hope takes flight

2010-02-18T10:37:00.001-06:00

The traveling tree and I need more ornaments!

2009-12-18T10:03:00.002-06:00

The shoppers!

I'll have the gift but get me out of here quick!

James and the traveling tree

We put up the tree and I had one helper with the ornaments. The girls usually do disappear after a while because we do have oh so many ornaments. James was thrilled unwrapping each ornament and putting it on one of three bottom branches. Wow was that a funny looking tree when he was finished.

Ali gave him her little tree from her room so he could have a tree in his room. He is thrilled, but little did I know he thought it would be a traveling tree and brought it downstairs the other day! As I saw ornaments decorating the staircase I explained to him it was his very own tree and it could stay in his room! Every night when he goes to bed he props his chin on his hand and gazes into the tree and says I love my Christmas! Every morning when he wakes up he says he needs more ornaments for his tree. He is picky about what he will include when I give him ornaments to put on his tree.

James loved our annual trip to Galena which he has been hearing about for weeks. He didn't know what it was he just knew he wanted to go. So when the day finally came he got to experience it. As we pulled back into the parking lot of the hotel after shopping he shouted there's Galena! He wasn't all that thrilled with the cute little shops, but what young one would be! He is not into Santa but when he heard there was a gift he stuck up for a quick minute with his dad. He loved swimming in the pool and just having fun with his family.

Pumpkins and Family Day!

2009-12-07T14:32:00.012-06:00

Spiderman James on a mission!

James celebrating his family day anniversary
with a spider cake he picked out

Found my pumpkin!

The day we got James at the orphanage in China "family day" happens to be Halloween. We got a cake and watched some videos which actually upset James. He sees those and says he wants to stay home with mama and baba- I think he fears going back for some reason and losing his new family. He cried when looking at the videos saying he is all done with Beijing so he still has some very real memories and probably confusion about all of it. He loved Halloween except the scary costumes.

Summer trip to Michigan

2009-12-07T14:00:00.000-06:00

Got a fish- I love fishing just like dad!

Taking the boat out! James is in charge!

Loving the water!

One year ago...forever grateful

2009-10-31T09:36:00.000-05:00

James and Mom walking out of the orphanage lobby.
James with his new family, he is not sure what is going on.

James just after he was brought in the waiting room.

A year ago a reluctant little boy followed us out of the home he had known for the past three and a half years. We signed countless papers and jumped through all the hoops and began our journey. Our lives were changed forever on that day and we are so thankful for God's direction, guidance, and provision through it all. How many times a week, sometimes in a day, do I look at this little boy and say "is this real, did this really happen?" I looked at James last night when he was going to sleep and time just stopped and I could not believe it had been a year. The beautiful way he has adapted, his contagious laugh, the way he throws himself around and the way he joins in with us and talks at the dinner table. I think some of my favorite times are at the dinner table listening to him interact with his family. You can just see the love he has and wow the countless times a day he tells each of us that he loves us. It melts my heart. I overflow with joy as I watch the beautiful relationships that James is sharing with each of us. Seeing the relationship with dad and his son-whether its watching football, wrestling, reading, going to the store or just hanging out-it is precious!

This is how God has worked and before we even knew it would be James, God knew. God enabled us to love James through the years of prayer as we prepared for our adoption. He prepared our hearts, opened our arms and blessed us in ways we can't begin to count. I know one day James will understand God's love for him. James has asked us from time to time why we love him, why God loves him, and in time he will get it. At times we cannot comprehend how blessed we are and marvel at how much joy God has poured into our house with James. He has entrusted us with one of His children and we are forever thankful. We dedicate James to God and I really cannot wait to see what God does in his life and the plans He has for little James. This is the boy God chose for our family and He has plans for James just as He does for all of our children. We will be forever thankful God gave us the opportunity to be blessed in this way.

We love our little muffin as we like to call him!

My heart still aches and I cry right now as I think of the many orphans who do not know what it is like to be a part of a family, who don't know the love of a mom and dad, the laughter and love of a sibling, and may never learn of God's love. I do not know what our role is in this, but I feel as God continues to stir our hearts, He will give us direction. At times it feels like there is little we can do to help in this monumental problem. It seems too big, but I know God is bigger than all the mountains that need to be moved for these kids. I remember being amazed when I heard a story of some of the nannies in James' orphanage that were Christians. God watches over all of His children.

We celebrate this time and remember without God none of it would be possible.

Celebrating Claire

2009-10-11T22:43:00.000-05:00

Claire posing while I play with my new camera!

Claire at one of her first meets

I never got a chance to post around Claire's birthday because we were in AZ. Claire- I like to think of as our miracle baby. We were told she would not make it when I was a few months pregnant. She was such a gift when she arrived, early of course, because she gave me such joy in a time of sorrow when I has lost my mom during the pregnancy.

Claire is a busy girl who likes to be involved in a lot. I remember a teacher once saying she likes to live large. She can be dramatic about things and she has quite a sense of humor. She loves to laugh and keeps us laughing a lot. We laughed the other day on the train from Chicago until we cried playing the no smiling contest. She plays soccer and is on the cross country team this year at the middle school and really loves to run like her dad. She sings a lot too-this can cause problems in the house when others don't want her to sing. She is finally in a singing choir so she can sing more often!

She has just begun a study of the book of Proverbs with her dad. I pray it is a special time of growth for them. This was her idea and she has a heart for God and wants to know Him more and we are very proud of her!
Happy late Birthday Claire, Bunchkin, Care Bear, Clareese -WE love you!

We survived!

2009-09-20T22:29:00.012-05:00

First day of school

Soccer-(mass chaos) I caught the only time he was near the ball!

The first week of school. Poor James didn't understand why he had to go and why I wasn't going with. I really wanted to ride the bus the first day, which they used to allow, but they no longer do. He wasn't too excited about the prospect of going to school and when I asked him what he would wear his first day he replied in an angry voice "nothing". I drove him most of the week because he was just not going on that bus. The second day I could barely get to the bus to tell the driver he wouldn't be riding the bus. It was a hard week for James and Mama! The puzzled look when he rode away on the bus was enough to reduce me to a long cry in the house. I believe he likes school though. God provided a dear friend who is actually over at the school helping out in a different class who is able to look in on James and tell me how he is doing! How awesome is that! She even felt a heavy heart one morning and went out to the bus area and found James was on the wrong bus-couldn't believe it! Talk about entrusting our kids to God and knowing He will watch over them.

So I think James will be continuing on with his school career and will like it more and more with time. I caught him singing the days of the week and was pretty excited. He also "ran soccer" this week which was a great surprise considering last week. I say "ran soccer" because he ran around where the ball was. He wore his uniform and everything. Things are going well and James is adjusting to change!

Getting ready for school!

2009-09-10T22:02:00.002-05:00

Wow it has been a while since I have posted...another reason I am trying not to get a facebook even though a few are encouraging me to. I don't know where people find the time to spend on it!

James is just too cute for words really! I mean he prayed tonight at dinner thanking God that mom didn't hit the car! I was having trouble backing out of a crowded parking lot! I can't get enough of this boy...I need to record him daily. He is taking in the world around him and loves it. We got a book on boats and he is begging me for a boat ride. I need to make that happen-soon. He keeps telling me I have a boat let's go (we store a friend's boat in our garage) Come on mom there is a boat in the garage! It seems he has gotten more and more attached. He is so constantly telling us he loves us and now that he doesn't want to go back to Beijing. The highlight of the summer was his birthday party with a pinjata and spiderman cake. He was so so thankful at the party-it was beautiful. He just kept saying thank you for my birthday over and over. Just melted me to tears! If I ever get a new computer I will put some great birthday shots up. I got a great camera for my birthday which has been amazing to use!

He loved spending time with his grandparents and family this summer. The kids are back to school and he is adjusting well although he misses them. We are busy though and time flies and he will be watching his sisters band, cross country and volleyball this fall. We went to the first v-ball game today and he seemed to love it. He did want to play though. School starts for James on Monday and he says he is not going! I know it will be very hard for James and I, but he will love it. I have bribed him with "milk and cookies" when he arrives home. I am not sure it is doing the trick cause he says he is not going. There is an open house prior to the first day and I think that will help him. I don't know what his mama will do on the first day-she may have to go on the bus. I just can't imagine putting him on the bus and what will be going through his head? I may have to get on the bus myself and go to school...I don't know that they'd go for that?

2009-07-31T22:42:00.001-05:00

2009-07-31T22:05:00.006-05:00

James on the dunes and James and Ali running down the dunes!

Claire having her face painted!

Where has the summer gone! It has been a whirlwind of a summer. We were so sorry that Mike's sister Donna passed away on her birthday and we are so thankful for Mike and Ali's time in Arizona. There time in Arizona was a time of prayer and God bringing His peace in many ways. It was a wonderful opportunity God gave Mike to talk to his sister and tell her how much he loved her and day goodbye. It was a way for Ali to minister to all in her prayers and support. I am so proud of her. Mike, James and I flew out at the beginning of July for the services. We went with Mike's brother Bob and sisters LuAnn and Lisa. It was good to be there with all of the family. It is still hard to believe it has happened and so sad to think of her three kids and husband left behind. Such comfort and such peace comes in knowing without a doubt she is with the Lord and her suffering is over. We ask for continued prayers for Donna's family.

July brought the annual dad and kids campout. I thought James should stay at home, but all insisted that he should go and boy was he ready to go! He was in his carseat buckled up before Mike was even home to leave! He had the time of his life! There were some times when he wanted mama, but the girls and Mike helped him pull through! I had the weekend to myself and painted two rooms! I also got to go to dinner with my two sisters and my sister in law!

Little Red Riding Hood comes to life...

2009-06-15T23:22:00.003-05:00

Well all I can say is God was really watching over James the other day. James was out in the front yard with the girls and was looking at the dog next door (who incidently looks kinda like a wolf). James said to the dog "My what big eyes you have" and the wolf attacked. Well thankfully the owner was out and she got him right away. But James had teeth marks all over his arm and a hole in his shirt where the paw must have got him. We were so shook up and all I could keep thinking was what could have happened if the owner was not there. I can't believe the dog did it, and we have never experienced it with any of our kids, you just never know with dogs. Claire thought maybe the dog thought James was making fun of him...I told Claire dogs don't really understand english or fairy tales! I held James for a long time and he just shook, I guess the girls dreams of getting a dog just came to a halt. Maybe we'll get a fish instead.

James has finally gotten to meet his grandparents from Arizona. He just loves his grandma and grandpa. They stayed with us so he had a lot of quality time, taking walks and playing. Their visit was cut short though with some hard news from Arizona. Mike's sister Donna who has been sick for a while was diagnosed with a rare cancer the other day. We have been praying for answers, but this was such a shock and hard answer. Mike's parents flew out to Arizona right away and Mike is now driving their car out to AZ and going to see Donna. Ali is going with her dad, she suggested it and both Mike and I thought it would be good for him to have someone with him for the long trip. Please pray for Donna that the treatment the doctors go with would be successful and she would be healed. I am on this journey already-believing God that all things are possible and God is in control and is working good. Thanks for praying.

Six Months Ago

2009-05-15T15:13:00.011-05:00

James six months ago right after we met him in the orphanage
James fishing for the first time so proud of his catch!

Are you kidding me can it really be only six month ago that we were united with this sweet little boy? Our lives and the life of our little boy we met on the other side of the world were changed forever on that day. As Mike said the other day it seems like James has always been with us. That really is how God works and I have heard it so many times before. When we filled out the paper work for our request to adopt a child I wanted God to be completely in control of this in all ways. We chose boy or girl and prayed over what special needs we thought we could handle. We checked off quite a few special needs and I felt in my heart it would be a boy and he would have a heart defect. I love how God prepares you in these ways! Well we absolutely fell in love and even as we tried to decipher the medical report with pages of cardiac things we didn't quite understand, we walked in faith. I remember Mike saying that "complex cardiopathy" was a scary term and fully agreeing with him. I remember the day when we were confirming we would accept this boy that there were questions about insurance covering these special needs. What a scary day it was with the thought of not being able to adopt him and we only knew him for 48 hours- but wow had God molded our hearts to him. God specifically used that to confirm this was our boy. In a way the fear was a place I just couldn't go, even though it always has been kind of a part of who I am. God helped me to walk in faith about his medical needs because we firmly believed this was our boy! I remember the one doctor saying "we really won't know until we get him here, isn't that what faith is about..." how did this doctor at our practice who I really didn't even know say that (I mean that was directly from God)!

When I look back at some of these pictures and videos of when we first met him it makes me sad to think of how scared he actually must have been. I mean he didn't know us at all! We have missed the first three years of his life, but we have our boy now. I look at the way he has just thrived and bloomed and it brings us all such joy. We are overflowing with love for him and he has accepted our love and freely gives love back. I cannot believe how much we have been blessed by God in all of this. The opportunity to parent this beautiful boy is a privilege. We are so thankful for the joy and laughter he has brought into our home. Every financial need was met in ways we were blown away by. We kept our eyes off the cost of this and on God that had guided us to this journey. We wavered on taking the kids to China because of the huge expense, but we are incredibly thankful we did and the debt is gone. Only our God could provide Mike with a bonus in this economy! We will be forever thanking God for the gift of James He has given our family!

Celebrating Ali!

2009-04-29T23:33:00.001-05:00

This month our oldest daughter Ali turned sixteen. I can hardly believe that I have a sixteen year old...(and a three year old!) We are so proud of our Ali and I wanted to take time to brag on her and celebrate her this month. Ali is actually in New York right now with the high school economics team competing in Euro Challenge after they won last month when they competed in Chicago.

I remember the day Ali was born like it was yesterday. Ali tried to arrive early like all my kids, and thankfully just missed April fools day, actually she has a great sense of humor so it wouldn't have surprised me! I went into preterm labor which they stopped and we proceeded to go on bed rest for at least a few months. I had an unusual situation and ended up going into labor about five weeks early. Ali was ready though and did great. As a young child she loved to read and draw, and later developed a love for writing. She is a wonderful writer and I know God will continue to use that gift in her life. I have so enjoyed her writing and she has such a way with words it really amazes me.

Ali has done more and gone more places in her sixteen years of life than many people! I love her selfless heart in wanting to serve God and be like Jesus. She has a heart for the needy and her life has truly been changed on her mission trips to Mexico and Trinidad, and her recent trip with us to China. She had some wonderful opportunities with some people who live with very little. She also had the chance to see that many of these people were actually quite happy living with less. She witnessed some real poverty and worked in some of the poorest areas in Mexico. I think her favorite time was visiting the special needs orphanage in Trinidad. I think she has learned a lot of life lessons on these trips, certainly a new dependence on God. I know she will never forget these trips and is so fortunate to have had these opportunities.

Ali has a sweet and quiet spirit and she is a thinker. She has a peace and gentleness about her that is an example to the louder people in our house(probably all of us)! She also serves as a small group leader with me at church and the girls really love her. She seeks God in every decision and knows He has the perfect plan for her life. She is striving to live authentically like Christ, which certainly isn't always easy in this world. Wow how I wish when I was sixteen I had known the things she knows. She is an encourager and has been a great encourager to her mom in countless ways! I will never forget a particularly hard time in China when I was crying and Ali opening her bible and praying with me. I love looking back and seeing how Ali's faith has grown. She truly has made it her own and I love the evidence of this in her life.

Ali brings a joy to our house that I am so blessed by. We laugh a lot and laugh until we cry about many things. I love just sitting and talking to her. We share a love for iceeey cream and hand banging on the table laughs! She has a very special relationship with her brother which involves a lot of walks. James loves to walk and I love the way she pours into his little life with their walks! When he sees her, James will usually say to Ali "Ali take a walk" She gets her "aotoman shoes" (roller blades) on and off they go, and weather is not a factor! I am so thankful for my sweet Ali or as James would say Alullee!

Easter

2009-04-22T09:08:00.003-05:00

Easter dressing like dad!
The Chocolate and candy has gotten to him!
I love this can we have baskets everyday?

Oh I can't just sit here and finish this basket of candy?

Easter was fun with all the cousins. We did not see much of James which is very unusual. He is starting to enjoy his extended family more and feel very safe to branch out. He especially had fun with his two older boy cousins Johnny and Joey. He loves getting rough with them and this is sure all new for me (boy stuff!) I am just waiting to end up in ER with the way he flies around.

The girls were insistant on James getting dressed up for Easter. When we got him in China they said he likes "comfortable clothes" and since he's been here I really haven't been able to get him in much more than sweats. Well the girls did it by telling James he could be like Baba. So they showed him the matching khaki pants and the button down shirt and that did the trick.

I don't think he was in it too long, but it is a start!

Easter Egg Hunt

2009-04-22T08:35:00.005-05:00

James with his basket at the egg hunt
James in the red we gave him instructions to to do whatever he had to do to get the most eggs (kidding?)
James and Ali

James went to a few egg hunts and loved it. I am looking forward to when he can fully understand the true meaning of Good Friday and Easter. But I don't think he is ready yet given a recent exchange with Ali. Ali: James what did you learn at church today? James: We learned about the lions. Ali: What about the lions? James: The lions ate baby Jesus....
We are so thankful James has transitioned into going to his church class by himself. He has a lot of wonderful things to learn about the God and Savior who loves him very much!
He told me recently he loves library class and church class!

Spring Break and the Zoo

2009-04-04T09:39:00.002-05:00

James just loved the zoo
His favorite was the gorilla!

James and the gorilla close up he was amazed!

We did not let the weather stop our spring break fun on our trips to Independence Grove!

We had a great time on James first trip to the zoo. I knew it would be pretty exciting for him because he has really loved the animals in the books we have been reading. When we explained the zoo to him he got these big eyes and could hardly wait for the day to arrive. We went to Lincoln Park Zoo and due to the colder weather, we had the place to ourselves. James had some great up close and personal interaction with the gorillas and even got to see a monkey try to come after Claire when she sneezed by the glass-that was scary!

Mommy and Bobby!

2009-03-15T21:52:00.009-05:00

James enjoying his chinese food

James is really good with the chopsticks

We got chinese the other night and you would have thought James had not been fed for a while. He was so happy to see the food! I think either we'll have to order out more or I'll have to learn to cook better chinese food!

When James first met us we were Mama and Baba (Mandarin for mom and dad) Well just recently he started calling me mommy. It sure is the cutest thing hearing his sweet little voice saying it! Occasionally he would call me mother which I have to say sounds pretty funny coming from him. Well we all got a real kick out of it when he decided since he was calling me mommy he would change Baba appropriately to Bobby! Wow have we all had some good laughs hearing him calling for Bobby. We are just loving it, not sure if dad loves it as much but we are laughing. James and Baba are getting to be real buddies especially at the dinner table when all of us girls are laughing about something and the two boys don't think it is such a hoot!

An Adoption Legacy of Sorts!

2009-02-23T23:36:00.000-06:00

"Difficulties afford a platform upon which He can show Himself. Without them we could never know how tender, faithful and almighty our God is." - Hudson Taylor

They say writing is therapeutic and so I write...February of 1999 was one of the hardest times in my life. My mom was taken to the hospital one morning and as us four kids met my dad at the hospital we found out she didn't make it. To say we were shocked is an understatement-she had no health problems, it was so out of nowhere. I remember those first few days and nights so vividly, thinking it had to be a bad dream. We just sat at the house we grew up in and cried and kept thinking someone would say it was all a mistake. I was a few months pregnant with Claire and she was due on my mom's birthday. I had been having problems in the pregnancy and they told me it was pretty certain the pregnancy would not continue and that I would miscarry. One time when I went in the ultrasound tech recognized me and said something about not believing I was still carrying the baby. My mom had been such a support to me during this time.

I really didn't know how to process my emotions, I don't think any of us did. I just felt so unprepared. I felt like the walls of my faith came crashing down, and it was a fork in the road in my faith. Was I going to believe God was who He said He was and His comfort would carry me? It was a long process of grief and I grew in my relationship to God in many ways. God met me in so many ways I can't even begin to count. I think through it instead of my walls of faith crashing down, the walls were made solid. I found I could believe God was who He said He was and He would carry me. I look at the friends He put in my life prior to this to grieve with me and support me. I am thankful for the great church I was attending where I could really continue to grow in this time. I can remember the beautiful conversation my mom and I had the night before she died. The dinner Mike, Ali, Caroline and I had with my mom and dad the prior weekend. This baby I was carrying that was due on my mom's birthday, which miraculously I was able to deliver!

I think it has been hard this year not having my mom here to be able to share the joy of bringing home James. I think of her often and know she would love James and get such a kick out of this little boy. And God continues to pour down His blessings and comfort. What an incredible joy to find out just recently from my dad that my mom had talked about wanting to adopt(a boy)! He said they talked about it, but never ended up going further. I could hardly contain myself when my dad shared this on the phone with me recently. I just cried-how amazing that this was my mom's heart as well and I never even knew it-but yes I guess it doesn't surprise me at all. I am so thankful that God would choose this time to have my dad share this with me, because it has been so comforting to me and just brings me such joy! Our kids have said they are going to adopt too-how cool is that!

1st Haircut with us!

2009-02-10T12:31:00.006-06:00

I need a haircut mom-look what these girls are doing to me!
Yes it is time!

James thought this was worse than the doctor!

He sat on my lap and moved quite a bit as the buzzer tried to clip his hair!

That was not so bad!

Chinese New Year!

2009-02-02T19:56:00.007-06:00

James and Aunt Cocoa (formerly Coo Coo but James has renamed her Cocoa -Coll is thrilled!)

James was so happy at the parade

His favorite was the dragon

James celebrating with some of his cousins

We went to Chinatown for Chinese New Year and went to the parade and went for a great lunch. James had a blast and the weather was actually great (heat wave at 25 degrees!)
It was great spending the afternoon with our family!

2009-01-18T21:50:00.002-06:00

Yes folks that is an "A" and we have worked long and hard!
James insisted on carrying his shopping bag!

This is one dancing man! He has the moves!

Sad goodbyes

2009-01-13T22:17:00.001-06:00

We said our goodbyes to my sister Lisa last week and she left for China. It was so great to have her here for Christmas and also spending time with her when we were in China. We probably won't see her again until spring. We went to meet Lisa and have dinner at the mall and Aunt Lisa got quite a greeting when James saw her. He ran up to her and gave her a big hug. He probably can't figure her out-she is in China she is here. We picked up a couple things for James at the mall and he insisted on carrying his shopping bag around it was so cute.

James slept in his own bed all night long for one night! Unfortunately it was only a night-but now when he comes in our room he has a place set up on the floor to sleep-we finally figured out none of us were getting much sleep with him in our bed. He seems quite happy with his little bed on the floor. Other news-James made his first "A"! I have been working with him on that since we arrived home and he isn't too fond of pen and paper, so I think it may be a long time on the alphabet, which is fine.

Other notes- James went to his first soccer game of the girls and enjoyed it. I think he'd rather be out there though. We went down in the basement and played some soccer kicking the ball around. James looked at my slippers and said "Sitong shoes" I think he thought I was kicking it harder with my slippers and he wanted to kick harder also. I went up and got his shoes and I think he still felt it wasn't as hard and far as he wanted. We had three balls down there and all of the sudden he started whipping the balls at me and it became a game of him bombarding me. I got a pretty huge laugh out of it! He felt he could have more power with throwing it. Maybe we will have another sport in the family besides soccer... bombardment, dodgeball, baseball, volleyball?

I think our computer is dying...I can't seem to upload any of my new photos. I have some good ones, so hopefully I can figure this out soon!

Christmas!

2009-01-03T09:54:00.005-06:00

Sledding with Ali!

My real choo choo from grandma and grandpa-baba and I
just watched it go around and around!!

Ali, this Elmo guy is pretty cool!

I love my big wheel...I stayed in it all day and loaded my gifts in back!

My family says I am the absolute best gift of the year!

Baking cookies is so fun!

Two years ago in December...

2008-12-23T22:54:00.001-06:00

I am reminded it was two years ago in December that this journey began, and how fitting we have James home during this special time celebrating the birth of our Savior. It continually reminds me of God's special gift of our son and brother James that God has given our family. Mike and I began praying about whether God was calling us to adopt in December of 2006. Mike was so sure and I don't think there was much doubt in his mind that we were to do this, I on the other hand needed more of God's assurance and confirmation before I stepped forward. I thought about the huge financial cost of this and knew we couldn't come up with this money, but I did know God could and He proved He would in miraculous ways! Maybe it was also was part of my selfish desire to plan my future...I thought I would be working more now that the kids were all in school...How could I start over with a young child, and what would people think. Well God most certainly confirmed this was His plan and showed us in so many ways! Shortly after this time my unknowing sister gave me a CD that Christmas and this is what I read on the inside. "God calls after His children to care for widows and orphans in the book Of James. Perhaps for you this means helping a friend down the street or at your church who has room at their for a child in need but does not have the money to make it happen; or maybe it's the gift of your time in serving orphans in your community or on the other side of the globe. Or could you be on the same journey Marybeth and I were on? I don't know what responding to God's invitation to care for orphans looks like for you, but Marybeth and I are praying that your heart will be open to Him showing you." WOW-Well how could I ignore that...but still I needed more and God continued to give more as we prayed and day by day everything fell into place.

I still can't believe this has all happened when I look at this precious boy. Sometimes when I look into his eyes and just ponder the joy he has brought into our home, it seems like a dream! My heart nearly melted the other day when I received an unsolicited I love you. We love him and he is really loving us! He has attached so well and is really adjusting to things here. The girls don't have too much free time these days because James is so desperate to play with them. Our new game is hide and seek which he loves, and of course cars and trains. I cannot imagine if we had said no to this and missed this incredible opportunity. The joy that a small child can bring into a home. James adds so much laughter to our house. Ali and I were laughing until our sides hurt yesterday! He is such a gift from God and seems like he has been here forever.

Ali mentioned how he will probably always love Christmas songs and it marks his time coming into our family. He tries to sing along it is the cutest thing-jingle bells being his favorite! It really feels like Christmas marks the beginning of this journey, I remember the guarded excitement we held in our hearts in 2006 when we felt we really were on a wild and exciting ride with God. We look to the future with eager anticipation at what God holds in store for our lives and our new son's life. We celebrate this Christmas in so many ways and will be forever grateful for the birth of our savior Jesus and that God's plans for our lives are perfect!

1 Month Ago Yesterday

2008-12-02T11:20:00.014-06:00

Decorating the Christmas Tree!
I love the snow.(seenoooo) kind of cold though!

Hanging out with my buddies- I suppose I'll watch Hannah if I can be with you!

What a fun party...a choo choo on a cake and I can eat the frosting off it??

My First trip to the park cool!

It's hard to believe it was a month ago when James came into our family. We have come a long way and we have a ways to go. I read yesterday that you can expect it will take as many years as they were in the orphanage to adjust and attach to your family. I am believing it will be shorter than three years! It has only been a month so when at times I feel a little discouraged, I remember that it will take some time! We are still working on anger/tantrum issues. I read yesterday that the aggression seen may have been a defense against older kids or even mimicking of behavior seen in the orphanage, so I know it will take time to develop new behaviors and ways for James to deal with being told no, or not getting something he wants. One day at a time...

Another party for James...It was so nice to spend some time with family and friends celebrating James. We continue to be overwhelmed by the generosity and love of our family and friends. A party surrounded by special people with prayers, blessings, more stuff for James, and even a choo choo on a cake-it continually overwhelms us to feel so loved.

It has been hard to say goodbye to his buddies in the morning, but he has come to realize they come back! He understands they are all at "spool". It is so neat to see his thrill and excitement when they come through the door. I wish I had the video camera when dad came home the first few days. WOW what a greeting he got-James went running toward the door "Oh Baba Baba Baba!"with such excitement! It was the absolute cutest thing!

I may need to get a lock for the pantry and refrigerator...James enjoys pulling stuff out and doing various things with the food (sometimes eating it). Mike reminds me that we had a hook on the pantry in our other house for Caroline when she was climbing the shelves! We decorated the tree and that was fun for James. I think he thought it was odd though-having a tree in the house and putting toys on it. But he joined in after he saw us putting ornaments (toys!) on the tree. Now if I can help him understand the "balls" are not balls but glass ornaments! He really is a boy in many ways...and that is new for me having three girls! I feel like I am always trying to keep him from getting hurt, as he is wild at times! I also forgot about all the spills and such of a toddler. Wow this house is kind of a mess...oh well got to let that go!

This little boy has had us laughing so hard we cry! He is such a riot and was so meant to be in our family. I love how God does that so perfectly. This is why when we filled out the paperwork for our referral we checked off boy or girl, we wanted to put this child in God's hands in every way. We were expecting to receive a girl, but we are so totally blessed by a son and brother! It has been so fun for us to experience a little boy in our house. I always loved the beautiful relationship my mom and brother had. I also cherish the close relationship I share with my brother Joe and know the same will be true for myself and our girls! Thank you God!

Thankful!

2008-11-20T21:42:00.003-06:00

We are so thankful to be home. We are still pretty tired and jet lagged. How long does it take to get over that! Claire can be found at various times sleeping around the house and Mike fell asleep at the dinner table the other night. I suppose it is everything and it is all a big adjustment! We aren't used to "playing" as much as we do these days!

I cannot express how thankful we are that we took the kids with us to China. They could never have established the bonds they have with their brother had they not gone with us. The 15 days of one on one in small spaces really did amazing things to connect them. James is so sad when they leave and overjoyed when they return home. He loves to play with them and they love it as well.

We had our doctors appointments this week. It was so sad not to be able to explain to James why he was poked over and over. They had a real hard time drawing blood also. Our incredible news came when we went to our cardiologist appointment. Our referral stated "complex cardiopathy" a term doctors don't even use here, James has three different defects and we were really not that certain what to expect. One of our doctors here said we really won't know until we get him here what is going on with his heart. We did not see any visible scars for the supposed heart surgery James had, and our medical appointment in China provided no further information for us. Well our cardiologist said James is doing very well and the extent of his defects is not what was originally stated. He will have follow up each year and hopefully nothing more, one of his defects the hole in his heart will probably close on its own, and the other defect is very mild. His EKG was perfectly normal. We are so thankful for this incredible news. Mike and I just looked at each other in amazement as the doctor gave us the news.

Things are going well here and we are working through things that will take time. Sleep and food are some of the issues and we are trying to figure our what works. It's hard to go back to the days of an infant getting up in the night, but if it helps James bond I am all for it! When James keeps pulling out a can of corn for breakfast, I hope he will eventually come to like our great breakfast foods!

We are going to post occasionally, keeping this as a baby book for James, so stop in if you wish and again thank you for following our journey!

2008-11-16T23:43:00.002-06:00

James loves balloons especially the choo choo one...he is a big Thomas fan!

Yes he is a true White Sox fan!

Blessed beyond measure by our friends

We are HOME!!!

2008-11-15T22:36:00.002-06:00

After 2 very long flights, we are home!!! James did pretty well on the planes, he only had one tantrum before the plane took off. We were VERY surprised to find our dear friends waiting at the airport for us with signs and balloons for James! He was very excited to see that all the people were wanting to meet him. Uncle Joe picked us up at the airport, and James got to meet a few of his sweet cousins and his aunt. He had such a fun time playing with them!

When we got home we were very surprised to find that our whole house had been decorated with signs saying "Welcome Home!" It was so nice to see. James, again, loved all the signs. He points to them excitedly and jumps up and down. He already feels all the love of our great friends and family. He also loved our house. I think that somewhere, in the back of his mind, he already knows that this is HOME and not just another hotel. He was the happiest we have ever seen him today. He loves his room and all his books and toys.

We want to thank you all for supporting us in the journey. We are so thankful for all of you and all you have done for James and our family. We are awed by the extravagant amount of love you pour upon us everyday.

We are so glad to be home, and we love you all! We thank God for this indescribable gift He has given us...

Love, Ali

1000th McDonalds Grand Opening and leaving China!

2008-11-14T07:49:00.003-06:00

1000th restaurant grand opening in China

Aunt Lisa in the grand parade for the new restaurant drive through

James and Dad and Ronald McDonald! (Tong Tong only looks a bit freaked out...)

James and dad with the dragons!

Lisa up on stage for the ribbon cutting ceremony

Today we had the opportunity to go to the 1000th McDonald's restaurant grand opening in Guandong (or somewhere like that, about an hour away from Guangzhou). It was quite an event! James loved most of it and was quite taken with Ronald McDonald! It was such an incredible chance for Mike to meet his China colleagues. It was also so moving to see my sister Lisa on her home turf. I am so incredibly proud of her and was even emotional that I was able to have this chance to see her! I mean really what are the chances! The restaurant was very nice and there were many people there, as well as the media. Lisa was pretty busy with all of that so we didn't have much of a chance to talk, but again I was just so thrilled to be there!

Today was also our swearing in ceremony. It was at the US Consulate in China with about 40 other adoptive parents. The actual swearing in was about 3 minutes. I can't quite remember it as we are getting a little delirious. It is time to go home...We had some beautiful and tender moments today with James and also some very hard moments with the temper tantrums. He is definitely attaching though. When I think of the first nights when he laid in his crib and put himself to sleep without wanting any mom or dad interaction, to these nights when he needs me to help him fall asleep and talk to him. It is such a beautiful change. I remember how odd it was when I tried to get him to lay down with us in the beginning and he just wanted to be alone. Now he wakes up in the wee hours and calls out mama...which in some ways may not be such a good thing and make for a tired mom!

We are hoping for a nice travel time. I sure hope no one on the plane has to experience poor James temper tantrum-oh the looks we have gotten in China! Please pray for us- I don't want one of our fellow passengers parachuting out the emergency door!

Ali:
My mom and I are listening to Christmas carols right now, in Starbucks (while drinking Iced Hot Chocolate, which is an oxymoron, and I LOVE oxymorons). We are looking forward to seeing you all again. We miss you all so much. If you meet James in the next few weeks, just know that he is temper prone. I just wanted to give everyone a fair warning.

We now interrupt this blog entry with a brief message from the Beach Boys:

So hoist up the John B's sail

See how the mainsail sets

Call for the captain ashore

Let me go home, let me go home

I wanna go home, let me go home

Why don't you let me go home?

-"Sloop John B"

Much love, Ali and Jenn

PS Not all of us want to go home, to the daily grind of suburbia and school and being crushed by the system, et. cetera. But we must go, because it is our HOME, after all. This has truly been the trip of a lifetime and I am so glad we all had the chance to go together.

PPS Fun fact of the day: If you would like to speak to James, this is the current extent of his vocabulary. We've also included pronunciations, for your convenience.

Ay-ay-ay-lee-Ali

Carlien-Caroline

Clay-ay-ire-Claire

Mama-Mom

Baba-Dad

BOOO-NANA-Banana

Bu Yao!!- (This is a Chinese expression meaning, "I don't want/need it." It is the most common thing out of James' mouth. Usually precedes a temper tantrum.)

Engen Engen Numba NINE!-From the book "Engine Engine Number Nine, one of James' favorite phrases.)

MER!-More

Godda go PEE PEE! Godda go PEE, A-PEE!- Sometimes he just randomly says this. He has no idea what it means.

God is good!

2008-11-13T09:13:00.001-06:00

Our family
The kids

Tong Tong karate man in his Chinese outfit

As we get ready to leave to go home, I reflect on all that has happened on our journey in China. I feel I have been stretched in my faith and we have all grown in our relationships with God in many ways. He has met us in every moment of this journey. I am so thankful we stepped out of the boat and walked His calling for our family. I knew it wouldn't be easy, but sometimes I felt weaker than I thought I would. But then in our weakness He is strong. As we know, without the difficulties in life, we don't always depend on Him. I am so thankful for God's closeness in a place that at times has seemed so far from home.

Caroline got a new ipod before we left and gave me her old one. I asked her to put some songs from my cds on it. I am always amazed by how these songs seem to "speak" to me, each at the perfect moment. I also asked my friend Peggy to xerox devotionals from a devotional I didn't own but had given to my friends last year for Christmas. I cannot tell you how perfect each days entry was to speak to me when I really needed it. Examples of God walking right along side of us.

Every good and perfect gift is from above. We are so thankful for the gift God has given us in our son James. As he sat today looking through one of my favorite books, The pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer, I felt so filled with joy reflecting on God having a special and unique plan for our son's life. One day James will learn of God's great love for him. I look at this little boy and continue to be amazed by the fact that God chose him for our family long ago. Ali and I were saying he also seems like he has been in our family forever. It doesn't feel like a different kind of love for him because he is adopted, because God has knit our hearts together. God has answered so many prayers to prepare James' heart for our family and we can see that as we look into his eyes.

From today's devotional: The Lord can be depended upon and He desires for us to be just as reliable, determined and stable. This is simply the meaning of faith. I am so thankful for the faith that has brought us here today.

Warning: Please do not read if you have a weak stomach

2008-11-12T07:34:00.002-06:00

Goats, skinned and ready for purchase (notice the blood underneath...)
Exotic foods street

Dried snake

Our dead fish friend

Antlers, horns, dried caterpillar... (is it even legal to sell this sort of stuff?)

Today we went went to an exotic foods market with our friends in our adoption group. We saw live scorpions (fried for your convenience!), turtles, dried snakes, entire goats, dried fish, dried frogs, roasted pigs (the entire body, because who wants to miss out on the innards?), bags of small insects, dried seahorses, and some spices. It was quite the experience...and we didn't even see it in all its glory-apparently the government shut a large part of it down a few years ago because it was just too disgusting. It still is rather unsanitary. Imagine streets, stained not with tire marks, but with the blood of animals. Lovely. We were all very glad we got to see this, however. It was really something you have to see to believe...which is why we've included photos. Does it make you sick just to look at them? Yeah. Well, imagine how we felt.

After that, we went shopping in a bunch of little stores. They have some really cool stuff around here. We got Tong Tong some Aoteman squeaky shoes, which he absolutely loved. Everyone is getting better at bargaining, even Claire. As for me, I find it somewhat intimidating and unnecessary. A shopkeeper and I were haggling over the price of a [item will not be disclosed here, as it is a gift for someone reading this blog], I wanted 40 yuan and she wanted 45 yuan. We argued for like 10 minutes, when finally I realized that 5 yuan is less than a dollar, so I just gave up and paid the 45 yuan. Everything is so cheap here, I don't really see the purpose in bargaining, when you can have a peaceful transaction for just a few yuan (cents!) more.

Jenn:

Tong Tong is still having some major temper tantrums. I don't think I have seen a tantrum like this in my life. I think there is so much we have to remember about all our dear son has been through when all of these things are going on. We are in another hotel room with new routines and all the things James ever knew in his life are gone. His friends are gone, his nannies are gone, and all of his routines and comforts are gone. As we were arranging the luggage, he came over and started folding laundry. He does this so happily, like he enjoys anything that reminds him of his old life. There is so much of his old routine that we know nothing about. As much as we try to establish new routine it is hard, because of the things we need to do for the adoption and just all that is going on here. I wish I knew what his routine was, including what he likes to eat and all the other basic things. I think transitioning is very hard for him. This morning when he was changing from pajamas to clothes to go to breakfast he had a major meltdown. It takes him quite a while to calm down also. His tantrums ignite in a moment, and when he starts, there's no stopping him. He throws himself on the floor and begins screaming. Then when we try to pick him up he fights with everything he has. Tonight we went to dinner and he just screamed and I had to leave with him because I couldn't even get him to sit. I think getting home to some consistency and routine will be a great help. It will take a while we know, but there is sunshine ahead and we see beautiful glimmers of it already. We love this little boy. Later, after dinner (which Mike brought to the hotel room for me and Tong Tong) he was playing with all of us, laughing hysterically... He loves life so much. He brings such happiness to others (That's what they told us in his referral, and we know now that it's true!).

Much love to all you slackers who don't comment,

Ali and Jenn

Second day in the city of the angry taxi drivers

2008-11-11T08:53:00.003-06:00

Tong Tong doing his thing where he touches our face.

Tong Tong pushing his wheelchair at the pool

Tong Tong and dad playing at the museum/shop

The kids in our awesome travel group

Here we are, in Starbucks, again-this time with mediocre tea. Whoopee. But, lest I forget, we do get FREE wifi with our tea. Pretty cool.

Today we started off by going to a museum with lots of Chinese art and carvings. They were very beautiful. After that, we went back to the hotel and went swimming-or at least, most of us did. Tong Tong didn't go in the water, instead he pushed his wheelchair like a madman around the pool. At least this time, he didn't freak out when we put it away.

After that, we went to an underground mall. It was rather overwhelming. The shops are all about the size of a closet, each stuffed with a disorganized array of clothing. The prices were good, though. Everything is so much cheaper here than it is in the US. I think that's because everything is made here, and they don't have to pay for shipping, and stuff.

We got to see Aunt Lisa again after that, which was really nice. For dinner, we decided to go to a pizza place recommended by one of her friends. This, however, was much more of an ordeal than we had originally thought it would be.

The poor bellboy outside of the hotel had to find two cabs for us, since we have too many people for just one. But NO ONE wanted to drive us. Apparently, this restaurant was very close to the hotel (low fare for the cabbies), and not very well known. Finally, the bellboy ran up to this cab driver and started yelling at him. We thought everything was okay, so we went into the cab. That was a slight mistake. The cabbie jumped out of the car in his rage, at which point he and the poor bellboy got into a shouting match! Well, I'm not sure exactly what the bellboy said (threatened) to the cabbie to get him to take us, but finally we were on the go.

And, believe it or not, things went downhill from there. In the first 30 seconds or so of our ride, one of the cabbies took a completely different direction than the other cabbie. Then, we started getting in this, like, ghetto area of the town, and we were afraid that the cabbie was going to dump us off in the middle of the ghetto, because he was so mad, and then he drove right past a pizza place, so I was like, Hello! Cabbie! Stop!, at which point we did, and went to the restaurant.

Me, Lisa, Caroline, and Claire arrived before (0r so we thought) my Mom, Dad, and James, so we decided to eat outside. We ordered our food, then waited for like 20 minutes for my parents to show up. After about 15 minutes, we all started to panic, like maybe their cabbie dropped THEM off in the ghetto, or he was taking a really long route to make them pay more...we were about to hail ANOTHER cab to get back to the hotel, when the waiter came up to us, saying, "There's 2.5 people inside who are waiting for 4 people, and you're waiting for two people and a toddler, so maybe you're looking for each other?"

We were. We had spent all that time freaking out, when we were really just a few yard away from one another.

I love it when things work out like that. And the food was delicious.

Love, Ali and Jenn

Welcome to Guangzhou/aka the Ritz

2008-11-10T06:58:00.005-06:00

Playing with a Chinese hackeysack after dinner
Tong Tong before the medical exam with Mama and Baba

Medical exam area-very crowded!

As we are writing this, we are sitting in the Starbucks of our absurdly luxurious hotel. (What?!, You say, Starbucks?!?! In CHINA!?!?! You are enjoying assorted beverages at an AMERICAN CHAIN RESTAURANT?! Yes, we say, We are. This is the only place we currently know of with free wifi. Also, the music is in English, and it smells like home.) We are thankful to have arrived here safely after a relatively uneventful flight, during which Tong Tong did nothing but sleep.

Today we went to the "medical exam" if you want to call it that... Tong Tong was very well behaved and didn't cry at all, though that's not saying much, as they didn't actually do much. We are looking forward to getting home to our doctors to see what surgery, if any, Tong Tong had.

We got to meet up with the other families in our adoption group during the "medical exams". It was so nice to see them and meet the newest members of their families! After the "exams", we got to go shopping with them on Shaimen (sp?) Island. The stores here are really cool, a bit reminiscent of New Orleans.

After shopping, we all went to dinner together at an American (sort of) restaurant, Lucy's. The food was good and we enjoyed spending time with one another. We got to dine al fresco, and the beautiful weather and glowing atmosphere made for a great night. After dinner, all the kids started playing a sort of Chinese hacky sack game, which was awesome (blossom extra awesome). Later, we went to a nearby river, which was breathtaking (in a corporately toxic, neon lights sort of way).

Things are going pretty well with Tong Tong. It is really a process and I am thinking of many things as I look at this sweet little boy. He is fighting himself as he wants me and Baba more, but also wants to rely on himself and remain independent. When he has been sick he has called out for mama and then can't seem to allow himself to easily come to me and accept my love. He is learning one day at a time. He is definitely strong willed and we have seen some T time (temper tantrums! with a capitol T!) He is understandably tired and trying to understand all that is going on with his life. I look at him as he sleeps and it makes me sad to think of the three years without a mom and dad to love him.

I just want to thank you all for your prayers. I truly feel them and know that God is giving us strength and hope and all I need to meet every challenge. I cannot imagine walking this journey without God right by our sides. We are so thankful for this journey and all God will do in it.

Love from Starbucks,

Ali and Jenn

Our last day in Beijing

2008-11-09T06:44:00.004-06:00

Tong Tong playing with his three sisters

We started out the day by going to the Beijing International Christian Fellowship church again. Tong Tong, Mom, and Claire all stayed at the hotel because Tong Tong still isn't feeling well. The church service was amazing, again. I figured out why I like the church so much here. There's an extreme sense of gratitude and fellowship among the congregation, something there isn't as much of at home... Here, people don't take this opportunity to worship for granted. It's not like home, where there's a church on every other street corner. Here, being at a church is not another badge of mediocrity, but, rather, an escape from it.

Other than that, we didn't do much today. Tong Tong started opening up to us even more, as evidenced by the above photo. At the same time, however, he is very conflicted; unsure of whether he can trust us. He'll reach for a hug one second, only to push away the next, then cry for a hug again.

We're unsure of how our internet setup will be in Guangzhou, so don't be suprised if we aren't posting right away.

Love, Ali

Chairman Mao's tomb, more fun with Tong Tong

2008-11-08T05:38:00.003-06:00

Material Boy (And that's silly putty on Aoteman...uh...)

Tong Tong in his Aoteman pose

After posing, he would run toward Mama and jump into her arms!

Aoteman!

This morning, my Dad, Caroline, and myself all went to Chairman Mao's tomb to get out of the hotel. It was QUITE the experience... More on that when we get home! We waited in a very long line to see Mao's remains (though we, and our new Irish tourist friends, all agreed that it looked suspiciously like wax). After going through the tomb room, the line went right into a gift shop-just like the rides at Six Flags!

Tong Tong had another fun day, with more new games. We bought him an Aoteman action figure at Carrefour, which he loved playing with. He loves getting out of the hotel room.

Yesterday he would not get out of his stroller the entire day. We started calling it his wheelchair, because he wouldn't get out even to retrieve his fallen toys. As soon as he got out for his bath, we hid it in the closet. Today he didn't use it at all...

Scratch that. He just found the wheelchair and is now sitting in it. Lovely.

Tomorrow is our last day in Beijing before we depart for Guangzhou. We are going to church in the morning, and I'm not sure what else we'll be doing after that.

Love from China,

Ali

Another free day

2008-11-06T04:59:00.003-06:00

Tong Tong and his new favorite game

We had a relatively quiet day today. We walked around the neighborhood for awhile, which was fun. We almost died crossing the street-people don't really stop for pedestrians here! But we are all alive, at least for the now. No roadkill de'human today!

We played a lot of games with Tong Tong today. When all his sisters lie face down on the bed, feet hanging off, he likes to tickle their feet and pull them off, then point back up to the bed and say "Up!". We played that for a really long time today-we laid on the bed, he pulled us off. Mom joined in too, and he loved that. It's so nice to have him willingly touch us, even if it's only just our feet.

He also loves to play a miniature form of baseball-he'll hit a crumpled up ball of paper with a long marker and then run to random areas of the room. He loves that game, too, and is a very good hitter!

In other news, Tong Tong is catching a pretty bad cold with a fever. We've given him some tylenol but it doesn't seem to help much. Please pray that he gets well soon!

Later...

Ali

Dad's take on things

2008-11-05T05:12:00.003-06:00

Tong Tong after swimming
Tong Tong loves swimming with Baba!

Already, Tong Tong is a huge Thomas fan-watching a Thomas video while

wearing Thomas swim trunks & t shirt!

Tong Tong with one of his towers

Wednesday, November 5th

His Dad’s View:

No tours, appointments or car rides. We hung out in the hotel room. It was homework day for the girls. I held a napping James in my arms as we watched the election results on CNN. This is a historic day for our nation and our family. My only regret is that my dad and I did not have our election night phone call.
I want to share some things about James from his dad’s perspective. He is full of energy and has a zest for life. He is a southpaw with a rifle of an arm and a decent hitter from both sides. Something tells me he is a White Sox fan. His soccer tryout will take place in the States. He is enamored by the Chinese super hero: Aoteman and his new found love is Thomas the Train. He has a talent for architecture and construction as he enjoys building towers from books, pencils and toys. I can’t wait to see what he’ll do with Legos and blocks once we get home. He constantly looks is at an album of family photos while reciting our individual names. He is beginning to mimic English. Two of his more popular expressions complete with a Midwestern accent are: “Come on in!” and “Gotta go pee-pee”, though we don't think he knows what the latter means. All this while, I still can’t even remember Mandarin phase for thank you.

He must be a fan of Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn because he tried to go skinny dipping during our afternoon swim. He's only been in a bathtub, so he thought that the pool meant it was bathtime! Fortunately, Jenn was right on the spot to prevent this from happening. He loved the water.
God has truly blessed us with this little guy. He seems to have completely recovered from his heart surgery. He already eats like a horse and loves teasing his sisters. His future is limitless and full of opportunity. As for me, I look forward to watch him grow up as we play catch, fish and have our election night calls.

Yesterday-Day Three of Touring (Old Beijing, Pearl Market, Temple of Heaven) and Today (paperwork)

2008-11-04T04:49:00.007-06:00

Temple of Heaven
Tong Tong with his "Aoteman" t-shirt

Old Beijing Quarter house

Entrance to Beijing Quarter house

Well, things have kind of changed and James is trying to find out whether he can trust me, or whether I will leave him like others have. He is no longer going to me and pushes me away. I did know this was possible, but after the first days of doing so well, I was kind of floored by it. I need to keep my emotions in check and remember that God is here, he brought us to this place and will not leave us. One day at a time depending on God. I think what makes it so hard is being so far from home and of course the language barrier. It would be easier if I could understand James better and he could understand us. I am thankful James is attaching to Mike and will now go to him, I can't imagine if it were both of us he was rejecting. James is also doing some testing to see how far he can go with things. The kids are trying to make sense of it all. I am trusting it will get better each day. James has not known the kind of love that we experience when as a baby every need you have is met and the love we receive in a family. In fact he has no idea what a family is. He may think I am just the next nanny and will be here only a short while. He may have pulled away from me because this love I have been pouring into him feels good and he is protecting himself from getting hurt. Thank you in advance for your prayers, we know God hears and answers!

Here are Ali's touring thoughts:

Yesterday was another day of touring. The other famlies had gone to their own provinces to get their children, so so we were on our own with Sherry, our guide. We started out taking rickshaws (which I assure you all is very humane, quite possibly even more humane than those horse drawn carriage rides downtown). It was a really nice way to see the city, very calm and relaxing.

After riding around in the rickshaws for a little while, we got to visit a quarter house (a sort of old fashioned house with a courtyard in the middle) and drink tea and talk to the guy who owned it. He said that during the olympics some friends of the athletes stayed with him, which was cool.

After that we went to a famous resturant in Old Beijing, which was excellent, then to a kindergarten to visit some of the little kids. This was to show us what the orphanage was like.

We also went to the Temple of Heaven, which was very cool. It was less crowded than some of the other tourist sites which was nice. We saw some people dancing and singing in the park...just relaxing and having a good time. I think group dancing in the parks is more of a typical culture thing here, compared to the US.

Then we went to the markets. It was an experience, I'll tell you that! Tong Tong saw a t-shirt that had a picture of "Aoteman", a chinese superhero on it. He LOVED that shirt and pretty much went crazy over it. We bought it for him, and when we got back to the hotel he put it on right away. After that...things got a bit out of control... He ran around, saying, "Aoteman! Aoteman!" for maybe an hour or so. Wow.

--Ali

Church Service and touring day 2-Great wall and acrobatics show

2008-11-02T07:23:00.006-06:00

Dad and Tong Tong at Great Wall
With friends in travel group at Great Wall

Acrobatics show

Wow. Another long day of touring. We started out going to the Beijing International Fellowship Church (at least I think that's what it was called). The service was AMAZING. You had to have a foregin ID to get in but most of the people there do live in China, they just are citizens of another country like the US.

This morning Tong Tong set out clothes for himself-the stuff he was wearing from the orphanage. He misses it there even though he and my mom are becomming very close. He is "trained" very well, like a little soldier; he is very used to doing everything for humself.

After that we went to the jade factory which was okay. All the people here love Tong Tong. Our guide bought him this little Chinese hat and he loved wearing it. He is very popular with everyone he meets but he is very shy, so sometimes he just sort of hides and wants to be by mommy. He is very close to her already. Today he even gave her a kiss which Lee Lee got a photo of.

Then we went to lunch which was very good. And after lunch we headed to the Great Wall. It was very cool. And very big. The pictures you see of it are don't give you a good picture of how it actually is, I think. It is very steep and has lots of stairsteps everywhere. It is hard work to climb up it and only me, my dad, our friends in our travel group, and, guess who, TONG TONG made it very far. Of course Tong Tong was carried when the steps were too high for him but he kept on just wanting to keep on going and going and going. Even when we wanted to stop for water he kept on climbing like, "Come on, guys, I want to see more!" He loves being outside.

We went to dinner after that, and then to an acrobatics show, which was very cool. Also weird. We were all struggling to stay awake. Tong Tong stayed awake through the first act which is more than I can say for Caroline. :-)

We are all very tired now. We barely have a spare second the entire day. I don't know how Tong Tong handles it so well. He is so sweet.

We are all off to bed...

Love, Ali

Touring- Tian'anniman Square, Forbidden City, Imperial Gardens, Summer Palace

2008-11-01T06:20:00.006-05:00

At the Imperial Garden (Forbidden City)
Summer Palace with Aunt Lisa!

James is such a happy boy!

Today was a packed day of touring! James did so well-he was such a little trooper! He didn't really like the stroller, though, so he was either being carried by my mom or walking himself the entire time. He has been smiling and laughing (we got our first couple laughs out loud today!) nearly constantly the entire day. He even ran up to my mom and hugged her.

Everywhere we went it was incredibly crowded. I don't think James had any idea how big the world actually is-the mass of humanity shocked him. People everywhere were staring at us, and a bunch of people wanted pictures with us. James was very popular everywhere we went, everyone wanted to talk to him. We also saw a little baby with the split-pants poop in the middle of Summer Palace which was pretty funny!

For dinner and lunch James ate a TON of food. He wasn't as thrilled as he was at McDonald's but he sure is a big eater!

We have met up with my Aunt Lisa, as well! It was so nice to see her! She met us at the Summer Palace and will be with us for the next couple of days.

James just got out of the bath, which he took without complaining at all. He has the funniest expressions! Now he's lying in his crib, happy as a little clam.

Tomorrow is another day of touring!

Love, Ali

James' First McDonald's meal

2008-10-31T07:10:00.004-05:00

For dinner tonight, we decided to go to McDonald's-it was either that or the same place we had gone last night, so we decided to branch out :-). James absolutely LOVED it! I swear, that kid ate about 4 packets of fries, 6 chicken nuggets, and a whole ice cream cone-more than any one of the rest of us! He was laughing and smiling the whole time-he crunches up his nose in this really cute way when he eats (see above!)

He's beginning to show more of his personality, too. He's a very happy camper, at least for now. He was sad when we walked back to the hotel, but he went to bed with only moderate whimpering. He's doing so well. He is very, very brave.

Well, we're all really tired...so we'll be going to bed soon...

Love,

Ali

Introducing...James Sitong!

2008-10-31T04:37:00.004-05:00

Our first glimpse!

Holding a picture album we sent him a few weeks ago

We gave him a new picture album, too!

James likes cars!

Shaking Caroline's hand while she videotapes

Here are our first few pictures of James! See below for more and an account of the day! (The pictures are in chronological order, from top to bottom.)

Love, all of us

Wecome to the family, James Sitong!

2008-10-31T03:58:00.004-05:00

In the VIP room at the orphanage

Tong Tong in the lobby showing his cars to his friends.

Before we got the photo taken...He was a little queasy from the car ride!

Drawing in our hotel room

Eating fruit snacks

It has been a beautiful day. I started out the morning opening my bible to 1 Samuel 1:27-

I prayed for this child and the Lord has granted me what I asked of Him. It was so amazing that it began that way.

He seemed happy at the orphanage. I think he didn't know what was going on. We started out in the "VIP" room, signing papers and such. Then little James walked in! From that point on there were lots of pictures, and we gave him a backpack filled with toys and books. As we were leaving, 20 or so of his friends came out and said goodbye to James. He held his new cars up to them and said something in Chinese. We then got into a van and went take a photo for more paperwork. In the car, he got really quiet and sweat was dripping down his face. Our guide said a lot of the kids get carsick. We went to take the photo and he was getting sad and started to cry a little. She said he said he wanted to go home. He is being so brave or trying to be strong and hold it all in. He keeps wiping his eyes and whimpering. He has not has a full out cry yet, he is extremely restrained, especially for a three year old. Every time his eyes get wet, he rubs them right away-he doesn't want anyone to see how he feels on the inside. We spent the afternoon on the bed playing and he let me rub his back most of the time. It seems to be hard for him at times...he must miss his friends.

I think he is attaching to me. When I left to go to the bathroom, he started whimpering even more.

We are calling him Tong Tong, which is his nickname, for the time being. Tong Tong is very quiet and shy, at least right now. He loved playing with the Cheerios book our friend Jackie got him. He also will repeat words after you say them, very quietly.

We are so thankful for all of your prayers. We sure do feel them and we are filled with joy today. I think it will be McD tonight to celebrate. Tomorrow is touring.

Love, all of us

We have arrived!!!

2008-10-30T04:46:00.006-05:00

View outside hotel room window

View outside hotel again-people on those bikes with the holder thing in back

At the Beijing airport

After a veryyy long day, we are now in Beijing!!

This morning we drove to my Uncle Joe's house, since he was our ride to the airport. We were very happy to find that our sweet cousins Joey and Meg had stayed home from school to wish us goodbye! Our Aunt Coll and Aunt Kathy and Uncle Joe were all there as well. We had such a fun time and it was nice to see everyone and hug them all one last time before we leave.

At the airport we got through customs, security, etc without a hitch which was nice. The plane ride was really long (well, obviously, but it seemed longer than I had thought it would be). The food was mediocre at best and inedible at worst...but I mean, what do you expect from airplane food? We also went through customs at Beijing very smoothly, which was nice.

We met our guide and she seems very nice as well...

We just got back from a Caurfore (sp?), which is like a Chinese wal-mart. Let me tell you, that was an experience in and of itself. People miss around frantically in this HUGE store, all getting a million different things. The meat/fish section was huge and they even had this big tank with all these fish that you could pay a guy to kill for your dinner. We didn't get much-just some pop and water, but WOW it's in places like that where you can tell you're in a different country!

We get James tomorrow around 10 or 11 am (which is 11 pm Thursday night your time). We are all very excited...Please pray for James as this will be a very scary thing for him.

We are all very jet lagged and I'm not exactly sure I'm talking sense in this post, so, until tomorrow....

Love, Ali

We Leave tomorrow! YAHOO!

2008-10-28T19:13:00.004-05:00

Our phone has been ringing constantly for the last 3 hours or so with all the people wishing us goodbye! We will miss you all so much while we are gone-please keep us in your thoughts and prayers!

Our house seems to vibrate with pre-travel energy. We're all packed, for the most part (um...about that...) and we have nearly everything set to go. We depart around noon tomorrow-less than 24 hours!

Just an FYI: We aren't sure how readily we'll be able to access the internet (or this blog) while we're away, but hopefully everything will go smoothly. If we do run into problems, please just be patient, and we'll figure it all out eventually.

It's hard to beleive that we'll be with James in 64 hours (at least, I think that's how many hours, but this whole date/time change is incredibly confusing, and there's just no way I can figure any of this out...)

I'm so excited to meet my brother!!!!

!!!!!

Love, Ali

The Blessings Continue!

2008-10-26T22:07:00.008-05:00

Well my dear friend Peggy surprised us and brought Ali and I to the Steven Curtis Chapman Michael W Smith United concert Saturday night. It was truly one of the most amazing shows I have ever been to (maybe it is because of where our hearts are right now! :) . What a way to kick off our journey! It couldn't have been more special and we loved it, and how neat that the show was a few days before we leave. Steven Curtis Chapman has a huge heart and ministry concerning the orphans in the world. What are the chances he would be in town right before we left! It was certainly sad as Steven talked of his recent loss of his precious daughter in the tragic accident, but again he talked of the hope we have in Christ. It was a beautiful night of worship, one we'll never forget.

2008-10-23T19:31:00.003-05:00

One week from now we are in China!

2008-10-23T19:13:00.003-05:00

Wow! What a week it's been-it is actually hard to grasp that this day is finally almost here. I think it set in when I was setting up the doctor's appointments for James. Unfortunately I made them for the Monday and Tuesday right after we get back, those were the only openings that first week and I want to get all of these appointments made. The doctor said it is not going to be a fun appointment. We will try to make it fun with candy. We have been so blessed the past week. Caroline's soccer team had a surprise party/shower for us and got all the things for James bedroom! We were so overwhelmed with their kindness. We love our soccer family! Our small group gave us a send off with prayer (and laughter!) and a target gift card. Mike's coworkers had a shower lunch for James and he has some totally adorable clothes and great cars and trucks! I feel like it is all the final details are coming together. Our visas arrived the other day and we will have our travel meeting this week also. I don't think I am sleeping well with all the excitement. I am reading a great book- Saving Levi- I highly recommend it for adoption readers. AND my sister in China has come into contact with the author and is actually having dinner with her tomorrow-How cool is that! Next week we will finally get to hug James in person!!!

Ali's epic pre-travel experiences

2008-10-16T18:24:00.000-05:00

Hello All

Well, as you may know by now, our entire family is going to China to get James. We are so blessed that we get to do this!

One of the main concerns my parents had about us going to China was us missing upwards of 2 weeks of school. However, we talked to my teachers awhile back and they were all very supportive of me going.

Fast forward to yesterday, when I needed to get my advanced absence form signed by the dean. After sitting in her office for a very long while, she finally called me in. I explained the situation to her and asked her if she would authorize my absence. However, she said she would not, because our school absence policy is that if you miss more than 10 days per term you will fail that term (I will miss thirteen days of 2nd term while in China). She basically said that it was not going to happen.

She called my mom, and left a message, then told me that "she would talk to the principal" and I should "come back during lunch."

As I walked to my next period class, I wasn't sure what to do. I wanted to cry, or throw up, but I still had 3 hours until lunch. I prayed that God would give me strength, courage, and patience...

I was called out of my class about 15 minutes later by a security escort (Because, even though I am a fine, upstanding citizen and all, apparently my school considers all its students to be potential delinquents. Whatever.) As I walked to the dean's, I was just praying, "Please, God, make everything be okay, I need You here, God, help me out, I'm afraid, give me courage..."

When I walked into the dean's they told me that they had made an unheard of exception to the absence policy, and that they would let me go. I was so happy, so thankful to God-he answered my prayers for patience and that the deans would make an exception!

Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?" -Matthew 14:31

God answered me immediately. He rescued me from my doubt.

Praise Him!

--Ali

19 more days...

2008-10-10T10:37:00.000-05:00

Our travel dates got changed-now we're not leaving until the 29th. We were a little disappointed about not getting to travel with some of the people in our group, but I guess we just need to remember to trust God's timing. There's a reason for this-we just might never know about it.

I hate waiting. 19 more days-it's closer than we've ever been, but it still seems so far away. I just want him to be here, in our house... He's my brother and I want him home.

My mom has been starting to get James' room ready. The plethora of little boy clothes and playthings is almost alien to me. With my father being the only male in this household, we don't see much of those!

***

It's funny how different some of these kids look from their referral photos. Little kids change so fast... It makes me wonder if we'll recognize James. Even the three photos we have of him are vastly different from one another.

***

That's all, for now, folks...

Ali

James, your family is anxiously waiting too!

2008-10-04T15:53:00.000-05:00

Time for this little boy to come home...He looks sad in this photo which is his passport photo. We are all dreaming of little James now- I think all of us here have had dreams- and some pretty goofy! We are getting his room ready and as we hear he loves cars, we are going for a car theme. Mike wants to run a train around the top of his room on a shelf! WOW- I have seen it done in a restaurant, but in our home-cool dream big and if that works, I have some other projects for him as well! Counting the days in anticipation of our journey to meet James and bring him into his family!

TA! We're going to China!!!

2008-09-30T21:49:00.000-05:00

We got "the call"! The exciting third in the series of "calls"! So funny, the phone rang and I said to Claire I wonder if it is America World...Claire went over to the phone and started screaming! I had a little trouble hearing at first with the excitement, but Kristen said she had good news! Our tentative dates are October 23- November 7! Wow that is so quick...I knew it was coming, but that is a little over three weeks away! I have been feeling so unbelievably thankful with God's blessing lately on this whole journey. He has met us every step of the way and has poured down His presence in so many parts of this journey. We are pretty certain He has even made it possible for all of us to go to China. I remember when we first starting praying about adoption and the financial cost of it seemed impossible. I remember when we really believed God was calling us to this, stepping out in it and having the faith that God would provide. It shouldn't amaze me that He has provided everything we need..but it still does. How great is our God!

Where is James...

2008-09-20T21:18:00.001-05:00

James is in an orphanage in Beijing and I have seen some photos of the orphanage recently and wanted to show them. It appears to be a pretty large facility and cares for children of all ages. James has probably received our care package in the last few days. After you receive your approval you are allowed to send a package. Our orphanage currently doesn't allow much to be sent, but we were able to send a translated letter, photo album, and a disposable camera. It was fun to compose the letter to him and tell him how excited we are to have him in our family. I had to remember I was writing what would be read to a three year old. I was also able to send 20 photos of his new family and some activities. I did send one of the snowstorm and hope it doesn't scare him because actually all of that snow started to scare me! It will be great to have him familiar with us. The disposable camera will record him in his environment now. Those photos will be precious and I cannot wait to see them. I hope to have some photos of him with his nannies who I know love him very much. That will be so great to have because it will probably be the only photos I have of James in China. The first photo is of the neighborhood outside the orphanage. The days are getting long sometimes as I just want to bring him home! I pray each day his heart is being prepared for this big transition into our family and all the changes ahead. I know our hearts are being prepared as we wait and dream of the days ahead.

RA APPROVAL!!!!!!!

2008-09-08T22:07:00.000-05:00

WOW! We received our official approval from the CCAA to adopt Lu Sitong (James Sitong) today! We can officially share his photo! It was great and of course unexpected, even though we were on day 87 of waiting! I was at my sisters painting and helping her get her house ready to sell. First off let me say I have been in search of 3 year olds just to see how big they are what they do and say...cause it has been a while! Funny I never came across a three year old until today! A friend of Coll's stopped by with twin boys who had just turned three and so I got a glimpse of that age again...of course it made me have such longing to get James home! What a gift to receive the call from our agency right after that with those thoughts of James fresh in my mind! So we are absolutely thrilled. I called Mike and shared the news and we decided to pick up Chinese and I didn't tell the girls. Ali saw the chopsticks and place mats in the dining room and went kind of wild following me around asking what was up! Claire just couldn't understand why we were eating in the dining room with chopsticks and place mats when I had said we were having leftover pizza! Mike came home and brought out the food and it was a wonderful celebration and we are so incredibly blessed and thankful to God for this precious gift! We are filled with joy, anticipation, thankfulness...What an exciting day and now on to the flurry of things to do in the weeks ahead!

Olympics

2008-08-25T22:46:00.000-05:00

WOW! Lisa sent some great photos of the opening ceremony and has had a great time in Beijing working on the Olympics. She is looking forward to some time off to relax after working very hard for such a long time! We can't wait until she arrives home. It has been almost surreal to watch these Olympics and think of our son in Beijing and the fact that we should be actually going sometime in fall...who would've thought!

NC Vacation...Luna Pops!

2008-08-25T22:15:00.001-05:00

We had a wonderful vacation in sunny North Carolina! Our weather was so beautiful everyday and it was just so great to have family time. We ate a lot of shrimp and the highlight of the trip for most was Ali catching a shark! We were fishing off the pier and as we were buying the bait there was a big poster of all the different fish. I said if anyone catches a shark I'll pay them $20...I guess money is a great motivator for some of us! I was originally worried about taking the trip because I thought we may be traveling to China shortly after, but that doesn't look like it is going to happen. Before vacation I went on a frenzy of painting...I was feeling like if there was anything I wanted done I better get it done now, because once our little James is home I won't be doing any of those projects! I painted both the girls rooms, the kitchen, and the family room. I am feeling like I don't want to see another paint brush for a long time!

James Sitong

2008-07-27T21:37:00.000-05:00

My brother finally has his American name: James. His name was breathed from the book of James..."care for the widows and orphans"...

I would like to take credit for this name idea. So would Claire. But, whichever of us came up with this name first [ie me], our sweet brother, who has been "Lu" for so long, finally has a name that will suit his new culture, his new family, his new life.

But while we wait here in America, James remains immersed in his own culture. There, he isn't "James" or "Jimmy" or "Uncle Sam". His Chinese name is Sitong, and while we want him to adapt completely to his life here, we know that some bit of him will always be in China...three years of us apart from each other are sure to leave their mark. We can't and won't force him into a new identity by "changing" his name.

James Sitong. A piece of self, a piece of China past, and a piece of family.

I love him so much already. I think about him often...as we all do.

Love and peace,

Ali

Now we wait...

2008-07-17T22:40:00.000-05:00

What we are waiting for now is a RA, an official Referral Acceptance of our family to adopt Lu Sitong. That comes after the CCAA views our dossier and all of our documents. After that we wait for TA which is Travel Approval. An email sent said the typical time from RA to travel is 7-9 weeks. So my mind is spinning and I feel I have so much to do! It's hard to believe it is becoming a reality. It is also harder to think of him in the orphanage. Claire and I went online looking for photos of the orphanage or possibly him in another photo. We saw some photos of the orphanage which was pretty exciting. Also Ali shared with me the other day that she has been writing letters to her brother! Wow did that touch my heart!

We have a Referral!

2008-06-13T23:34:00.000-05:00

WOW! This certainly came quicker than we ever dreamed it would..In some ways this has been going on a long time, but we have been prepared for the wait of 2-3 years. The call came in the afternoon and even though chances were it would be a girl...(I have felt in my heart it would be a boy!) Mike was at the Cubs game (huh? the Cubs??) the excitement could not be contained-and so I gave him a quick call to let him know what was going on. I gave him some details and when he came home we talked more about it and prayed God would give us clarity on whether to go forward. I had to get in touch with doctors to review his medical file. It amazes me how God worked all these details out. I was able to get in touch with our pediatrician and a wonderful cardiologist in MA and he did a review of his file and gave us all the information to help us understand the heart condition. The medical file is not that detailed, but God provided such peace that this was indeed our child. His name is Lu Sitong and he will be three on June 30. He has a repaired heart defect and we will have him evaluated when he arrives home to see what follow up needs to be done. We were given a short biography and a few photos. Some other details: "Little Sitong is outgoing , active, naughty and handsome. Sitong likes to play cars and fondle admiringly whenever he gets them. He also likes to play with other children. He brings a lot of happiness to others." Our kids are so excited and all of us have fallen in love him. We have been praying for this child for nearly 2 years and it is truly amazing how God has woven our hearts together during this time. Now putting a face to our prayers and thinking of him in the orphanage we want to bring him home now!

Walking by Faith

2008-06-03T23:10:00.000-05:00

A friend sent me this devotional and it really spoke to me at a time when there were so many questions about how this would all work and what it would look like in the end... In so many ways it is a step into the unknown, but knowing God is guiding it makes it safe. It was about wanting to know whether this really was His plan. Stepping out when you don't really know what the road will look like. Having to trust with no guarantees about what the end result would look like. It spoke of God calling us to obedience without really showing us the path we would travel or what the end result would be...kind of a test would we obey without a road map?

"You see, I have not learned to trust God in the easy ways of faith. I have not learned to trust God by reading a book or listening to a great sermon. Nor have I learned to trust God by hearing how my friend trusts God. No, I am learning to trust God by stepping out into an adventure of obedience and discovering for myself that He is trustworthy. "

Obeying when God hasn't revealed the steps along the way or the final destination is challenging. But when we choose to walk by faith and not by sight, God gets all the glory in the end because we KNOW we couldn't have done it on our own!"

Why Adoption?

2008-05-14T20:54:00.000-05:00

We want to write this blog as a record of the journey God has taken us on and His faithfulness along the way. I want our child to read this and be able to really see our great God in their story. This journey began in our hearts long ago but it began to take flight in December of 2006. At the dinner table one night Mike and I both discovered we had conversations about adoption that day. I had spoke to my hair person who has fostered and adopted many kids. I told her how wonderful it was that her and her husband had done this. I shared the wonderful verse in James 1:27 with her...."Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and keep oneself from being polluted by the world." Mike spoke of a conversation with a man at his office that had visited orphanages in China and the heartbreak of all these orphans and this was something that had tugged at Mike's heart before. We had actually spoken of this years before after watching a documentary, but actually stepping into this and doing it was a different story! That night we spoke of the possibility of God desiring us to become involved in this. We decided we would pray about it and seek God's plan. Why not us-but there were the roadblocks-and there were many, but if God was in this He would make it happen! God spoke to us clearly in many ways in the following months! In fact looking back on my journals just prior to this I can see God was preparing my heart for something big...It seemed everywhere we turned was confirmation that this was God's plan. From the time our family was in the car all listening intently to a radio program on the orphan crisis centered around the verse in James, to the CD I received that Christmas from my sister Colleen who had no idea this was even going on in our hearts! It was a Steven Curtis Chapman CD...I knew his story and had just heard it on that radio program. I didn't open the CD until I got home because I had a feeling God would speak through it. I sat on my bed and cried as I read the story of adoption and the card that fell out "ever considered adoption?"! I smile at the creative ways God confirmed His plan and it scares me to think we may have missed this incredible opportunity. When we thought about all the obstacles, we could have said no. Thankfully the call to obedience to His plan prevailed!