Christmas in Nanjing

As we all continue with 

our Christmas prepartations,

I was incredibly excited as well as surprised

when I received my first pictures

from Tim from Nanjing.

 

Christmas in Nanjing!

I did not expect to see any type of Christmas 

celebration taking place in China, 

especially since China is officially an atheist country.

Only 5% of the Chinese population are Christian,

so Christmas for the vast majority of China

is treated much like Valentine's Day is here.

But, we serve a big God!

And our pastor reminded us this morning

that "God is at work in the darkness".

And in China, a glimmer of light is slowly growing...

as China may be on trek to becoming 

the "world's most Christian nation".

I pray for China, 

because this is the birth country 

of two of my sweet babies.

I pray for China, 

because this is the home 

of Logan and Maxwell's birth families.

and 

I pray that this Christmas

more of the beautiful people of China

will come to know Jesus, Joy of the Highest Heaven...

Nanjing

I received a text today at 5:12 AM  (6:12 PM China time)

and with it came an overwhelming sense of relief.

Tim and Olivia were in Shanghai waiting for their connecting flight.

Their journey began at 8:30 AM on Thursday

as we all made our way to the airport for last goodbyes.

They were thrilled to be starting their adventure.

They both adore adventure.

For the less adventurous type,

the goodbye came with a mix of excitement and sadness.

As well as a few tears.

(Notice the second car seat for Maxwell.)

They had a six hour layover in Shanghai

before their connecting flight brought them to Nanjing.

They met their driver at the airport,

and after a forty minute drive to the hotel,

they checked in,

unpacked only the essentials

and were able to get some much needed sleep at about 1:00 AM China time.

Now, at 7:00 AM China time,

they're up and ready to conquer the day,

albeit through very tired eyes.

And on Monday,

they'll be meeting this precious child.

 And the transition to his forever family will begin.

Plan B.

This is it.

Tim and Olivia are packed and ready to go.

The time has finally come to bring our son home.

Will you please join us as we prayer for:

*Maxwell and his tender heart. May God ease his heartache as he transitions away from the only home he’s ever known. May he come to understand our love and commitment to him. 

* For health, energy and endurance as Tim and Olivia travel 23 hours to Maxwell's province. May the Lord place his protective hand upon them.

* For the rest of the children as they wait patiently at home for their new little brother.

And 

 

As I look at the sweet little baby pictures of Maxwell

that were included in his child material...

 

 ...I am deeply humbled,

because I truly know that Tim and I are plan B.

Maxwell has a birth mother.

A woman who loved him so much

that she gave him up so that he could have 

the medical care he so desperately needed.

And in a perfect world,

he would still be with her.

But this is a fallen world.

And Maxwell needs and deserves to be part of a family,

and we are incredibly privileged to be plan B.

So,

will you please join us as we pray

for Maxwell's birth mother.

*That she is well and the circumstances that caused her to give up her child have improved.

*That she will find comfort from the ache that comes with giving up a child.

*That she will somehow know that her child is safe and will be loved by a family.

*That one day she will be adopted...through Jesus Christ...into the family of God.

 

 

Eucharisteo

Eucharisteo

 A Greek word meaning to be grateful, feel thankful,

to give thanks.

For this little one...today.

  

 It's been a year of doctor visits and tests

and pokes and pricks

and tears and unknowns.

But today, eucharisteo.

Today we finally have answers.

And the puzzle with the missing piece,

that had even left his endocrinologist baffled,

is now complete.

We are so thankful to all of you who have lifted Logan up in prayer

this past year. 

You have been a blessing as we've waited for answers 

to all the unknowns regarding our son's medical condition.

Today it was confirmed that Logan has 

Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH).

CAH is a coverall name for a variety of adrenal disorders.

It's a genetic condition where the adrenal glands, located above his kidneys, 

aren't producing the much needed cortisol hormone.

His doctor was absolutely stumped,

because Logan wasn't showing any of the typical symptoms of CAH.

The answer finally came with the most recent lab tests.

Logan's form of CAH is incredibly rare.

His adrenal gland compensated for the cortisol deficiency by robbing

another part of his body for the needed hormone.

(He's quite resourceful, this little one of ours.)

If his body continues to do this, it will lead to hypertension,

and eventually health problems, such as heart disease.

Logan's treatment will include cortisol replacement medication 

three times a day for life.

And we are incredibly thankful for this medication.

He will require stress dosing of his medication when he is sick, has a fever and during surgery.

We will also need to carry an emergency injectable stress dose with us at all times. This would only be needed if he has an adrenal crisis.

Logan will also need to wear a Medic-Alert bracelet.

Our brave, little guy will also need to undergo a series of surgeries,

beginning in January.

We are grateful, we are thankful.

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!" Phillipians 4:4

We are rejoicing!

We rejoice because of the medical care that is so freely available 

here in our country. 

We give thanks because our sweet boy will live a full life

with the help of this medication.

We are grateful for the wisdom of his doctor

because

we know the complications of this medical condition.

 

 Lia had CAH.

Our precious girl was sick and didn't receive a stress dose.

We know what can happen if CAH is not properly treated.

So today we are so very thankful to finally have a diagnosis.

We are thankful for the wisdom and direction

given to Logan's doctor by our Heavenly Father.

And we are thankful for the treatment plan

that is now in place.

Eucharisteo.

TA, CA and We're On Our Way.

T.A. - Travel Approval

We've received our official letter from China granting us

permission to come and pick up Maxwell!

C.A. - Consulate Appointment

We have a scheduled visa appointment

at the US Consulate in Guangzhou!

We're on our way - 

We have an international flight booked for December 4th!

On December 4th,

Tim and Olivia will begin a 23 1/2 hour journey

that will end in Nanjing, China.

Three days later,

Tim will hold our new son in his arms.

Maxwell's wait is almost over!

After much discussion,

and an even greater amount of prayer,

we've decided that I will stay home with our other four children,

and Olivia will make the journey to China with Tim.

Olivia, who has an incredible love for China,

is absolutely thrilled to be going back again this year.

This mama, who will be staying behind,

is praying that the Lord will prepare my heart

for the inevitable ache it will feel

as I wait patiently here at home for our precious son.

It will be a challenge.

But God's plan is perfect.

We've seen His faithfulness in every step of this journey.

His mercies are new every morning

and His sustaining love will carry us through to this journey's end.

And soon this adorable, little boy
will have his forever family...

 

Files, Photos and Video

Adoption file,

Child material,

Referral file,

different names that mean the same thing;

the small collection of documents and pictures given to adoptive parents to aid

in their decision of whether or not to move forward in the adoption of a child.

The child material files we received for Logan, Lia and most recently Maxwell,

were all quite small and consisted mostly of medical reports 
in both English and Chinese.

But, they also each contained an orphanage report.

 A beautiful, tiny glimpse into the personality and daily life 
of each of our children.

So, what does the orphanage have to say about our newest, little darling?

“He is clever, active and has a ready smile.”

(Logan is also clever and active. I can only imagine what these two little boys will be like together.)

“He has big eyes and a roman nose.”

“He likes listening to music”

(Yes, I’m already thinking about what instrument he’ll play.)

“He gets along well with other children”

(Perfect, considering he’ll be the youngest of six.)

“He enjoys laughing”

(“God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.” Genesis 21:6)

We also learned that his nickname is Lai Lai. (pronounced Lī Lī)

In China, it’s very common to double a child’s name as a nickname.

Logan’s Chinese name is Ke. (sounds like "cup" without the letter p)

The orphanage called him Ke Ke and we still call him by his nickname.

One of the most exciting parts of Maxwell’s file was the video received.

We didn’t receive a video with either Logan or Lia’s file

and were thrilled when we watched the video of our sweet son Maxwell 
for the first time.

Enjoy this big helping of cuteness:

(This video requires Flash.)

Just recently, we received an update from Maxwell’s orphanage.

New pictures showing our adorable, two year old son smiling and playing!

The update also included more information about our son’s personality.

Here’s where we need your prayers:

“He is shy and afraid of strangers.”

“He will hide himself behind the familiars’ back when strangers approaching.”

Will you please join us as we pray?

Please pray with us as we cry out to the Lord for His loving mercy during Maxwell’s transition from the orphanage to our family.

We ask that you pray for this sweet, little boy as he moves from the only home he’s ever known,

to a new home 7,000 miles away.

Please join us on our knees as we pray for this child during his grieving process.

And please pray as we move ever closer to the moment 
when we hold him in our arms.

I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.   John 14:18

LOA...Almost there!

We have big news this week!

On Wednesday we received a call from our adoption agency letting us know that they had received our Letter of Acceptance (LOA) 

from China!

 

And today, Federal Express delivered our LOA into our hands.

Actually, it was delivered into Tim’s hands.

 

Our LOA means that we have official permission from China

to adopt Maxwell.

 

It took 86 days to receive our LOA for Maxwell.

Compared with the short 38 day wait for Logan’s LOA last year,

this is definitely a huge step in this long journey to our newest little guy and he is so worth it…

We can now file our I800, which is our final paperwork with our government.

Yes, this journey is full of initials and numbers.

Here’s an easier way of looking at it…

  You can also follow along on Maxwell's Timeline

It's still hard to believe that soon we will be

holding Maxwell in our arms!