Thoughts on... Bringing You Up To Date

For those of you who are joining us for the first time - welcome!
(Since this is really my first blog, truth be known, everybody's a first timer, so you really haven't missed anything yet.)

Take your boots off and stay awhile (unless you have stinky feet, then you can keep your boots on). Feel free to mosey on through the page, take a gander at anything that interests you, stay as long as you like.

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for dropping by my first blog entry - we all know how busy life is and reading something that is totally void of anything really life-changing is difficult to do especially when you have a lifestyle like ours, so again, thanks for slowing down for a bit.

First of all - happy 2007! I will turn 22 this year and I can't believe how the time has flown by! (ok, ok... so I'll be turning 24 - let's see how many of you believe that.) Me and Mike will be celebrating our 10th anniversary on January 25th (no joke there) but we don't have plans for celebrating yet. People think it's odd that we don't give each other presents or do anything special for our anniversarys... I guess it's normal to us, we celebrate our marriage whenever we're in the mood, so even though it's a milestone, we'll both be working that day.

On December 15th, I had a partial hysterectomy as I've been battling uterine fibroid tumors for years (they really are as yicky as they sound - you should see the photos!) and I finally figured that it was time to put an end to feeling like I had rocks in my tummy all the time. I've recovered pretty well and much of that goes to Mike, and my parents as they came up to stay with us for two weeks. I can tell you, my parents are worth their weight in D/FL diamonds (hey, I'm a girl who appreciates quality gems, what can I say?!) and there could never be better parents for me.

Switching gears - I'd like to tell you we're adopting a little one from China!
Back in 2005, we met the Van Winkle family who had started the adoption ministry at our church, Yorba Linda Friends Church (YLFC), and through an adoption seminar they hosted, we finally decided that it was time to adopt.


From left to right: Our good friends, Kacie, Diana, Trent and Pat Van Winkle

At the time, we were still thinking we might be able to have biological children, but adopting was something we were going to do regardless, and so, we started our journey towards our daughter.

But I'm getting ahead of myself... how we got to this point is really neat. Get comfortable... I'm going to tell you a story! (Stay with me, it's amazing!)

Three years ago we were without a church, without friends and all we did was work, eat and sleep. We had decided that working for ourselves would be a dream come true, so we decided to open a business. We started attending YLFC a couple weekends before we found a space to lease for our business (a pottery studio) and instantly fell in love with the church. Although we felt out of our element (we come from a small church of 300 - YLFC has attendance in the thousands), there was an undeniable pull and we felt the Lord was leading us there for a reason. In leasing the space for our studio, we found out that YLFC was our landlord - what a "coincidence," eh?!?

We leased the space, opened the business, continued to attend YLFC, and about four months after we opened our studio, I quit my design job. After two months of helping Mike in the studio, we understood working together was different that living together and I started looking for another job. I landed a job at YLFC, whose offices were located right next to the studio. It was there that, about a month after I hired on, Kacie Van Winkle called to see about starting an adoption ministry. It was at that point, I understood why I was there.

As we began to help the Van Winkles with the adoption ministry, we decided it was time for us to adopt and we started on the paperwork. Several months later (we were literally going as slow as molasses in the winter time) we still weren't finished and, although we were very excited that we were adopting, life got in the way: our business failed and we became financially strapped.

At this time, Pat and Kacie were planning a trip to Hope Foster Home in China (see the link on the right side of this page) as they had volunteered their time to help care for their critically ill orphans. At the same time Steven Curtis Chapman (link on the right) had ended his world tour in China and had toured several Chinese orphanages and orphan care facilities with his family, one such facility was Hope Foster Home. When they returned to the states, Mary Beth (Steven's wife) sent out an email, requesting help for a little girl who had a liver disorder... little did anyone know how God would bring us all together.

Months before, Pat had established an acquaintance with the executive director of Shaohannah's Hope (an charitable organization for orphans started by the Chapman's), Scott Hasenbalg who, only weeks before the Van Winkles were to leave for China, forwarded him Mary Beth's email. As we were working closely with the Van Winkles, Pat relayed the information to Mike, who, over lunch, told me. I will never forget that day. Both me and Mike looked at each other with tears in our eyes and I can remember both of us saying, "this is our little girl."

We never looked back. Right away Pat was collecting medications and supplements for her. We learned all about her condition, biliary atresia (liver doesn't drain bile causing liver failure) and started inquires about how we could adopt her. (Normally, China does not allow prospective parents to "choose" their children - normally, China assigns children to their parents) We were unable to connect her to our adoption agency, American World Adoption Association (link on right) and didn't know where to go until we were approached by the Gladney Center for Adoption (link on right) who was able to make the connection for us, so we switched adoption agencies mid-stream.

Meanwhile, Pat and Kacie flew to China and got to see her, hold her and love on her first hand.


Pat and Kacie with our little girl at Hope Foster Home in China

So here we are, six months later, all our paperwork completed, waiting to bring home Sarah (who I think I will still call Chen-Chen) and looking back on everything that has happened over the past two years, we can see the path that was cleared for us.

I used to think everything was coincidence or luck - that things just inexplicably "happened."
Not so anymore.

I believe everything has a reason... and our lives, all our lives, are meant for greater things than working, eating and sleeping. I don't think God wants our lives to be mundane, unexceptional, average and common. I think He wants us all to be extraordinary.

In the midst of this past six months, we've lost our business, been in two car accidents (which could have killed us, yet no one was injured... not even the car!), ruined our financial stability and lost my uterus. We've been through some of the most difficult times in our marriage, but I wouldn't trade these experiences for anything. Sure, it's been hard and emotional and difficult and even chaotic at times, but it's through these times that I've learned just how important our lives are to our Lord: God is moving and working in our lives.


Chen-Chen (Sarah) in November of 2006, celebrating her first birthday!

Most people think of God as an impersonal, heaven-dwelling, Zeus-like figure who would rather ignore the world than be involved in it. I see God in the sky, He paints me sunsets; I see God in my dogs, He gives me amusement and companionship when no one else is around; I see God in people, He is kind and compassionate; but most of all, I see God on the cross, loving me enough to endure the nails, the pain, the humiliation and the separation. To me, His existence and love are Undeniable.

Anyhow - that was pretty light for my first blog, right?

Again, for those of you who made it through to the end, thanks again for visiting. For those of you who didn't make it through to the end - it's called coffee, yeesch! (I can say that since you're not here to read this anyway.)

Stop by again sometime - I'll post every once and again. Next time, bring a cup o' joe with you (or some steaming hot chocolate with those fun little marshmallows) and I'll have something else that's totally inconsequential for you to read.

Until then, take care and remember - chew your food well!