Bike riding

Grace went on her first bike ride with our family. She thought it was great fun just putting on the helmet. We ride a lot in the summers to the Bike Inn an outdoor restaurant that is right on the bike path. They have some farm animals and a sled that takes you down a hill on rollers. We usually go at nights for ice cream and sometimes there are a bunch of kids for our boys to play soccer with. The summers are so great here and we are really enjoying the warm weather. Grace loves being outside and one of her favorite things to do is jump on the trampoline. She actually doesn't jump just runs and falls down,but to her it is great fun. I am sitting outside typing right now and Grace is joyfully singing as she pushes her stroller around the yard. The stroller is definitely her favorite toy. I can't get her to put her baby dolls in it yet, but she manages to put just about everything else in her stroller.
Grace did better with greeting everyone at church this week and I think she wasn't as overwhelmed by all the people. She sat in her stroller at church again and did great and fell asleep about halfway through the service. She is slowly letting us hold her more and loves to point at everything for a full explanation of what it is. It will be such a joyful day when she is truly able to freely give us love. We continue to pray for Gods guidance and wisdom in training our children we know we are so inadequate for this task, but God's great mercy and grace continue to amaze us.

Grace's first bike ride

Birthdays,Anniversaries and Performances

Mike and I have been married 18 years today WOW!! Where has all the time gone? We have shared so much of our lives with each other and have so many special memories. Each year I look back at where God has been working in our lives to refine us as a couple and am so grateful to have such a wonderful husband to lead our family. Today was an unusually busy Sunday we all went to church then back to our house to celebrate Bekah's 2nd birthday. Sandy made a wonderful icecream cake and the frosting looked spectacular. Brent must of worked hours to get the icing design just right. It was really yummy!!! The kids had a great time playing in the warm sunshine. We were just hanging out enjoying the celebration when we had to wrap it up and head to Eamons gymnastic show. He did fabulous and we got super pictures of his performance. Of course Grace couldn't be left out so we got some shots of her doing her first headstand. We had Rob Margaret and cousins back for dinner and cake. It was another great Sunday full of worship, great food, friends and fellowship.

May 20, 2007

The Sign of the Covenant

Having spent my entire Christian life in credo-baptist churches, I never had an understanding of the covenant - who is "in" the covenant, how you get "into" it, what it brings with it and what the responsibilities are of those God has made covenant with. I understand the sign of the covenant to be baptism and as such have applied that sign and seal to our children - this day we celebrated Grace's receiving of the same. Will this baptism alone save her - no; is it a means of effectual grace to be applied to the elect - yes. God added to our number and we obediently responded in faith by promising publicly in the sacrament of baptism to pray with and for her and to raise Grace in a home that provides Christian nurture.
Does Grace believe that a table is really a table? Yes. Why? Because I told her. In the same way, she can know that Christ died on the cross for her sins at a very early age. While faith remains a supernatural gift, God can use Christian parents as human agents to frequently communicate this gift as they fulfil their covenant obligations. I expect that Grace's understanding of her savior will continue to develop, mature and be personally embraced as she grows in stature (and wisdom)!
Praise be to God.

Grace is baptized on Mother's Day

Finally home!!!!

Living out of a suitcase for more than 6 weeks is way too long. We have been back in Germany 2 weeks and are finally over jet lag. Grace is doing wonderful and is a real trooper when it comes to traveling. She loves our boys and I think it was a huge relief for her when she realized she wasn't just stuck with Mike and I. She is such a blessing to all of us and a great joy. She imitates everything we do and say and is really a super easy little girl. We are still working on her giving us love and hugs, but we know that will come with time. We are so thankful for Gods abundant blessings in our lives and this precious child he has given to us.

Our Time IN New Jersey

New Jersey

We had a great time visiting everyone in New Jersey. We took Grace to the zoo; she loved the stroller ride, but wasn't that interested in the animals. She really enjoys following her brothers around and she is really trying to talk. She says about 10 English words now. Grace is beginning to realize if you eat enough finger foods it fills you up. Her favorite food right now is french fries, but we try not to give her too many. She also eats egg yolks,bacon and of course rice. She still is happy to eat baby food because she can eat it quickly and it fills her up. She is totally attached to her bottle and gets very excited when she sees me making it. It is the only time she really likes me to hold her so I am glad we have that time together.
Grace is happy to play and entertain herself all day so we have really been trying to engage her in play which she loves. She likes to get on the boys scooter and have them push her on it up and down the sidewalk. We went to visit my sister and the boys took the canoe out on the lake while I pushed Grace on the swings. She was afraid to look up in the beginning but then really enjoyed it. She has a great time playing with her brothers and cousins. We look forward to moving back to the States so we can come and visit more often.

New Jersey

We arrive in New Jersey

We are on the last leg of our trip around the world before we head back to Germany. We arrived at the airport in Philadelphia and Grace met her Greatgrandma (Mema) and Opa and Oma for the first time. My parents had a party planned with all the relatives to welcome Grace. We are truly blessed to have family that care so much about us. The party was wonderful and Grace was definitely the star. We then went back to my parents' house and since the boys' cousins were there we had a little party for Eamon's 8th birthday. We had been in China on the actual day so it was great to celebrate now with family.

Grace in Texas April 14-19

Grace meets her Nanny and Papa and cousins April 16

Mikes parents and our sister in law and their 4 children drove out to Texas from Alabama to see all of us. We all had a wonderful time and Grace loved all the fun. The hotel they stayed at had a pool so Grace had her first swim. It was so great to see everyone and all the kids loved playing together. We pack up tomorrow and head to New Jersey to see Grace's Opa and Oma, great Grandma and more Uncles, Aunts and cousins.

Trip through Hawaii and Texas

Traveling to Hawaii and to see our boys in Texas!!!

Wow what a long flight leaving Guangzhou flying through Tokyo with a 7 hour lay over and then a 10 hour flight to Hawaii. We got Grace's citizenship done in one day spent the night in Hawaii and left for Texas to see our boys. Grace was thrilled to realize she wasn't stuck with just Mike and me. We were blessed to be picked up in Hawaii by Mike's brother's secretary's family who were our personal chauffeurs in Hawaii. We are so thankful to our wonderful friends Landy and Richard who watched our boys in Texas for the 2 weeks we were gone.

Red Couch Day

Days in Guangzhou April 9 & 10

Only one day left and we will be leaving for home!!! It has been wonderful seeing China, but we are definitely ready to bring Grace home. She had her medical yesterday so they could confirm she is healthy to travel. It was a cattle call but being in the military we were used to that. We went to the pearl market and shopped for pearls to give to Grace when she is older. Today we got the picture on the red couch. Grace couldn't understand the idea that you actually were supposed to sit on the couch. She attempted to do many other things though. She is now sound asleep and did discover tonight how much she loves pizza. We are packing tomorrow and then have our swearing in ceremony and consulate appointment in the afternoon. Then we wake up and get on a 6 hour flight to Tokyo where we have a 7 hour lay over. A 7 HOUR LAYOVER!!!! Then we fly I don't know how long to Hawaii spend the night to get Grace's citzenship then fly to Minneapolis then onto Dallas. This means jet lag!! We are so excited to see our boys, this is the longest we have ever been gone. Grace is definitley ready to meet her big brothers. She had 2 older brothers in the foster care family she was in so I'm sure she will be excited to know she is not stuck with just the 2 of us!!! She is such a joy and we are so blessed to have our precious daughter.

Kunming and Guangzhou

We found Grace’s “finding place” under the Dun Ba bridge in Kunming. It was a very busy and impoverished area. It was hard to imagine Grace’s birth mother leaving her – and we wonder how many of the young girls here have abandoned their babies. It was amazing how many of them followed us and stared. We took some video and pictures and then headed to a nicer part of town for lunch.

We walked to the flower and bird market. Lots of people selling stuff.

We packed up and left Kunming for Guangzhou early Sat. morning. We got to the White Swan hotel and walked around town. It is very clean and nice here and everyone speaks English. I feel like we are getting closer to home.

Today we went to a church in English a block from the hotel it was very crowded and we have heard that the Christian churches here are really growing. We have some great stories from people we have met.

Tomorrow is Grace’s medical appointment and paperwork day. Grace is walking everywhere but still falls down a lot. She is a real character!!! Most of the time she is happy, but she definitely wants things her way. We are slowly trying to teach her the world isn’t just about Gracie. We are enjoying Guangzhou but are ready to see our boys!!!

Kunming and Guangzhou

Apr 5 in Kunming