Saturday, July 31, 2010















From the front row of a funeral service to the back row of an airplane on the way to China...all within 3 1/2 weeks! And boy do I mean "back row".....we are flying during peak travel time to China and it was going to be double the ticket cost to sit any closer to the front of the plane. SO, packed in like sardines, we will board the 16 hour flight and, thus, my labor pains will be starting :)
SO hard to believe it has been 3 weeks since the middle of the night phone call and mom's passing. 3.long.weeks. I feel as though I am still recovering physically, emotionally and spiritually - yet we have a HUGE life changing event in 5 days!!!! SO, on we go. Day by day. One foot in front of the other.
We cannot wait for Sweet Norah! Those precious cheeks and sweet brown eyes. We're coming for you!!!!

Monday, July 26, 2010


China Trip Itinerary (tentative)

8-6-10 (Friday)

Arrive in Hong Kong around 8pm their time

8-7-10 (Saturday)

See Hong Kong

8-8-10 (Sunday)

See Hong Kong/take train in the late afternoon for Guangzhou

8-9-10 (Monday)

Gotcha Day!!!
8-10-10 (Tuesday)

Sign adoption registration

8-11-10 (Wednesday)

applying for passport,

8-12-10 (Thursday)

Local sightseeing

8-13-10 (Friday)

Local sightseeing

8-14-10 (Saturday)

Physical exam and TB test

8-15-10 (Sunday)

Local sightseeing

Finish filling out forms of visa application

8-16-10 (Monday)

Receiving your child’s passport

8-17-10 (Tuesday)

Visa application goes to the American consulate in the morning.

8-18-10 (Wednesday)

Swearing ceremony at the consulate and sign DS-230

8-19-10 (Thursday)

Take train back to Hong Kong

8-20-10 (Friday)

Fly Home!!!!!

Sunday, July 25, 2010



We are movin right along!!! Hard to believe 2 weeks ago I was planning my mom's funeral service and calling all our family and friends; and 2 weeks from now we will be just waking up and preparing to meet our NORAH!!!! Today has been quite emotional in many ways. This is my midpoint between 2 life changing events - one incredibly sad and one of the happiest. My prayer right now is that God would use each moment of each day to heal my heart and prepare for a sweet 2 year old who's life is about to change forever.

The pictures are of Naomi and Evangeline, her cousin 4 weeks older. Yes , we will have 3 girls all the SAME AGE and same grade in school!!!! E spent the night with us this weekend and the girls had a blast. It was fun and felt so natural. Love that girl. She is a mini-me (of her Aunt LeeLee)

I miss my mom. I am sad she won't be at the airport when we land back home. I am sad she won't be dropping in with new little handmade gifts for the kids. I am sad my stepdad is lonely. I am sad my grannie had to bury her child. But I know without a shadow of a doubt where mom is. She is with our Maker.....whole, healthy, happy, complete. That's all the hope I need or could ever want.

One foot in front of the other......

Monday, July 19, 2010


Before I forget all the events of this past week, I want to take the time to recount each day - for my memory and giving you the opportunity to see God at work in even the hardest of moments.
12:30am on July 10, my stepdad Roger called me from the ER asking me to come right away. Typically (often) when mom goes to the ER, I try my best to come but not always can. Roger made it clear I needed to come right away. In my sleepy state, I told him I was on my way, thinking Joel was home and could stay with the kids. Well, as I walked around the house looking for Joel, I realized he was out of town camping. I started making phone calls and as I was more and more awake, I realized this was serious and that my mom may truly die. I called my aunt, her sister 13 months younger, and she drove straight to the hospital. My brother also went right away. I called Joel's mom and stepdad to come over so I could go, praying and pleading with God to let me see my mom alive one more time. I also called several girlfriends, whose husbands were also on the camping trip, hoping they could wake their husbands and one of them would bring Joel home. After 30-45 minutes of calling all the guy's cell phones, one finally answered and Joel and his buddy Jason were on their way back. It was a 2-2 1/2 hour drive, so again I was pleading with the Lord to keep my mom alive until Joel could make it up to the ICU. As we waited in the ICU waiting room, my dear friend Becca came (2am by now) and so did Jay's wife Lindsay and his buddy Eddy. We also called the SEC minister on call to come and pray with us. He was so kind and we are so thankful he sacrificed sleep to be with us in such a hard time.
The doctor came out a few times, informing us she was continuing to code and that the best heart rate they could get, on 5 BP meds, was 32/20. In my heart I knew.....but there was that glimmer of hope. Finally, after 4 hours of her being unstable, the nurse came out and told us we should come back. Again, I knew......
Seeing my mom, lifeless on the bed - hooked up to all the IV's (4) and seeing the respirator do all the work for her, feeling her cold hands, stroking her blood-stained cheek, I knew....
Somehow the Lord gave me the strength to ask my stepdad and brother if we should simply let her pass, not allowing anymore "codes". We all knew as her heart rate was dropping by the minute, that it was a matter of moments before her heart would stop again. We all agreed that she was not in that body anymore and decided to let her pass in peace, with all of us around her. 2 minutes later her heart beat for the last time. My stepdad, my brother and Lindsay, Joel and I, my aunt and my grannie were all present in the room. It was sad and hard and tears were shed.....but there was a peace that I have never felt before in my life. A peace that my mom was instantaneously whole, healthy, happy and most importantly with Jesus. We spent several moments in her room, crying, hugging, touching her. Then we all went out to the waiting room again and within moments we were in a circle praising God for his goodness, even in the midst of death. I was never in my life more thankful for Jesus than at 4:30am July 10, 2010. His death gave my mom eternal life - knowing this was not the end but only the beginning was all the comfort I needed. I miss her so bad it hurts and knowing she won't be there when we get off the plane from bringing Norah home makes me cry so hard I can barely breath. But my emotional pain is nothing compared to the years of sickness she endured. And now, no more sickness. Praise Jesus.
All day Saturday was spent answering phone calls, sending messages to loved ones and making the arrangements. It's a little bit of a blur but I know God sustained me and I give Him all the glory for carrying me through this valley.
Sunday Joel encouraged me to go to worship with him. Though I was hesitant, feeling so emotionally vulnerable, I decided I would not want to be anywhere else. So we went. I don't remember much of the sermon, but I do remember the 30 minutes of worship we had following the service and, though most of it was sung through painful tears, again I praise God for His Goodness in the midst of my weakness.
Monday we met with our dear friend Dale, who performed the service. We prayed, cried and recalled many memories about mom. We also shared that the most important words Dale could share with our family and friends was the Gospel - and boy did he preach it at the funeral!! So thankful for his God-given ability to share the love of Jesus.
Tuesday we had visitation from 2-8pm and I have no idea now many people came out, but there was never a moment without someone by my side, sharing memories, hugs and tears...many, many tears. Though we had originally planned to close mom's casket, at the last minute we decided to leave it open and I think that was a good decision - a lot of her friends appreciated seeing her and having that time of closure. By the end of the day, I was exhausted but so thankful for each and every person that came. We felt so loved and supported and it was good to see all the different chapters of mom's life represented. It made me sad in a way that I did not know parts of mom's life (she loved to dance, was diva-ish as a child - neither of which I ever knew).
Wednesday was the funeral, the day I dreaded but once it came, I again had a peace that only can come from the Lord. Our friend Donna came to watch the kids and we headed over to the funeral home. My brother and I spoke at the service and we had beautiful music (Brooks). It was a service that honored mom's life and, more importantly, Jesus. It really was everything we could have wanted. Saying our final goodbyes was not easy and as the last song was sung, the painful tears returned. I wanted more than anything for that moment in time to freeze - I did not want to get up from my front row chair, I wanted to stay there forever......but it was time to say goodbye and thank those who came. So we did just that. Our sunday school class provided all the food at my aunts house and we spent several hours there in the afternoon, eating, crying and sharing even more memories. It was so nice to have all my family and most of my dear friends right there. The love of Jesus was all around me.
Thursday, Friday and Saturday we spent cleaning out my moms house. She liked to buy things and save everything, so it took us all 3 days (with lots of folks coming to help) to straighten up the house and make it a nice home for Roger. It was very healing and Jay and I enjoyed seeing some of our childhood toys, pictures and arts and crafts. Though Saturday afternoon brought a level of exhaustion I have never had in my life, I am thankful that we were able to take care of this before boarding the plane to China (19 days from now!!).
My biggest prayer request right now is that God would help to prepare my heart to transition from one of the hardest times in my life to one of the best times. I cannot fathom how I will be able to do this -but God knows, He cares, He loves me and none of these events have caught Him off guard - He knew it was all coming. He will never give me more than I can handle, and I am resting on that promise as I put one foot in front of the other.

Monday, July 12, 2010

It is with a very heavy heart that I share about our weekend. Friday night (early Saturday morning), my mom Jo Anne, passed away. She had been struggling with a lot of sickness for the past 12 years and 4:30am July 10, her earthly body was traded for a brand new one in Heaven. Though the night was traumatic in many ways, her last breath was peaceful and surrounded by her close family. Praise God she has no more sleepless nights, pain, sadness, shunt mal-functioning, diabetic issues and plain ol' "feeling like crud" days. My tears are simply tears of sadness as we will miss her immensely. There is also a part of me that shares her joy in her new life. I have never been more grateful for Jesus and his death on the cross than at 4:30am Saturday morning. We sat in the ICU waiting room and prayed and thanked God for the hope we have and for Jesus and for the new home Mom has, one of perfection.

Please pray for my stepdad Roger and my little brother Jay as we get through this week and the months and years to come. I get choked up when I think about getting off the plane from China, walking through the gates with our new Norah - and mom not being there to give us a hug and meet Norah. But she will be there in spirit.

Friday, July 09, 2010

Waiting......
can be so very difficult. I feel like we've been in this state of "waiting" since December.....and, well, because we have. Waiting on our referral then our paperwork to head to China then to hear from grants then for more paperwork to be accepted then to hear back from China then to get approval for Norah and now for our travel approval. One stepping stone to the next. Now that we are on that final stepping stone before the bridge is gapped, it is SO HARD!!!! We want our sweet Norah Lei.
Tonight I took the kids to our Chick Fil A for a free meal tonight - all 3 of us were dressed up like COWS!!! No pictures were taken, as you can imagine it was humiliating :) But we all ate for nothin and it was lots of fun!! For several years now I have walked the mall in the morning, before the stores open. I have met the nicest lady who owns the pearl booth. She is from Hubei China and has really taken to Naomi. We talked tonight about Norah and she reassured me to come and let her talk to her and translate for me. She is very excited for us!!

Our dear Friends Brian and Heather got their TA (travel approval) today. We are hoping and praying we get to travel together and are hopeful we will get our TA next week then we can all book our consulate dates and move forward with our travel arrangements. They have waited for 4 YEARS for their sweet Mei Mei and we could not be more excited for them. What an honor to be on this journey side by side. Both our girls will need surgery when we return home and we'll continue to walk side by side :):)
Have a great weekend. I plan to take some more pictures soon!!! :):) What's a post without some pics??

Saturday, July 03, 2010


Joel and Nater-Bug

An incredible crab Andrew caught - BEAUTIFUL

Needless to say, it took a long time for Naomi to warm up to the sand
Thought I'd share some more pictures from our May vacation, yes I know, it's been months now - but I love looking back and smiling all over again as I remember that week.
Joel is off work all week next week. We are havin a staycation.....not much on the agenda and we love it!! Naomi does have an appointment with her cardiologist and it takes the two of us (and her doctor) to hold her down for the testing.......I always get nervous and a little anxious before these appointments, they truly remind me that her heart is really sick and it makes me sad. But I am thankful for the words in the New Testament in the book of James that tells us to consider it "pure joy" when we face trials of many kinds. Somehow in someway the Lord will redeem her sick little heart - and use it for His glory. That's all the comfort we need.
We are almost 1 week into waiting for our travel approval!!!! Average wait time is 2-3 weeks but I have this feeling it might come Monday - not sure why or where it comes from, but I guess we'll see) , so we have a little bit more time to wait. We have been pricing airline tickets and finalizing our hotel choice. I have not even thought about packing yet......but we'll get there. The girls' room is almost done - pictures soon!!
Happy 4th!!!