Happy New Year from our family to yours

Trying to get a picture for our New Year's greeting was a little tricky.

It seems that our littlest had a bit of difficulty striking the right pose. Hee, hee!

Here, take a look and see what I mean.

Not there yet.

Still not there.

Almost . . .

Finally!

Happy New Year everyone!

Elijah's first Christmas home

Here are a few pictures from Elijah's first Christmas home, surrounded by love, enjoying celebrating Christ's birth. What a Christmas!

From baking a birthday cake for Jesus,










Reading the Christmas story,

Waiting patiently to open presents,

Taking time to hug the furry children,

Helping Papa,

And Teddy, too,

to the beautiful extended family celebrations at both grandmas' homes,

It will be a Christmas for our treasured memories.

The significance of the moment wasn't lost on anyone within earshot at Gram Bourke's when Philip proudly announced that Elijah should go first since it was his first Christmas home. There wasn't a dry eye to be had.

His first Christmas home, his first Christmas ever.

His first of many to come.

Merry Christmas everyone.

From our home to yours . . .

We are wishing you all a very Merry Christmas.

Celebrating the birth of Jesus is a highlight of our year, and to think that our Elijah wasn't here last year with us. Instead he was in a cold and stark orphanage receiving only minimal attention to his needs. And look what a change a year makes!

Missing and remembering our dads and other loved ones who are not here on earth this year, but celebrating with our precious loved ones who are here with us.

Giving thanks to God for our wonderful Savior - Christ the Lord!

But the angel of the Lord said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord."

Luke 2:10,11

MEMORIAL BOX MONDAY

This post is a Memorial Monday post. I wrote our first one here. Our God is so good to us. When we see Him working in our lives, we want to find a way to memorialize it just as the Israelites did. Then, because we often tend to forget about the miracles He sends our way, we only have to look in our Memorial Box to remember His goodness. The following story is a good one to remember.

Our home study is moving right along. Today is our last visit with our social worker, and then she will have it ready for review!




Whoo - hoo!




Next stop will be CIS for our fingerprints and clearance from our country to adopt from China.




But first there was this little thing about the fee that is due today.




It is a smacking $800 - which in light of how much an adoption costs from start to finish isn't that much really.




But for us . . .




Right now . . .




And at Christmas time, too . . .




It was going to be tough to come up with.




So we have been praying. . . . . . . . . . Knowing that when God leads, He provides.




We had raised part of the amount through the jewelry party Becky (my sister-in-law's sister) had given us. We were so humbled and touched by Becky's gesture and by the sweet people who ordered from her. Some people even gave us a donation instead of ordering jewelry, and that went into our fund a well. How amazing to be walking along in church or opening a card I had received in the mail to find a donation to our adoption!




Still, as of Thursday night we were about three hundred short.




Wondering how He was going to work it out.




Then the phone call came that Ted's clarinet we were having repaired to be sold would be ready by this weekend, and the profit would be a little over what we had expected.




But, still, a little short.




Then we opened up a Christmas card yesterday from a sweet family from our church. It seems they also had enclosed a check for our Sophia fund. That amount helped make up the shortage.





We will be putting a small piece of jewelry, musical note (for the clarinet sold) and a Christmas card into our Memorial Box to remind us of God's unfailing promises. Where He leads, He will provide.



What a nice Christmas surprise!

Ahhh, Christmas Memories

We had our second annual "Decorating of the Gingerbread Houses" today with the grandmothers.

We had a blast!

Some houses were easier than others to make.

Some had a little bit more difficulty than others - hee, hee!

Not naming names or anything.

It was so much fun!

Not everyone participated in the decorating.

Some played with play-doh and even put it in their mouth! Who could that be??

Having the annual "Decorating of the Gingerbread Houses"
is definitely something we should do again next.



Who knows?



Maybe there will be prizes next year!

Can you imagine?

Proverbs 24:12 says, "Once our eyes are opened we cannot pretend we do not know what to do. God, who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls knows we know and holds us responsible to act."

Can you imagine these two precious treasures not being home with their family now?

Still living as orphans?

No hope for the future?





No family to love them?

Praising our God that they are home where they belong.

When Sophia comes home, she will complete our little family!

But done fighting for the fatherless, the orphan?

NO WAY!

Now that God has opened our eyes to their plight world-wide,

we cannot pretend they are not there.

Please watch this video on Linny's site entitled "Depraved Indifference." It will open your eyes, too!

Just like it did ours as we sat in stunned silence a couple of days ago watching it. It took us by complete surprise because we thought our eyes were already open!


So, finished adopting once Sophia Lin comes home . . . YES.

Finished fighting the cause of the orphan . . . NO!

James 1:27

Want to see something that really, really makes you think?




It might just change your life.




It changes ours every time we watch it.

Click here . . .