Day Eight

We have been a family for a whole week!! Yay!!!!

We are felt a little better today, but were a little hesitant to go to the orphanage so early without knowing how we would feel. So we talked to our guide and asked if there was a way we could go tomorrow and they said yes. So we rescheduled our visit for then.

We ventured out to the mall across the street for lunch because I had to go to the grocery store and we made a pit stop at a sporting goods store that we love. For real, we come here every time we come to town. The boys had so much fun looking at all the new things and of course we came out with some flashlights and a few other things. I somehow didn't get a picture of QiLong riding this bike, but I did get video, which I will put all together...some day. haha. He was such a natural at riding a bike though. He will be ready for no training wheels in no time. Here is Sean for the first time. He couldn't really reach the peddles just yet, but he was eager!!

Stephen teaching his brother a little about tent camping 

We did almost have a meltdown while we were at the mall. We put the little boys in the stroller while we went to the grocery store. I just had a few things to get and we wanted to get in and out quickly, and otherwise little hands want to touch everything they see which makes the trip turn into way longer. But Silas didn't want to sit in the stroller at that moment for some reason and he began the first stages of a tantrum. So I told him if he didn't want to ride, then I would go home with him and Daddy would get what we needed from the store and asked him if he wanted to go home. He said yes at first and as we started to walk towards the door he changed his mind and decided he wanted to ride. We were so excited and so proud of him for first being able to talk with us and listen to his options and then two for making a decision to control himself. We took that small victory and celebrated big with Starbucks! Ok, that was for Mommy and Daddy. But they liked their cinnamon roll too!

                                      

Praise the Lord, we have had some HUGE progress when it comes to bedtimes. We haven't had ANY tears or fighting during naptime OR bedtime for the last 3 days! Yay!!! It still takes a little bit of work to get them calmed down and still enough that they fall asleep, but I'll take that any day over the middle of the week. We haven't really established a specific routine either. In all honesty, every day has looked different in how we get ready for bed. But we just make sure we talk about bedtime well in advance and don't spring it on him. And the main rule, for Silas and Sean is that we have to be close to Daddy. It's very important. :)                                           

My husband is so great. I can't give him enough credit. He has been so great juggling both of these boys. There are days that he carries both of them across the city it seems like. And they are HEAVY. Up and down stairs, over bridges, anywhere, anytime that one of them needs him, he is there. He is the center of both of their worlds. Silas is attaching very well to both of us. He doesn't cry if Justin's not in the room or anything and he is ok with him leaving. He lets me carry him too and cuddle with him at bedtime. But when Daddy is there he lights up. And he knows he's got him right where he wants him. 

After nap, we went outside to play for a while. I can't stop with the bubble pictures, sorry. 

We found some neat frisbees at the sport store so we showed Silas the ropes. Kid has some skills!!

So the place where we are staying is also famous for its statues. There are statues all over the island depicting the merging of the two cultures, Chinese and Foreigners, together. So we had to join the crowd and take a few pictures.

The most famous statue for adoptive families. My kids are a little older, but it still works! :) 

Silly faces!!

So he has this pose....

Then delivery for dinner and a movie until bedtime!

The boys were cute at bedtime. Sean actually wanted to lay down beside Silas tonight and he gave him lots and lots of kisses. Until we figured out that the kisses were prolonging bedtime, so then we had to switch places. But we were so happy to see him choosing to show Silas specific attention like that!

The cuteness!! It's been so fun and eye opening to watch Silas simply learn about life. Including taking a shower.
And he's picking up some English already too! Just from hearing us talk to each other.

Since we rescheduled our orphanage visit, we will doing that first thing in the morning.

A special prayer request: Silas and Stephen get carsick very easily. He does NOT like riding in the car. We are going to take the subway as far as we can,  but then we still will have a short ride in a taxi to the orphanage. It will make our entire trip about 30-40 min longer, but at least we wont have to worry about the car for that long (Maybe 15 minutes). We have some patches for him that we got from the pharmacy, but I don't know how well they work. (Sometimes I feel like Chinese medicine is all a placebo...) They said that he wasn't old enough to take their medicine and I totally didn't think about packing some Dramamine. 

So we will be there around 10 am our time (9pm CST). Pray for our time there and that Silas will be able to have closure about leaving. He seems excited to introduce us to his friends and teachers and show us around. He has seen many other kids come and go with their families and now it's his turn to show off, so I don't really think there will be any major emotional struggle, but you never know. This could be really hard for him. We are just praying for the best and are so thankful we have the opportunity to see a little bit more of what his life used to look like. 

And then we will have family pictures taken in the afternoon. Pray for a good nap time!!! haha. 

That's a really long day for a little boy!

Happy Birthday!

We always try to live our life being joyful in the present. No matter the situation, our family verse is “Be joyful always, pray continually and give thanks in all circumstances.” 1 Thes. 5:16-18. But for today, let me just say that we are ready for next year. Normally birthdays are fun and exciting times. We love birthdays around here. We love cake, we love doing special things for the birthday boy or girl and we love celebrating together the good things that God has done for us. But this year, birthdays, especially these two, are so much more difficult than what is on the surface.

Justin’s 30th birthday is Friday. We have prayed so hard that we will be able to send in our Dossier on his birthday. We were worried that we were going to be sitting around just waiting for his birthday to come around so that we could officially meet all of the requirements to adopt from China. But we haven’t been sitting around. We have been working day and literally all night, praying, applying for grants and doing what we need to do to push this paperwork along. Unfortunately, our Dossier won’t be ready to send Friday. And that makes us very sad. A day that we anticipated would allow us to rejoice, is actually breaking our hearts. But as we have learned so well in the past, if your heart is never broken, joy wouldn’t taste as sweet. There is so much to be thankful for. Most importantly, we know that Qi Long is well cared for. He is surrounded by friends and caregivers that, it seems like, genuinely care for him. The orphanage director has gone out of her way to serve our family by communicating with us. That is a priceless blessing that we are beyond grateful to know, as so many people don’t have that privilege. 

When we began this journey, we put everything about this process at the feet of Jesus and asked him to lead and guide us. While a man plans his way, the Lord determines his steps. We know the direction we want to go and we know the things we need to do, and the rest is up to Him.

Qi Long’s birthday was on March 15. He turned 6 years old. You know how hard it is to watch your kids grow up? It’s really hard when you are watching him grow up and you haven’t been there for any of his birthdays. When you realize that he has had 6 birthdays now, without a mom and a dad to love on him and tell him how special he is and do something special JUST for him, it is a brand new level of sadness.

But once again, there is still room to rejoice. Hallelujah that the story doesn’t end there. There is such good news. Just like Jesus didn’t leave us in our lostness, God has not left Qi Long in his lonliness. God’s promise to Qi Long is being fulfilled even as I type this message. “I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you,” Jn. 14:18. This verse is a beautiful promise that many claim for the orphans of the world, who desperately need forever families. But in reality, it is a promise to every believer, who sometimes looks up at the sky wondering if Jesus is ever really going to come back. He promised, friends. And even though we may not see what’s going on behind the scenes, much like Qi Long can’t see how hard we are working to bring him home, Christ is working on our behalf to bring us home; to redeem us. To bind up our broken hearts, to give us freedom, to bestow on us a crown of beauty instead of ashes and a garment of praise instead of despair, to plant us as oaks of righteousness for the display of HIS splendor! (Is. 61) By God’s grace, this will be the last birthday that Qi Long will spend without a family. And only by His grace. And when it is time, when all of the details that we don’t know about come together and fall into place, in His perfect timing, He will come back for us and he will bring us all home. Amen!

Happy Birthday Justin and Qi Long! Lord willing, next year, we will all celebrate together! And oh what a celebration it will be!  

Looks like he enjoyed his cake!

We were allowed to send him a birthday cake and he was able to have a birthday party with his friends. We also sent him a video of our family singing to him and he was able to watch that on his birthday while he was at the doctor. We pray for God to prepare his precious little heart to be with us, and our hearts too.

A Decade Ago

10 years ago, I married a man that I didn't think I could be more in love with than I was that day. Little did I know just how much we would grow up over the years and I know most couples out there would be able to agree with me at how much better marriage gets with time!! It honestly feels weird to say we have been married for 10 years, because it doesn't seem like we should be that old!

My husband has taken me on some of the greatest adventures of my life. He has taken my hand and led me outside of the little box that I might prefer to live inside and shown me that there is so much more to this life than the comfortable! He has shown me how to appreciate. How to appreciate the little things, the beauty that is all around me, and how to find the good in what might seem like a bad situation. We have been to some of the lowest valleys together and have been to some pretty high mountain tops. There are so many more mountains to climb and I cannot imagine living life with anyone else but him. I am so grateful to be able to share my experiences in life with my best friend.

As we continue on this adoption journey, my husband is my source of encouragement, my voice of reason and my truest friend. He has lead me this far with grace and integrity, he is patient with me through all of my doubts and fears and he guides me in the path of righteousness in all that we do. Neither of us are perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but we are better people because we have each other. I realize what a blessing that is in this world and I lay my head down every night thankful for such a man. He is my hero.

Our actual anniversary is not for another couple of weeks, but it's in the middle of Thanksgiving weekend and we decided to celebrate a little early. We were able to spend 2 nights together, all alone, in one of our very favorite cities in the world. It's a beautiful place with rich culture and lots of really good food!! We are so thankful for our friends, the G family, who took such good care of our kiddos while we had this much needed time to celebrate 10 beautiful years together. Looking forward to the next 10!