30 Months Ago Today

30 months ago today was 2/6/2006. I can't believe that it has been 30 months since we have been logged into the CCAA (China Center for Adoption Affairs--in Beijing). Time has, in one way gone so fast, then in others.....so s-l-o-w.
Tonight we honor our daughter Lydia. We do every 6th day of the month. Typically, I will cook a special meal or we will watch a documentary on Chinese adoption. We love to watch China's Lost Girls. It is a great documentary about adoption through China. I highly recommend it. It is very informative. It gives us a very small taste of what it will be like when we go over there.
Over there....our daughter is across the world....wow! It reminds me of a precious passage from Isaiah 43: 6-7, "bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth, everyone who is called by my Name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made."
Gives me chills just reading it. Isaiah 43 is one of my favorite chapters from the Word of God.

Read it, it is totally worth it.

So, tonight, John and I toast to our daughter and give thanks to our Father who has taken care of her......somewhere in China.
We love you Lydia....we are on our way!

Aren't Pets Great?

After a long hard day, I come home and there are our two Russian Blues sitting on our bay window, hanging out checking out the scene. I walk up to the door and they notice me...I call their names...then they take off...I open the door and there they are...waiting for me to pet them. They do their usual belly-side-flop and do some kind of meow...and all is well in the world. :)

It is quite amazing how different my mood changed, even when just 5 minutes ago, I was almost ran over by a Cadillac on my way home.

They are just about 6 years old and we have had them about 3 months. We adopted them from a family locally and have enjoyed having them be a part of our family. Harlow is the one on the left and Lola is the one on the right. They are from the same litter and have never been split up. Lola is the playful one, while Harlow is the laid back one who probably thinks Lola is immature for wanting to play. They both love to snuggle with us and we believe they will be perfect when Lydia comes home to be with us. All I can say is that we are glad they are here with us.

The Lord's Provision

Good morning folks! I just want to stop and thank the Lord for His provision throughout this adoption process. We now have a remaining balance of $3,443.75! Amen and amen.

It is quite humbling after venting last night that I have tendancy to trust God in some areas and not others. Which is obvious through my thoughts and actions. I had a very candid talk with the Lord this morning and I am resolved not to worry or be anxious of when we will receive our referral. It is truly in His hands and He has been so faithful to us. I have no cause to doubt Him.

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God." Philippians 4:6

Thanks for all your prayers and concerns for us. I am so grateful for the Body of Christ.

May the peace of Christ rule in your hearts today......

End of the day.....

As I come to the end of the day...we have received no call. I am so disappointed, but I understand that God is still in control over this process. We are truly at His mercy.

There was another rumor that China will only send out referrals through 1/27/2006. Ugh..they are already through 1/25/2006, which means that they only will send out 2 days worth of referrals. With Chinese New Year being from 1/29 through 2/4 in 2006 and nothing produced during those days..makes me a litte upset that China didn't go any further.

May I vent?

Sometimes I think that it is because of the Olympics that they are going at a snail's pace. They don't want to be looked upon as a country that "gives" their children away. Bad press is not good for China. They dislike it very much. So, is it pride that is keeping my daughter in an institution? The longer she is there, the worse it is for her. That grieves me greatly.

I have to continue to "preach" to myself that it is His timing and it is perfect. I can't argue with that. He is GOD. May God be gracious to us as we continue to wait. Patience...evidently I haven't learned it yet.... :)

Could it be TODAY?

Whew! What a wonderful weekend! Our church, Community Presbyterian Church, put on a yard sale on Saturday to help with our adoption expenses. We are so grateful for their support, encouragement and prayers throughout this process. Well... (drum roll please) we raised $1,851.25 from the yard sale! Praise the Lord! John and I couldn't believe it! We were just overwhelmed!
As of Saturday (prior to the yard sale) our cost remaining was $6,300.00. We now have a balance of $4,448.75. The Lord has provided for us thus far and He has been so faithful. So, we continue to trust Him. May God be praised for what He has done!

In other news....today can be the day we receive our referral. That my friend is HARD to believe. In family worship this morning, we were praying that the Lord would make that happen today. Wow, that totally put me in shock mode because we have never been close enough to pray a prayer like that. Could it be today Lord? Could we find out after all this time who we have been praying for? To actually see her face? Our daughter.......thoughts like this overwhelm me and actually make me have some severe butterflies!

Who knows, there are rumors flying around that 2/9/2006 LID's are not in this batch of referrals. So, that could mean that our LID (2/6/2006) is in this batch?! All I do know is that it is in the Lord's hands. It has been all this time.

Hey, maybe I will be able post Lydia's picture later on this blog? We continue to pray....

The next batch of referrals????

Okay, well, there is a "rumor" that the CCAA will not send out a batch of referrals until AFTER the Olympics (which looks to be 8/24). Ugh...rumors. I have been checking the Rumor Queen site like a hawk each day to find out what the latest is. I did contact our family coordinator today and asked if she had heard anything. She said that she hasn't heard of any news, which she says may be good.

Obviously, ya'll will know when we find out something.

Thanks for hanging in there with us!!

Blogging...here we come!

Hello all!

John and I wanted to start a blog site for our family and friends to follow our journey to our daughter Lydia. We are almost there folks! After 3 1/2 years from starting this adoption process, we are finally getting closer to knowing who are daughter is and going to pick her up from China!
God be praised! We will keep you up to date on the latest and hope you enjoy being on the homestretch of this ride!