T-Shirts for Joy!

God has provided an amazing opportunity for us to help with the cost of completing our adoption. A Christian based clothing company called Zoe Clothing Company has graciously offered to give us $15 for every "adoption" T-shirt purchased as well as 25% of any purchase on any of their products. We have been praying for ideas to help fund our adoption, and this is a direct answer! God is always so faithful!

There are two available "adoption" T-shirts; one for girls and one for guys. The girly one is so cute . . . and the one for guys is pretty cool. 

Their website is: 
http://zoeclothingcompany.com/pages/help-with-joys-adoption. They gave us our own page on their website with a picture of Joy, our family, and information about our adoption. If anyone makes a purchase, you just need to type in the code: joy

We are praying that God might use this to help us financially. But we are also praying that this will be another opportunity to share the truth of the Gospel through adoption. We are so grateful to Zoe for helping us and to all who are able to help us bring Joy home in this way.

Missing You

I recently heard a line in a movie that really resonated with me. The character questioned, "How can I miss someone so much that I have never even met?" That just completely sums up how I feel about Joy. So often my heart just aches for her, to touch her, to hold her, to embrace her. I have never even met her, yet I miss her. I also began thinking about all of the milestones in her life that we have already missed. Yet, I was reminded of a poem that my sister found and sent to me. It is such a beautiful depiction of the fact that Joy's heavenly Father has always been with her, loving her and comforting her. He hasn't missed a minute! He has been planning her life since the beginning of time. This poem is untitled and the author is unknown:

You might not know the story (the one about her birth)
But I have kept a record since the moment she touched earth.
I know the day she tried to walk. I counted every fall.
I know the number of her tears. My bottle holds them all.

I was there for the day when she turned one year old.
You don't know where it happened and she might not have been told,
But those things are less important than the fact that I was there . . .
That I planned her birth with purpose is more important than the "where".

I was there when she was waiting. I whispered to her when
Her small heart first held the promise of the family I would send.
I planned all those details of herself that whisper she is yours
So that one day you could show her that I'd planned this since before.

Since before she heard your voice and before she knew your name
I was holding her and planning for her welfare just the same.
There was never once a moment when I didn't rule it all
From the numbers in her birth date to events she can't recall.

I've been planning this small life for the big one that shall be.
The missing pieces of her story make more room to trust in me.
The harvest that will come of the first few years of pain
Will be greater than your heart can know, or ever could contain.

My Sister's Adoption

It is so amazing that my sister and her family are also currently in the process of adoption. It is an incredible gift from the Lord for both of our families to be sharing in this journey together. God is leading their family to adopt two little boys from Africa. We are all anxiously waiting to find out who these two little precious ones are. We trust that God knows and has ordained all of their days. He has planned for these boys to be welcomed into a home filled with grace, acceptance, encouragement, and an abundance of love! We are just thrilled to be a part of watching God expand their family tree.

Follow their adoption journey at: http://www.treeanditsfruit.blogspot.com/.

"A Father to the fatherless, a Defender of widows, is God in His holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families." Psalm 68:5-6

Care Package Received

We found out that our care package was received at the orphanage! Thank you, Lord! It is such a blessing to know that Joy probably has the special things that we sent her. I say "probably" because there is no guarantee that she was given everything, but that is in God's hands. A very special lady at Blessed Kids helped us to make sure that our package arrived safe and sound.

Here are the items that we sent:

hand made blanket (made by Mia and Mommy on her birthday on February 17th)

book called "All the Ways I Love You" with our voices recorded reading the story to Joy (This was an hilarious evening as we attempted to say hello to Joy in our best Mandarin and to introduce ourselves and tell her that we love her. . . only to find out that the language is probably more likely Cantonese in the region where she lives! Oh well, we pray that she will at least smile when she hears our voices. :)

photo album of several pictures of us . . . we pray that she will think that we look somewhat familiar when we meet her.

A panda bear for Joy and goodies for the orphanage were also included along with a letter translated into Chinese for the orphanage workers to understand the contents of the package. The letter also offered our gratitude to the special "angels" who are taking care of our daughter until we can go and get her.

Whether or not Joy comes to us with these items is hard to predict. We just pray that they may offer comfort to her now and familiarity to her when we are united. I actually slept with the blanket for a few nights before we sent it. I just wanted to hug and cuddle it, and I prayed that just maybe my scent would linger long enough for her to have a sense of Mommy.

Update on Joy

We were so "filled with joy" to receive an update on Joy. Our adoption agency informed us that once we received our pre-approval, we were able to request an update. So, about two weeks ago we wrote out some questions about our daughter, and we also asked for updated pictures and measurements. We were amazed to hear back so quickly! The pictures posted to the left are the newest ones that we have. To see her walking is just making our hearts soar with thankfulness!

When we first found out about Guo Dong Yun, we asked clarifying questions about her medical conditon but didn't receive back any info for almost two months. We prayerfully took a giant leap of faith and said "yes" to her referral before receiving any update on her. Our trust was and is completely in the hands of the Lord. A few days after we said "yes" we received new pictures and a brief update. God is so good! We had prayed very specifically that we might simply be able to see her smile. God answered and blessed us with two precious pictures of her smiling face.

All that to say . . . we really didn't expect to hear anything again this time for another two months. God was just so kind and loving to allow us to receive this update so soon. And if I'm being truly honest, I was experiencing some fear of the unknown. According to Joy's medical reports, she has hip dysplasia. This is a condition which affects the hip joints, and hers is bilateral meaning on both sides. With hip dysplasia the hips are usually unstable with shallow sockets, or they can be partially or completely dislocated. This will require surgery once we get her home. We really do not know the severity of her special needs, and again that is where the faith and trust come in. Also according to the initial reports she is quite small in stature. This can be due to a number of factors: she is institutionalized, she may just be genetically small, or her hip condition could also be affecting her height. However, there is also a chance that her smallness is related to some other condition or syndrome. That is where the fear was hitting me . . . this whole thing is just so unknown. But I know Who holds the "known" in His capable hands. And I know that He is loving Joy and us through whatever His plans may be. And I know that He desires that we trust and rely on Him alone. And I know that we will love her and accept her with joy no matter what.

So, as soon as I received the update my eyes darted to the bottom of the page where the measurements were listed. My heart literally pounded out of my chest, and my eyes filled with tears to see that she had grown about 4 inches since the last report. She is still a small little thing, but to see her growth was just incredible. The wave of relief and thankfulness that I felt is indescribable. God just knew that I needed that. I needed His comfort and reassurance that all is well, and ultimately He is in charge. He is just such a personal Father who proves His love for me over and over again. I stand in awe of Him each and every day. We still don't know so many things about what we will be facing, yet the peace that surpasses all understanding is ours to claim because our hope is in Christ. "Always be joyful because you belong to the Lord. I say it again, be joyful." Philippians 4:4

Here are some of the fun tidbits that we received about Joy (Guo Dong Yun):

she is called Yun or Mimi (so cute . . . that was and still is sometimes our nickname for Mia)
she talks a lot (oh boy!) and likes smiling :)
she loves dolls and bells (girly and musical?)
she likes snacks (she is definitely a Metzgar!)
she likes to share food and toys with other kids (kindness and humility . . . so sweet)
she likes to play games with other kids (she will fit right in)

We were also given the name of the nanny that she is closest to: Liang Jian Ying. That brought tears to my eyes to know that she is being cared for by someone special. She is bonded to someone who loves her. We are so thankful to know her by name so that we can pray for her and show her our gratitude for helping to nurture our daughter until we can bring her home. We are not sure if this picture below is of her or not, but we would like to think so. She looks so happy and proud of our little one! This also brings sadness for the loss that Joy will feel when she leaves everything and everyone that she has ever known. We pray that the love she has been shown will help her to understand the love that we desire to give her. Ultimately, our deepest desire is that she will come to know and understand the love of her heavenly Father.

6 Months and Counting

We have officially begun our 6 month waiting period for Joy. Our dossier has been sent to China, and now we wait for our Letter of Confirmation from the Chinese government to adopt Joy (Guo Dong Yun). It should take about 3 months for that approval and then about another 3 months to receive approval to travel. Wait, wait, and wait some more is definitely the theme of adoption. Yet we know that God is working out His mighty plan through all of the waiting. "But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint." Isaiah 40:31

So, by faith, we will continue to hurry up and wait! It's just that our precious daughter is also waiting for us, her family, to come and get her and bring her home. It pains me to know that one of my children is currently unreachable. Although right now for Joy, she is probably unaware of the fact that she is going to be adopted. And for that matter, she probably doesn't even realize the meaning of the word family. She is unaware that a mommy and daddy and a sister and two brothers who love her are ready to receive her into our clan and claim her as our own. Adoption is an absolutely beautiful picture of what God has done for us through His Son. He has claimed us as His own. He has adopted us into His family. We have been purchased by Christ's sacrifice. He has demonstrated His love for us that while we were still sinners He died for us. What joy we now have in Christ! JOY! That is the gift that God has given us.

We know that God gave us the name Joy for our little girl. It is our delight and joy to welcome her and accept her into our family. We are confident that God has a wonderful plan for what He is going to do in and through her life. We pray that her life will bring glory to Him! So, we will continue to wait and trust the Lord for His perfect timing. Of course, we would like to pray that time will speed up so that we can go get our little precious sooner rather than later. However, we believe God when He reminds us that we can do all things through Him who gives us strength. Waiting we can do because He promises to be with us!