Hi, this is Michaela:

So for all of you wondering...no, my mom did not decide to travel to the moon. So since she has not posted in a long time, I thought I would.

A few days ago mom and I left the two little girls with Torie, and  ran some errands. When we got home mom noticed some hair on the floor and proceeded to ask Isabelle a few questions...

Mom: Where did the hair come from?
Izzy: Starts sobbing.
Mom: Did you cut your hair?
Izzy: Yes.
Mom: Where is the rest?
Izzy: I threw it in the trash can.
Mom: Why did you cut your hair?
Izzy: I was curious to see if scissors would cut hair...

To give her credit at least they look like bangs...

P.S. Mom, you need to come up with a better password.

Daughters on Three Continents

It occurred to me the other day that we have daughters on three continents.  For parents who are self-confessed control freaks, we are a bit out of our comfort zone.  And yet, that is exactly where the Lord wants us to be.

Savannah Faith waits for us in China.  As usual the most frustrating part about adoption is the fact that we have absolutely NO control over the time frame.  Our part of the paperwork is finished and ready to be put in the mail.  We're just waiting, waiting, waiting on the government - this time the U.S. government - to complete their next step, so we can mail our dossier to China.

Adoption paperwork is a bit like watching an orchestrated dance. First  paperwork waltz's across the ocean to China where you wait on PA (tentative approval to adopt your child) and then back to the US for I-800A (tentative approval to allow the child to immigrant).  The waltz continues with the dossier going to China for LOA (definite approval to adopt your child) and then back to the US for I-800 (final approval to allow the child to immigrant).  Then the dance continues as the paperwork makes the trek to China one more time for TA (approval to travel to China) and then back to the States for the US Embassy's approval for an Embassy date.  And finally the dance winds down as plane tickets are obtained.

Now think about your most recent DMV visit.  Do you remember the bureaucratic speed (ahem) and clarity that awaited you upon your arrival? (Do you notice the sarcasm in my voice?  There is a reason we call my most dreaded experiences "DMV moments" in our house.)  Now imagine DMV speed and multiple it times the six trips across the ocean our adoption paperwork must make to the various government offices, both in the States and in China, before we can finally get approval to travel.

Now you understand the glazed stare that meets your eyes when you innocently ask us, "When is Savannah coming home?"  Sigh....

That brings me back to my original blog paragraph, we are completely out of control, and that is exactly where the Lord wants us.

While we wait and wait to hear paperwork updates on Savannah, Michaela is busy at work in Swaziland, Africa.  It's a bit surreal making weekly calls, via Skype, to a continent half way around the world, to our seventeen year old daughter and realizing that we have absolutely no ability to go to her if anything is wrong.

However, I can honestly say, we have a complete peace!  It can only be the Lord.

It's thrilling to hear the joy in her voice as she tells of sharing Christ's love with the children at the carepoints.  The fact that she is in her element is indisputable.

Even her training on our farm has even come in handy.  Two days a week she harvests fresh vegetables.  After spending all morning in the fields, the team takes veggies to the carepoints where they are distributed to the children.  The vitamins and nutrition from these are invaluable for the children whose primary diet consists of one meal a day of corn and beans! 

And while two of our girls are out of our reach but safely in the Lord's hands, I'm reminded that our four daughters who are right under our roof are not really safe because of "us."  They, too, are safe because of His good pleasure and His protective care.

One of my favorite verses has long been,

"If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea,

 

even there Your hand will guide me, Your right hand will hold me fast."  Ps. 139:9,10

 



It has extra special meaning to me now as I wait for two daughters to come home from "the far side of the sea."

Myrtle Beach and Moon Cakes

While Torie and my mom hold down the fort at home, the little girls, Phil and I are enjoying a few days in Myrtle Beach.

It is Isabelle and Lily Rose's first trip to the beach. 

First time dipping their toes in the surf.

First time tugging wagons through the sand.

I love seeing it all for the first time, again, through their eyes!

Good friends, Dean & Brenda Scott, joined us.  They brought bubbles to the beach.  Lily Rose was determined to catch one of them.

She wasn't successful, but she gave it a valiant effort!

While the little girls tried their firsts, AnnaGrace and Sarah Mei worked on sand castles, sand castles and sand castles...and even managed some time in the ocean.

This evening we celebrated a bit of Chinese tradition by eating Moon Cakes that we purchased at the Asian Market.  September 30th is the Autumn Moon Festival celebrated in China. 

We all agreed the Moon Cakes looked prettier than they tasted, but it was still a fun evening.

 

 

 

We sure miss Torie & Michaela, but we're looking forward to a few more days in the sand and the surf....

 

 

"Now Faith is being sure of what we hope for....

and certain of what we do not see." Hebrews 11:1   and that is where it all begins. 

In July, Phil and I were blessed to get away for 4 days to Rivera Maya, Mexico. (It was tough, but someone had to do it.)

It was the first time we we went away for more than an overnight since Sarah Mei came home 5 years ago.  The time to decompress, reconnect, relax, and rejuvenate was priceless!

While sitting on the beaches we began discussing our plans for the future.  What we wanted to do with the next 25 years of our married life.

Surprisingly, or maybe not, our plans kept turning back to beginning an adoption ministry, volunteering with Love Without Boundaries (which thankfully I've been able to do), and even possibly adopting again. 

Not wanting to do just a "good" thing, but wanting to make sure it was a "God" thing, we committed to asking the Lord for the "impress of His signet ring."  After reading Elisabeth's Elliott's biography on Amy Carmichael, a few years ago, we've employed the method of praying for 3 specific signs to ensure that the Lord wants us to move ahead. 

After searching Scripture, seeking Godly-counsel, and having 3 very specific, humanly impossible prayers answered, we're excited to announce....we are going to be parents again to Savannah Faith Yuandian Horton. 

She is two years old and needs life-saving heart surgery.  We can't wait to have her join our family and pray we'll travel to pick her up sometime next spring or summer.

Here's our sweet Savannah with her nanny in China.

We KNOW humanly it doesn't make sense...we KNOW it isn't logical...we KNOW we are too old, too overworked, have TOO many children, fill in the blank...but we also KNOW that the Lord has called us to "walk by faith."  And we are doing just that...are excited to do it.  And that is where Savannah gets her middle name "Faith".

"Now Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." Hebrews 11:1

Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus....

 

I wish you could hear the little voices at my house. 

they are constantly singing and singing and singing,


over and over and over


and did I mention OVER AGAIN?


the books of the Old Testament - Genesis, Exodus, Levvvviticus.....



We're learning the books of the Bible in homeschool



- you know the tune on Wee Sings??



If you don't know the song,



you can't feel both my laughter, and my pain right now.
 


we hear it at dinner,



in the car,



at bath time and



in the bed  at night



we even heard it while the girls were playing at the splash pad recently. 

Not sure everyone else was that thrilled??

Just a bit embarassing when you are twelve!

Others thought it was hilarious that not everyone was thrilled.

Genesis, Exodus, Levvvviticus....the song of Summer - 2012

Swaziland Here She Comes!

I am finding one of the sweetest blessings of parenting is seeing our older children, not only walking with the Lord, but discovering His special plan and purpose for their life.


Since turning twelve, Michaela has sensed the Lord's leading to mission's, specifically African
missions. 

In 2010, she and I made a two week trip to Swaziland (a tiny country in South Africa) to minister to the AIDS orphans.  On that trip I fell in love with Africa and the children.  Michaela was already home.

Now, two years later, the Lord has opened a door for Michaela to return to Swaziland, Africa for three months.  She'll be traveling with one other young lady and working with Adventures in Missions at their carepoints for orphans.

       This was one of the children we were able to provide an outfit for last time we visited.

Just a little background on orphan care in Swaziland...

Swaziland boasts no public orphanages or foster system.  No safety nets exist for children without parents.  They are on their own.  Literally.  With the highest HIV rate of any country in the world and the resulting mortality rate of young and middle-age adults, the orphan population is staggering.

Children remain on their parents, grandparents, aunts/uncles homesteads even when no adults remain alive.  This means children as young as eight or nine are taking care of younger siblings and trying to provide for their needs.

The carepoints, funded predominantly by individuals and churches in the United States and run jointly by Adventures in Missions (AIM) and HopeChest, provide a safe haven for these children. 

Last trip we took packages of balloons for the children to play with.  They were a BIG hit!

The carepoints are places for the children to come (some hike up to 5 miles a day) to get a hot nutritious meal, to play with other children,  to receive attention from the go-go's (older Swazi women who volunteer their time to cook at the carepoints) and to experience the love of Christ.

Michaela will spend much of her time working at these carepoints, as well as making visits to homesteads.

This is Michaela carrying a 25 lb. bag of grain on one of our last homestead visits.

Michaela hopes to use this time in Africa to not only show the love of Christ to the women and children she meets, but also to confirm God's call on her life to full-time ministry in the country.

Unless the Lord shows her otherwise, her plan is to return to the States in December.  Finish her senior year of high school and then complete her nursing degree and mid-wifery training before returning to Africa.

Please pray for God's hand of protection and direction on Michaela as she travels half-way around the world to shine His light.

Pray for Phil, too, as he allows his 16 year old daughter to follow God's leading for her life.



Her Internet connection will be sporadic. But you can follow her adventures on her blog...
www.africamylife.blogspot.com

One More Surgery Complete - Check

Yesterday Lily Rose completed another surgery since arriving in the States 12 short months ago.  This one was a bit easier than her open-heart surgery.

We arrived at Levine's Children's Hospital at 8:30 a.m. and were home by 2:30 p.m.  Now THAT'S the kind of surgery I like!

The girls posed outside the gift shop on the way into the hospital.

Then we went upstairs to pre-op.

Lily Rose is always a ham for the nurses.  Yesterday was no exception.

Once we put the gown on Lily Rose, it finally hit her....another surgery. 

The expression on her face says it all.

After a minute, she put on her game face and was all smiles as they wheeled her back to the OR.



Lily Rose came to us with a perforated ear drum.  The hole was quite large and was presumably from multiple untreated ear infections.   The surgery, fat plug myringoplasty, is a grafting procedure using fatty tissue from behind Lily Rose's ear to plug the ear drum.  The hope is that the tissue will graft in around the fat plug and will ensure a return of full hearing once healing takes place.

The hole in Lily Rose's eardrum was quite large, so this grafting procedure may or may not be successful. 

Please pray with us that the procedure is fully successful and no further surgery will be needed.  Every surgery is significant with a "cardiac" patient.

Charliann's Wedding

Three of our girls were honored to be in a friend's wedding yesterday.  AnnaGrace not only had her first experience as a junior bridesmaid but also read Scripture in the service.

We were so proud of her as she used her stage training to project her voice.  She was calm as a cucumber and was clearly heard by all 230+ guests in the open-air venue. 

Isabelle and Sarah Mei took their job as joint flower girls seriously.  Before the wedding they lounged on the couch.

Izzy had stage-fright, moments before walking down the aisle, but after I gave her a pep talk reminding her that Charliann was depending on her, she regained her courage and shyly smiled as she strolled down the aisle.

Sarah Mei, on the other hand, relished the limelight and beamed as she diligently dropped rose petals down the aisle. 

All the girls loved the dancing at the reception!

We've know Charliann since we moved to NC in 1998.  She was just 8 years old then, and she and Torie were in the same 3rd grade class. 

Charli's mom, Brenda, has long been our girls "surrogate" mom.  She was the ONLY one AnnaGrace would go to upon Annie's arrival from China.  Brenda has blessed our girls with beautiful Easter and Christmas dresses for years.  She's our girls' buddy, and they argue every Sunday over who's Sunday it is to sit next to Brenda at church. 

Dean, Charli's dad, Phil and Sarah Mei are sports enthusiasts and barbecue buddies. During SouthLake's football and basketball season, you will find the three of them making road trips to every game followed by a meal at the local BBQ restaurant. 

We were SO blessed to see Charli marry Stephen, who we have known for their 5 years of dating.  They are a godly young couple who we know will glorify the Lord in their marriage.  It was a special day for us all!

 Stephen and Charliann Vivanno