18 months old today

Today marks a milestone in "David's" life...he is 18 months old. How I wish he wasn't some 5000 miles away. My hope is that he will be celebrating his 2nd birthday with us in NJ. Please pray for us for a financial miracle...we need one right now! I can't post his photo due to the rules of R*ssian adoption, but just picture the cutest little guy ever with a sweet smile...that's him. Praying that 2009 will be the year that will change this little one's life.

Merry Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas despite the disappointment of not having Joe there. He was scheduled to take leave on the 18th and arrive from Japan sometime the next day. Just a couple days before he was due to arrive, we got the bad news that he would not be able to take leave at that time.

With that in mind, Chris received a wonderful present...a webcam. So, later that evening, we were able to talk to Joe via the internet and see him, too! What a difference it made to be able to see his expressions and for him to see us, including Katie's "gappy" grin!

The highlight for the girls, besides talking to their brother on the internet, had to be their American Girl dolls. Katie asked Santa for one that looked like her, and Claire wanted "Ruthie," Kitt Kittredge's sidekick. They also received pajamas that matched the pajamas of their dolls.

Matt and Marc just asked for clothes and $$$.

We then prepared our typical Christmas dinner--filet on the grill with Bearnaise sauce, baked potatoes, and veggies. Our pastor and his wife joined us for dinner, as well as Chris' dad.

Christmas Eve was spent at a party at Chris' work up in Mount Holly, a candlelight service, driving around and looking at lights, and watching, "It's a Wonderful Life."

Wishing everyone all the blessings of Christmas and a great New Year!

Totally a God thing...

It seems like when we're under the gun to accomplish one thing, everything else that has a deadline is always due at the same time! That was the case with me on November 1st. We had our benefit concert on that day, which was such a blessing from God in that we raised our entire first payment towards the adoption. Our county has an annual art competition and there are monetary prizes as well as the opportunity to sell your work. This year's theme was "Schools: Old and New," which was right up my alley because architecture is my "thing." I like to do renderings with a fine-tip marker and a watercolor wash. I decided to do a school up the street that had recently closed :( . So, can you guess when the piece was due??? If you guessed November 1st, you are correct! I was running around like a crazy woman trying to pull together last minute details for the benefit concert, and then I had this art competition hanging over my head. I thought many times about just not doing it, but then I would remember that even if a prize was out of the question, there was always the chance of selling the piece, which could be two-hundred or so dollars. I called the gallery on Friday and explained my predicament with the concert. They were very kind and said I could bring the piece in on Monday morning, which would give me Sunday afternoon to complete it. After the concert on Saturday, I was so exhausted that I didn't even look at it on Sunday! Monday morning, I was grumbling about it, wondering whether to finish it or just forget about it. I threw it in a cheapy Michael's frame and took it to the gallery and handed it in. Fast forward to Friday night, the opening reception for the show. I am at a ladies' retreat in Lancaster, PA, so Chris is good enough to attend the reception for me and give me the scoop on the prizes and/or any possible buyers. He calls me to tell me he is looking at the Best of Show ribbon...on my piece! Totally a God thing, because I did not put the time into that drawing that I should have, and there were many entries there that looked a lot better than mine! I truly think that God knew how much we needed that prize money ($500!!!) for this adoption, and He made it happen for us.

I have to confess, sometimes I have a real problem with totally trusting Him to meet our needs. This adoption has been a real testing of my faith. We went into this completely relying on God to provide. We don't have $25,000! We know that God has put this little boy on our hearts. Even if we aren't the family to adopt him, we have to help him get here. God doesn't give us a burden without providing the means for us to act on it. I have clearly seen His hand working in all of this, and I really just need to give this up completely to Him. Could I ask you to remember us in your prayers? Please pray that we would trust as God continues to work...please pray for this little boy in Russia who so desperately needs to come here for medical care and the love of a family.

Army Navy Game....Go Navy!

Matthew was lucky enough to win tickets this year from our insurance agency, USAA. What a great package they sent him...a parking pass, 2 tickets with GREAT seats, and 2 passes to an indoor tailgate party. Chris and Matt were definitely psyched up for this day! On the way to the stadium in Philly, they saw the presidential motorcade and Air Force One landing at the airport! It held up traffic for quite a while! The game was great! The Navy had some amazing parachute jumpers that dropped into the stadium attached at the feet and then landed separately right on the 50th yardline. I just don't know how they do that! Chris and Matt got to sit with some USAA people and were able to express how much this prize package was appreciated. The game was great...and it was really cold, but that is half the fun! Can you guess who won? (or should I say can you guess who totally demolished Army?) Thanks, USAA, for a really great game day!!!

One Year Ago Today...

...I lost my mother, Claire. She died peacefully at home with my brother by her side. She held on all week until he arrived from Grand Rapids, Michigan. I know she waited for him because she was gone in less than 24 hours after his arrival.

My mother was an amazingly artistic and complicated person. She was passionate about everything she loved to do. She was an accomplished horticulturist and won many awards at the Philadelphia Flower Show. She designed and maintained beautiful gardens at her home and grew many unusual flowers from around the world. She was eccentric and often difficult to get along with, but she loved her husband and family. She and my dad would have celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary six months after her death.

Today has been a rough day for me. I had a lot of trouble holding it together, especially in church. I'm glad we ended up having a busy day...church, lunch with friends, cutting down a Christmas tree, and a night out at the home of some friends. I was able to keep my mind off it for most of the day, but now it's late and I am consumed with missing her.

We had many discussions during the last couple of months of her life about heaven and the depth of love God had for her. I think she always felt she had to "clean up" to be acceptable to Him, not realizing He loves us in our brokenness. Her passion brought her great excitement in her life, but it also brought her great pain. Near the end, she wanted to know more about His ways and His love for her that had always been there. She wanted to know more about salvation and His wonderful free gift for all of us. I pray that in her quiet moments near the end, she made a decision for Christ.

I miss her passion, her sense of humor, and her love. My kids miss their "Nana." I wish that she was here to encourage me with this adoption. She adopted my sister and I as babies, and adoption was very close to her heart. I know she would just be so excited about her new little grandson and do everything possible to help us get him here. When we first told her that we were adopting a special needs child from China, she was adamant about getting the best care for her eyes and getting her here ASAP! She was immediately on the phone with the airlines, seeing what could be done. She ended up giving Chris and I all her air miles so we could get to China and back. As far as passion and determination, our Claire is appropriately named for her Nana.

If you're lucky enough to still have your mom, give her some extra hugs and tell her how much you love her. What I wouldn't give to do that right now!