Catching Up!

Well, so much for keeping up with a daily blog!

There's so much to catch up on and I will try to put my thoughts on paper so someday Reese will know what was going on with her family during our long wait.

To start with, GWCA's Waiting Child list came out on April 27th. Tim and I were both immediately drawn to the oldest child on the list, which if you know us, is not something you would expect! We read every detail of her information and began the process of trying to decide if our family would be a good match for her. I have to say in all honesty, I have never had to make such a tough decision. There were so many things to talk about and consider. Tim and I spent a lot of time talking about her and Reese and praying for God to give us a sign as to what we should do. I would have preferred a flashing neon sign with His plan spelled out, but that didn't happen. The bottom line for me was that my Reese is a baby in China, I am sure of that. The CCAA will not allow you to have two dossiers in China at one time (stupid rule, in my opinion, with the wait being pretty close to forever) and we just couldn't stand the thought of taking our dossier for Reese out of line at this point. As I sit here and type this, it makes me feel selfish for wanting another baby when there are perfectly wonderful older children that would fit in our family. However, we know that God led us to China again for Reese and we have faith that it will all work out.

I think what happened through this whole process of considering an older child is that we were able to open our minds to it and we will keep praying about it and see what happens in the future. We have talked to a lot of people in the adoption communtity about it and have gathered quite a bit of information. We will file it away and continue to search for God's will in our lives. We would like to thank all the people who talked with us openly and honestly about this little girl. I think it is easy for people to judge other couples when we grow our families in a non-traditional way and it is such an awesome feeling to know we have friends and a church family who can open their minds and hearts to these situations. What I have learned the most from our church is that when you put God first and seek His will in all you do, you can't go wrong! And if you surround yourself with people who believe, you will always have a support system no matter what!

By the way, the little girl that we were considering applying for has been chosen by another family. While I am sad that it didn't work out for us to be her family, I am so glad that she will know the love of a family really soon! I will always pray for her and hope she will be happy and healthy in her new life!

Referrals came out today, too. I try to be really excited for the people who are finally get their referral (the latest Log-in Date to receive referrals this time was November 7, 2005) but when you think about how many people are ahead of us, it is easy to get discouraged about the incredibly long wait we have ahead of us. It gets so tiresome trying to explain why it takes so long to people. I love to talk about adoption, don't get me wrong, but when you can't give a straight answer (because there isn't one) it makes it seem like the whole process is a scam. It's very frustrating.

We spent last weekend in Branson because the acrobats at the New Shanghai Circus had a reunion for families with children from China. It was an awesome time! The girls had a blast and we got to spend lots of time with the Wilson family, so it was really fun! We met a lot of nice families and even ran into the family that sat next to us on the way to China! It really can be a small world! It is such a great feeling when you look around at all the happy kids and see how many lives have been touched by adoption. I cannot imagine not knowing the love we have found by adopting from China. I think everyone (well, maybe not everyone, but all decent people!!!) should adopt at least one child, it changes you completely and puts life into perspective. We are so blessed with both of our girls!

One more week until Stacy comes home with Haven from Kaz. What an adventure they have had! I cannot wait to hold that little cutie pie and kiss those little cheeks! We are planning a Welcome Home Party for them and are making a scrapbook to give them as a gift. Several of us got together tonight at church and worked on it- it was so much fun! It is going to be an real tear jerker for Stacy! I drank way to much caffeine while we were there, which is why I am typing this at 12:30 a.m. !! I am not used to having that much Mt. Dew!!!

The girls are both taking swimming lessons and it is going great! They are complete opposites in the water- Ryleigh needs to be more confident and less scared- Reagan needs to be less daring and more afraid! Reagan is being so good and listening to the teacher, I am so impressed! Ryleigh is doing so much more than she would ever do for her mommy and daddy! She was a little nervous to jump in in the deep end, but I think by the end of the week, she will do it! It's going to be a fun summer at the pool!

We are settling in to our crazy summer routine. There are six kids here during the day, including my own, so I don't have much free time. When the little ones are napping, Ryleigh and I work on "homeschool" summer school work! We are having a really nice time together. We wrote a book together and it was hilarious! I love to hear her laugh when we sit and talk together. I dread the day when she gets too old to hang out with me! We are trying to work on neatness in her handwriting! She is reading a lot and loves to get all the kids together to read stories to them!

Tim is teaching summer school and he also just started teaching a college class for Drury two nights a week! It's so different for him to go from 12 year olds to adults, but I know he will do great! He works so hard for us and I am so thankful for that! I am so lucky to be married to him!

Well, I can't think of anything else. Thank you to all you guys who check in regularly to this site to see what's new! I hope to do better about updating! We love to hear from you, so feel free to email us!