All in HIS timing...

I have said it before, and I will say it again.  God is SO good!!!  I have been anxious.  I have been excited.  I have been nervous.  I am wanting to be in control.  I have to remind myself that God is control.  I have to remind myself that all things happen in His timing.  Let me tell you, His timing is perfect!

We mailed our immigration papers on October 30th.  We have been waiting to receive our fingerprinting appointment by mail.  I *may* have been running to the mailbox to see if it was in there every day!  Matt and I have been talking about how if we received our paperwork before Thanksgiving, then we would try to do a walk-in appointment while in Chicago for Thanksgiving.  You know what our One, True God orchestrated?!  Our appointment is the Friday after Thanksgiving!  I can't help but sit here and praise Jesus!

If that was not enough, we received interesting information from our agency yesterday.  A woman has contacted them because she has pictures and video of Micah!  A series of events led to this connection, so we are working on building a friendship and getting updates on our little guy. 

Didn't I tell you?!  God is good!

Please be in prayer for all of those affected by the tornados.  May God's peace comfort them and reveal that all things work for good.

I lift up my eyes to the hills.
    From where does my help come?
My help comes from the Lord,
    who made heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot be moved;
    he who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, he who keeps Israel
    will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord is your keeper;
    the Lord is your shade on your right hand.
The sun shall not strike you by day,
    nor the moon by night.

The Lord will keep you from all evil;
    he will keep your life.
The Lord will keep
    your going out and your coming in
    from this time forth and forevermore.

Psalm 121

Immigration papers that were mailed October 30th



Happy Birthday, Micah!

Our little guy is 5!  It was bittersweet to celebrate his birthday.  We were so excited to make a cake and celebrate.  The reality is that he is in China.  He most likely had no celebration, cake, presents or anything out of the ordinary.  We are hopeful that this birthday is the last one that will be spent in an orphanage.  We are praying that he felt love on his special day. 

In honor of his birthday, we have decided on his name.  His name will be Micah Jichun. 

Here are some pictures of our celebration.  Claire was not feeling well, so she sang and had cake this morning for breakfast.

Decorating the cake

 



November 4th, 2013

Micah is 5!

 



 

 

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.  And what does the Lord require of you?  To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.     Micah 6:8

Love!

I am in LOVE!  We had our annual family pictures taken a few weeks ago.  I was determined to include our newest addition, and I think they turned out great!  We had a few hiccups leading up to our session, but God is good!  I will only share a few, because I like to have a few surprises on our Christmas card.  Enjoy!

 

For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.

Psalm 100:5

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh Happy, Happy, (Birth)Day!

Tuesday, October 1st was the big day!  Matt turned 30!  He ushered in his thirties with the completion of our home study education.  We spent the evening at class and then returned home for a birthday dessert.  The classes were the last step in our home study process.  Now, we are waiting for our home study to be approved by both of our agencies and Illinois DCFS.  We are praying it will take about 2-3 weeks.  After that, we can submit our immigration paper work.  Once we receive our 797, we can submit our dossier to China.  (Let me translate---the paper work continues!)

On Wednesday, October 2nd, we received word that our Letter of Intent was uploaded to the CCCWA.  Our little guy is officially on hold for our family!!  What joy it was to see "Congratulations Marquette Family" in my inbox.  This called for a celebration!  We took the kids out to eat at Applebee's to honor the occasion.

 

The week was capped off by this on our agency's website!

 

 

That's right, sweet boy.  You have a family!  We love you and pray for you.  We are coming! 

 

Dear Lord,

We pray that you protect our sweet boy.  May he be well cared for and have good health.  We pray our paper work will continue to process quickly.  We know that You have Your hand in this whole process, Lord.  We thank you for calling us to China, to Ji Chun.  In your name, Amen.



 



Adoption Article

Last Friday the MOPS group I attend had guests speak about adoption.  Their testimony was nourishment for my soul!  It is amazing to see how God's hand is at work!  I was asked to write an article for the MOPS newsletter.  It has a little bit of our adoption story.  Don't worry, the full story will be coming, so stay tuned!  In the meantime, here is my article.  Enjoy!

When I think of the word “adoption,” a picture comes to mind.  A picture of my son wearing a navy shirt and red shorts.  My Chinese son.  He is waiting.  Waiting to join our family through the miracle of adoption. 

It amazes me how God softened my heart to the cry of the orphan.  It was in March 2012 that I was changed forever.  My life was comfortable.  I had a wonderful husband and two beautiful kids.  A son and a daughter.  I had the “perfect” family according to many I talked to.  I had no idea what God had in store for our family!  Who does?!  He works in unexplainable, amazing ways. 

Some people ask me why we have chosen to adopt.  They do not understand why we need “more kids.”  “Don’t you have two kids?!”  The answer is God.  It is quite simple.  God’s Word, The Holy Bible, commands us to care for the orphan.  James 1:27 says “Religion that is pure and undefiled is this: to visit widows and orphans in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”   I am not saying that everyone is called to adoption.  You can care for the orphan in many ways: adoption, foster care, child sponsorship, supporting other adoptive families, orphan care ministries, or short term mission teams, and through prayer.

Our adoption journey has just begun.  We are up to our knees in paperwork, interviews, and education.  There may be a lot of unknowns with the process, but one thing is true.  God’s hand is in all that we do.  We could never orchestrate this journey ourselves.  We know that He is in control and He will be glorified.

When I reflect on where our family is right now, I am reminded that not too long ago I was adopted.  I was not an orphan in the sense that I have earthly parents.  I was without the one and only Father who gifted me with eternal life.  I am grateful that I was saved and adopted as a child of God. 

“In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.” Ephesians 1:5-10.

Are you adopted?  Can you be called a child of God?  Have you put your faith in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son whom He sent to take the wrath for your sins?  Do you know how to have eternal life?  If not, I encourage you to speak to your DGL, mentor or leadership mom.  You too can be blessed through the miracle of adoption!

China Flare

We are so excited about our adoption!!!!  What a blessing Ji Chun will be to our family!  We have been working real hard to complete our first set of paper work.  All of our work for our home study will be complete next week.  We have all of our dossier paper work done except for our immigration paper work.  We are getting close to a paper work break!  In the mean time, we love sporting our China flare! 

My friend, S, from MOPS is in the process of adopting from Congo!  She has been a great resource during our adoption journey.  She made this super cute cozy for me!  I finally got to use it last week during the cooler temperatures.  Here I am with my MOPS DGL, M.  Love it!  Thanks, S!

We celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary in August.  Our traditional copper gifts didn't arrive in time, so this weekend we had a second date night to celebrate!  I was gifted with this copper, China bracelet.  It even has a Jade bead!  I love my husband! 

The excitement continues as we get closer to bringing home our little guy.  We covet your prayers.  Could you pray for my friend S, too?  She is eagerly awaiting her Congo referral.  Thank you for your love and prayers!


Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it. John 14:13-14

Always on our minds

Ji Chun is always on our minds.  We are in prayer for him many times a day.  The kids talk about their excitement and all of the new things that they want to share with him daily.  Today was no exception!  Nathan started his day by looking at a book about China.  We are all loving learning about the Chinese culture.  Claire shared Ji Chun's picture at school.  She is such a proud little sister!  It warms my heart to hear her talk about him and her excitement for a new brother.  I had a home study interview today.  We are one step closer to completing our home study!  Then, at dinner we had our first experience with chop sticks.  The kids did quite well!  We are looking forward to incorporating Chinese traditions with our family traditions.  We can't wait for our little guy to join us!
        
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.   James 1:17

Claire sharing Ji Chun's picture at class.

 



Nathan thought he was a pro with chop sticks!

 



Claire practiced the two-handed approach.

 

Matt already had practice when he visited China for business. 

He was appreciative for the cheaters!