A very special day.

Today was magical.

I won't ever forget it.

Extra big thanks to the Kuenzi family who took all our pictures for us!

And to the Andersen family who took video.

SUCH a gift you have given us, and more importantly, you have given Abby!

AND thanks to my momma and Marc's parents for being there with us this morning to celebrate!

Our support team!

I won't ever forget looking down the long haul and seeing my two boys and Abby hand in hand running towards us laughing.  And it was Meili who met them first and she scooped up her sister with gusto!

 My first look at my daughter.  Wow!  What a sight.  So big and strong and gorgeous.

Somethin' very very very special about this girl.

 Cannot even tell you how happy I am to have my man home!

 They are all mine!  Never in a million years did I ever imagine.  Wow.  Wow.

 Our family of 8.

 God loves me through these people.  Muah!  LOVE them.

 Abby and her grandparents!

 

Abby and her MorMor!

 When the other two kids came home, I couldn't wait to get HOME.  But this morning at the airport....I could have stayed all day.  It was so special!  Abby was such a joy and just every detail was so special.  

 My love is home.  Thank you, Jesus, for carrying us through these last 16 days!

 Alas, it was time to go home.

Earlier this year, God told me that there was still one extra seat in my van and He had another child of mine to put in it.  It was a surreal moment for me today as the kids all hopped in the van and it was FULL.  

God is amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 Home sweet home, Abby girl.

 Thanks for the sign, sister Bubba.

And the next chapter begins.......

Show me your ways, O LORD,

teach me your paths;

guide me in your truth and teach me,

for you are God my Savior,

and my hope is in You all day long.

Psalm 25:4-5

Tomorrow, I love you, you're only a day away!

Tomorrow morning (in 11 hours to be exact) a fast and furious seven and a half  month journey comes to an end and a new journey begins.  Couldn't be prouder of my China crew and I am sooooo in awe of God for how He has orchestrated all of this. 

 It seems like it was just yesterday that it was Easter Sunday and on the way home from church my husband said, "It is time, we need to adopt now."  And tomorrow morning he will walk off the plane holding his baby girl in his arms.  He will be holding Abby, her father's joy.

Thank you sooooooooo much to all of you who have prayed for us through this journey.  

Thank you for your encouraging notes, emails, and messages. 

Tonight, my heart overflows.

May Abby have on her

"a crown of beauty instead of ashes,

the oil of gladness instead of mourning,

and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair."

She "will be called oaks of righteousness,

a planting of the LORD for the display of His splendor."

Isaiah 61:3

He is a God who redeems.

Amen.

Merry Christmas

A father to the fatherless,

a defender of widows, 

is God in His holy dwelling.

Goes sets the lonely in families.

Psalm 68:5-6

 

 

Adoption.

The most messy beautiful picture of what God came to earth to do.

Today we celebrate Jesus' birth.

He was born so that we may live.

He was born so that we could be adopted by Him and live forever in His presence.

 No matter what we FEEL like today; whether we FEEL blessed or FEEL really bummed, regardless, we SHOULD feel LOVED.  Because each of us who are His children are deeply deeply loved by the Creator of the universe!!!  He adopted us and we are soo sooo sooo loved.  

Adoption is helping to continue molding my idea of what Christmas is. 

For a sweet beautiful little 4 year old girl from China, adoption changes everything.

And for those of us adopted into the Kingdom of God, our adoption should also change everything.  

His birth changes everything.

May God's deep love for us change us.

Today and everyday.  For His glory.

Merry Christmas.

 

Six days to go.....

It has been a remarkable year for my parentals.
They had/have three daughters.
And each of us have given them a grandchild this year!
My youngest sister had a baby in May.
Ofcourse my baby is coming on FRIDAY!!!!!!!!
And just yesterday my middle sister, whom I affectionately call Bubba Hubba, gave birth to a BEAUTIFUL girl.  Her name is Finley Faith.  Don't they look soooooo great!  Oh, she is sooooo cute.  And soooo loved!  And that makes a perfect TEN for my parents.  Finley is their 10th grandkid.  Wowzers!

The crew in China continues to have so much fun.

This morning they got to do my most favorite thing in China; they went to church.

Amazingly, my little firecracker Abby sat pretty still through church so they could all enjoy it.

Back here at home, the time seems to pass quickly.

We have lots and lots of projects to fill our time (Jorie made this pillowcase for Abby to match my quilt for her.) And mostly, we are just resting.  Trying to be as relaxed as possible so we can all get fully recovered before our boys and baby sister come home!

Six days to go before this incredible little lady moves home!!!!!!
Just really am in awe of God that He would bless us with her.....
Wow.  He is soooo soooo sooo good!

What a week!

What a week!

The boys were off to China and the remaining 4 of us took our positions laying flat on the couches in the front room here at home.  All four of us were sick.  We stayed that way until Saturday morning when my sister, the doctor, came over to check us all out.  Then she gently said to me, "Get your sick butt off the couch to take your sick son to the hospital.  I am admitting him NOW."   I am the older sister and generally I like to tell her what to do....however, this time I followed.  ;)

 And so, room 4527 became me and Levi's home for the next 6 days.

Praise the Lord, all 3 Skipper boys in China were healthy and able to carry out their duties of going to get baby sister!

At 1:20am on Monday morning I was awaken in room 4527 with the best Face Time call ever.

Getting Abby had gone very smoothly and she was back in their motel room with them.

PRAISE THE LORD.

I will never forget that Face Time call.  

She took my breath away.  And my boys....my boys were soooo sweet and still with her.

 

She was very stoic and somber with them.

 

 Until they took her down for dinner....

 In the middle of dinner, Marc said, she suddenly emerged from her shell!

  

 And she has been pure joy ever since.

Funny, giggly, a teaser, sweet, smart, meticulous.  

She is INCREDIBLE.  And she IS a Skipper.  God is so amazing.

 

 They are having an absolute blast with her and everything is going so well for them over there!

Being in the hospital with them going through so much over in China (albeit all going so well) and having 2 sick sick sick kiddos at home that I could not take care of.....was really hard.

 But, the Lord provided me with some heroes that helped carry me through.  I felt so so so weak emotionally in the hospital, that truly, these heroes felt like God's love and presence in a real tangible way.

Hero number one.

My sister.

I will be frank.  If it wasn't for her, Levi could have died.  She is an INCREDIBLE doctor.  INCREDIBLE.  Not only was she incredible in the way she managed his care but she also gave me my only night away from the hospital to get a few hours solid sleep at home one night.

  

 Hero number two.

My mother.

 My mom stayed at our house and cared for my sick two girls the entire week.  

What a priceless gift!  She is a gem.

 Hero number three.

My oldest.

This girl is a servant.  She stayed with me the whole last day in the hospital and helped care for Levi.  And since coming home last night, she has continued to help me with him in every single way.  I woke up late this morning to her caring for Levi AND fresh warm banana bread coming out of the oven.  She's amazing.

 Heroes number four.

My friends.

They brought me coffee, treats, stayed with Levi so I could run home and shower, and most importantly, covered us in prayer and encouragement.  

Only silent tears of thankfulness is what I can say about them right now.......

I don't understand why all of this sickness and drama had to happen at this time.  But I do trust the Lord.  And I am in awe of how He showed up and loved me through it through my heroes!

 

 The boys have finished up in Abby's province and are safely in Guangzhou, where they will finish up their trip. 

 

 We are sooo thankful to be home from the hospital where we will all continue to heal from our sicknesses and begin to prepare to be a family of 8 in just seven short days!

 What a week!

To Thee,O LORD, I lift up my soul.

O my God, in Thee I trust.

Psalm 25:1

And they're off!

Well, the last few days have been crazy making several "last minute shopping" stops and getting the boys' three suitcases all filled up with just the right things....A couple months ago, thinking about packing, I was just at a blank as to what to send for Abby....my almost 4 year old daughter who I know NOTHING about in terms of her likes and dislikes....But, this week as it was time to finally put it all in the suitcase, I had so much fun packing all the miscellaneous things I had been gathering for the last several months.  I felt like it really came together.  I cannot wait to see what her likes are and what she enjoys playing with!

 

I searched the house for lightweight books that her brothers and daddy would love to read to her.  I had so much fun thinking about all of them when packing!

And then alas, today came.  Just 7 months and 5 days since God told us she was ours....

This morning I dropped these handsome dudes off at the airport and they are finally on their way for an adventure of a lifetime!  My two prayers for this trip is that it rocks both my boys worlds and God uses this trip for His glorious purposes  AND I pray that it will always be a very very special part of Abby's story to her, that is was her dad and brothers who first overwhelmed her with their love.  

 

As for my emotional state.  Today I am doing pretty good.  I am consumed with peace which I can ONLY attest to God's perfect peace which surpasses understanding.  I definitely feel like God has told me to stay home and ofcourse that helps with my peace about being here.

This week in thinking about this trip, I felt the Lord lead me to pray for the boys to be hemmed in by the presence of God...you know, how the Israelites were protected by the presence of God in the cloud and in the fire that went before and after them....my prayer has been the same for my boys.  And then yesterday the lyrics of this song by Chris Tomlin, Whom Shall I Fear, really caught my heart and it has since become MY song, especially over these next few weeks!  I LOVE how it talks about God going before us and after us and it praises His faithfulness.  It is so my heart right now.  Amen and amen!  Love it!  My prayer is that as you listen to this song, you will hear the Spirit whispering His love for you into your ear.....that you will also hold onto His promises with all the hard stuff you are going through.  To God be the glory!

I would love to ask you to specifically pray for our family's health.  Yesterday morning Levi and I got very sick with high fevers.  Today, I am much better but Levi is still really sick and now Jorie and Mei also have joined the sick club.  The only people that haven't gotten it yet are the 3 travelers.  yikes.  Please pray for those of us at home to heal quickly and for God's protection of my 3 handsome dudes' health!  Thank you soooo much!

Thank you for praying for my family!

1 Thes. 5:24

 In regards to our adoptions:

Someone this week told me I was brave. 
There really is just nothing about that word that resonates with me. 
I don't feel brave.
People want to put so much credit onto us.
Whether its good or bad.
Either they say we are "foolish", "crazy", "what's wrong with you?"...
...or they say we are "amazing", "brave", "heroes"....

It's all so ridiculous.

This morning I read
"The One who calls you is faithful and He will do it."
1 Thessalonians 5:24

Yes! Yes!  Yes!
He is soo soo soo deserving of our obedience.
He is faithful.  He will never ever lead us astray.
So when He says "Go."  We must go.

So, no matter whether people say we are brave or foolish.
It doesn't sink in at all or make any sense. 
Because it's not about us.

Its ALL about Him who called us.
Him who is so completely faithful.
And He will do it.

 Praise, Jesus.
Amen.

It's been 7 months.

7 months ago today I saw this picture.

I read the attached paragraph that told me a scant amount of info about her sweet little life.

And that's all I needed to see and know.

An overwhelming amount of peace filled me and in my heart I knew she was my daughter.

Wow, what a whirlwind it has been.

Last week I was at the extreme level of excitement.

This week it has become more surreal.

 

And the enormity of it all, frankly, is a bit overwhelming right now.

I am in a bit of a zombie state as my brain and my heart try to make sense of all that is happening, all that has happened (what has happened in her life and our lives that has brought us to where we are today), and all that is about to happen....  

 

A very well meaning person said to me this week, "You must really like 'projects' since you keep getting more and more kids to help."  Knowing that she was speaking out of naivety helped me to reply gently, "They are not projects.  They are real children.  Real children that have lived a life of hell.  Real children that desperately need to know they are loved.  And they are now my children.  They are real people." 

 

I have known she was my child for exactly 7 months.

But my heart has not connected with her until the last several weeks.  The paperwork, and life in general, has been too fast and furious for me to  have the time to dwell on her. 

 And this week, that is pretty much all I am doing.

She is my baby girl.  

And she needs to come home.

I really hope that my heart can relax a bit when I see Marc holding her on FaceTime.  

We will see.

In the meantime, there have been some smiles around here.

The other night, while I was up late working on her quilt, Marc sat close to me and was practicing saying her name as he listened to it repeatedly on Google translator.  Oh man, I think I cried, I was laughing so hard. 

The only thing I have packed so far is her clothes.  And before I packed them I laid them all out to show Marc so I could give him the necessary instructions.

Oh man, that was funny too.  Dressing his daughter for two weeks is going to be a stretch for him.  ;)

Can't believe its only been 7 months.

And I can't imagine it being any longer.

This is torture.

6 days till my boys head to China.

10 days till I get to see Abby wrapped in her daddy's love.

Col. 3:16

"Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you..."
Colossians 3:16

Isn't that profound?
This is the word the Lord has me chewing on these last few days.

During these days when life FEELS GOOD and I am not drawn to bow at the feet of my Savior as much as I am when life feels hard.....He keeps whispering to me Col. 3:16.  He wants us all the time....no matter the circumstances.....He wants His word to "richly dwell within" me/us.  Wow!  He is soooo good. 

What a sweet place to be in when we have the word of Christ RICHLY dwelling within us.
I want that.  Today and everyday.