WE ARE GOING TO CHINA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

GW called early this morning with great news! Ethan has been cleared to be released from the hospital and the orphanage doesn't want him in their care because of his condition, so they said there's pretty much two choices: 1. Go get him ASAP or 2. Have him moved to Beijing to the China Care Home (where they would assess his condition and decide if surgery should be done now). So, we are opting for going to get him ASAP!!!! Which means we will have to leave by October 18th for our travel approval to still be valid. It was issued in July and apparently if it expires it is difficult to get it extended, which would delay our travel significantly. We are going to skip all the tourist stuff and go straight to Nanjing. We are cautiously excited and really freaking out! The first thing I thought about was not being home for Ryleigh's birthday. We are working on changing her party to this weekend. Praying all of her friends can still come and we can get it pulled off. Ryleigh is very sensitive and she is nervous about us going back to China and sad that she can't go. Please pray for her to realize that Ethan is the best present she could ever get! I am blessed to work with such an amazing group of women who were so encouraging and happy for us today! I have complete confidence in them while I am gone. Ethan will be blessed to have the best teachers in Lebanon! He's going to be spoiled and home and school! Please pray for smooth sailing and no issues at Bright Beginnings while I am gone. I am so preoccupied by everything that needs to be done but I wanted to share our news with all of our blog buddies. Thank you for all of your prayers and for continuing to remember our family.

Praying for Good News This Week

The CCCWA is open again so we are praying that we will hear a response to Dr. Tong's letter soon. We hope that common sense will prevail and the people in charge will release Ethan to be adopted to us ASAP. We also pray that Reese's referral will come soon. We are not thinking there is a chance to complete both adoptions at once, but at least we will be able to move forward and get this family COMPLETE! We had a week full of blessings... Monday morning I got to go to an assembly for all the 2nd graders who were being recognized for being the most responsible in their class. Yep, that's right, Reagan was the one chosen for her class! So proud of her!

She absolutely loves 2nd grade and Mrs. Bechtel. We are thrilled that she is learning so much and loving school! Isabella has joined FFA and she received her Greenhand degree last week. This whole world is new to us, but it was a pretty cool ceremony (except for the teenagers in front of us who wouldn't shut up) and we are proud of Isabella for getting involved. I have been very impressed with the ag teachers and so happy they can help foster Isabella's love of animals.

We were also blessed this week by some very generous people who gave us some gifts that are really helping us. We are overwhelmed once again by the generosity of friends and neighbors. We are so thankful! We are also excited about some ministry opportunities that have been placed on our hearts. We are looking into the Safe Families program and starting one at Lifepoint. God is opening doors, as well as our hearts to helping children in a different way than adoption or teaching. Praying for wisdom and guidance as we pursue.

Bright Beginnings had its 5th annual Wheel-a-Thon fundraiser and Saturday. Although it was very cold, it was a success! We have so many awesome families and so many people pitched in to make it fun for the kids! It's always fun to spend time with the families and watch the kids having such a great time! Reagan did fantastic riding her bike without training wheels! I love how all my girls and Tim help with every BB event. I am proud that this ministry means so much to them, too!

7 Years Ago Today...

7 years ago today, we saw Reagan's sweet face for the first time! Can't believe it's been that long! I will never forget sitting in our kitchen playing cards waiting for the phone to ring. Back then, parents knew that the call was coming, so Tim had taken the day off of work and my friend, Jill took care of picking Ryleigh and Brett (who I was babysitting)up from preschool. We were beyond excited and nervous and it was a very long morning. We got an email that said the package was there and we had a referral, so we knew without a doubt we were going to "meet" our little girl. When they called they told us her information and said they would email the pictures. We ran downstairs to the computer to open the pictures and couldn't believe how cute she was! Tim's first comment was that she looked like a Reagan! He printed the pictures in 16 x 20 posters so we could study every detail. We looked up her province, city, and orphanage. We had a list of people that we called to share the good news. I remember calling my friend and fellow adoptive mommy, Sheri first because I knew she would share our excitement! When Jill brought Ryleigh home, she and Brett and Jordan and Rylee (Jill's kids) looked at the pictures and oohed and aahed over how cute she was! It was such a special day! Over the past 7 years, our hearts have been changed so much and it all started with our little Reagy-rooster! So many lives have been changed and touched because of this precious child that God gave to us. She is growing into such an awesome, Godly young lady. Her school pictures are so adorable and she looks so grown up! I am so proud of her and in awe that God blessed us with her! I wish I could thank her birth parents for giving her life and making sure she was safe. I am sure they could never imagine the amazing child she is. I pray that God gives them a special peace and comfort when they think of her. Happy referral day, Reagan (Gan Po Xin)!

We have a new reason to celebrate this day now, too! My nephew was born this afternoon! Augustus Wayne joins my brother's other 3 kids and doubles the amount of boy cousin's my kids have! So glad Ben is not alone and that Ethan will have a cousin to play with! What a blessed day! No news from China. The government is closed until the 8th for some kind of holiday. We are praying the when they pass along the letter from Dr. Tong that they will release Ethan to be adopted. He is still in the hospital and still on medication, but his heart rate has been "well above 60" according the latest update. I get very sad thinking about him sitting in a hospital bed all day and night. I pray that the nurses find ways to interact with him and that they have a heart for him and try to do special things for him. It is so tiring waiting and waiting and wondering and wishing. Tim and I laid in bed last night and watched the video of him and laughed at how cute he is saying no and starting to get mad! I can't wait for the day that he is throwing a tantrum and I get to see it and deal with it! I got a taste of a great 2 year old fit today when Caysie was in my office with her mommy today. It probably doesn't make sense to anyone, but I would give just about anything to have him screaming and saying "no" to me like Caysie was to her mommy. It made me miss him. That is what I was preparing myself for when I returned home from China with him. I was ready for those moments, now things just seem quiet and lonely. God has given me the strength to keep going, though, and I know that His way is better than mine, even when I don't understand it. We really appreciate the love and support that continues to be poured out on our family. Our specific prayer requests are that we can travel soon, that our girls will be okay while we are gone, and that some or all of the grants we have applied/reapplied for will get us the financial means we need to complete Ethan's adoption. We would also love to get Reese's referral so we could possibly make just one trip to complete our family. That would be the best outcome from all of this mess! Thanks for the prayers.