Marc is having a Birthday!

We contacted Ann from Red Thread China about sending a package and cake to Marc for his 5th Birthday. She contacted Dalian SWI and they told her we needed to have everything there the first week in June because they were busy the next week when his actual birthday is. They also said they would get both foster families and both boys there only if we provided a cake for both boys! So we decided to have them celebrate both birthdays! Maybe we can make up a little for lost birthdays! Here are the presents Ann picked out for us to send both boys! Marc's gifts are above and Max's are below.



The cakes are ordered and will be delivered directly to the SWI. Ann has requested that they take digital pictures of the party and forward them on to her. She will then email them to us! Then there is tea for the foster families and Ann also interpreted a letter we wrote to each foster family explaining that we are adopting both boys and they will be brothers and that we should be coming sometime this summer! We also thanked them for caring for our sons and loving them.

LOA for our TWO BOYS

Just last night Katy piped up out of the blue and said "Mommy let's get on the plane and go get Marc and Max!"

First thing this morning we had and email from our agency that our LOA is suppose to get to them tomorrow for our TWO BOYS!!!!!!!!

Were are doing THE HAPPY DANCE!!!!!!!

Now we are PRAYING FOR OUR FINANCES! This has been a giant leap of faith and we are still quite short on the funds! I know God has a plan it would just be nice to know what it is!

Earthquakes in China!

Tremor injuries 900 and they say killed only 8 people but the risks of floods increase.  I have been unable to actually write about any of the earthquake events it has just left me numb.  I cannot even image being in their situation.  I just want to sit and hug my children!

The overall death toll is in excess of 65,000 now and expected to continue to rise as there is close to 23,000 still missing.  It is just beyond words or comprehension.  All I can do is prayer for protection around those that are still living and especially for the children that have lost their parents!  I worry about the teenagers that have lost everyone as they are too old to "adopt" and who will take care of them.  To go through such loss and devastation and have no one would be absolutely horrendous!

We are so thankful our boys are not in the region affected by this earthquake!

Maria Sue Chapman

This is one more tragedy that is incomprehensible!  The Chapman family have done so much for the international adoption community it is so hard to see them loose their own child when they have helped so many orphaned children come home.  I know I have been greatly blessed by their music and ministry.

Our prayers are with this family and we ask God to especially be with the son who was driving the vehicle, bring him peace lord.  May tremendous good come out of this horrible tragedy!

May is starting out with a bang!

Dave came down with the "flu" on May 1st! Well it appeared to be the flu. He felt generally like crap, hurt all over, did not feel like eating, ran a low grade temp, etc. I was in a stretch of 7 night on at the hospital so for Thursday, Friday and Saturday I would come home from work, get the girls up and dressed, feed them breakfast and play with them a little bit then wake Dave up about 10:30 am and let him watch them while I slept for a little while and then get up fix them dinner and get them ready for bed and me ready for work. Needless to say it was exhausting.

Monday, May 5th Dave was worse, (kinda looked like death warmed over) so I called his doctor and got him in to see the doctor. He did some lab work and sent us home said it looked like the flu. Well on Wednesday the doctor called and wanted to see Dave to follow up on the lab work. I took him in, the doctor ran some more tests and then ordered a CAT scan which could not be done until the next afternoon.

Thursday the 8th of May I took Dave in for his CAT scan and we ended up in the emergency room at the hospital. It was not the flu after all it was Dave's Gall Bladder and it had partially ruptured so Dave was admitted for IV antibiotics. The surgeon said it was to dangerous to operate at this point because he would likely end up septic and he wanted to give him IV antibiotics for anywhere from 2 days to a week in the hospital depending how he responded.

Fortunately for us the good Lord was looking over him! The surgeon was amazed that the doctor had even caught it because Dave did not even have classic symptoms! Besides that he said no one ever goes this far as it hurts to much so they always end up in ER sooner rather than later. The IV antibiotics did there job sooner than expected and Dave was discharged on Saturday the 10th just in time for the Mother Days Dinner our kids had made for me.