More traipsing in Spring

Another day to "allow the beauty of nature arouse the students' senses and motivate learning" - according to the translation sent home to parents explaining today's Elementary field trip.

Bummer of today was the 80% of the Botanical gardens were now bloomed out.  A big storm the day before we arrived, had a detrimental impact on many of the blooming varieties.  But we were treated to some spectacular azaleas that made us a little homesick. 

Below:  The 2nd Grade class of Brownie and Potato, Momma was one of the chaperons for this wild group.

Below:  Potato, and aspiring photographer it would seem, snapped this photo of a peony, still in bloom.

Above:  Some variety of iris?

Below:  Mrs. H's "group" for the day, Brandon (left), Tony (next to Brownie) and our girls.  Hard to get them to pose together.  Tony is a romantic interest of one of the girls...ever since Kindergarten...so it was an exciting/awkward day as we toured the gardens!  ;)

Below:  The Bug pauses in one of the greenhouses for a photo.

Below:  Another peony shot by Potato.

Above:  My nature photo contribution...azaleas!

Below:  some unique sites of the day...

Below:  Daddy and I with our teammate Mr. V...who loves to "Gump" himself into any/every photo!  

Below:  Nurse Ann with The Bug.  Poor Nurse Ann, she struggles to continually educate me about Eastern Health ideas and practices that conflict with Western views of the same.  She really tries to be gentle and patient with me...but we've had several times where we've left our sessions together, whether the topic be vaccinations, eye exercises, IVs given for any ailment, or bed rest for weeks on end, each shaking our head at each other.  I am really astounded at her grace with me.  She is a tender heart and she is so good to our children...I think she thinks she may be the only thing standing between them and some great health issues due to their parents' lack of knowledge of "common sense" health facts!   

Below:  We often see unusual (to our thinking) choices in attire.  Here a local Kindergarten teacher from another school has brought her class for an enormous walk in the park...in her platform shoes.

Below:  Magpie and Ethan...a dear close friend of our family...he comes to our home regularly for homework help...or just to hang out and soak up the chaos!

Daddy took a bad jolt to his back tonight in a van ride into town so he's turned in early to rest it.  Please be lifting him up.  We've got to get some things ready this week for our travel South next week, so we need Daddy to be all rested up before we leave our home!  And, I'm having some weird neuro stuff with my left shoulder, elbow and hand.  I have a significant neck injury from years ago that had caused nerve trouble in the past down my arm, but this pain and some real discomfort in the hand (like arthritis aching, I imagine.)  Anyway, we could use your prayers if your remember us.

Grateful for everyday.

Glimpses of Divine Design

It strikes me the strangest moments.  The split second when the Divine and my natural experience collide and for a brief moment I catch a glimpse of more of His handiwork.    Those moments give me the goosebumps.  They thrill me...they capture my imagination...and they leave me eager for more of His revelation.

Today Daddy and I sat across the table from a truly great man.  I wrote about him a short while ago. Lu Ping, is a man who along with his wife, is raising 34 children.  We were thrilled to receive the call that he was traveling from his countryside home, seven hours away, to pay us a visit.  We were so pleased to meet his daughter, and a foster daughter, who help care for the 34 children.  His face is so peaceful, so radiant, that I find myself so attracted to the Divine image he bears in his mortal flesh.  Truly, He is an example that mankind was fashioned after the Creator.

We toured our school, talked about some future projects that we will undertake together, and spoke deeply about our shared heart for children in crisis.  We listened as he told us more about his history.  How he first became involved in the work of caring for children.  As a single, young man, he was renting a room in a countryside village.  There was a young boy he saw regularly, seemingly without anyone to care for him.  After inquiring of some of the locals, he was told that the boy lived under the bridge on the outskirts of the village.  One night he went looking for the boy, and he found him, living alone, under the bridge.  He gave the young boy food, and the jacket off his back.  The boy promptly followed him home and that was the start of a project that has already "graduated 30" children, and has just 34 more.  Although, he is now in an expansion phase with the building of a new school and dormitory, so, more children might soon come in.

He is a slight man of build.  His eyes are so kind.  We talked about helping him get some care for a special needs boy in his home.  We dreamed of future visits from us to them to help with teaching and training the children at his newly expanded compound.  We considered partnering his school with ours, ours to support their learning and helping by training their teachers...perhaps ongoing humanitarian efforts.    It appears to be a big, wide-open door of need, and I think we glimpsed some of His arrangement of these things.  Please, lift us up as we attempt to understand the path we are to travel toward these projects.

On the adoption front, the boys continue to do well.  We've had some really encouraging signs in terms of sensation for Mr. E.  He is supposed to be without feeling below his torso.  However, on several occasions now, in various ways, he has demonstrated that in fact, he has some sensation in his upper thighs!  This could have many implications! We are believing, as we do for all our kids, for healing of the body, mind, and spirit!

Tomorrow is yet another field trip!  I know....how can this keep up?  We really don't know!  But, we're off with our Elementary kids tomorrow to visit the self-same botanical gardens.(My second visit in as many weeks!)  We have a six day work week next week, and then we're off to the South to complete the all-important visa portion of the adoption process!  Parts of our tribe will be down South for one week...while others will return home with teammates to have a three-day school week!

Last night we were able to get back to our routine of individually "dating" our kids.  We have a special evening, every-other week, when the other 8 kids stay home, and Daddy and I take out one kiddo on a date. I'm going to post a photo of Brownie on her date with us.  She kept saying, "This is the best!"  My heart was so grateful for His grace to allow us these special times with our precious ones!

Must run for now...will keep trying to write...especially as I have pictures to share!

Above:  Brownie's date night.

Above: our Team with Lu Ping and his daughters, he is in the center of the photo, the shortest one there, in a gray shirt

Below:  We were blessed by their agreement to stay and go out for "hot pot" with us!  Though the lighting is bad, Lu Ping is in the center.

We are amazed by the work of His hands! 

One Foot in Front of the Other

The title of tonight's post is credited to Daddy who today, when asked during hour 2 at the passport office in Ezra's hometown how he was doing, replied, "I'm just putting one foot in front of the other."

It's big. 

Adding a new child to your family is so big, on so many levels.

Then you add two at once.  And the multiplication factor is out of control. 

But that is where we live.

Daddy gets points off the scale for today's strong and steady approach to events that caused tears to spill down my face randomly.  He's my hero.  He quoted scripture to me, he held me close, and he reminded me of God's faithfulness in our lives.  Man, I love that guy.

The kids enjoyed tremendously a visit to the big foster home/orphanage where Ezra has lived the past four years of his life.  They played with babies, they played with toddlers, they played with some other foreign kids who live here too.  What a sweet mercy that was for us while Magpie, Daddy, Nehemiah, Ezra and I slogged it out at the passport office.

Some really interesting questions were asked of us.  Unusual we thought, in a way, during the passport interview with the local official.

When we finalized Ezra's adoption this morning, the head of the Civil Affairs office, asked me why we have adopted so many children.  She especially wanted to know why Ezra...since he will need a different kind of care...using a wheelchair...  She said, "it must be some sort of religion reason, or something?"

I was emotional at the time. 

But I told her, "Yes, we believe that this is what God wants us to do.  And we are afraid of the unknowns in the future sometimes...but we have faith and trust in God who takes care of us and who will take care of Him."  Then this woman hugged me.  I was so shocked, I don't think I've ever been spontaneously hugged by a stranger Here...it's just not done.

Daddy kept telling me over and over again..."it is going to be amazing to see the miracles that are going to come in this next chapter of our life."

Nehemiah did better today overall.  He got more into a "go with the flow" attitude.  He is a kid who loves to be touched, so this is a great blessing in working on beginning our relationship.  Even though I can't say, and he can't understand what I want to tell him...he can feel me rubbing his back, kissing the top of his head, holding his hand.  He is really, really smart.  He did so well with Daddy today too, laughing a being tickled, walking hand in hand everywhere.  Still some crazy man stuff, but overall, we were so encouraged.

Ezra was shut down all day.  This is not uncommon during the first weeks of adoption.  He just sort of glazed over and slept as much as he could...I'm sure just trying to cope with all the changes.  In four years, he's never really been outside of the orphanage.  Playing at the playground has largely been his exposure to the outside world.  Now he is dealing with all of it...new family...new siblings wanting to constantly engage him...a Momma and Daddy of his own....and a world of people/smells/sights/sounds/foods...he's never known.  What a staggering thing for a boy of four.

Not unlike The Bruiser who had been institutionalized for two and a half years before we got him, Ezra has a long way to go with his development.  He has lived in a room of mostly babies, no real older children, and has been cared for like a baby for that time.  The care he has received is the best imaginable care through a private foster home/orphanage...but there is no substitute for family...

I am so thankful that God gave us the experience with The Bruiser to now have known and seen just what sort of healing comes in family.

The highlight of my night was seeing Ezra wheeling around in his new wheelchair that is being loaned to us by a foster home in Beijing.  He was so independent, so strong, and clearly loves the freedom that his new wheels bring him.

Hopefully we'll take a train back home tomorrow.  This is the plan.  However, there is some trouble with getting train tickets due to the Tomb Sweeping holiday...praying for a good turnout at the ticket sales place!  Ready to get home and try to figure out our new lives all together.

Thank you, more than we can ever say, for your prayers and support.

Below:  Ezra watches and listens as The Singer "reads" a book to him tonight.

Party of 11

We're here.  We've got everyone together.  Not really together as there is no adequate hotel room to house us all...but we're in the same hotel...a few doors apart.

Daddy has four of the young men.  He had enormous success calming down Tornado Neam last night.  He was crazy getting into bed.  So Daddy put his hand on the top of his head and he suddenly calmed.  He went to sleep finally with Daddy's hand on his head, while Daddy prayed prayers of thanksgiving for him and his life.

Today has been indescribably enormous.  We started the day with finalizing the papers to make Neam an official H family member...after 15 months...seems surreal.

Then we boarded a train to another province.  Four and a half hours that were stressful, and sometimes sweet.  Upon arriving here, we were taken to our hotel.  We were told that they would bring Ezra to our hotel.  We came downstairs after dropping off our backpacks and there he was.  Sitting on the couch, his eyes wide and a little fearful, he was just sitting there waiting for us.

It was nearly six PM when we received him.  It was an emotional night for all of us. We are thankful for your lifting us up right now.

As I looked around the dinner table I felt dwarfed by the enormity of all of it..the two new ones..our family all together...the unknowns of the future. I told Daddy as he hugged and encouraged me tonight that the last time I felt this way, it was the first night when we arrived in the Middle Kingdom..to live.  I nearly had a panic attack that night, but as I look back on the raw emotion of that night, that point of no return has brought so much blessing into my life.

I'm not talking about living Here (or There) or adopting and having a family of 11 in the same apartment...it is this point when the rubber hits the road and obedience through faith. it is, well, it is so far beyond what we can handle on our own.  Only by His strength...and that is where He wants me to live...depending daily on His strength.

Tomorrow we sign the papers for Ezra..then off to the hometown where he has lived in an orphanage for the past 4 years of his life.  We pray we'll get train tickets home the day after as we so, so, so will need some time in our home to try and figure out the practical side of this divinely designed happening.

Some pictures of today...

Above:  Just after our finalization this morning...an official H family teammate.

Below:  The next few photos attest to his influence over the siblings...these were all taken while waiting at the train station.

Below: Dad and Magpie share a moment on the train platform.

Below:  Potato shows off her changing smile...that front tooth is dangling, twisted, and has moved to the middle!  It is a riot!

Below:  The Bug and The Bruiser hamming it up on the train.

Below: In the bus, on our way to meet Ezra

Below: Party of 11

Below:  The connection between these two continues. How they love each other.  Brownie wanted to feed him his dinner so badly!  (Sure this posh treatment won't go on forever!)

Too tired to think...all others in my room are snoring...so must I.

More tomorrow.

Tomorrow, Definitely....Maybe

Today gave me the unparalleled opportunity to teach the phrase "photo finish" to one of my good friends. She was in the company van with me, hurriedly going out to purchase train tickets to the next province...for a Friday trip to pick up Ezra.

As it stands tonight, we are going to/likely going to/probably going to get Nehemiah tomorrow (our Thursday.)  That is, if the magic ticket from Beijing arrives here...after Ms. Guo got it signed on the third day of our quest to possess it.  I was sent a tracking number for the golden ticket (actually there are two golden tickets, ours that must arrive at the school, and the local governments, that also must arrive tomorrow morning.)  Just to add some fun to the situation, the tracking number/system for tracking is wonky and it shows that the package has not moved in more than 24 hours!  However, IF both golden tickets arrive, as they are expected to, we will drive across town and finally welcome Nehemiah into our family.  It has been a staggering 15 months since we first saw his picture and "knew" that he was an H man.

Oh and...the money that was wired from the US here some 6 days ago, still has not arrived in the bank account to pay for the fees that are due tomorrow upon receiving our fifth son, as well as our sixth son, due to be joined with us on Friday.

Just a few big issues still hanging out there...

Don't know if we should celebrate tonight, or strike a more cautious pose.  It is just crazy to be on the "maybe-eve" of our fourth "gotcha" day...but maybe not...

Assuming that the climax of months of work will in fact produce our new son tomorrow...then we will go home for the overnight "harmonious period" where we will "decide" if in fact we wish to proceed with the adoption.  He will, without a doubt, become our next H family member.

The next morning (our Friday) we will go to sign the official adoption registration, forever adopting this boy who tonight has no birthright, no family name, and then we will whisk him and seven of his closest (geographically) brothers and sisters for an all expense-paid trip to the next province North of us.

Four and a half hours later, we'll get off the train, and go immediately to Civil Affairs where we will receive Ezra.  My head is spinning at the thought of it, already.

Friday night will be the "harmonious period" for Ezra, then we'll sign the registration papers on Saturday morning (a work day Here due to the upcoming Tomb Sweeping Holiday), and will load our burgeoning family into a mini-bus to drive 2.5 hours back to the town where Ezra's orphanage is located.  After applying for his passport that afternoon, we'll retire for an overnight at the orphanage where Ezra has lived for the past four years.

Another train on Sunday (another work/school day) will bring us back home where we will begin our new life together as a family with 11 offspring...nine still at home...and two crazy-blessed, yet often tired, parents.

I promise photos here as soon as we have them.

Please be lifting us up as you wake up on your Wednesday, for the money to arrive, the papers to arrive, and for the most momentous experience imaginable in the afternoon to come to pass.

He has done great things.

Yes on Ms. Guo...No on supervisor signature...

The roller coaster of end game adoption is in full swing.  Lots and lots of ups and downs are experienced.  Ms. Guo did "print" our final piece of paper, however, by four PM on Friday afternoon, there were "no supervisors left in the building" to sign it.

A glimmer of hope remains for getting both boys next week...

If Ms. Guo can find ANY supervisor willing to sign the paper on Monday, it will be sent out to us to arrive on Wednesday.  If it arrives Wednesday (to us AND to the provincial offices) there is a slight chance that we can still get Nehemiah on Thursday, then travel on Friday evening by train to Ezra's province to receive him on Saturday.  (Due to the Tomb Sweeping Holiday, next week is a SEVEN day work and school week!  Can you imagine a school/business in the West working seven days straight?) 

We would register Ezra's adoption on Sunday, travel to his hometown to apply for his passport (for those of you in the adoption world, this is a NEW wrinkle...no more receiving passports through the Civil Affairs office in the capital of some provinces, you must travel to the passport bureau in the child's hometown to get it!)  If this ridiculous schedule can happen, we'll be home for our three day Tomb Sweeping Holiday on April 2-4.

If we cannot get the paper on Wednesday, we will have to wait until after the holiday to get Nehemiah...and perhaps Ezra.  So, please, keep lifting this time frame issue up.

Today must organize the massive "closet room" in our apartment.  The boys' bunks need to be rearranged in their room and the whole room spiffed up for the two new residents!  ;)

Thanks for the personal emails and comments encouraging us...they matter to us...so much.

Going to post two new pictures:

Above:  This past week a true advocate for Ezra traveled from the US to visit the O.  She captured this photo of him in a hat she brought for him.  Many thanks to her for her continuing love and support...and many thanks for this new photo that shows his darling face!

Below:  GRANDSON ALERT!  New photo of Malachi, our grandbaby!  He is two months old now!  Come July, come, so we can squeeze this baby boy!

Will update again soon about Monday...then perhaps Gotcha photos in SIX DAYS OR LESS!!!!

New sons...

After one year of working on Nehemiah's adoption...and nine months of pursuing Ezra's adoption...we are in the home stretch.

If you would lift up our request that a certain, final, government official would be in her office on Friday and willing to sign off on our final piece of paperwork...then we will bring home the boys next week!

The last two days have been a flurry of emails, phone calls, and text messages working on four different government departments over four provinces of China to get the paperwork through. We have already seen some formidable mountains moved today!  Now, just the last one (and an agreement from the orphanages to our desired "Gotcha" dates next week) and the boys will be home for the National Tomb Sweeping (Qing Ming) festival!  (Actually, we've not really gotten into the celebration/observation of that holiday yet...but two new sons would certainly be a celebration for us to remember!) ;)

Last week we received a wheelchair for Ezra from a foster home in Beijing,  we received, divinely, the funds required to complete the adoptions, and we were notified about a potential van available for us!  His timing is always perfect.  These adoptions have taught me a deeply difficult lesson in that.

This issue of timing is also evident in that the past two months I would say that The Bruiser has demonstrated phenomenal development in bonding, language, and attachment.  This was an area of immense concern for him and his future.  Just last week I was sitting at the table, with this previously largely verbally uncommunicative child, and he talked for ten minutes straight about his school, his friends, and what he liked to eat!  I cried as I marveled that seemingly overnight, he has changed.  Every morning this week he has come out of the bedroom, sought me out, just to snuggle for a few minutes!!!  Truly, this is glorious!!!  Daddy said, "well, that must be why the new sons couldn't come home yet...Bruiser still needed a bit more time for his restoration."

I think we're ready for them...how can one really be ready for two new sons...aged five and four to walk into your life and to turn everything upside down?  For about four months...we'll think we're dying as everyone learns their place in the new family configuration.  But we're excited nonetheless!  For we know that these boys belong here, with their family...and we cannot stand anymore time for them to be away from home!

More updates, soon.

Happy New Year! It's going to be a big one!

Though this post is a few days late for the customary "Happy New Year"...I do hope you'll allow me to claim that here in the Middle Kingdom, it is not really the New Year until January 23rd.  So, perhaps this long overdue post is instead, right on time.

Much has been developing in our life here through these past several months.  Our family has experienced the throes of a fast-paced semester that has finally drawn to close.  On Friday we'll make our pilgrimage to retreat where we enjoy rest and the opportunity to focus on listening to Him ever more closely.  The children are free to run and play with kids just like them, those who live and work outside of their home culture, all over Asia.  It is a time where they can let down their guard and just feel free to be who they are.

2012 is going to be another year of growth for our tribe.  At long last we can announce that officially we have two sons that will come home in the next month or so!  We're well past the concerns of how crazy we appear.  Now we do our best to embrace this wild journey He's led us on...to parent a large family...and to live in a foreign culture...and to constantly accept that whatever plans we had for our life must be subjected to the plan He has for our lives.

This last decision to bring #9 home (we're calling him #9 because that's what the school called him before they knew his name, even though he is actually #11 in the H family line-up) was a struggle.  It brought this Momma to a place that I've never truly been before. A place in which I must admit fully that I am not adequate for all the responsibilities of this life.  That I must depend daily on His grace and strength to make it through.  Daddy came to this place peacefully this past summer when being questioned by our Chancellor of Schools.  She was asking him about the potential of #9's joining us, and with love and concern she said, "But, can you handle it?"...he retold the experience to me in which his reply was an honest, "no."  He said that as soon as he said no, he felt faith surge through him, and he began to share the promises of our Father with her for every challenge, every weakness, every call to obedience.  She was deeply touched by his responses.  That conversation took place in August...and just recently have we seen what those seeds of faith have produced in these months her her life and the lives of those around us.

Perhaps it is my background,  it must be in part my personality,  and I'm certain that my culture also contributed to this sense of loathing for weakness.  Yet, here I am, soon to be the mother of 11, 9 children still at home, and now I can say with assurance...I am not enough.

But He is.

Living by faith is a risky business on the surface.  We wonder how we can ever get the courage enough to take those steps of obedience...but in reality...when we surrender fully to His plan...it is the most secure place to be.  We are in His hands.  We are surrounded by His protection.

#9...where did he come from?  Those of you who have read here, know that we've been "waiting" for paperwork for Nehemiah.  The paperwork for him has come through, but we could not move forward until we knew for sure if #9 was in fact our son. 

We met #9 again this past June.  We visited a private orphanage in a neighboring province.  The girls and I had gone there to visit with a group that had come from the US.  Little did we know that we also came to see that an H family member was there, waiting for us.  Brownie was the first who "knew" that he was our son.  She never left his side over the days we were there...she began to plead with Daddy and I to listen to what God was saying to her...through her.

We struggled.  Not only with the idea of our family growing again...that is struggle enough...but because our new H family member uses a wheelchair for his mobility...and we live in the Middle Kingdom.  I cannot think of any time in the past four years that I've seen someone, using a wheelchair, outside of the hospital.  To say that life here is not "handicap accessible" would be the understatement of the century.  And yet, we knew He was calling us to trust Him and to open our hearts and lives to this precious boy.

We told the children that it was impossible. 

Over and over again..."it is impossible"..."maybe if we were in the US,  but not here, it's just impossible!"..."we don't even have a car here!  we use city buses to get around as a family!  how could we have a son in a wheelchair? it's just impossible!".... "our access to medical care!  no school has children in wheelchairs! it's just impossible!"

Magpie, late one night last summer, crawled into our bed, weeping.  She told us that she couldn't go back to sleep...that every time she closed her eyes she saw #9's face, and she was certain that the HS was telling her that he was ours!  We cried too.  We told her that we were committed to praying for a family for him...but for us to be his family, well, it was impossible, impossible, impossible, impossible...

Magpie, through her tears, simply said to us, "We have many words we're not allowed to say in this family...hate, boring...but I think the #1 word we should not be allowed to say is impossible.  As many mountains as He has moved in our lives...and as many miracles as we've seen Him perform...He must be so sad to ever hear us say IMPOSSIBLE."

The priesthood of the believer...right there...in our bed...in the middle of the night...TRUTH.

We have been struggling, like never before in the paperwork process, to get to the place where finally we had #9s file in hand...it has taken nearly 6 months...but as of January 6th...we can announce that he has been officially matched with us.

Doors have opened wide at our school during that time to welcome him, where once we were told they would not be able to accept a child in a chair.  Hearts have opened wide to receive him here in our community, where once they were closed to anyone with special needs.

We are walking through and witnessing a miracle in process...again...

I have no idea why He has allowed us this formidable blessing, once again...but I am so thankful that He has.

I will post some pictures soon, as I am able.  But for now, you can know his name...

Ezra.

(Funny that Nehemiah and Ezra will come home together, I know.  They are not the same age...and we chose the names for drastically different reasons...not just because we flipped open the book and picked the first two book names we saw!;)

We will have several changes that we need to make so please lift those matters up with us...perhaps in our housing, we need transportation, a caregiver/aide to help him at school, perhaps a PT teacher/tutor to help with some additional learning as he'll not be in school FT, a the finances to achieve all these changes.

When we finally had the word that Ezra would come home to us...that it was official...the children shrieked and danced around for joy.  Brownie wept and went off to the bedroom to pray and thank Him for listening to her... after she emerged from the room she told me..."God heard my prayers."

May they all come to know the One who answers our every prayer.

Computer Failure...and update

At the end of October, Magpie was enjoying checking her personal email on my laptop.  Apparently, something caused her to rise suddenly to depart from the desk and her foot caught in the cords and the laptop (new in January) went flying/crashing to the ground.  It was evident immediately that the LED was cracked and the computer is not usable until we can get funds together to replace the screen.

That computer has our special "access" and connection to the web that allows us to write this blog.  Without it, we cannot access the blog on any other internet computer.  Today, I prevailed upon some teammates to allow me to use their personal laptop that also has the special access ability...so that I could simply report that we are still alive!

Now and update, in a flash:

1)  The last weekend of October, we celebrated four birthdays (Magpie's 12th, The Singer's & The Bruiser's 4ths, and our soon-coming 5th son's 5th birthday.)  Four cakes in 7 days...intense.

2)  Our English department took 19 students this year to the City-wide English competition.  (Our first year I think we took 5)...and this year, ALL of our groups took top honors and have advanced into the finals, to be held on December 10th.  If they win on Dec 10th again, we'll be invited to the Nationals in Beijing to compete in February.

3)  QQ had his surgery on Nov. 5th!  He is back home in his province and we are overjoyed!  Now his lip and palate are closed and he can go on with a normal life in his family!  Praises!

4)  We baked 600 oatmeal raisin cookies (thanks to a fabulous recipe from Eva G. back at GNF)...for a fundraiser and street fair held in our apartment complex.  We sold out entirely and are using the money as seed to buy a series of gifts for children who live in the local orphanage and in foster homes.  Our students will use this money (adding to it some other money I'll tell you about soon) and will themselves buy the gifts for the kids!

5)  We hosted a Harvest Party for the school complete with trick-or-treating in our "crazy hats."  The whole school participated as we played games led by our teammate Mr V and Daddy, a lesson on harvest festivals by Mr. S, Snacks served up by myself, and a craft overseen by Mrs. V.  (Pictures of our beloved new teammates coming soon to the blog!)

6)  A co-worker "entered" our family into a national competition here that was gathering personal stories that "move" others.  Our co-worker entered us, without out knowledge and confessed it all the day before a  TV crew showed up to interview us about our family.  Then a few days later the first TV spot about us aired...and it would seem that it began an avalanche of media interest in our family.  It has been overwhelming these past 10 days as we have been interviewed by 4 TV stations, had 5 newspaper articles published about us, a "broadcast" of our story on the national social media source here called Q Q, and a radio interview later today.  We have spent well over 25 hours in interviews and photo shoots since the first show came to the school to interview us.   We have no idea when it will end, but we need your prayer to support us for protection and stamina.

7)  We received some local gov officials here who represent people with special needs here in our city.  They brought us a cash gift meant to express their appreciation for our story in the local papers.  We're so excited because we are adding that money to the school's project to buy things for the orphanage and foster kids mentioned before.

8) We have a school-wide English competition to be held on December 22 that we must ensure ALL of our students can perform various songs and dialogues in English for their parents. 

9)  Today we were told that I would be singing an aria from the opera Carmen with a colleague, while Daddy dances with the Principal of our school, in the company of ALL the other teachers, also paired up to dance around the two singers...all this before the company's Chinese new Year party on January 6th...about 1500 people will be there...and yes...full costume and make-up.  You just cannot take yourself seriously here...

9)  Today I was asked to perform on Friday, another solo, for our school-wide talent show.  No idea what to do for that yet...but it is only Tuesday...

10)  Oh, we also had parent's day at our school. last week (simultaneously with the news interview period of time)...standing for comments and suggestions from the highly involved and interested local parents...just after we administered our Mid-term exams.  (All our students did well.)

11)  We served 33 lbs of turkey on Saturday cooked in our two over-sized toaster ovens...with all the other good stuff that goes with it...thanks to Mrs. S and Mrs. V who brought many key ingredients into the feast.

12)  We have put up our Christmas tree...and have exchanged names with the children to determine who will give a gift to whom in just 26 days.

13)  We are involved in a huge row over some adptn paperwork that involved what we believe to be highly unethical behavior on the part of one group stateside (not our agncy)...that has led us to talk with the top officials in BJ here and soon with gov't parties There, too....

14)  This Saturday Daddy and I are compelled to attend the "teacher's field trip" to Mu lan mountain (about a 12 hour day).  We will climb the mountain...unfortunately, the field trip is a little late this year, so we're expecting temps in the 40's as the highs on that day...

15)  By His grace, no absenteeism yet this year...we've made it to school/work everyday.

Sorry for the bullet-point info...but time is short and I must get to some other responsibilities now...

Happy Thanksgiving to each of you!  We praise Him for all of those who care for us and read about our crazy life here!

Qian Qian - The Next Step

A quick post as I have no internet at home and have had to go to the school to get online.

In November we are hopeful that QQ will have gained enough weight to travel for surgery to close his palate. (If you are unfamiliar with Qian Qian's awesome story, start with the "Humanity"posts in October last year and then catch up with the labels "Qian Qian.")

The remote village where he lives is experiencing a horrible drought and the entire rice crop for this year was lost.  For QQ's farming family of 2 parents, 4 children, and two grandparents, this is a life or death crisis.  Please lift up his family and their whole village who is hearing for the first time about a new Hope they have never heard of before. 

We have, through donations from readers here and our personal funds, been "sponsoring" QQ's food and medical care over the past 11 months.  His next surgery is crucial and he is nearing the 2 year-old mark that Western doctors insist is a key point where speech will be affected if the palate is not closed by that time.  We tried to have this surgery done in May of this year, but QQ was showing signs of malnourishment and the doctors refused him.

We have been working with a partner in his province who has now been, bi-weekly, taking food (milk powder, eggs, cereal) to QQ to ensure his weight gain.  He is now at 10.5 kilograms.  He MUST weigh at least 11 kgs by the November surgery date or he will be refused again.  It would be best if he weighed 11.5-12 kgs so that his body would be strong for the healing that is necessary after such a significant surgery.

At any rate, he has been gaining (up 1.5 kgs in the past 3 months) and we are setting our sights on November.

I have posted a Chip-in again on the blog to raise the funds necessary to continue his support up to and for 1 month after surgery (as needed), his medical care, the travel required for the family to the surgery, and for lodging for the family in the distant city while he receives his surgery.  If you are able to help us provide for QQ and his family in this matter, we would be grateful. 

The above photo is of QQ and his older sister...

Please feel free to email us any inquires you might have about the situation.

Dancin' in the Streets

well, not really.
I don't allow him to dance in the streets...but The Bruiser is a mighty happy soul since Wednesday brought freedom from his leg cast!  The trooper has worn a cast all summer (10 weeks) and on Wednesday when the tech cut off the cast The Bruiser commanded that he "throw that in the TRASH!"

We're amazed at the healing in his leg!

He now will use an orthotic brace for the next several months with the goal of weaning off of it after 3-6 months.  We're praying now that the tendons in his feet will strengthen and help his foot remain flat to the ground (instead of rolled up onto the side and his tippy toes) thus avoiding more surgery next summer.

As the reason we remained stateside while all the other family is back home in the Middle Kingdom is now removed...we are profoundly homesick at this point.  The boys are as friable as I've ever seen them.  The slightest issue dissolves them into tears (or violence against their brother-man.)  And I am, well, I am a jumble of nervous energy, emotion, and angst.  (Note to all of you...if you see us coming down the road...best to just avoid us and let us pass on by!)

We're excited for a huge happening coming this Sunday morning as we'll celebrate one from our "local family" in the Middle Kingdom as he participates in the symbolic rite of dying to his past and being raised anew.  (I'll be the one hollering with joy!)  Sunday evening will bring a chance to visit with friends at a potluck to share some crazy stories of life in the Middle Kingdom.  (If you're reading this and you'd like to come, EMAIL ME, all are welcome.)

Monday will bring some shots for Bub (that ought to go really smoothly after the week we're having)...cramming suitcases full of things we've been accumulating...and praying for a "good weigh-in" at that airport counter on Tuesday (glad their not weighing ME in after 11 weeks in the States)!

We know that there might be a major slight problem when we get to Beijing with the transfer of our baggage from the International flight (and international baggage allowance) to the domestic flight (and domestic baggage allowance)...please be lifting us up that we will find favor with the ticket counter gods service staff!  In 6 years I've never had an issue with this...but apparently things do change (surprise, surprise) and I may have a run for my money (or at least people trying to demand that I pay for my luggage to fly the rest of the way home!)  Never hoped before that I would appear overwhelmed and desperate enough with only 3 children in tow that someone would have pity on me!

Going to post a few cherished photos from our summer visit with ALL our kids!  We had 2 days with all 9+1 (our dear daughter-in-law) and got a few photos that we'll cherish forever!  The visit brought even more phenomenal news to us...that the Rockstar and his Princess will soon be making us GRANDPARENTS!  In January we expect to behold the beautiful sight of Malachi!  Wow!  Now that is joyful anticipation!

Must run and try to cross some more t's and dot some more i's...

The H Family, July 2011

Back at it...

We've been enjoying furlough in the US which as given us some wonderful moments with family and friends.  There are several developments that are taking shape in regards to our future, items that began as that still, small voice and now are matters of obedience that we will walk through.  We've experienced encouragements, discouragements, and His grace through all of it.  We have talked and talked and talked and talked to people to share His story...and so, the writing has been non-existent here.  It is time to get back on the horse.

The summer has included a dozen trips to Shriner's Hospital where we've experienced such excellent care.  The Bruiser's leg/foot barely resemble the clubbed foot with which he came to us.  He has been a soldier, excitedly enduring each weekly casting, the surgery to lengthen tendons, and the struggle to keep up with a perpetual cast on his leg.  "I'm going to run so fast, fast!"  He tells anyone who asks about the cast.  When he came home to us last year, the effects of institutionalization were profound.  We thought that his "main issue" to be addressed was the club foot...how wrong we were.  Our guy needed to learn how to be human...how to interact...how to trust...how to love.  We had thought the healing was needed in his feet.  Yet we discovered the healing was needed in his heart and mind.  The year we waited to correct the club foot was, by perfect design, the time needed to witness the miracle of his coming alive!  Where he once only responded with fear and anger when approached by others...now he warmly greets anyone he can.  He is the biggest comedian in our family!  Where once his face was mostly blank and expressionless, now he has a MILLION crazy facial expressions that he uses to reduce everyone to laughter and smiles!  Where he once would go to any person who grabbed a hold of him...now he insists that he remain with his family.  Just last week, I had to leave to take his older sisters to the airport to send them back to the Middle Kingdom for the start of their school year.  The Bruiser pressed me, over and over again, "Momma, please don't leave me."  Of course I reassured him each time...but my heart soared at how right it was...that he knew he belonged to me/us...

The Singer has blossomed in his English this summer.  He chatters on and on with us now, asking probing questions and pressing us for more info on EVERYTHING!  He had to grapple with fear and trust issues that often caused him to be whiny and fussy...episodes that were nearly a daily occurrence.  Yet, we have seen him come on to a new level of confidence in his place in the family.  He is much more smiley, less tense, and he has warmed to his extended family.  When dining at our friend's Chinese restaurant last week in our old hometown, the friend commented that he was "amazed" at how the brothers are now "just brothers and part of the family."  The comment was not lost on me.  It is good to pause and marvel at how His love had permeated their hearts and brought deep healing.  Adoption truly is a miracle, for us in the spiritual sense, and also on the physical level for those of us blessed enough to witness it up close. 

Bub rounds out the rest of my current posse.  We are the last scheduled to depart and return home.  Daddy left us three weeks ago to fulfill his duties for the school as Dean and prepare for the first day of school which was September 1.  The girls stayed on with me to savor some special days at the Fair (our first in 3 years), more family fun, and finally returned with their Grandma D just this week.  Now the girls with Grandma are back with Daddy and school has begun. The boys and I are left shuffling about waiting for the last cast to be removed so that we too can get back to our work with the rest of the tribe.  We are so grateful that we're able to stay with family and friends and have some extra special moments with loved ones that have been so scarce in recent years.

We are still waiting for paperwork to bring our newest son home.  Curious delays have presented themselves...probably for Great purpose...that we can reveal to you at a later time.  We are eager to get Nehemiah home but trust that He has the perfect design for the entire process, inclusive of the timing!

We've had marvelous news about QQ!  His last check-up with our partner in his province showed that he was gaining weight due to the regular support of formula, eggs, cereal, etc that we've been sending his way.  I received the most beautiful pictures of him, at home, WITH HIS FAMILY...that brought me to tears. The Good News has spread throughout his rural village and we have just a glimpse of how the miracle for QQ has effected so many in his life.  How thrilled we are that we've been privileged to be a tiny part in the Plan for this boy, his family, and his fellow villagers.  I will post the pictures in the coming days!

We have been fed(physically and spiritually), loved, and encouraged by our people these past 8 weeks.  I have a growing anticipation for our fourth year.  The opposition has been intense in country on matters vital to our school's (and our family's work in the school) future.    But, we're seeing once again that if He is for us, who can be against us? 

I'm down to the last four or five items on my list to find and haul back to our home.  Though I'm in the States until the 20th of September, I've already begun to pack my bags.  It is so difficult to be separated from part of the family.  What a time of joy we'll have when we're all back together...for 5 minutes or so before the kids start crashing into each other's space like cars at the demolition derby!

There is much to be encouraged about...He is working through countless lives...we've heard story after story this furlough about His hand at work.  We are grateful for the joy that is in this journey of adventure.  This year we expect to stretch us further, press us harder, and reveal more of His nature to us than ever before.  When you think of us...ask for courage...that we will embrace obedience and do all He has prepared in advance for us to do...no matter how scary that obedience appears!

And so begins year 4...

Striving for Grace

Within our host culture lie several complicated cultural minefields.  We do try, as often as possible, to avoid them.  When we stumble upon them, we freeze and try to determine the most delicate and grace-inducing manner to back out of the mess.

For instance, when dealing with a problem, a mediator should always be enlisted.  Within the employment realm, contracts mean nothing.  They are suggestions of how the relationship MIGHT work out, but there is nothing to hold either party to a signed contract.  In fact, there are boiler-plate contracts we have signed at various levels of  official approvals and we're told plainly that it is simply a form.  Usually it is fully in Chinese, many pages long, and goes into some file system somewhere to show that a "step" in the multi-step system was completed.

So when you have an issue at work, generally speaking, there is no guarantee of how it will resolve (no contract to fall back on really.)  You enlist someone to help you with the problem, for foreigners, sometimes it is someone entirely outside of the specific employment environment, to contact your boss and to have a chat about you and your problem, indirectly.

This is also true with relationship issues.  Often if there is a problem you go to a third party to help mediate the situation, immediately.  For the Western mind that seems complicated and so indirect!  Surely you could just sit down an TALK about it, right?  If you have a good relationship with your boss, or with your friend, my first instinct would always be to talk about it with them directly to see if we can "work it out."  Time and time again we've seen this work out to a poor end.  There simply are more ways to skin a cat, and to live Here, means that we must adapt our communication and relational skills to the cultural norm.

All this is well and good, UNLESS you are the foreigner and your boss or friend needs to tell YOU something.

So as a Westerner, I know that items that are "not-personal" in the West are dealt with head-on, directly.  But items of a more personal manner, things relating to your health, your marriage, your family...anything personal...and certainly anything that could be considered offensive/hurtful to the other party...we Westerners just DON'T GO THERE!  Am I right?

We are taught, culturally speaking, to tell little "white lies" when something personal that could offend of hurt the other party comes up...ie. it is not the most darling baby you've ever seen, but you say it is...she really has gained weight, but you comment that she looks well...you see him drink too much at the office parties, and think he might have a problem, but you keep it to yourself...you think that they are doing something inadequate in the raising of their kids, but never in a million years would you tell them so....(I'm not advocating this practice, just relating the example for communication purposes.)

But it would seem that when living Here, and being the foreigner, there are no limits on the "direct help/comments" you might receive from your acquaintances...even a stranger you cross on the road!  This has taken some getting used to!

Lots of people in the adoption community talk about visiting Here to pick up their children and having old ladies on the streets wag their fingers at them, shaming them, for not having the child bundled up to the local standard.  But, when you live here awhile...that is a walk in the park!

We've been told outright that:

1)  We're too fat (several times, in front of various crowds)...true, but painful...recently Daddy had his stomach patted when he left our regular lunch-time restaurant...
2)  Americans are terrible in Math and they hope our kids can measure up (at dinner parties, at school assemblies)
3)  That we don't have enough money to have so many children. (we've been questioned about our earnings in groups, we've been asked if we live on government assistance from the US,  we've been asked how much money we have in the bank, etc.)
4)  We've been told that we cannot possibly take good enough care of our children, given the number of them. (at a dinner party, several times one on one by a "concerned" friend!...mind you they think everything is going well with the children now...but just wait...doom must be around the corner!)
5)  We've been told that we're just "lucky" that our kids are well-behaved, that parenting has nothing to do with it (at a school meeting with other teachers & parents)
6)  That we (I) drink too much Coke (I'm sure it is true, it is my vice, but I'm talking about one friend who connects everything in my life to drinking Coke...if my neck hurts, if I have a cold, if I'm having a hard day...then she tried to get her children to counsel me against drinking Coke...just got another email last night apologizing that she had to correct this flaw in my lifestyle again!...she also told me last week that we were getting sick because we had a few struggling/dying plants in our home)
7)  That we, under no circumstances, should adopt anymore children...because it makes no fiscal sense.
8)  That we should not consider adopting (adding to the family) without the express permission of our chancellor of schools...we've been told this a few times.  (Consider this in your US school settings....you must go to the Superintendent and see if he/she is in agreement with your family expansion plans.)
9)  We've been told that we are endangering our kids when we don't take them immediately to the hospital when they have a fever, cough or sniffle...(we have done this to avoid potentially other more serious exposures at the hospital, and the perfunctory 3-5 days worth of regular IV infusions...even for a common cold!)
10)  That if we allow our children to wear sandals in May, no matter the weather (80-90 degrees), they will soon be really sick.  (This may be true as most of our kids are not fighting some sort of a stomach thing...perhaps transmitted through the toenails?)

Each time we have one of these direct/personal comments...we have to handle it in a way that shows grace...

I have nearly bit my tongue in half so many times!  But we have to remain calm, and remember why we came...

Just last night, after reading another (by Western standards) very pushy health warning in an email...I took a breather and composed a "thank you for loving me" email response.  

 My normal nature, when I face these comments, would like to point out the dozens of things I see that I think are crazy about this person/culture that are far more health-threatening, medically incorrect, philosophically incorrect...but then, what would I accomplish?

Remember us in this area as we strive for Grace in all our responses.

And, don't be surprised this summer when we're on furlough,  if we let you know of some areas that you should make some improvements...

Hope you have a nice start to your week!

Strengthen your hands

Recently, we had visitors from the West who blessed us with their presence and some encouragement from the Word.  Not surprisingly, part of the message was to "Be strong and do the work."  This has been an ongoing theme in our regular readings over the past several months.  Further the passages spoke about how He would complete the good work He has begun.  This is essential to hang on to as we recognize that being Here is by His direction and for His purposes.  Finally we were reminded to "strengthen our hands" for the work Here.  We have needed this encouragement as we're feeling inadequate for the work before us.

I would be lying to say that it has been easy-breezy over the past month of radio silence on the blog.

We've had changes.

Our teammates who were Here for 18 months departed last week.  It was an emotional time and one of surrendering to change.  Our girls, particularly Magpie and The Bug have had a rough time of it.  In many of their classes, our teammate's girls who were the same age as our girls and our two were the 4 musketeers.  (that was a terribly complicated sentence.)   So they see/feel the new absence daily.

We also had some real disappointment and frustration with Qian Qian's surgery.  We have been waiting for 6 months to get him into a special surgery bloc this month.  Foreign doctors from Canada came to a southwestern city here and we had reserved a spot for Qian Qian.  We were delighted when we finally got Qian Qian and his parents on a train to the SW'ern city just 10 days ago!  One of the other reasons we've waited for the palate surgery was that QQ needed to gain some weight.  To get him in with the Canadian doctors, he had to weigh 10 kilograms, due to a regulation of the hospital there for anesthesia.

QQ weighed 9.5 kilograms when we had him Here and got his lip closed.  That was in November.  We thought for sure that in 6 months, a normal 14 months old baby (at this point) should have gained weight.  Sadly, we got the call after they had arrived for the pre-op physical that our precious boy had LOST weight in the past 6 months.  He was down to 9 kilograms.  As you can imagine, on so many levels, this was not good news.  We had to put them on the train back home the next day.

QQ's family has 4 older sisters and then himself.  Mother and Father are farmers living in the poorest Province of this great nation.  They explained that often to fill QQ's tummy they feed him sugar water...to save on having to purchase expensive milk powder.  Sugar water does not grow babies well.  And so, dear QQ has lost weight over the past 6 months.  We were so discouraged!

We are changing our direction now, and we have entered into an arrangement to supply monthly sponsorship funds to help with the purchase of milk powder.  Now our eyes are set on November again...the foreign team will be here and they are reserving a spot for QQ.  Our focus is on getting QQ growing and gaining.

We're hoping to find some like-minded folks who live in QQ's family's province who can check up on him regularly as well as work on developing a relationship with the family as a whole.  Keep lifting this situation up with us!

We also been involved for the past 5 weeks with a massive reorganization of our apartment.   We have really needed to make better use of the space we do have so that we can more effectively fit our numerous family members into this place!  So to that end, we have moved all the kids into sleeping in bunks in one room.  So far this makes for a CRAZY bedtime situation, but it seems that they're settling.

We've gotten rid of a large guest bed that we had in a room that took up so much space and since none of your people will come over and visit us, it largely sat unused.  We took out that bed and Daddy constructed a massive closet in that bedroom.   Shelves from the floor to ceiling and now ALL the kids clothes are in one room.  So far the reviews are really positive!

We also used one of the other bedrooms (we have two apartments together, so 4 bedrooms in total) as a second "living space" for games and movies.  This may be my favorite improvement as it gives us the chance to get out of the SAME ROOM all the time!  We had guests recently, and we could put some kids in the new room, while discussing matters easily with the guests in the living room.

All this improvement nearly broke us however as we worked on it in our "free time" (Saturdays) for 5 weeks! The house was in total chaos and I thought I was going insane!  But all is right in the world now...at least in our apartment.  Perhaps all of it points to that nesting urge we feel when a new child is coming.

Today I hope to find out about the feasibility of getting Nehemiah home before summer furlough.  It would be a mind-bending, mountain-moving experience that would potentially rival the boys' journey last year.  But we have FAITH for whatever!  Please lift this up with us.  We believe it would be so much better, in so many ways, if he were to get home with us ASAP and we didn't have to wait through the long furlough before getting him!

Must run and get some breakfast on...sorry for the long and tedious update.

My hands still feel a bit weak for the work before us.

Easter Photos

It is always a rush in the morning to get everyone out the door.  We stop each day though and as the kids are ready to go, one by one, we pray for them about their day and lives.

The above photo I caught as the Bruiser was being prayed for by Daddy.

Below: the shot after the first one, he knew that I had taken a photo...but also that he should keep his eyes closed during Daddy's prayer for him...and should he smile?...obviously conflicted

Below:  5:30 am on Easter morning after finding the baskets.

Below:  I taught my annual lesson on Friday before Easter to all the students at school about Easter.  What is is...how it is celebrated in the West...etc.  One of the flash cards I had was of an "Easter Cake" so I thought I'd take a stab at making a coconut cake from scratch.  This process took me much of Saturday, and then, due to the major bend in my over sized toaster oven's "rack" it baked unevenly....thus it has a bit of a "sliding" appearance. Regardless, it tasted quite delicious and may have been nearly worth the work!

Below:  For our Easter meal we set the plywood table with three bedsheets, used the Coco-cola giveaway glasses from McDonalds last year and managed a "Spring-y" looking table.

Below:  Our fellow teammates from the 4th Floor have announced that they are leaving and returning to the US to care for sick relatives.  (Pray for us, and especially Magpie and The Bug who will be losing their daily friends, classmates, and playmates due to this change.)  So, we thought it important to have one last, large meal celebrating the holiday and their past year and a half living alongside us Here.

Below:  We did manage an egg hunt in our apartment complex.   Bub and The Bug teach the Singer how it is done. Many of the neighbor kids also got involved...it was a frenzy for about 5 minutes!  

Below:  One of the neighborhood two-year-olds.  He LOVED it!

Below:  Potato and The Bruiser searching and searching!

Below:  The Singer shows off one of his finds.

We hope you had a blessed Easter!  It is a time of transition for us with the Wu's departure.  We've had great provision for our paperwork costs for Nehemiah, we're expecting some special visitors from an Abbottsford organization in two weeks, and we have our major English Performance/Competition in two weeks, too!  We could use prayers for stamina and confidence as we face this major change in our life and team situation.  We had great news this week however that two new couples will be joining our team in August as teachers at the school.  This is welcome news.  He gives and takes away.

No matter where we live or what our experiences are, Easter is the ultimate celebration of power over the grip of darkness and despair.  We're so thankful for the hope we have in Him.