We are just a disaster waiting to happen!

For several years I thought we couldn't adopt unless we got a bigger house. About a year ago, we decided that we could make this house work with another child.

But the house was long overdue for some work. It had been over 10 years since we painted the main living areas. We had been busy having a bunch of babies and loving our growing family.

So, we began the prep work for painting and noticed that the carpet in the dining room was squishy which led to the discovery of a leak in the wall. Which led to this.
And the purchase of a new water heater.

And this.
We moved the table from under the chandelier to keep the table from getting wet. Julia walked by one day and just couldn't resist giving it a little tug. And that's all it took to send it crashing down from the ceiling, hitting her in the head and scaring us all to death.

Our insurance settlement was enough to replace the damaged carpet with hardwood floors (yea!) because we did all the repainting ourselves with "Oops" paints from our favorite discount hardware store.

What a happy ending!

Not quite.

After a long delay involving a water heater, a hole in the wall, ruined carpet and a crashing chandelier (see above) we started to prep for painting. Again.

And found this.
Drywall damage. From termites (yikes!) But we have a termite bond (sigh of relief.) They'll kill the termites and repair the damage. (Wondering if there's a way to "work" this one. Maybe we can get a home theatre system, or build an addition or something - just kidding.)

And then just yesterday, I went to turn off the water at the kitchen sink. There was a snap and the suddenly the water was stuck in a permanent "on" position. Replacing the faucet at the kitchen sink was on our "to do" list. It magically moved to the top.

With every new disaster, I tell myself that I'm so thankful we're getting this fixed before Joseph comes home. I want to be free from house projects to just love on my new family.

This is A Big Day!

Christian World Adoption received our LOA from China today! We should travel in about 3 months!

What Does it Mean to Live by Faith in the Service of the Fatherless?

I'm sitting here with a vomiting child (Big Brother) and listening to an amazing sermon by John Piper about adoption and orphan care. It is very worth the 30 minutes or so to watch or listen to it. (BTW - the video version is much better than the written transcript, so don't just read it.)

View it here.

We asked for an update. . .

We asked our agency to get an update on Joseph. We asked where he is living now, if he is in school yet, if he received our care package and has seen our photo album and if we could have any baby pictures they have of him (this is very unlikely to happen, but we will pray and ask as nicely and persistently as we can while we are in China.)

My expectations for a response were low, but just a few days later - here it is!


1范文新是一直在院，还是曾在寄养家庭？现在在院是吗？

He was in a foster home, but is living in the orphanage now.

2) 他接受了正规教育吗？

He attends school at the orphanage.

3) 去年家长给你们邮寄了家庭的相片本，你们给他看了吗？如果没有，准备什磨时候给孩子看和谈收养。

Yes, we have given him the package and he has seen the photo album.

4) 家长去接孩子的时候院里有他小时候的相片给家长吗？家长想尽量地让孩子以后有他自己小时候的相片。

We will give the family all of his photos we have.



北京市儿童福利院

BJ CWI

2010.5.5

Because God has all the money in the world. . .

Mike and I just applied for an adoption grant through Steven Curtis Chapman's foundation, Show Hope. They give adoption grants to Christian couples to help offset the high cost of adoption so that more orphans worldwide can find homes.

We estimate that our adoption will cost $30,000 start to finish. So far we've invested $12,000 without incurring debt. We are very thankful for that. We still have some money put aside as we go into the next steps, but we are quite a ways from the additional $18,000 that we'll need over the next few months. An adoption grant would be a huge blessing for us.

*Postscript - We didn't receive a grant from Show Hope. If you are starting the adoption process, my advice is to apply early and apply with more than one grant organization.