Catching Up - May, June, July & August

May
In May we were blessed to be able to send a care package to Leah. This is NOT an option for most parents adopting internationally so we consider it an incredible privilege. We had lots of fun picking out special outfits and little toys to send to our sweet girl. Moriah also picked out some adorable super soft fleece and my mom helped her make a blanket for Leah.

  

  Moriah and Mamaw's sewing project

 

Ready to pack the box

 

 Mailing the box

  

 Leah with her gifts from us

 

June

In June we got this adorable video of Leah playing peek-a-boo. There really are no words to describe the cuteness. Just watch!

 



 

 

 

July

In July we had the privilege of spending the day with 3 wonderful families who have adopted through our agency in Taiwan. It was so fun to visit with them and watch our kids play and laugh together. Also visiting that day were Sara and Ashleigh, two of the ladies who live in Taiwan and care for Leah. They are affectionately referred to as "the aunties" by many of the adoptive families. We loved having them in our home, as did our kids, and it was such a blessing to get to know them better, to hear about their ministry, to pray with them and of course to hear stories and details about Leah. Learning more of Leah's story and how she came to the orphanage revealed to us just how completely God has had his hand of protection on Leah since her birth. We are so incredibly thankful for his watchcare over her and that he has placed loving, godly people like Ashleigh and Sara, among others, in her life. 

 

  Our kids with Sara, Ashleigh and the kids of another precious

Taiwan Xi En family

 

 

August

In August Leah turned 11 months old. In our monthly update we learned about her newest milestones and developments.

 

1) She is a very happy baby.

2) She loves to smile and laugh

3) She can say "hi" and "bye"

4) She is standing alone and has taken a few steps

5) She LOVES music and often "dances" when she hears it

6) She LOVES books and often chooses them over toys

7) She LOVES Elmo

 

 

 

 

As you can probably imagine, waiting to have Leah in our arms is hard. Very hard. I know that God in all his goodness will not allow this difficult season to be wasted. If we allow Him, he will use it. He'll use it to make us more like him. There is absolutely nothing I can do about the waiting, it is out of my control. So...I can choose to just survive it OR I can choose to let God use it. To teach me, to mold me, to change me and to allow me to reflect more of Him. I can choose to let it be a gift. Oh I know, I'm making it sound really easy. But it's not. It's a daily moment by moment surrender of trusting in His sovereignty, in His faithfulness, of continually acknowledging that his ways are better - so much better than mine. Better than my hopes, my dreams, and yes, even my timeline. My prayer is that I can live out in my heart what I know to be true in my head.

 

 

But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. Isaiah 40:31

 

 

~Angela

 



 

 



 

 

 

Mother's Day

I received a wonderful surprise on Mother's Day....40 new pictures and 16 new videos of Leah! Oh, it made my heart so happy! (The other members of our family we're pretty happy too).Typically adoptive parents with our agency receive 5 new pictures and 2 new videos each month. However, on this our first month to receive pictures, we were blessed to receive 5 pictures and 2 videos for each of Leah's eight months. What an incredible gift.

Love those big beautiful eyes!

 

Today we happened to drive past the airport. Just driving past brought tears to my eyes and a lump to my throat as I am longing for the day that we will board a plane and finally be with our sweet girl. We covet your prayers that the process will move quickly. If you would pray specifically for us to receive our paperwork from Taiwan this next week so we can begin the process here on the state side, we would appreciate it so much.

 

She's so unbelievably precious!

 

Thanks for journeying with us!

 

 

~Todd and Angela



9,360 Prayers

780 days x 3 kids x 4 times a day = 9360. That's the approximate number of times that our children have uttered these words as a prayer to their Heavenly Father: "Jesus, if it would be your plan for our family, would you please give us a baby sister?" Just ask anyone who's eaten a meal with us in the last two years and they'll tell you. I seriously don't think Moriah has forgotten one time to pray this prayer in more than two years. She and Joshua began asking God for a baby sister even before Todd and I were quite ready to pursue adopting again. Samuel was praying this prayer along with his brother and sister before he was old enough to understand what he was asking for. What an incredible testimony of faithfulness their little hearts have demonstrated. They knew God would answer them. They never asked "why is it taking so long?" They never doubted.

To give them the good news, we presented each of them with a t-shirt (which they are wearing in the picture below) that said "Big Brother" or "Big Sister" in Chinese and English.

 

God is good. We are blessed.

Introducing Leah Hope

 

Thursday night, April 25, we got the call that we have been praying for and anticipating for a very, very long time - the call from Taiwan that would tell us that we have a new daughter! Xiao En was born on September 4, 2012, and is now almost 8 months old. We have named her Leah Hope. We are overjoyed that she is part of our family. The wait will be long before we can bring her home, but oh so worth it. Praise God with us for this amazing gift! 

 

 

 

 

 



Please pray with us that the process would move quicker than anyone expects and that we can have Leah in our arms soon!

 

~Todd and Angela