Trunk or Treat!

Our church had a festival tonight with a trunk or treat. We have all enjoyed candy tonight. I will probably need to walk a few extra miles the next few days! Lily actually left her hat part of her costume up the whole time. We enjoyed our first Halloween as a family!

Park and McDs

The outfit is complements of our friends, the Conners, who adopted their daughter from China. We were glad to finally use it. Lily is sooo cute in it, but it hasn't been cold enough yet. It seems like we were just running our air-conditioning a couple weeks ago. We seem to have completely missed the lovely mild part of fall.

We went to the park and McDs for lunch with friends today. We really had no intention of going to McDs, but the park was over-run with 90 Kindergarteners on a field trip after we had only been there 15 minutes or so. The kids wanted to play more, so we headed to the Playland at McDs. We were even able to bribe Daddy to join us for lunch. You can get Steve to do just about anything for McDs!

Whew!

The pictures explain it all! I think we are going to need to start using the gate to keep her out of the kitchen.

God is our Protector

The rain was coming down in torrents! On the way to the study, I started to hydroplane a couple of times. My heart skipped a beart, but nothing too serious. However, it was much different on the way home. I'm not sure how fast I was going (our speedometer is not working), but the RPMs were well below 2000. I couldn't have been going more than 35 in a 55. Other cars were flying past me. In fact, there was car passing me when this happened.

There was a second where I truly believed we were going to hit the guardrail. I said ok God. The car is just a car, but keep Lily and I safe. I took my foot off the gas and didn't hit the brakes just like they teach you in driver's ed. We were sliding diagonally. I turned the wheel ever so slightly, the car started to veer into the left hand lane. We fish-tailed a bit, but soon we were heading straight again. We didn't hit anything or anyone.

They found it

We left one of Lily's blankets at the concert on Saturday night. I asked about it before we left, but it hadn't turned up yet. I called the venue today and they found it. They are going to mail it to us!!!! Now, Lily really doesn't care what blanket she uses when she is tired, but this one was special to me. It was the blanket we took to China. Her very first!

I continue to be amazed that God cares about me - even about the little things!

This picture was taken 2 days after we received her in China!

Woo Hoo - What a Weekend!

The meet and greet for the concert wasn't until after the concert was over. We thought it would be during the opening acts, so we thought we would be able to leave early, but alas we didn't.

PRAISE: The venue that hosted the concert had a nursing moms room. They offered the room for our use: diaper changes etc. We took her at intermission and too our great surprise, the room had a crib. Lily's always gone to sleep very easily, so we looked at each other and said - Hey, why not try. We turned out the lights, gave her her blanket, and laid her down. Out like a light. We just traded off turns returning to the concert. You could still hear almost everything from the room, so we still got hear the songs when we took our turns watching our little girl sleep. She was still cranky for the meet and greet, but not unbearable.

SCC had all three girls and Marybeth with him, so we were able to meet Shaoey and MB too. Maria and Stevie Joy went out on stage earlier, but were already asleep on the bus. Shaoey even signed a Shaoey and Dot book (book SCC MB co-wrote about adoption from China) with her Dad for us! The trip home was long, but we hit our pillows safe and sound at 2:15 am! Even bigger

PRAISE: Lily did awesome during the service. Our Pastor did an excellent job presenting the gospel and telling the story of a little girl from China (even pronounced her Chinese name correctly) who had ben orphaned and eventually found a family. At the end of the little story, he asked the audience if they would like to meet "Xu/Lily" They responded with a verbal Yes. The three of us walked up the middle aisle.

Our pastor said, " Come to your pastor". Lily literally ran to him in her squeaky shoes holding my finger. He held her for several more minutes and she didn't even bother his microphone! She had the church in stitches and tears all at the same time. I nearly bawled. We were at the church from 8:45 am to 12:30 (we participated in the early and late service with a brunch in between. I know some may think we were crazy for even attempting it knowing we were going to be out of town the night before, but we couldn't say no to God and an opportunity to actively participate in telling the salvation story.

God is good and his time is PERFECT Keep the faith. There is a reason for your struggles. You never know when an opportunity to minister to others will result. I never saw this coming!

Over the moon (in spite of the lack of sleep)!

Praise God for his timing

I've had an up and down week dealing with people understandingattachment and adoption, etc.

I have to say God does gives what we need when we need it. Sometimes, like today, he gives us an extra special blessing. We have been attending a new church (Lynchburg First Church of the Nazarene on Wards Rd in Lynchburg) for several weeks now. We are starting to feel connected and invested. Steve received a call from the pastor today.

He wants to use our story as part of his sermon illustration on Sunday. It is "friends day" and he will be comparing our adoption of Lily to God's adoption of us into his family at salvation. We will be participating in the 8:30 and 11:00 services with a brunch at 9:45 in between. You guys are more than welcome to come and visit if you would like!

What an honor for us. I have been feeling like I wanted to share our story with our church family for the last 6 mths, but we have been in transition - looking for a new church. I had no idea that God was waiting for this Sunday in our new church. A few months ago, I even gave up on the idea. I sent the pastor an e-mail with the testimony that I had typed up for Shaohannah's Hope, a few pics, and a map of guangdong.

We are going to have one heck of a weekend! Saturday we are travelling a couple hours to do a meet-and-greet with Steven Curtis Chapman at the concert near DC this Saturday. My mom and I met him just after Steve and I recieved our referral. I only had a picture in hand and Steve couldn't make it. So SCC asked us to come back when he was back in the area so he could meet Lily and Steve! Then Sunday morning our story will be used to illustrate the story of salvation!

Please pray for a hedge of protection over our family in the coming days as Satan just doesn't appreciate when God uses us to help spreadthe gospel!

18mth Check-Up

Well, if you didn't know it already . . . Lily is a PEANUT!

16 lbs 14 oz. and 30 1/4 in long

She actually lost a little weight in the month following her last appt due to her learning to walk. She has gained about a pound and grew an inch in the last month. She is not on the chart for weight and is at 10% for height on US charts. When you use the charts for Chinese girls, she is still only in the 25% for height and 5-10% for weight.

She has gotten 7 teeth since her last appointment and her language has exploded (although still a little delayed).

The Doctor wants to see her for just a weight check in another month or so. She seems to be rebounding from the weightloss from learning to walk, but just wants to make sure she keeps gaining!

New Trick

Well, Lily has learned a new trick. She's been able to climb on top of the toilet for awhile now, but now has figured out she can reach the sink from there. She turns on the cold water and plays in it. If the water doesn't turn on fast enough after she tests it out, she will turn it all the way on. I grabbed the video camera, let her do it one more time to capture it, and now the bathroom door is permanently shut!

Jen

Happy

Dossier Prayer

Loved, loved, loved this. I wish I had found this before we mailed our paperwork. It says so much about the emotions that we were feeling as our "life" was mailed across the Pacific Ocean just over 2 years ago!


Dossier Prayer

Oh God, you know your children's needs and the desires of our hearts better than we can speak them. We pray for your blessing on this sheaf of papers, now winging its way to the other side of the world. This stack of documents tells so much--yet so little--of who we are. Between the lines, behind the official seals, our deepest dreams are written.

God, you made miracles of ordinary things: quails and manna, bread and wine. Take these ordinary papers and use them to guide us to our miracle. Bless the work of those who bring families together: the agency staff and facilitators; the government bureaucrats here and abroad; the orphanage officials and caregivers.

Bless the birth family whose child's future we will be privileged to share, and comfort them in their sorrow. Bless all the adoptive parents and children who wait for their papers to move and their miracles to occur. And most especially bless the child, born or unborn, who will be our child forever.

This dossier is the link between our lives and hers, oh God. It is the symbol of our hope--the instrument that will bring our family together. Speed it on its way, and sustain our faith during the difficult months to come.

"YOU STAND IN ONE PLACE LONG ENOUGH AND THE WORLD COMES TO YOU"

Here is the link to the blog of a family that has adopted from the same orphanage as Lily is from. Evidently, there was a big marital arts tournament in the town she is from. Scroll down to the post "YOU STAND IN ONE PLACE LONG ENOUGH AND THE WORLD COMES TO YOU" to see the pics. These pics are from the town Lily was born in!

http://jinxiuofxuwen.blogspot.com/

Monkey?

Well, well, well . . . The video finally uploaded!

Church and Lily's Attachment

Well, we think we have found a church that we want to get more involved in. We have both been impressed by the pastor and his desire to get to know us. Continue to pray that Lily will assimilate to the nursery. We have been home 6 months are ready to start transitioning her to using a nursery. The Nursery Director is actually coming to our home Tusday during Lily's nap, so we can talk about the nursery there. I hope to try and set up a transition plan so to speak. I am actually looking forward to it.

We have noticed that Lily does well when left fo 15-20 minutes during our absence, but there seems to be some mild backlash (clingy/cranky) for a couple days after the time away from us. She didn't do that after her 20 min with Grandma and Grandpa Robey, but I think that is b/c she is familiar with them.

This is good news to us, b/c it means that she is recognizes that her care should come from us. What we want to work on now is her trusting that we will return for her when we do leave for a short time.

Cheese

Last night after we finished dinner, Lily asked for cheese. She normally gets a slice, a stick, or a couple chunks. I have never tried to get Lily to say Cheese before. I got the cheese, she grinned from ear-to-ear, and ate most of it. I held it it in front of her and said, "Cheese?" She responded, "Cheese!"

Steve's 33rd Birthday

It started out well and pretty uneventful. I picked up a homemade carrot cake from the bakery just up the street (literally a 5 minute walk). I surprised Steve with breakfast in bed, then the cake, and his cards (I hid the cards that came in the mail the last couple of days - He commented yesterday that none had showed up yet).

I thought we were going to try and be a one car family for awhile, but Steve wasn't completely convinced. We decided yesterday evening that we would go ahead and replace the transmission in the Olds instead of purchasing a different vehicle. We know the previous owners, how it's been driven, and the maintenance records etc. We would have to spend triple the money we're spending on the transmission to get a semi-reliable car with lower mileage.

That was actually a bit of a relief for me. I had gotten tired of looking for a car and always being disappointed. The day went south when Steve took the Honda to the shop for what we thought would end up being $200-300 front brake job. BTW, yes that means the shop has both of our vehicles. They offered us a loaner car at no charge, phew - what a relief!

It turned into a $750 repair by lunch time and by 3:30 it was nearing $1000. We trust this shop very much, but we did do our research on parts and labor elsewhere and they are right on. Much, cheaper than the dealership! It was all wear and tear kind of stuff. Stuff that - on most cars - would have been done long ago. The poor odometer reads nearly 148,000, but the odometer stopped working 6 mths ago. We've probably put 8,000 miles on since then.

I would have been just a little more than frustrated if we had spend $4000 on a replacement for the Olds and then had to turn around and spend $1000 on the Honda. Praise the Lord, we have the money. We just hate to spend it soooo much of it on one day at one place!

New "Words"

Well, Lily has added a couple of "words" to here vocabulary. I use the term loosely, because they barely resemble words and has yet to use them independently yet.

Tonight we took Lily to the indoor playground next to where I used to work (both of which are inside the lobby of a mega-church). She was in a very silly mood on the way to the car. Before we got outside, she was throwing herself on the floor every couple of yards and crawling and then "walking" on all fours. She was laughing and giggling a lot. We got to the car and she was still being silly while I was trying to get her in the car seat. In a very exasperated tone, I said - "Oh, good grief." She then proceeded to say (in the same tone), "O, guh guh". I thought it was a fluke, but every time that I said Oh, good grief - she said O, guh, guh!

After her bath tonight, Steve brought her to me and was saying, "I've got a duck, a duck, a duck." Her bath towel is a duck. Every time, Steve would say "a duck," Lily would say "a duh."

We had a good evening! We needed the laughs and smiles after the day we've had. I'll explain in another post.

My first video

Well, here is my first attempt at posting a video. I have to do some editing of the video we took in China as most of it is too long. I am having a hard time with the software that we purchased. We bought some RAM and that seems to be helping, but I've been overly consumed with trying to find a replacement car in the last 11 days.

This was taken with our digital camera, so it doesn't have any sound. I wish I had started the video just a tad sooner and stopped it a tad later. I missed the really funny parts. She was "dancing" in the basket at first. Just after I stopped it, she flopped out of the basket. I say flopped, because she didn't really fall. However, she wasn't too gracefull either!

One Car Family

Well, I wouldn't say that it is official yet . . . We are seriously considering becoming a one car family. I have been pretty depressed and, well, angry the last couple of days. We have been looking for a car for 11 days now. I decided to research the costs of using the local bus system. We live literally a stone's throw from a bus stop.

We actually live on what I would consider one of the most important bus lines. It even runs with consistency on the snow routes. Not that L-burg gets much snow. I am within .4 of a mile of our bank, .1 of a 24 hour drugstore, .2 of the grocery. I can get to Wal-Mart, LU, Indoor PLayground for Lily, the Target shopping center all without a transfer. I can even get Lily to her pediatrician's office with only 1 transfer. I have to admit that I have never used a bus system. I've used the Metro in DC and MARTA in Atlanta, but I have never been on a city bus.

Well, by my estimates we can save at least $100 a month going this route. It cost $40 a month for an unlimited pass. Our insurance costs would drop by $40 a month (it would be more, but we are losing the multi-car discount on the remaining car). Our gas budget would drop by $110 a month. I have not even figured in the cost of maintenance that we would save.

Now, I just need to get up the nerve and try the bus and see if I survive!