing and buying stuff on our list. Just the other day my husband gave me a hard time about it. I bet he is thankful now! The above lime green tub is packed to the hill and has a twin at my mom's house that is also packed solid. Now, on to the clothes and figuring out when we are going to leave! Keep praying for us, we are going to need it to keep our sanity!

Can't say enough...

I just wanted to put in a little note about something I have recently become passionate about, and that is Upward! Our church has been running an Upward Basketball League for 7 years now and the impact it has on our community and children and parents is just astounding! Last year was my first year really involved and I signed up to coach Gracie's 1st and 2nd grade team. I'd never even played basketball, didn't know the rules, had to Go*gle "How to Play Basketball" just to know what I was talking about. (Yeah, I'm a little embarrased about that last part.) What I quickly learned was that Upward isn't just about playing basketball, it is teaching these children that everything they do in their life should point towards Christ! Always Upward! And what I didn't bargain for was the love I would develop for these girls on our team and how much I wanted to see them succeed in the game and sport, just as much as my own child! From developing confidence to making that first basket to falling in love with Christ, Upward is more than teaching a child how to play a sport!

It is such a great deal - your kid has fun learning a sport and their heart is taught more about Christ! As a parent, I couldn't ask for anything more!

In the mean time…

It's been two and a half months since CCAI called us with the news that we had a little boy waiting for us in China. TWO ½ MONTHS! He was 8 months old,

now he is 11 months today.

And we are doing our best to remain patient! Every night Jeremiah says "I want that boy in my arms"! And he means it.

However, as we wait for our TA, we've tried to stay busy. Christmas came and went in a flash!

Official gifts have been purchased as well as the red bags they will go in.

We've been trying to figure out sleeping and room arrangements in our home. We are looking at bunk beds for the girls room, but we are going to wait until we get home and look at where we are.

And I have two large tubs that are already full of the necessities we are packing for China! And we haven't even gotten to our clothes!

Of course, homeschooling has not ceased. Maybe you are curious as to what we've been studying? Well, CHINA of course! Ancient China, dynasties and emperors, the building of the Great Wall, silk, terracotta soldiers, Beijing, Zhengzhou and Guangzhou! I've also tried to focus on things they will see and experience. Of course, they are girls, so a little lesson in pearls and jade wouldn't hurt either! It has been a wonderful time with the girls, teaching them about their baby brother's birth country and I think they've enjoyed it. I've learned quite a bit along the way as well! Most of all, we've been showing them how gracious the Lord has been, showing them his mighty hand in our adoption the entire way. For example, one couple asked us at church why we are taking the children with us. I thought Jeremiah explained it beautifully. Our children were so instrumental in allowing God to use them in shaping the course of this adoption. How could we not allow them to see it through and continue to be a part of this amazing experience? Another example: Several years ago, when we were in the middle of what we knew would be a very long wait with the adoption, we went through a personal revival in our lives. We knew the completion of the adoption was several years away, so we gave what we had saved up for the adoption to the Lord, in faith, knowing he would supply our every need. Two weeks ago, we received a check in the mail for the exact amount we gave to the Lord, four years ago! Today, the Lord provided again! These gifts came completely unexpected and brought us to our knees. How grateful we are to the Lord as we continue to see his providence and provision throughout this entire process!

He is never far away, out of reach, or unavailable!

Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. Malachi 3:10