Psalm 33

"From heaven the Lord looks down

and sees all mankind;

from His dwelling place He watches

all who live on earth-

He who FORMS THE HEARTS of all,

who considers everything they do."

Psalm 33:13-15

This is the first picture we ever saw of Presley . . . the first glimpse at our precious daughter. I have recently been meditating on Psalm 33. The entire Psalm speaks to the sovereignty of God. Nothing happens that is out of His will; everything happens according to His good and perfect plans. "He forms the hearts of all!" Those words are such a comfort! He made Presley, and He made her heart. He knows exactly what He is doing, and He causes all things to work together for good. This child is not defined by the imperfections of her physical heart, but by the preciousness of her eternal heart. She is perfectly and wonderfully made, and we trust that God knows exactly what He is doing! 



Fingerprints . . . Finally!

Today we were fingerprinted for the US side of immigration to bring Presley home. We had been checking the mail for the past weeks waiting (somewhat patiently) for our appointment time to arrive. The final document we need to complete our dossier is the I800A form, and the fingerprints are the final component to ensure that we are who we say we are and that we do not have a criminal record. David and I have done this twice before, but this time our two big boys joined us. Anyone over the age of 18 who resides in your home at the time your new child immigrates must also be fingerprinted and checked out with a clear record. Our older children have been so supportive of our adoptions, and it is such a blessing to watch them love and embrace their little sisters!

So, one more milestone reached! Now we are praying for a speedy delivery of our actual approval. We are also praying and trusting that my fingerprints will be accepted. The machine rejected my prints several times today, but the technician used the best ones and assured me that she knows "good prints" when she sees them. I have never had this problem before, and I have been fingerprinted several times in my life due to working with children in many different capacities. I really don't want this to slow us down in the race to get to our little girl. However, it is just one more opportunity to remember that I am not in control. The One who is in control is never late; He is always perfectly on time. He will unite us with our little precious on exactly the day that He has planned. So, I rest assured of this truth! But please fingerprints of mine, don't fail me now!

Fingerprints are such a mystery and such a reminder of the way that God has made each and every person to be unique. I stand amazed at our God, and I am confident that even the simplest detail of our fingerprints have been perfectly and wonderfully made!

"He seals up the hand of every man, that all men whom He made will know it." Job 37:7





More of the Photo Shoot . . . Too Cute!

Joy is 7!

Our little Joy Joy turned 7 yesterday! How is that possible?! Our baby girl!

This birthday is kind of special because Joy has now been home with us for as long as she was not. She was 3 and 1/2 when she joined our family, and now she is 7. We have waited to celebrate this milestone with our special girl!

Joy is pure JOY! She is smart, deep, sensitive, loving, funny, spicy, and oh, so sweet! To know Joy is to love her, and we are so blessed to call her our daughter!

We had a special day celebrating which included a trip to the party store.

Joy picked out balloons and thanked me profusely by exclaiming, "My dream came true!" The girl loves balloons! We baked cupcakes with whipped cream frosting! What a treat!

And then we had a fun little photo shoot outside!

After enjoying a dinner from Joy's favorite place, Panda Express, it was time for cupcakes! So yummy!

Happy birthday, Joy Joy! You are so loved!!! xxoo

Known by Heart

We recently had the privilege of supporting another family's adoption of a "heart baby" by purchasing these amazing T-shirts as valentine gifts for our girls . . . "Known by Heart"!

 We even ordered one for Presley which is being modeled by her doll!

"For the Lord sees not as man sees; man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart."

1 Samuel 16:7

To know that each and every heart is made precious in His sight and known through and through by the Creator brings joy beyond compare! Thank you, Lord Jesus, for your deep love for us!

Happy Valentine's Day!!! <3

"Happy Chinese New Year!"

Now that the girls are older, they are very interested in learning about Chinese culture. We want to always seek to honor their birth culture, so this year we are really having some fun celebrating Chinese New Year! We have read books, made crafts, took trips to the Asian market, watched performances, and had a feast full of delicious Chinese food and treats.

 Our crafts included lantern making, Chinese calligraphy, and masks!

 "Ta da!"

 "Hanging them up!"

"Beautiful work!"

Since 2016 is the Year of the Monkey, we had to make "houzi" (monkey) masks!

"Silly little monkeys!"

While visiting the Ta Lin Market we bought some favorite Chinese food and treats. We also watched the famous Lion Dance!

"Dragon fruit . . . yummy!"


We journeyed to the Chinese Cultural Center for a celebration including Chinese martial arts, dancing and of course, a dragon!

 "Real live Mulan!"

The girls were so cute taking it all in . . . what a fun experience!
We finished our celebration with a delicious feast full of the flavors of China and made some family memories!

 "Yay . . . hongbao (red envelopes with money) for the kids!"

"Gung hay fat choy!"

Update!

Now that we have PA, we were able to request an update on our little precious. Since Chinese New Year begins very soon, we figured we wouldn't hear anything until after the holiday toward the end of the month. So, today we received a sweet surprise . . . our update! We have answers to our questions, a few new pictures, and two new videos! What a blessing! Our girl is darling, I have to say, and she's got personality plus! Little Presley just seems to exude spunk and spirit! She is described as happy, smiles a lot, very active, and out going. She gets along well with other kids. She likes playing games and doing collage work by hand. She expresses herself very well and can follow all the lessons taught by her teachers. It makes her happy to eat snacks and wear new beautiful clothes. Well, guess who wants to go right out and buy her some new beautiful clothes?! And don't worry, we Metzgars always have plenty of snacks!


Medically speaking, she has had pneumonia twice and was in the hospital. Oh, my heart! We know that for a child with serious heart disease a common cold can quickly turn bad. However, she now seems to be doing well, and she is healthy. She has grown considerably since the last update 6 months ago, so that is a good sign. The update says that she participates in all of her preschool activities and that her daily life does not seem to be affected by her heart disease. We pray God's protection over our girl each and every day! We know He is holding her in His ever loving, faithful arms.

Here are a couple of her new pictures . . . playing ball and sweeping!

 She likes to sweep . . . that is just priceless!

New pictures and video are such a blessing, yet they are also a reminder of how quickly our little one is growing and changing without us. She looks the same, but different. We just can't wait to know her! We are comforted by the fact that she is known through and through by her Maker! And He does all things well!

Here are a few more snapshots from her new video! She is talking to her nanny and pointing out pictures on the wall. Her ayis are so sweet with her! She is also creating . . . well, she does enjoy collage making after all!

Now, we just have one more question . . . when can we bring her home?!