FUNDRAISER

Over the past week, we've begun a fundraiser to help bring Little Brother home. This is out of our comfort zone.  In fact, in some ways it's chiseling away at our pride. God has blessed our family by providing for our expenses so far in this process. Beginning several months ago, we felt that perhaps a fundraiser would be God's way of taking the focus off our self-sufficiency.  We can quietly use "our" money for these expenses and easily forget just Who is truly providing each step of the way. Maybe fundraising is a way to bring glory to Him? Maybe it's a way to bring awareness to the many orphans in China (and across the world) waiting for their families? Maybe it's a way to express our gratitude for those caregivers in the orphanage who devote long hours to feeding, clothing, and caring for Little Brother? Maybe it's simply an act of obedience?

We invite you to consider purchasing some of the note cards below either for yourself or to share with others. Click on the pictures to see a larger view. All profits will go to ease our expense in the remaining fees and upcoming travel expenses.  We're getting so close to bringing Little Brother home!!!

NOTES FOR SUPER BROTHER

Each set of 12 (same design) note cards is $18.  This price includes envelopes as well as shipping within the US.  Allow 2-3 weeks for delivery.  If you're interested in purchasing, you may send an email to:

     notesforsuperbrother@yahoo.com.   

     Please include the following: name, address, style and quantity.

(October 2012)

These 2 super heroes are just as anxious 

as I am to bring Super Brother home.  

What's In a Name?

What’s In a Name? 
So Much! What a great responsibility and honor to choose a name for someone. A name s/he will likely hear spoken for 80+ years. You see, Joey’s name was decided long before my engagement ring was purchased or even picked out for that matter. I’m surprised there wasn’t some kind of contract established on naming the first-born son! He’s named after 3 quite amazing men! Because of that, I feel that Little Brother must be named after a beloved family member also.

I love the meaning of Joey’s name. As Rachel shares it in Genesis, ”She named him Joseph, and said, “May the Lord add to me another son.” It also means “to increase”, which I was unaware of when we first started this adoption journey. I had a feeling months ago when we first filled out paperwork that another little boy would be joining our family. Perhaps that was God’s way of preparing my heart for the future. All things boy! He has been gearing me up for more bugs, bodily noises, trucks, and dirt. It’s great! Russ and I had been talking through boy names for quite awhile. We’ve looked at the same list of names a million times. In fact, I had a name in mind for the past few years, but… 

Due to extreme popularity of the following names, we have dismissed them as options: 
Lego 
Super Brother 
Spider 

We’ve learned not to promise that Joey will have the final say in Little Brother’s name. I was certain that when he told our social worker he intended to name his brother “Lego”, our home study approval would be in question.  Joey has remained quite adamant over the past few weeks that his name preference for his brother is “Super Brother”. While we think Little Brother is pretty super, it might be a little difficult to fill in that many bubbles on a standardized test sheet. 

There are many details of our little guy that have been shared with us. We have seen some pictures of him. We know which of his forever parents he favors (This son looks like ME)! We know his birthday. We will soon know the day we will first kiss his soft cheeks. We will know the exact date Ch*na will officially recognize him as our family. We have decided to leave this little name piece of the puzzle tucked away in a safe place.  Shhh, it's a secret.  Thankfully, it’s in our minds and not in the “safe place” I have chosen for so many other things. You know, the “safe place” where you find that completely amazing, extraordinary birthday present that you bought for your dad…5 years ago?

If you wonder what our family will look like in the near 

future, here it is.  Super Brother is on the bottom 

right corner.  If you're counting people, you may be as 

baffled as I was.  Joey has big plans for our family and 

he's not afraid to share them.  For 

months he has requested a brother AND a sister.  

That holds true to this day!  Who knows what God has 

in store of for our family!

It's No Secret

It’s no secret that we’re in the midst of an adoption journey! It’s an exciting journey that I’d never ever want to miss! In fact, we’re thrilled to be just a few months away from holding our new little boy for the first time. I’m no captivating storyteller, but here's our journey to meet Little Brother.

Before the first step
I’ve been curious about adoption for years. Adoption sparked my interest a lot, but I was naive.  I had no idea of the hard decisions to come, rollercoaster of emotions, or great blessing wrapped in this gift called adoption. It’s an honor and an opportunity we’re thankful to be given. While we don’t know that every person is called to care for orphans in the form of adoption, for us this is what living out James 1:27 means to our family. And the decision wasn’t a casual one. It was covered with tears, prayers, and waiting. In fact, I edged (and probably even crossed the line a time or 2) on being that nagging wife. You know? The one mentioned in Proverbs. I imagined Russ on the roof top. He has in fact been up there…although it was to make a repair of some kind. God had to work on my waiting process. He still is through this journey. I remember the day that Russ said he felt like we should move forward in the adoption process. I thought I was hallucinating! Oh happy day!!! And when he said “move forward”, he was apparently sitting on go. I’ve never seen someone tackle paperwork quite like that before. And if you know Russ well, there was no doubt a spreadsheet involved! I’m so thankful that he’s been on top of all the paperwork and trying to keep me calm in the process. He still has a spreadsheet going and updates it frequently. I saw it tonight.

In the very beginning, we began visiting with friends (or really anyone who would talk to us) who had adopted. We talked a lot. In fact, I’m still picking the brains of several friends and have even met new friends to interrogate. It’s been a roller coaster ride, but I can say that God writes each story in His own unique way and time. Only when we took a moment to reflect on the past year did we notice that the very month we lost our baby through miscarriage there was a tiny baby boy being born half way around the world. And he isn’t just any little boy, he’s the little guy Joey lovingly refers to as “Super Brother”! We couldn’t have ever guessed that we would be chosen to love, snuggle with, and teach him. It seems crazy to think that even before we began pursuing adoption, God had been long pursuing our hearts and growing in us a love for adoption that we still struggle to grasp.

“You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent.
 Lord my God, I will praise you forever.” 

Psalm 30:11-12 

So In Love
We are completely in love with a little guy we didn’t even know existed until the end of July.  It was just days before Russ’ birthday when we first saw his beautiful face. I remember that night well.  I was shocked that someone from our agency was emailing so late in the evening and that he even replied to our request for more information on Little Brother that night. We prayed for Little Brother and God’s wisdom on the next steps ahead. Would we choose to pursue adopting this little guy or was his forever family someone else? Talk about a sleepless night. Russ and I were both glued to the computer screen starring at a beautiful face reading and re-reading the information shared with us all the while smiling some kind of crazy, goofy grin.

Have you ever missed someone you’ve never even met? I hadn’t either…until now.

Getting passport photos was our first active step in the 
process (as we waited to begin our home study process).  
With his Superman shirt and Batman boots, it  seems 
fitting that Joey wants to name his brother "Super Brother".