Reflections

I know that it is only Wednesday, but with the end of another year, I thought that I would take some time to reflect on the things that I am thankful for from this past year. God has definitely been faithful to us this year. I hadn't really thought about how faithful He has been until I sat and really reflected. Here are the situations that God has shown His faithfulness to us this year:

1. On Easter Sunday my father-in-law was hospitalized with high blood pressure and low heart rate. This began a series of tests that led to the discovery of 2 tumors in one of his kidneys, a blockage that required surgery, and the addition of a pacemaker. Praise God the kidney was successfully removed along with the tumors and no further treatment was needed for the cancer. He has recovered well and we are all very thankful.
2. The end of April began 9 weeks of water in our basement due to the water table being so high from lots of snow in the winter and rain in the spring. We didn't have any major damage to anything and it even helped me to do some good purging.
3. In July, Rachel went to Colorado Springs with the youth group and was hit by a car. She walked away from the experience with only cuts and bruises. It truly was a miracle.
4. In August, my niece was in a parade and a car went speeding through the parade route and nearly hit several people, my niece being one of them.
5. This fall my mom went in to have same day surgery to remove something on her finger. She had an violent reaction to the IV antibiotic. Had the anesthesiologist not acted quickly, she would not have made it. We are thankful that he knew what to do and that she is still with us.
6. In July we finally received a referral of our precious little Levi. We already love him so much and we cannot wait to bring him home.

I pray that your 2008 has been as blessed as ours has been and that your 2009 will be even better!

A Visit from Mari-Liis

Today Mari-Liis came to visit us with her family! I cannot even tell you how good it was to see her! It was almost like a dream! We have been waiting anxiously for this day to come and it almost didn't because of the weather. But God is faithful! Of course, we thought the visit was way too short but we definitely enjoyed every minute of it. We looked at pictures from this year and last year and from their time here in the States. We shared a meal and took her family to some of the interesting places in town. Her brother is super cute and after a while really warmed up to Rachel. She even got a hug before they left. Of course he was careful to make sure that Mari-Liis was going with them and not staying in America, even though we would have loved to keep her here with us. We will treasure this day in our hearts until we get the opportunity to see her again, whether here or in Estonia, because we are believing that it will happen.

Family Time

Today we were supposed to have spent the day with Mari-Liis (our foreign exchange student from last year) and her family. Unfortunately, the weather has not been very cooperative. On Christmas Day we got an email from her that said unless we heard from her by phone, they would not be coming. Today, Rachel did get a phone call from her. She said that they were not able to get a rental car today and that they would try again tomorrow. If they can get a rental car tomorrow, they will plan to visit tomorrow. If not, her dad has offered to pay our gas money so that we can meet them in Chicago and go out to supper somewhere. We are hoping that they can make it here. I had planned to make lasagna for her and her family as well as for my in-laws and sister-in-law, brother in-laws, and niece and nephew for supper tonight. I decided to invite the family anyways and we had a most enjoyable evening. After enjoying our meal, we all admired Levi's room and then watched the movie Prince Caspian, which both Rachel and my niece received for Christmas last night. I don't get to entertain as often as I would like to, so this was a real treat for me.

Thankful Thursday

Today I have much to be thankful for as we celebrate the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. This day, as it is also Thankful Thursday, I would like to focus on the three things I am most thankful for this Christmas. The first is my Savior Jesus Christ. This year I am reminded that Christmas without Easter is meaningless. Without Christ's death and resurrection, His birth would mean nothing. I am so thankful that when I was in 7th grade, at a junior high youth camp weekend, I made the most important decision of my life - I asked Jesus to come and live in my heart and be my Savior and Lord. My prayer for everyone reading this blog is that they would know Jesus as Savior and Lord.


I am thankful for my daughter Rachel, who is the joy of my life. I don't know what I would do without her.



I am thankful for my son Levi, who is waiting for me in Vietnam. I cannot wait to go and get him. January 16th is the DNA appointment and I am hoping that for my birthday on February 9th I will receive preapproval. I know that may be a stretch but a girl can hope and pray.

Merry Christmas from Our House to Yours

Just wanted to take a few minutes to wish every one of you reading this blog a Merry Christmas! I pray that you will not lose sight of the reason we celebrate Christmas. May Jesus fill your hearts with His peace, His joy, and His love!

Rejoicing in the Gift of Preapproval for Others

Today was a great day for 3 of the families from Dillon who all finally received pre-approval and will be traveling (hopefully soon). Hooray!! I am soooo happy for them! With all the struggles they have endured to get to this point, it is nice to see them get some positive news for a change. Two of them have children in Can Tho with Levi so I know they will love on him for me. That will leave him 1 of 2 children left in the orphanage until I can go and bring him home. I know that means he will receive lots of love and attention from the nannies.

I am so thankful to my friend J who is Vietnam right now. She sent me 2 emails this morning. In the first one she told me that both times they were at the center, they held and loved on and played with Levi. He was alert and happy. In the second email, she sent me the link to the video they made of when they first met their son. In it you catch a glimpse of Levi with his legs sticking out of the crib. It is only a glimpse but it was still nice to see as well as the place where he is living until I can get there to pick him up. It meant so much to me that she would be take the time to do this for me while she is still in country.

Monday Blues

It was difficult to get up and get going this morning as the wind was howling fiercely and there was a nice layer of ice on the ground. But I never expected to go out to the garage to leave for school and not be able to get the garage door up. It was frozen shut - and on a day when I am on morning duty! Thankfully my father-in-law was kind enough to come and get us and to get our door unstuck. The day at school went pretty good, all things considered for the last week before Christmas break. But then, I got the email from Dillon that the DNA appointment for Levi and his birthmother has been set for January 16th. Ugh!! I had been hoping for a GNR date the beginning of February at the latest, but unless their is miraculous movement on the part of the lab and everyone else involved, that will not be happening. It is more likely it will be the end of February. To say that Rachel and I are a little disappointed and frustrated would be an understatement! But we are desperately trying to trust God and to be positive in the midst of it all. Your prayers, as always, are appreciated!

UPDATE: Thank you to my friend N. She has been such a good friend to me and has always helped me to find the positive in every difficult situation in the adoption process. She reminded me that at least the DNA appointment is scheduled before Tet. This way it will get to the United States and perhaps back to Vietnam prior to January 26th, the date of Tet this year.

Happy 6 month birthday Levi

Today we celebrated your 6 month birthday with a party in your honor. It would have been nice to have you here with us to open the wonderful presents but we know that soon you will be able to wear all the wonderful clothes, play with all the toys, and sleep in the Pack and Play. We can't wait!!! Maybe tomorrow I will post pictures of all the wonderful things we received for you.

Love,
mom and Rachel

Confirmation

I got an email this morning from J at Dillon saying that yes indeed they had found Levi's birthmother and she agreed to the DNA testing. Hooray!! Now we just wait to hear that a DNA appointment has been scheduled. I'm told these only happen on Fridays so I am hoping that it is not too many Fridays away. Thanks to those who have been praying! Please continue to pray that this process moves along quickly so that things work out for my dad to travel with me.

A Ray of Hope

Today I emailed MA at Dillon asking whether they had any news about our DNA process, seeing that it has been almost 3 weeks since we received the email requesting DNA. She said that they had gotten a request to send a DNA kit to HCMC. That usually doesn't occur until the birthmom has been found and agreed to the DNA testing. So, the assumption is that Levi's birthmom has been found. However, they cannot be sure because the majority of the staff in Vietnam has been in the provinces with the traveling families. J was going to email T tonight to confirm that his birthmom has been located and to determine if a DNA appointment has been made. Please pray that this is the case!!

I Wish...

Point of Grace has this song out called "I Wish" that I absolutely love. It has really struck a chord with me at this point in my life because I can think of several wishes that I have right now and none of them have to do with material things - just like in this song. I found a video of it on youtube that I have posted here. You'll have to turn off my playlist in order to listen to it but I think you'll be glad you did. During the Christmas season I think we all become a little more in tune with God's heart for the world. These seem to be some of the things I think He is wishing for the world.

First Baby Shower

It was a great weekend for us! Yesterday we had our first baby shower. It was with the staff from school and my family. Although not many were able to be there in person, many were there in thought and we received some wonderful gifts. We were very blessed! We are all set for the car with a car seat, mirror, car pad protector, and car organizer. When Rachel got home from a birthday party in the afternoon, she took all the toys out of their boxes and set them up in his room. She also took out the car seat. We'll have to practice with it so that we know how it works before we get him. We don't want to be messing with that when we get home from Vietnam! I have included some pictures of most of the things we received. To all of you reading this blog who gave, THANK YOU!!! We cannot tell you enough how much we appreciate your thoughtfulness!

Tonight we had the annual Ladie's Christmas Tea at our church. It is always a highlight of the Christmas season and really is the one thing that sets the tone for Christmas. It reminds me of the real reason we celebrate Christmas. This year's theme was joy. We were reminded, through drama, song, and readings, that it isn't the presents or the glittering decorations or the parties that bring joy but the gift of Jesus! True joy comes in embracing the gift He gave and living completely sold out for Him.

Height and Weight Update

Levi is continuing to grow. He is now up to 26 inches and 15 pounds. The email we received also said that he has a cold, so please lift him up in prayer. It's hard for me not to be there when he is sick. I want to hold him and take care of him myself.

I still haven't heard anything about the DNA testing. The wait is making me crazy!