"One Hundred Good Wishes"

     To welcome and celebrate a new life, it is a Chinese tradition to make a "Bai Jia Bei" (100 Good Wishes quilt).  It is a custom to invite friends and family to contribute a patch of cloth with a wish for the baby.  Part of the patch of cloth goes into the quilt for the baby, and the other part of the cloth can go into a memory book with the wish for the child.  The quilt is supposed to contain the luck, energy, and good wishes from all the family and friends who contributed a piece of fabric.  The quilt is then passed down from generation to generation. 
      Several weeks ago, while searching for fundraising ideas, I came across a really neat site called...(you guessed it) "100 Good Wishes."  This website is not only a tool that we can use to raise financial support, but it also gives us a way to share about our adoption journey and gather good wishes for our sweet baby-to-be!
     Our pastor just recently preached on "True Generosity."  One point that really stood out for me was that God meets needs and answers prayer through generous people...

                      "And my God shall supply all your needs."  Philippians 4:19  

Our human side worries - worries about the thousands of more dollars we will need to pay for this adoption, and the extra expense of a third child.  But we know, without a doubt, that our needs will be supplied :-)
     To check out our "100 Good Wishes" page or make a donation, click on the link located on the right side of this page.  In your generosity, God is meeting the needs and prayers of sweet Anna Li, our baby to be!  To sum up Sunday's sermon...
                      
                              "We are never more like Jesus than when we give."

Thank You!
Nathan, Aimee, Henley, and Griffin

                                       

"Choosing to See"

     Perhaps some of you recognize the title of this blog, "Choosing to See."  It's definitely not original, but it does have significant meaning to our family's adoption journey.  This is the title of a book written by Mary Beth Chapman (Steven Curtis Chapman's wife).  Almost two years ago exactly, the kids and I were in the Rainbow City Public Library when I happened to see this book being displayed.  I barely gave it a second glance - I briefly knew that this family had lost an adopted daughter in a terrible accident, and I knew the book would probably be very depressing.  But something made me pick it up and read the inside cover.  I noticed that the Forward was written by Beth Moore - I was currently doing my first Beth Moore bible study, so of course I had to read this.  I was hooked.  I checked out the book and prepared myself to be pretty depressed :)  And yes, it was sad.  But more than that, I finished the book with a sense of awe and excitement at what this family had done.  And a tiny little voice in my head (yes, it was God :) was saying "what if we could do this?"
     Just so you know, adoption is not something that Nathan and I had ever discussed.  Not that we were against it at all - it had just never come up in the plans we thought we had for our life.  We had two children - a girl and a boy - and our family was complete.  So I had no idea how Nathan was going to receive the news that I felt God had a different plan for our family.  I think that, for a while, he thought I was into this because I had just read the book.  He thought my enthusiasm would fade.  And when it didn't, he really tried to get on board.  But this was really hard for him - who can blame him?  And after about a year, he just told me that he did not feel the same calling that I did.
     I was crushed.  I did not understand how I could feel so completely sure that this was what God wanted me to do, but Nathan was not receiving the same message.  In my extreme sadness, I decided that I would no longer discuss adoption with him.  But I prayed, probably harder than I have ever prayed for something in my life.  I prayed that if this was truly God's plan for us, that he would put the same yearning that I felt into Nathan.  That Nathan would develop a heart for the orphan - as much or more - as I had.
     Well, I guess you can see what happened at the end of the story.  But really, that was just the beginning.  We are "Choosing to See" the plan that God has for us; we are "Choosing to See" that God commands us to care for the fatherless; we are "Choosing to See" that we are definitely not in control :) 

    

I really recommend the book :)

Hello Blogger World!

     I never imagined I would start a blog.  Those of you who know me well know that I don't post much on Facebook, just recently learned how to text, and usually when I try to use my cell phone I find it dead:)  But after much anxiety and consideration over this, I decided that because of what is going on in our life that this is what I needed to do.  One reason I am doing this is to record this adoption journey for Henley, Griffin, and our daughter-to-be.  I pray that one day they will look back at these events and see the amazing way that God was present in every part of this plan.  The second reason I feel led to do this is to share with others a command that has changed our life...

"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." 
 James 1:27





     Nathan and I feel that God has not only called us to adopt, but to be a voice for the other 147 million orphans around the world - the "least of these."  But please don't follow this blog and think that we have it all together.  Our life is hectic but fun, our house is usually messy, and I have to learn from the mistakes I make with my children everyday.  And please keep us in your prayers.  Thanks for joining us on this journey!



My two monkeys, Henley and Griffin:)