Lions, Love, and (Child) Labor

Happy Year of the Rat!!

February 7th marked the beginning of Chinese New Year, and according to the Chinese Zodiac, 2008 is another Year of the Rat. People born in a Rat Year are said to be logical realists, shrewd, charming, ambitious, and inventive. A Rat Year is said to be a time of hard work, activity, and renewal. Traditionally, this is a good year to begin a new job, get married, or make a fresh start of some other sort. I wonder if adding a new child to the family counts??

During Chinese New Year, a local museum hosts its annual Asian Festival. So, we were able to spend an afternoon taking in the sights, sounds, and smells of the Asian culture. The festival ended with an assortment of traditional Chinese dances, the lion dance being the grand finale.

The plate dance...

The fan dance...The lion dance...


Brielle is not so sure she likes the lion dancers...

Valentine's Day followed all too quickly on the heels of Chinese New Year (where has February gone, BTW?). February 13th at 9:00 p.m., Max and I joined the swarm of others who were searching for those perfect last minute gifts for the ones they love (trust me...the early bird really does have the advantage here; the rest of us are left with whatever the early birds have cast aside, unwanted).

For Valentine's dinner, it has become our tradition to make heart-shaped pizza. Right before Valentine's Day, I saw an ad that Papa John's was selling heart-shaped pizza, so I decided to delegate my pizza-making to them. Brielle and I listened to Chicago's love songs CD while making our Valentine's jello and cherry cheesecake. There is nothing like "You're the Inspiration" to get you into the Valentine's spirit!

After dinner, Max held the annual presentation of Valentine's gifts to the kids. As you'll see from the pictures, he has them sit backwards on the couch (no peeking) with their hands behind their backs. Brielle joined in as if she'd been doing this forever! Max then places gifts in their hands, starting with small things and moving up to larger things. The kids like to "feel" their gifts and guess what each one is before looking (this might be a significant fact to know before viewing one of the photos below). I'm not sure why we ever started this for Valentine's Day...there was obviously not a lot of thought put into it and there is obviously no significance to any of it...but, it's made it a fun night for all of us!

In position...I can't believe the early birds left some of these...

Look carefully at what Brant is receiving....yes, that is our already been "used" plunger....no, it wasn't really a gift to him...yes, Max is mean...no, Brant will probably never trust Max on Valentine's Day again...UGH! Brant was a good sport, though, and after scouring his hands, he was able to laugh about it.

Before closing out this post, I wanted to share some pictures of Brielle, my BIG HELPER! Brielle LOVES to "help you, Mom", and is quite capable at what she does. If I am in the kitchen, she will drag her stepstool to wherever I am working. I have learned to capitalize on this, and she and I will work on dinner together right after lunch. With her stepstool pulled up to the island, she is a master at opening any boxes of food I might need; she can crack eggs; she pours, whisks, and stirs; and is the best spoon- and beater-licker around! Last week, she totally surprised me by folding dishcloths and washcloths just about as well as I do. Truthfully, I do NOT know how she knew how to fold them so well. She just picked them up, one after another, and folded them like I would. I never taught her to do it...she just must have watched me and figured it out. I was shocked! Since then, whenever I have a load of towels out to fold, she grabs all the little washcloths out and folds them! Now, if only I could get my big kids to fold so eagerly and so well!

"Reporting for duty, Mom!" (Grandma Thibert...do you recognize this apron?) Brielle even stacked her folded cloths...

Inspecting her work...

"Seize the Day" (and the irresistably quiet night)

Last night I stayed up late planning Research Paper assignments for the two big kids. Once I was done, I should have gone to bed, but the house was just too irresistably quiet not to spend some time doing some uninterrupted web surfing. So, I began perusing ALL my favorite blogs, adoption yahoogroups, etc. As any late night web surfer knows, one blog leads to another, and before you know it, the wee hours of the night have passed. I know the internet has a great potential for evil and yuck, but I am constantly amazed at how it provides me with a network of invaluable information --I absolutely can not imagine adopting or homeschooling without it (was there such a thing as adoption and homeschooling before the internet :o)?)

One of the blogs I infrequently visit is Doug Phillips' blog at Vision Forum. Although I don't agree with exactly everything Doug espouses, I do think his vision and voice for the family is something desperately needed in today's society. Last night (or should I say, this morning), I stumbled across the following post on Doug's blog--I hope to make "Seize the Day" the battle cry of each and every morning!

"Seizing the Day for Our Children"
by Doug Phillips at Vision Forum
http://www.visionforum.com/hottopics/blogs/dwp/2007/12/3285.aspx

My children are growing so quickly. And so are yours.
Today, the fair-haired
little boy is tugging at Daddy’s leg, but tomorrow he is a young man of stature,
strength, and potential who will soon be a family leader in his own right. The
pig-tailed little girl who is so generous to Daddy with her butterfly kisses
will suddenly emerge as a woman whose heart will be given to the husband
prepared by God to take Daddy’s place as the human love of her life.

Our time as parents of children is slipping away from us. Each day that passes
without a self-conscious determination on our part to invest great spiritual
resources into their lives and to equip them is a day lost. It is a day that
will never be recovered.

What will be our message to the little boy and
girl? How will we use the brief moments God has given to us to equip them to
stand holy, pure, hopeful, and determined through the cultural tumult of our
budding twenty-first century?

It is the mission of Vision Forum Ministries
to encourage and inspire the Body of Christ to make this time — this season of
precious parenthood — count for all of eternity.

It is why the words of my dear but now departed spiritual son Michael Billings, in his sermon to the future fathers of his own generation, ring so true: “Seize the day.”

DTC, LID, and other Adoption Acronyms

Finally!!!!!

Our dossier is in China!

Our dossier went to China (DTC) on January 18th, 2008, and yesterday we found out that it was logged in (LID) at the China Center of Adoption Affairs (CCAA) on January 28th, 2008. FINALLY!!!!! With Brielle's adoption, we were DTC just shy of three months from the day we began paperchasing. This time around, it took TWO extra months to get through immigration (and to get our I-171H), and so we are approaching five months since we began the paperwork to bring home our little boy. Needless to say, we are very excited that our paperwork is finally in the hands of the CCAA!!

So, what does this mean? Well, we are told it will be at least three months before we hear anything from the CCAA. We are now waiting for the CCAA to review and approve our dossier, then send us the Seeking Confirmation Letter (SCL), which is the official "referral" of our son. We will need to sign this letter, stating that we do indeed wish to adopt him, and send it back to the CCAA. Then, we'll wait for them to issue us Travel Approval (TA), our agency will schedule our appointment at the US Consulate in Guangzhou, China, and we'll book flights and get packing! TA and travel usually occur about two months after the SCL is received.

The special needs children adoption route is faster, but less predictable than the non-special needs adoptions. So, all waiting times are only estimates. That being said, our best guess-timate for meeting our little guy is sometime in June (oh my goodness...can I wait that long?). Again, this is only a guess, and we are, of course, holding on to hope for a record-breaking fast SCL!

When you are adopting an older child, you are allowed to send them a little package. We were told we were limited to "a beanie baby size toy no larger than your hand". Thank you God for making Max's hands so large :o)! We thought and thought about what one toy would be the perfect one to send to our little son whom we've never met. Think about that...that's a tough one. Then, I read that a family from our agency sent their older daughter a little purse full of fun girly things. Perfect! Just the idea I was looking for! So, with Max's hand spread wide open, we found a little pack just the right size and filled it with all sorts of little boy things...a ball, yo-yo, slinky, flashlight, puzzle, Hot Wheel cars, stickers, and even a personalized little TX license plate for the bike we'll soon get him! We had so much fun putting everything together!
(note to other adoptive parents: our agency allowed us to send everything except for the candy we had included; I'm not sure why they didn't allow the candy)

Along with this, we sent him a Shutterfly photo book in which we shared photos of ourselves, our house, pets, etc., and through words and pictures, attempted to prepare him a little for his new family and home. We would so greatly appreciate your prayers in this area. Please pray that he will understand what is about to take place, and that his little heart and mind will be prepared. It grieves me to think about the emotions he will soon be facing - fear, loss, grief, lack of control... I pray that mixed with these emotions are even the tiniest bits of hope, comfort, warmth, sense of belonging,...

Thank you SO much for your support. We'll keep you posted on any news!

An Ideal End to 2007...

Brielle is shocked that Christmas is over, and there are no more presents to open!














It is so hard to believe that the holidays have passed, and today it was back to school for us and back to work for Max. I hated to say goodbye to Max this morning, because we had him all to ourselves for a whole 16 days! This was the first time since we were married that we can remember having time off and just being together at home as a family. What a perfect way to end the very busy year of 2007!

This was also the very first Christmas with just us, our little immediate family. When we first decided to stay home for Christmas this year, I was somewhat afraid that we'd regret it, but as much as I love spending time with my extended family, I have to say that this was the most relaxing Christmas season I can remember. No packing, no rushed cookie making, no early gift opening (our kids actually opened their gifts on Christmas morning), no car trips or plane rides with a two year old....total relief! This time of rest and togetherness was priceless.

Max insisted that I wait to make our Christmas cookies until he was off of work, so we could all make them together. He was a HUGE help, and with him by my side in the kitchen, cooking and baking was much more enjoyable!

Cookie Decorating...

















Some Christmas Pictures...

Brant had just two things on his wish list:

1) This airsoft gun















2) A Nintendo Wii

















Brittany wished for a dozen books and almost that many movies!

Brielle continually asked for "games" for Christmas. What fun it is to experience Christmas morning through the eyes of a two year old! Brielle opened each of her gifts quickly and ably, moving onto the next one without pausing to play with the one newly opened. She let out a loud scream of delight when she uncovered her final gift - a new kitchen!























A Christmas evening walk
















Brielle takes Daddy for a spin in her new race car...

















With 2007 behind us, we look forward to what God has in store for our growing family in 2008.

Wishing you a blessed 2008 from all of us to all of you!!

Christmas Traditions and Orname-mories

With the beginning of Advent this year, I dusted off our Advent wreath, positioned its candles around its circle, and eagerly anticipated the reading of our new Advent Book.
As I called the kids in to celebrate the first night of Advent, Brittany, maybe not quite as eager, looked at me and said, "Mom, you really like traditions don't you".

YES! I LOVE TRADITIONS! Aren't traditions what help make "Christmas" feel like Christmas, "Thanksgiving" feel like Thanksgiving, Super Bowl Sunday feel like Super Bowl Sunday, etc.?? Don't traditions give us a sense of security and connectiveness as a family? Traditions bind our hearts together through anticipated and shared experiences which then become shared, cherished memories.

Am I idealistic???? Likely, but I still LOVE TRADITIONS!

One of the kids' favorite Christmas traditions is the receiving of their annual Christmas Orname-mory. On the night we decorate the tree, after all of the other ornaments have found their perfect place, Max and I give each child an ornament that reflects something specific and special about them that year. It can be a new interest, new activity, etc. Decorating our tree has become a walk through our children's childhood as we hang the ballerina, green frog, model car, "Kaya" American Girl, Darth Vader, girl on horseback, and many more.

This year's Orname-mories...


This year, Brittany developed a huge interest in listening to music, and after school she can usually be found plugged into her i-pod listening to her favorite tunes.










One day at lunch, Brant announced in a very 12-going-on-13-year-old-boy-voice, "Video games are my life!" (before anyone freaks out...he is limited to 30 minutes of gaming a day) Thankfully, I had already ordered him this Orname-mory:





Brielle absolutely ADORES the "Wonder Pets", a cute little team of baby animals who travel all around the world saving other animals. She literally screams with delight when they are on, can tell you the color of each of the Wonder Pets' capes, and recites other bits of useful Wonder Pets trivia.





Max and I will likely look back on our 2007 Ornam-emory and remember this unique year when our hearts were so full, yet not quite settled as we still waited for our little son to come home.







Wishing you and your family a Christmas season full of heart-binding, memory making moments!

Fall Festivities!

In case you've been wondering....YES, we do have fall here in Texas! Unfortunately, there is no brilliant display of fall colors, but there is most certainly a change in the air - that crisp, freshness that moves in, replacing the much heavier air of summer. Thankfully, this fresh air is for the most part still warm air; however, it's hard to believe that high-70s and low-80s can feel downright chilly at times.

Homeschooling, high school, hockey, and our preteen's and teenager's social lives keep us constantly in motion. I could write a page about the blessings of the awesome homeschool group we are a part of here (it's called SHINE). From the very first day we stepped into this group, they lovingly embraced each of us and made us feel like we belonged. We honestly never felt like outsiders. It is a very unique group of people like none I've ever experienced before...and they are so much fun! Trust me...my kids are not missing out on anything being homeschooled. As a matter of fact, I can't keep up with all of the social functions and opportunities in which they can participate.

Our SHINE group hosts an annual fall "Hoe Down". The kids dress up in western apparel and meet for a Country Line Dance. Brittany had a BLAST and can't stop practicing the dances she learned.

Our Texas "star":

















Below is a slideshow of some more fall festivities. Brittany was in another SHINE Radio Drama performance, "The Tell Tale Talent", and performed on Halloween night at a church fall festival. SHINE recently had a "Roaring Twenties" Mystery Dinner, so you'll see several pictures of our resident flapper and friends. Watch for our little chicken, too!

Free MySpace slideshows, photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

"You are God's Plan for the Orphan"

November is National Adoption Month. Last November, I was thrilled to find out that three major Christian ministries — FamilyLife Today, Focus on the Family, and Steven Curtis Chapman’s ministry, Shaohannah’s Hope — formed an alliance to speak out for orphans and to challenge churches and believers with this message: "You are God's Plan for the Orphan". Their Cry of the Orphan campaign is this year's attempt to do just that.

The following is taken directly from the Cry of the Orphan campaign's website at: www.cryoftheorphan.org

The 2007 Awareness Campaign, Cry of the Orphan, marks the second annual unified campaign to heighten awareness of the plight of the 143 million orphans around the world. The scope of this problem is too big for any one person or organization to solve. In the midst of this crisis, organizations from around the world are joining forces to make a difference. The Christian Alliance for Orphans (CAO) seeks to “motivate and unify the body of Christ to live out God’s mandate to care for the orphan.” With over 75 members, the Christian Alliance for Orphans desires to see “every orphan experiencing God’s unfailing love and knowing Jesus as Savior.”

“[Many Christians] do not realize that caring for orphans is central to our call as God’s people. Churches so rarely talk about this issue. We are to be his hands extended in caring for the orphans just as God himself would. God’s plan for his people has always been for us to represent him to the world."
— Kerry Marks-Hasenbalg, former executive director of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute

“We have been blessed with so much, yet too often we squander these blessings on our personal pursuits without a thought that God gives us these things to use for his Kingdom. Yet I believe the adoption of orphans is one of the greatest opportunities today for fulfilling the Great Commission. When children are received into families where they are introduced to the Savior, and grow up in a secure and loving environment, they are positioned to meet and experience the living God in a tangible way."
— Dennis Rainey, president and cofounder of FamilyLife

What Does God Have to Say about Orphans?

God is their Father
Psalm 68:5-6a “A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families…” (NIV)

Ephesians 1:3-5 “How we praise God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we belong to Christ. Long ago, even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. And this gave him great pleasure.”

God is their Defender
Psalm 10:14, 17-18 “But you do see the trouble and grief they cause. You take note of it and punish them. The helpless put their trust in you. You are the defender of orphans LORD, you know the hopes of the helpless. Surely you will listen to their cries and comfort them. You will bring justice to the orphans and the oppressed, so people can no longer terrify them.”

Proverbs 23:10-11 “Don't steal the land of defenseless orphans by moving the ancient boundary markers, for their Redeemer is strong. He himself will bring their charges against you.”

God's Call to Believers to Care for the Orphan
Deuteronomy 10:17-19 “For the LORD your God is God of gods
and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing. He shows love to the foreigners living among you and gives them food and clothing. And you are to love those who are aliens for you yourselves were aliens in Egypt." (NIV)

Isaiah 1:16-17 “Wash yourselves and be clean! Let me no longer see your evil deeds. Give up your wicked ways. Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the orphan. Fight for the rights of widows.”

James 1:27 “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”

How can we argue with or ignore that last one (or any of them...after all, these are God's Words)?!? Understandably, not everyone is in a position to adopt an orphan, but we all are in a position to help in some way. Think of the impact we could have on our society and generations and generations of societies through the changing of the lives of these precious ones. To find out how you can help, go to www.cryoftheorphan.org/

I'm speaking up...

Matthew 19:21-24 (New International Version)

21Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."

22When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.

23Then Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

Last July, World, a weekly Christian news magazine, ran a very interesting article about ministries and how they spend their money. Many of the things stated in the article came as no surprise to me, but infuriated me nonetheless. I wanted to post a link to that article on my blog then, but I never got around to it (click on the highlighted words to go to the links).

In light of the recent developments regarding the Roberts family of Oral Roberts University, I am now sharing this article on my blog in hopes that it'll help you discern where your money will be best used should you be happen to be one who supports these types of ministries. I think Wall Watchers is a ministry that should be getting more attention in the Christian community (hopefully, someone is grading their financial transparency as well :o). I also hope Christians will begin to voice their disdain for ministries that manipulate God's Word for their own selfish gain, mock His healing power, and prey on those desperate and less fortunate.

The World article quotes Paul Crouch of TBN telling viewers: "If you have been healed or saved or blessed through TBN, and have not contributed . . . you are robbing God and will lose your reward in heaven." Does that not make anyone else absolutely sick to their stomach? I'm serious...my heart is palpatating loudly in my chest right now as I type this. I have been reading the book of Jeremiah, and I can't help but think of the "lying prophets" condemned in Jeremiah 23. Why don't mainstream Christians speak out against such distortion of God's Truth??

I have to be totally honest (this is my blog, afterall), by choice I've watched very few TBN programs. The ones I have watched instantly gave me that same sick to my stomach, heart-palpatating, wanting to scream out "that is not the message of God's Word" feeling! There is just something deep inside me that is strongly repulsed by the prosperity message and the glitsy, pretentious people who often preach it. Not only is it unBiblical, falling in direct opposition to the example of Christ and the Bible's overall theme of humble, sacrificial servitude; this message is also unethical - asking less fortunate people to "sow their seed" into their ministry so that they can be blessed. Just so icky and so obviously wrong to me.

Back to the Oral Roberts University issue: My poor husband has his Bachelor's Degree from this university. After spending four years there (and several thousands of dollars), he saw a lot of hypocrisy and was already "sensitive" about sharing his alma mater with clients and co-workers in his corporate world workplace (he was attending ORU during the late 1980s prayer tower media-event...Oral claimed God would not allow him to live if he didn't raise millions of dollars...ugh). None of the recent allegations about the Roberts' family surprise Max in the least, and as a matter of fact, he could add some of his own to that list. How sad, that the degrees of thousands of graduates and future graduates will be devalued in the eyes of many. How completely more disdainful that the message of the Gospel is being devalued in the eyes of both the saved and the unsaved alike.

Isn't it time Christians speak up?

A Shamefully Quick Update

As I predicted, turns out I'm a lousy blogger...

While carrying out my daily tasks as mom, homemaker, and teacher, I am often formulating blog posts in my never-still mind. These "posts", however, never seem to make it to this page. I'm not sure where I'm going wrong in the time-management category, but lately it truly seems like I have NO TIME for blogging. So, here is a quick (rather impersonal) update on what's been keeping us so busy.

School has begun. Brittany is a freshman. Brielle is a two year old. I'm using Tapestry of Grace for the first time. I'm teaching a Roller Coaster Physics class in our weekly homeschool co-op. Need I say more????

First day of school
Our high schooler
Our middle schooler
Our busy, busy toddler


Mounds of paperwork. Background checks. Doctor exams. Social Worker visits. Notarization. Our homestudy is finished, and we now await the USCIS for fingerprinting and the infamous I-171H. Our Letter of Intent to adopt sweet Hao was sent to China on 9-14-07, and we were so excited to receive our Preapproval to adopt him on 8-2-07! Now we can send him a package, and he'll know he has a family who loves him and is waiting for him! We can also post pictures. We are still considering names, but "Brock" seems to be the forerunner at this time. Introducing our handsome little guy...




We can't wait for you to join our busy home, sweet boy!
















A return trip to Wisconsin after moving almost 2 years ago. Visited friends and favorite places. Met family in Green Bay for nephew's wedding. Had a great time with family and friends! We miss everyone sooooo much!

BubbleShare: Share photos - Halloween contest


Other contributors to our busy schedule: hockey season began and Grandma and Grandpa Good are visiting. More on these, later (hopefully)!