Quick update...

Just a quick update since I've been leaving you hanging for so long...

Our summer in a nutshell:

The kids swam,
we did fundraisers,
and more fundraisers,
and cleaning up after fundraisers,
and we went to Family Camp.

That's about it. 

And we had a setback in our adoption process. :(  We had to do an update to our homestudy...it's a long story.  But, I am remembering that God already knew all about it, and He is not wringing His hands.  Just trusting and resting and knowing that He loves Corrie even more than we do.  His timing is always right, even when we can't imagine that it is. 

Sometimes He does really cool things like what happened the other day while we were at Family Camp.  One of the days, a couple and their grandchildren were visiting their niece and her husband who was preaching in the chapel that week.  This couple's daughter is a facebook friend of mine who has met and loves Corrie, and she became my online friend when she found out about us and our upcoming adoption.  Well, one of the granddaughters there had been with her parents in Corrie's baby home and had met her, too.  It was such a blessing to talk to someone about Corrie who has loved on her in person!  And it was fun sharing stories with the grandparents about our visits to China, since they had been there, too.  It's just so neat how God orchestrates things and puts people in other people's paths.  It was definitely the high-lite of my week!

So, we press on and wait for the government to move us to the next step in the process, and know that someday soon the ache in my heart when I see that precious girl's face will change to joy!

If you feel led to help us with our adoption expenses, you can go to this link.  Thanks so much...

Good Friday. What do you think?

Today is Good Friday.  The day we recognize as the one when Jesus was crucified.

I took this picture this past fall at our city's local artists' competition.  This amazing mosaic won the top prize.  And I think with good reason.  It is truly magnificent--especially in real life, although I think you can get a good idea from the photo. 

I took the picture of the artwork, of course.   But later when I looked at it, I found it moving for a different reason than just the sheer talent or the powerful focus of the piece. 

I noticed the people in the crowd.  Some of them are looking intently up at the cross.  Most are chatting, milling around, focused instead on this over here or that over there, seemingly oblivious to the Man on the cross above their heads. 

And I was struck by the comparison to real life. 

All of us here on the earth, milling around, going about our business...running here and there...some of us believing in this Jesus and what He did on that cross.  Some focused on Him, living for Him, and ready to even die for Him.

Some believing, but mostly just living for themselves while they take their ride around the sun all these years.

And some completely oblivious--not caring or even hostile to Him.  Many believing different things, in other gods, or only in themselves. 

And Jesus on that cross.  Pure Love. Arms outstretched, bleeding and dying, and three days later, resurrecting--  for everyone.  For all of us.  No matter what we think of Him. 

We are all of us--the whole lot of us--desperate sinners, in need of a Savior. In need of Him.

I don't know which group you are in.  Those devoted to Him, those who hate Him or think He is a fairy tale, or somewhere in between.  But I wonder if you don't know Him, if you might be curious?  Have you ever wondered if there might be any truth in this Christianity thing?  Eternity is something we all should at least think about, and I'm sure we all have at some point or other. 

I am reading a book right now called "The Case For Christ" by Lee Strobel.  Mr. Strobel was an agnostic journalist who went on a search to find out if there might be any evidence behind this man called Jesus.  He wanted to know if the Bible really might be able to be trusted, and if there is any evidence outside of the Bible that points to Jesus and the accuracy of the manuscripts that make up this Book. 

If you have ever wondered these same things, you might like to read it!  His research was extensive, and what he found was amazing!  I hope you will check it out.

I am spending time today reflecting on the amazing love of our Savior.  This song by Graham Kendrick comes to my mind:

Amazing love--oh what sacrifice... the Son of God given for me...

My debt He paid, and my death He died

That I might live!

That I might live!

Have a blessed Easter weekend, friends!

Thoughts one Sunday morning...

I've been meditating lately on the goodness of God....

Not long ago I was looking around the sanctuary on a Sunday morning, really noticing the people...(I know, I know, I should probably have been listening to the preacher, or worshiping, or whatever everyone else was doing at the moment.)  But, anyway, at this moment, I was noticing the people.  The dear people at my church whom I am happy to call my church family.  And as my eyes scanned the pews, I saw with new eyes some families that were experiencing marital troubles.  One going through a divorce because of some difficult circumstances.  The kids in that family sitting there too.  I saw a lovely mom of a teen-age son who has seen some very rough times in her life, including being a single parent for many years, and recently having lost her dad to cancer.  I noticed teens who come to church without their parents, and I'm not sure why the parents don't come too.  I saw a dad who is struggling with very very hard family issues.  People who have lost loved ones--some having lost children.  People who have sons serving in the military.  People who are struggling with daily pain.  People who have been through so much...I was amazed when I really let it sink in as my eyes traveled around the room.  But what struck me the most as I was thinking about all of this, was that these people sitting together on that Sunday morning, thankful to be there, worshiping together.....  They were smiling.  Even laughing.  They were enjoying the day.  Genuinely happy.  

And God spoke to my heart again about how good He is.  That regardless of what circumstances we are going through, it does not mean that God is not there, or that He is not good.  He is with us through the pain.  I still remember clearly when we were going through our trial with Sarah the very real experience of peace He provided us--right in the middle of the storm.   And oh, how bright the sun shines when the storm is over and we realize He truly never did leave us alone.

And even if the "storm" we are going through may never fully be over until we finally reach Home, even then...just knowing and trusting Him brings such peace that passes understanding.

It's interesting that when I sat down to write this post, it was going to be about the beautiful snow we've finally been enjoying! So, I will leave you with some pictures that really do illustrate the awesome love of God. The perfect winter's day...it just doesn't get much more beautiful. Such a wonderful gift!  He is so good to us.

 Our backyard

View from our front yard

...Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow;  though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.--Isa. 1:18

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Hello, blog world!

I realize I haven't written on here pretty much all month long.  That is because of December hustle and bustle, of course.  And also...because...I have been thinking and thinking about what to say to put into words my feelings about Christmas. 

But this year for some reason, I have been thinking, how is it even possible to put into words the depth of emotion that I feel at Christmas time? 

Honestly.  GOD.  Coming to earth. 

To be with us and to be one of us. 

Immanuel. 

Wow. 

And all around us our senses are saturated with music and lights and tinsel and wrappings and coupons and sales and family and cookies...and more and more cookies...  and Santa Clauses and reindeer and reminders to keep Christ in Christmas. 

It all seems a bit surreal to me.  The world celebrates Christmas. 

Yet, so very, very many of those people in all their celebration hoopla are really celebrating--nothing at all. 

We watched Jim Carrey's version of the Grinch last night.  Little Cindy Lou keeps trying to find out what the true meaning of Christmas is in all the hubbub of the preparations.  Finally, at the end when the Grinch has stolen all the presents and even the roast beast, everyone realizes that it wasn't about those things at all. 

They all hold hands and sway back and forth singing "Da hoo Do ray," or whatever it is, thinking that they have figured it out.  And really, according to much of the world, they were right, I suppose.  Christmas is about being together and warm fuzzy feeings.  Right?  And maybe there was a Baby, and maybe there wasn't, but Christmas (or the "Holidays") is a special time to gather together with people we love.

OR MAYBE....

God made the human race.  He made you and He made me, and He loves each one of us with all of His Being. 

He loved us so much, in fact, that He gave us our own free will.  To decide if we would sin or not, and to decide if we would love Him or not.  What is the use of having an intimate, loving relationship with a programmed robot, after all? 

And so, He gave us the choice to know and love Him-- or not. 

He even knew that we would choose sin that would separate us from Him in His holiness, and He made a plan way back in the beginning.

 

A crazy plan. 

 The most loving thing He could possibly do. 

He would send His only Son.  Part of Himself--perfect and holy in every way.  Even starting human life as an embryo...Entering our wicked, fallen world, and being truly one of US.  Enduring hunger and sickness and pain and ridicule, and even temptation, so that we could really see Him and understand who He is.  And then finally being--Himself, in His death--the ultimate sacrifice. 

The ultimate Christmas gift.

 

The payment for our sin, so that those sins could be covered by that precious blood and forgiven, making it possible for us to be right with Him again.  If only we would accept that gift. 

If only we would just simply BELIEVE.  

And so, with Christmas being tomorrow, we have a choice.  Christmas maybe is simply a great big party about love and happiness and good cheer....

Or maybe Christmas really is the celebration of the birth of the one and only Savior of the world. 

The most important, life-changing event that ever happened.  

Oh, how He loves us.  

Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift.--2 Corinthians 9:15 

Merry Christmas.

Thoughts about peonies...and little surprises from God

I do not have a green thumb.  I don't even have a kind-of green thumb.  I really just can't grow flowers.  Well, to be honest, I don't really try that hard, even though I truly love them.  I wish I had a yard full of them, but I know they would probably die a sad death of dehydration, or nutrient starvation, or just simply bug-devouration.

Anyway, that said, you can probably guess that we don't have many flowers in our yard.  None, really, except a couple straggly looking perrenials in the front that try their best to survive my neglectfulness each year, and a couple of hanging baskets given to me by my sweet hubby because he knows I love them...that typically last a good half of the summer.  Almost.

And we also have peony bushes. 

And this beautiful flower actually grows in our backyard!  This is a real, honest-to-goodness picture of one of our own peonies! 

Late May to early June is peak peony season in our yard.  They truly are gorgeous.  I enjoy them outside, and I love the vases full of them that we bring in the house.  You see, the reason why we have such beautiful peonies is because you pretty much cannot kill them.  They are perfect for me!  Bushes full of vibrant color, and they take very little care.......for about 2 or 3 weeks.  After that, they droop, and then they are done for the summer.  No more blooms.  Just green bushes.  Which are nice, but not very colorful.

We have lived here in this house for 6 summers now, and the peonies came with the house.  Every year I debate over whether or not I really want to keep our beloved flowers, or if we should pull them up and replant something that would give me more joy for the entire summer.  That is, if I could keep something alive. 

Well, I consider those choices every year, and I honestly had been leaning toward saying good-bye to our peonies.  Until we traveled to China when we went to get Sarah.  That is where I learned something special about peonies, and it made me see again how God delights in surprising us in big and small ways.

I learned that the peony is China's most loved flower--widely considered its national flower.  It is known as the queen of flowers, and the flower of riches and honor.  Not only is it special to the Chinese people, but it is most highly revered in Henan Province, where the city of Luoyang is famous for them and  hosts a grand peony festival every spring. 

It just so happens that our daughter is not only from China, but hails from Henan Province as well. 

Needless to say, our sweet peony flowers are a little more precious to us these days, as year after year they grace our yard with beauty (and they are the only thing that does...).  Just to think years ago when someone was planting those bushes, they would have had no idea that God was going to use them to bless someone in a special way.  A little reminder that He always has a plan, and His plan was for a little girl from Henan to come and be our daughter. 

I think we'll keep them.

100 DAYS!!

I haven't updated everyone about Sarah for a while because there just wasn't much to tell...

Until Now!!

If you have followed my blog for a little while, you might remember that back in October Sarah had a high dose of chemo followed by a bone marrow transplant.  After that, there were a lot of restrictions she had to abide by--for 100 days.  Some of those were, no fresh fruits or veggies besides ones with thick skins like oranges and bananas.  No restaurant food.  When we served food here at home, she had to be served first, before any germs could get mixed in.  She had to have her own boxes and baggies of things like chips, cereal, and even her own juice and milk containers!  (Yeah, we thought many of the restrictions were pretty silly...)  She couldn't be out in public places, and if it was necessary for her to be, then she had to wear a mask.  We didn't let anyone over who was sick or who had been exposed to someone who was sick.  There were a lot of annoying, some of them a bit over the top, but some of them wise...restrictions.  We stuck to them really well at first, and then as time wore on we started being a little lax on some of them, but many of them we really tried to follow religiously until the very end.

And, TODAY IS THE VERY END!!  TODAY IS DAY 100!!!!  : ) 

We celebrated by going to eat at Steak n Shake where Cassandra works.  It was the first day in 100 days that we took Sarah to a restaurant.  Actually, I was gone earlier in the day, and Scott took everyone out to lunch also.  It was a day to celebrate! 

So here's what's next--

On Monday she gets one more dose of a medicine she needs through her tubees, and then later that same day, she GETS HER TUBEES OUT!!  You have no idea how huge this is!  Those tubees (her central line tubes going into her chest) have been part of Sarah's life since June.  She has had very few tub baths since then, since it is important not to get them wet.  She wasn't able to go in the water all summer, and it's her favorite thing!  Now, she does really love getting her 'tubees drinks' every day (when we flush them with the saline solution), and she loves watching the nurse take blood through them and everything.  But frankly, I will be so happy to say bye bye to the tubees.  I hope she will be too!

In about a week and a half she will get a blood draw just to make sure that her blood counts are all perfectly high enough, and if they are, then we will not have to return to the clinic for...Wait for it....

3 MONTHS!

Yes.  We will only have to come back to the clinic for blood draws and MRI's every three months--just to make sure nothing is growing anywhere. (So, please, if God brings us to mind, could you please continue to pray?  The other night Josh said, "I am afraid that now that Sarah's better, everyone will forget to pray for her." )  We will still have to go to Dr. Aaberg's for eye exams under sedation about every month or so, I think, for a little while more, and then those appointments will start stretching out too.

It feels so surreal to me to be where we are in this journey.  To think that we are at the end of restrictions, daily tube flushes, weekly appointments, and medical jargon being part of our daily life.  Just imagining only going to the clinic every three months seems so crazy to me.  To be honest, it makes me a little sad, because we really love those doctors, nurses and staff.  They become like family, and we miss them!  But, oh how nice it will be to have weeks at a time to enjoy with the family.  To go places and have normal experiences again because there is TIME.  We will have uninterrupted weeks of school!  Aaaahhh...I am sighing with happiness.  The new normal will be very nice.  I just have to remind myself that we will still be seeing our friends at the hospital, just not all the time.  : ) 

It also feels sooo wonderful to really be done with cancer.  I hope if you are new to my blog, that you will go back in the archives and read the story starting in June.  I know it's a lot.  You can skim it, or just read the high lites.  But this story is so ripe with everything that is God.  From start to finish, God was there, making His presence known in a BIG way.  You simply cannot wave it all aside as coincidence.  Just seeing how He brought her here at just the right time,  gave her a family to comfort her through it, said pooey on the doctors who gave her no hope, and brought her through with flying colors time and again...it's a wonderful story of God's amazing love. 

We are aware that the type of cancer Sarah had is a type that has a higher chance than some others of coming back.  It also has a higher chance of coming back at some time later in her life as a different form of cancer.  Of course I will probably always have this in the back of my mind.  But we do not really worry about these things.  We know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God has it covered.  Just as He always does, He will do what is right, and only allow what He knows will be the best for her and for us.  It is such a comforting way to go through life, knowing that God does not waste anything.  He uses everything for our good, and for His glory.  If Sarah had to go through this again sometime in her life, then we would simply trust Him again.  We are praying and trusting that this will be the end, though!

 Catching snowflakes!

 Nerf wars.  All part of life with brothers. : )

 Girl time with Doodah (Cassandra)  : )

 She was really excited about this new ladybug beanbag!

 Her new big girl bed

 This wig cracks us up!

 Doing school

 Learning about rocks with brothers--Pumice stones float! 

 Playing ninjas

 Hanging out with Josh

Tea parties with friends : )

Sarah is one little girl who is completely full of LIFE!  We are so thankful that God has blessed us with her, and that He has blessed her in so many ways.  We know He has such big plans for our little Sarah!

Oh, how He loves us!

I wasn't planning on posting today, but my heart is so full, I just really needed to! 

Are you all enjoying winter??  I don't know about you, but we live where it gets COLD!  I've heard all the jokes--we only have two seasons:  winter and Fourth of July.....  and the griping and complaining.  And I don't really love being cold, truth be told.   But seriously.  Isn't it BEAUTIFUL??!!

I did not take these pictures.  These were taken in a friend of mine's backyard by her daughter.  Talented girl!  But these are the kinds of scenes I get to enjoy on a daily basis here in our cold state.  It struck me again this morning on our frigid drive to church how spectacular God made this world of ours.  It's the kind of thing I love to sit and think about.  Even winter, which really is a pretty depressing time of year as far as living things go.  Trees all bare and death-like, grass brown and ugly, animals hunkered down 'til spring, no flowers, everything cold and barren.  And yet, God says, "But wait!  Look at THIS!!"  And sends the most beautiful, purest white, sparkling crystals in intricate patterns to cover the earth.  Oh, how He loves us.  He did not have to make everything so lovely.  There is no "evolutionary" reason for most of the beauty we are surrounded by.  Everyone gets to enjoy it-- rich, poor, and every age.  God just simply wants to tell us, "I LOVE YOU!"  I hope you are soaking in His great love for you today!