June 2006

June 6 - a week in Normandy on the anniversary of D-Day. WOW. Talk about a great history lesson. The boys all got to hear first hand from many of the veterans tell first hand accounts of jumping in or driving towards the beach in their landing crafts.

We were happily surprised to see so many French flying the American flags as they remember that day that they and their families lived through. Our boys liked the "take the beach" time they had every day to charge up the sand and dodge the machine gunners nests. The top of Point du Hoc still has quite a few bomb craters that are perfect to regroup your troops in, then on to the next bunker!

The last puppy sold the day before we left for the trip! All went to good homes!

May 2006 - LID May 19!!!

All of our paperwork is officially done! Our dossier left for China, and our DTC is May 5. We got the call from CHI that our log in date (LID) is May 19! Let the official waiting begin... I think it all seems so much more real to us knowing that everything we need to do on this end is complete. While we are anxious to go meet Grace and bring her home, we know we serve a great and awesome God that has already planned all of these dates.

April 2006

Scooter and Dixie decided to help contribute to the adoption financial fund - they got together and have added four bundles of joy to our number which we will sell up the river next month. We love our dogs, talk about self-less!

Eamon turned 7 and manages to eat corn-on-the-cob and a big plate of ribs every Tuesday night at Chilis without any front teeth! Very impressive. Everyone came over to our house on the 8th and he and Tami had a joint birthday party.

We planned the KMC Christian Homeschool conference which took place the middle of April. Mark Hamby came in from the States as the keynote speaker.

I think the biggest, most significant event of the month (and their lives) was the baptism of Hadyn and Eamon. On Easter Sunday, April 16, 2006. We have been learning about the Covenant, who is in the Covenant, how do you get in it, who it's for and what it means. And what the mark of it is -- baptism. For I, the Lord your God, ... [will show] mercy to thousands of generations, to those who love me and keep my commandments. Deuteronomy 5: 8-11

March 2006

We are now the official Chinese baby-stalkers in Germany. It all started when we heard our neighbor was about to travel for their second Chinese adoption. We were fascinated... "Sweetie, come quick! They're coming out of the house and getting in the car with their little girl." We also told a woman at Chili's that we had seen her on the internet with her little (also adopted from China) daughter at Disneyland. She absolutley denied it was her and assured us that she had no pictures of her daughter on the web. It turns out, it was the lady across the table from here that was in the adoption process for the first time that had this family on their blog! How crazy is that?

God is so good. The lady with the child calmed down and actually was able to help us out a great deal when we had questions about filing paperwork from overseas!

Feb 2006

We left for the States on Feb 10th and wen't to New Jersey, Alabama and Texas to visit just about everyone we're related to. Our first stop, of course, was to get a BIG COKE with lots of ICE from the Johnny Joes. That's right, there is no ice in Europe.

Jet lag isn't so bad; it's kind of fun waking up as a family at 4:30 in the morning at Landy's house. Of course Nathanael woke up all by himself, my boys had nothing to do with it.

70 mph is really slow on these nice, huge, straight roads!

Back to Germany on the 26th! Cold soaking happens when the heater has been broken for more than a couple weeks. You guessed it, 43 degrees inside! Another reason you should always live near a brother or someone you really like hanging out with. Manfred, our German landlord, fixed the heater and the house warmed up after three long days of homeschooling in one bedroom with the door shut and the space heater on full blast!

Jan 2006

The second Annual McQuade Ski Trip to Austria was a huge success. The boys all were in ski school while I followed Jenn over every bumb on the mountain. I'll let you guess who our neice and nephew called slinky on skis. Great snow the first night after getting there! Super vacation. We kept thinking we'll need a room for 7 next year.

I know we've been saying "the paperwork is almost done" for quite some time, but we think the paperwork is REALLY almost done.

Dec 2005

We had a wonderful Christmas in Germany. We went to several Christmas markets and also caroled with our church and neighbors. We also did lots of sledding this year. We are finishing up the adoption paperwork and waiting on our clearances from Texas to come back. It seems like everything takes 12 times longer than everyone else doing this in the states! Try to explain a customs form to the secretary at the Chinese consulate in Houston over the phone! There goes another Express Mail packet, this time with a signed customs form. It's good to know that God's timing is perfect in everything and that He has known the day we'll meet Grace since before time began.

Malaga Spain for Thanksgiving!!!

We just got back from a fabulous trip to Spain. We spent a week in a great timeshare on the beach. It was too cold to swim, but the boys got in the water anyway. We collected great shells and I got attacked by a giant squid actually it wasn't giant but it grabbed onto my finger and tried to suck it into it's mouth thats when I started screaming and the boys came to my rescue.
We went to Gibraltar and saw the coolest monkeys they were jumping all over us I think I did some screaming there also.

Nov 10, 2005

Still busy with the never-ending paperwork. We picked an agency out of St Louis, Missouri - Children's Hope International. We went to the US Consulate in Frankfurt to file our I600A so we will be able to bring our little girl home from China. Our homestudy is almost completed! We have decided to call our little girl Grace. The boys are excited about having a new little sister. It seems like such a long way off until the paperwork is finished. We continue to pray that little Grace is safe and healthy, even if she isn't born yet.

Dear Sweet Daughter

As a girl I had a common dream, to be a mom someday,
My baby would have eyes of blue and hair the hue of hay.

But now my dreams have been transformed, new visions fill my head,
Now the tresses that I long to stroke are raven black instead.

And in my dreams those eyes are not so big or blue or round,
Now in my dreams they're almond shaped and colored cocoa brown.

And in my dreams my arms can stretch across enormous seas,
they reach half-way around the world and hold you close to me.

As you grow in your mother's womb, carefully knit together,
you're also growing in my heart, where you will stay forever.

And in my dreams the moment that your mother says good-bye,
I'll be right there to comfort you and hold you as you cry.

Our features may not look alike, we're different as can be,
but still I know the Father has created you for me.

And though I've not yet seen your face, or held your tiny hands,
And though we're half a world apart in very different lands,
I'll be right there to get you just as soon as God allows
But til he says the time is right, I give you this my vow.

We'll pray for your protection every day on bended knee
for God to hold you in his arms until you're here with me.

Oct 24, 2005

We continue to do paperwork!!!
We took the boys to Disneyland Paris and visited Versailles to learn more about those crazy King Louis' of France!

Sept 22, 2005

We begin our homestudy paperwork with our social worker in PA. And when we say paperwork, we mean paperwork!
We did our background checks and fingerprinting today. We are so excited to know God has this special baby to be in our family. As we begin this journey of love, we trust in His guidance and grace and perfect timing in all things.

China - Ultrasound

Our Adoption Journey Begins - August 2005

God had placed it in my heart to consider the journey of adoption. I began to pray that God would confirm the feelings I had in my heart for these children in so many countries in need of a home. I prayed God would put someone in my path to direct us in our journey. Mike and I had discussed adoption in the past, but it seemed to never be the right time. I prayed God would work to give us both the peace and desire to pursue the adoption process. God is gracious and his patience with me is overwhelming. The next day as I sat on a bench outside of church, a woman sat next to me and shared her adoption story. She later told me she never tells anyone that her children are adopted. I was overcome with emotion as I shared my prayer and conversation at church with Mike. God had been working in his heart and he had been preparing us to begin this journey of love, but still so many questions. Which country? The need is so great. We began to pursue Poland because the lady I had talked with had adopted all 3 of her children from Poland. Doors began to close and the goverment was not willing to allow us to adopt with 4 bio children in our home. We did more research and were moved by all the precious baby girls that are abandoned in China every year. We had begun our homestudy and they suggested a Christian agency, CHI, out of St Louis MO. God's grace is truly amazing!!!!!