Hog Roast "FUN"raiser!

We had so much fun at our fundraiser for Karli. Our good friends, Ruthi and Claude and all their beautiful daughters helped before, during, and after working tirelessly to help bring home one more orphan. Our daughter's, Julie, Jennifer, Jamie, Anna, and Mia all pitched in. Maureen stayed and for the whole time and sold dinners. We had so many friends from the area bring in desserts and donated items for the auction. All our help was much needed and appreciated. We could not have done it without everyone contributing their time, talents, and most of all their love. Katelyn Kocher provided an hour of singing from her newly released CD. Katelyn is such a talent and so sweet. Thank you! We raised an additional $2,650 toward Karli's adoption! Thanks everyone for making a difference to one child. Like Phil has always said, "It isn't about us, it is about Karli!" Can't wait to bring her home! Please keep us in your prayers.

At the Princeville Heritage Museum.

Katelyn Kocher with Anna, Jordyn, and Kadina helping sing "Let it Go".

Hog Roast this Saturday, September 27!

We are so excited about our up and coming Hog Roast fundraiser. On Saturday, September 27 starting at 5:00 at the Princeville Heritage Museum in Princeville, IL. Everyone is invited and we are hoping they all come and see us! We have been donated about 80 items to be auctioned either through live and silent auction. We will have live music from country/pop singer Katelyn Kocher! This is our last push to raise the funds needed! Thank you all for your prayers and support!

Karli Xiuyong received our gifts and pictures!

We are so excited about the newest pictures that we received from our contact in China. Richard was so helpful in arranging for Karli Xiuyong to receive a cake and pictures of us, her new family! Richard said she is excited and happy that her family will be coming for her soon! She is such a beautiful girl and her sisters are so excited to meet her. They include Karli in almost everything they do. Here are the photos that we received!

Bao'an Reunion!

We attended the Bao'an Reunion July 12. This is the orphanage where Anna lived for 9 years. She had been placed there when she was abandoned at the age of 4 months. This is all she had known, loved, and experienced as her family. All the kids were her brothers and sisters and all the adults were her aunts, uncles, mom and dad, big sisters and big brothers. She was hesitant about going to the reunion. She was worried and fearful. I am sure even she wasn't sure why but once she got there and relaxed a little she did fine. There were several adults who traveled from China to attend the reunion with several of the children who came over to experience family life and stayed with host families. Anna ran up to the first group of adults and greeted them with hugs and smiles. They were snapping pictures of her as she did.

This is Anna with one of the adults who traveled from China for the Reunion

 

 

This is Anna in 2012, the man in the back is the same one from photo above

She also met a friend, Jimmy, who was with her during her time with ASIA agency in 2010. They were all in a dance recital doing the Chicken Dance.

Anna and Jimmy 2014 at Reunion

Anna fifth from left and Jimmy fourth from left in 2010

Here is Anna with her other Adult friends who came to the reunion from China.

Here is a good friend of Annas who was one of the host kids. He is available for adoption and is a sweetie.

Why Adopt When You Can't Afford It?

 After reading so much on the subject, one person puts it in print very well about "why adopt"? And this is our version.

Five thoughts on adopting, when you can't afford it:

1.) AFFORDING AN ADOPTION IS NOT THE SAME AS AFFORDING A CHILD - Our family lives frugally. Old house, old cars, no cable, sell all that we don't need. We've been learning and are still learning more and more ways to save before we purchase things. Living this lifestyle makes it very possible to afford more children on a day to day basis, along with any medical needs our child will need. Affording an adoption is different - because all monies are required in a very short amount of time, and it is usually VERY big chunks of money up front. We trust God, the one who opened the door in the first place. He will finish and complete this work, through the whole process. He is faithful.

2.) IT'S ALL THE LORD'S ANYWAY - We know how hard it is to ask others for their help. Though it is one of the most uncomfortable and very humbling positions we've ever been in.  But by doing so, we realized we are allowing and encouraging others to do what we as Christians are already commanded to do. {1 John 16-18} We are giving others a position to help an orphan. When we do this. It's so easy to advocate {speak up} for orphans, the unborn, the widow, the weak and the poor. But true advocating looks much differently when we aren't just speaking in word or in tongue. It's when we actually get our hands dirty doing the work. Our homes, vehicles, money, our everything is the Lord's anyway. It's all been given to us on loan so to speak. Should any of us be holding so tightly to what the Lord has given to us so freely to help others? He blesses way beyond when we sacrifice and give to others. Be it in our homes, or through giving.

3.) DEPEND FULLY ON GOD - AND WATCH HIM WORK  God wants nothing more then us to depend fully on Him, every step of the way! When my husband and I do this, we've been brought to literal tears. Because He is so very faithful! Part of depending on God is being wise with what we've been given. I love giving gifts to my children. I LOVE watching their eyes light up. God does the same thing! Often times when we least expect it. God has been providing for our adoption needs, and they are normally not early, but always right on time.On our last adoption we were $2,000 short 4 days before our flights, we received a call from a grant and they provided us with a check for $4,000 knowing we were only asking for $2,000. God is providing funds through people, through our fundraising efforts, our garden produce, auctioning off our personal items, garage sales, the funds never come early, but they never come late, just the right amount we need at the very time we need it. Always enough to help us out, but not enough to sit, relax or be lazy. It's good to keep working and be reminded we can't slack off, we continually depend on Him, but we still must work hard.

4.) GOD’S PROVISION WILL BECOME AN AMAZING PART OF OUR CHILD'S STORY

I can’t wait to tell our daughter how SO many people loved her before she was even placed in our family. Before we even knew her, people gave money, time, and prayer to help us bring her home. I can’t wait to tell her how God laid everything out for us, how He prepared people’s hearts ahead of time to give to our adoption. We pray she feels loved and extremely valuable. We will tell her about how much her birth mother loved her and chose to give her life. We pray our daughter will one day even through struggles and tears understand that her birth Mama made a decision of love, and that she was chosen for a new family and loved before she ever even arrived. We pray she will see her "birth story" saturated with God’s love and goodness.

5.) DON’T MAKE MAJOR DECISIONS SOLELY BASED ON YOUR POCKET BOOK

 Some people will probably disagree with this but, we have found it to be good advice. Money is very important and affects almost every area of everyone's lives, but it should not be the main deciding factor when making a big life decision with God's work. If the only thing holding someone back from adopting is money, we'd like to encourage you strongly to reconsider. If you are wise with your finances, and you are living within your means, and your family seeks after God's will, takes care of what He's given you already, and you work hard and trust the Lord to open and close doors, to provide for your needs - then what's stopping you? Pray for wisdom, pray that God would open or close doors. Ask Him how you can you serve Him, with what you already have, and see what doors will open.

We are drawn toward adoption and especially toward Xiuyong. Don't ask us how or why but we truly love her before we know her. We have 7 grown children, all married except for one, and 14 grandchildren. We don't need all the material things, or vacations, or downtime as much as a child needs us. We are honored to be their parents. Please keep us in your prayers and consider donating. Your prayers are especially needed.  

Auctioning off our personal items to help bring home our daughter!

On June 11 we had an auction of our personal items, mostly all our office items, 1400 hot wheels, Sony reader, books, screened in gazebo, exercise equipment and weights, calculators, and anything else that we didn't need. Here are a few photos of everything we had at the sale. We have decided to give our daughter our bedroom and move into the office. This way all the girls can have their own room surrounded by their own belongings. Something that orphans do not get to experience. Their things are so important to them. When Mia and Anna came home they would keep all their personal items in a bag, such as toothbrush, brush, hair items, etc. I had to show them how to unpack and that all their things were still their own. Funny but sad how much such a small thing can mean to them. The things we have collected over the years are just that, things. Providing a child a home means so much more to us. A real family. Hugs at bedtime. And in return we get to see their smiles and how much they will change over the years. Loving this so much!

Screened in Gazebo with rug

Exercise Equipment

The Girls are Going to Have a New Sister!

Yes, we are in the process of bringing home another daughter from China and Mia and Anna are both so excited. They saw her picture and Anna said, "We have to get her!" She is turning 14 on November 24, 2012 and will no longer be adoptable by China law so we will need to have the adoption finalized before then. We were DTC on April 22, 2012. We are now waiting on the next approval called LOA. This takes 2 or 3 months from DTC. I have included a picture of Lin Xiuyong (see below). We are thinking of calling her Karli but the girls like the name Macy.

This is a recent picture of Xiuyong.