Transitioning Well

The following is part of an email I received from Elaine tonight.

"The transition with Isabelle has gone amazingly well. She cried for less than a minute at the "hand off" and now only cries if I leave her. Her energy level is quite low since her oxygen levels are at 63%. She is very strong with her upper body and is sharp mentally. She also has great manual dexterity. Her lower body strength is very low.. I believe she's spent a lot of time in a walker due to her her low energy levels.

She is warming up to all of us and has a beautiful smile and giggle. She's VERY ticklish and laughs out loud when we tickle her. She has definite opinions which she makes clear by her verbalizations.

We're in "solitary confinement" to keep her healthy. A cold or respiratory infection, at this point, could be disastrous. Torie and Michaela are going for a few hours a day and exploring the street/markets close to our hotel. Once we arrive in Guangzhou, there are other families that I hope they can do some sightseeing with during our stay."

Thank you for continued prayer support!

Answered Prayers

After months of praying, by many, Isabelle was place in Elaine's arms yesterday! While her oxygen levels are very low, the transition is going well so far. Elaine is trying, with help from a doctor, to get the provincial appointment moved up so they can travel to a lower elevation. The lower elevation should help her oxygen levels some. Over all, she seems to be very healthy and well cared for which is a wonderful blessing. She is just weak from low oxygen, which has also provided lots of snuggle time for she and Elaine.

On the home front, I want to thank everyone for your prayers and all of the support for AnnaGrace, SarahMei and I. All of the wonderful meals and for allowing the girls to come over during the morning hours while I work. We have truly been blessed by all of you!

By His Grace,

Phil

PS. I have two pictures Elaine emailed to me, but for some reason, I cannot get them to upload to the blog. I will continue to try.

Report from China!

We would first like to thank all of you for praying for Elaine, Torie and Michaela as they travel to China to pick up Isabelle. We got a call from them this morning at 7:15 am (8:15 pm there). They got there safely and plan to email tomorrow, China time, when they can access the internet at the motel. They should be traveling to Kunming tomorrow and getting to Isabelle Monday afternoon.

Again, we are thankful for your prayers and continue to ask for God's favor in protecting Isabelle's heart and lungs.

Only By God's Grace,

The Horton Family

Just One More Day...

"Where can I go from you Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your right hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast." Psalm 139:7-10

During the months of waiting to meet Isabelle, I've taken great comfort in the fact that neither she nor I were ever out of the Lord's hand. He guided us every step of the way...and now it's hard to believe that Friday morning Torie, Michaela and I will be boarding a plane to China!!!

Lord-willing we'll meet Isabelle on Monday morning - China time (i.e. Sunday p.m. U.S. time). Pray for the Lord to prepare her to meet her forever family!!

Also pray for Phil, AnnaGrace and Sarah Mei as they patiently wait, for two long weeks, as we stay in China.

And join us in praising the Lord for His incredible mercies and blessings in our lives!!

(The photo credit goes to Bill Loftis, a friend of ours, who is suffering while vacationing in The Keys...I guess someone has to do it!)

AnnaGrace's Family Day

On December 3rd we celebrated the 8th anniversary of AnnaGrace's family day! Words can't express our continued awe at our Lord who called us together as a family!!



As we celebrate Annie's family day, we look forward to Isabelle's family day. We're one step closer...we received our Article 5 today which means, Lord-willing, we'll be traveling sometime in January to pick up our next gift from God.

Thanksgiving Surprise...

We were so excited to get the call today informing us that we have our LOA. The LOA is the official letter from China accepting us as adoptive parents of Isabelle. I wish I could share her photo, but our agency is very cautious and asks us not to post any specific information until we've actually traveled to China. So for now you'll just have to take our word for it...she's beautiful!!

Several weeks ago we also received information on Isabelle's health. She is not receiving enough oxygen and needs surgery as soon as possible. Due to her tenous health, our wonderful Congressman's office - Patrick McHenry, and also a contact at the immigration office are trying to expedite our U.S. adoption paperwork. We are amazed at everyone's willingness and enthusiasm to help us!! We truly see God's hand at work.

Please pray with us that our adoption paperwork will continue to find favor in the eyes of the officials and that all involved will be willing to put a top priority on getting it complete.

Also, please pray that God will protect Isabelle's heart and lungs. Our pediatric cardiologist are AMAZING, godly men! They even sent a pulse/oxy machine, directly from their office, to our agency to be delivered to the orphanage in China. They are hoping to get updated oxygen levels in order to plan Isabelle's care upon her arrival in the States.

We are praising God for His gift to us of another daughter and know that He has her firmly in His hand!!

New Blog

If you are interested in learning about simplifying your life, saving money and getting more organized, check out my new blog.

Since deciding to adopt, 3 years ago, I've been on a quest to maximize all of our resources. Adoption is expensive but so worth it!! So, needless to say, when we decided to adopt again this year, my efforts have been redoubled.

I'm hoping to encourage others while challenging myself as I share on my blog the most effective ways I've found to Simplify, Organize and Economize.

I want to be able to spend my most valuable resources...time and money...on the things that matter most...things of eternal value. I'm determined not to invest in temporal riches. However, despite my commitment, I still find that society and the media have a certain pull on both myself and my family.

I'm praying, with the Lord's help, that this blog will keep me focused on the "end game". Please join me as I continue to "run with perseverance the raced marked out for us." Heb. 12:1b

(FYI - You can just click on the blog name, in my post, and it will take you to my other blog. Or you can type www.simplifyathome.blogspot.com in your address bar and you'll get there too!! Thanks for the question Julie.)

Another day on the farm...

Life on a farm is always full of surprises. This morning's surprise...49 escaped laying hens. The girls went out to feed the chickens this morning and discovered the roof had blown off of the portable hen house Phil built. They spent the next 30 minutes chasing hens around the pasture.

But all the work is balanced with moments like the ones pictured below:




Horses are very reticent to stay laying down when a person approaches. It takes a long time to earn their trust and to be able to do what AnnaGrace is doing with her pony. Torie snapped these photos with her cell phone. This is one of the many reasons I LOVE life on a farm!!

Other happenings this month...

Michaela turned 14...how did that happen?? Do you remember when you were young and you hated everyone saying "you've grown so much". It's such a lame thing to say and yet I hear myself saying that to my own children when they have another birthday. Birthdays are a continual reminder to cherish every moment.



Lest you think Michaela always celebrates her birthdays in her robe, the pink robe was a birthday gift from Phil and I. Michaela is taking some on-line classes for homeschool. They are in the morning and one of the perks of being homeschooled...you can go to class in your P.J.'s and robe! She was excited to get not only a robe, but a HUGE mug, from Torie. Now she has visions of morning classes wrapped in her cozy robe while sipping on her hot chocolate!!