Hurry up and wait!

Today is Lydia's 11 month birthday! We were hoping for our Travel Approval before the Spring Festival... that doesn't look like it's going to happen. Oddly though, I find myself unwilling to give up as so much of our process has not followed the normal channels.

We have had some very special help getting our nursery ready. We are very thankful to Aunt cheryl and Uncle David along with Josie and Emilie as well as friends Frank, Allyson and Molly. We could not have done it without you guys! As you may have guessed by now... purple is our new favorite color. Her nursery is lilac and light green.

I found this map online, it reflects our upcoming journey. The closer we get to our TA the more butterflies I have about leaving Jason and Andrew here. For the record... Jason has never wanted to go to China with us. He is my old man in a 17 year olds body. Andrew was initially open to going, however, as tennis season has arrived and he holds the #1 boys single slot he has become unwilling to compromise his hard work. He also feels an allegience to his team. So we are left to ralley friends, family and church family to assist with their supervision in our absence. Please pray for me as I am increasingly unhappy about the boys not going. It's just not natural to leave your flesh and blood behind as you travel halfway around the world!

As you may have concluded by viewing the photo of the toilet, there are a few things besides the boys to be missed. Mark and I ate Chinese last night in honor of the Chinese New Year and I helped myself to some steamed white rice. This is what kept me alive while in China the last time. As soon as I smelled it I felt like I was sitting at the Holiday Inn Crown Plaza in Chengdu!

Please know that we have read and treasure all of your kind words of encouragement and congratulations! We love and appreciate you all very much.

Remember us when you pray,

Cindy (for Mark, Jason, Andrew, and Lydia)

We finally have agreed on a name!!!

Lydia Joy Grimes

After much thought, prayer, and deliberation we have finally agreed on our china doll's name. Its both true to her origins(meaning from an ancient land in Asia) and encompasses our hopes and prayers for her Godly future. In Acts 16, Lydia was a worshiper of God, with a heart opened by Jesus to the Gospel that Paul preached (v.14), obedient in baptism, persuasive and compelling in personality, and given to hospitality and discipleship(v.40) - Hey! that'll Preach! Sorry! Anyway, she was a seller of purple before she met Jesus which implies that Lydia was wealthy(Lk 16:19) because purple was associated with wealth. Because of the costly dye involved, purple was a sort of status symbol.Its interesting that purple can also be associated in Scriptures with our sinfulness (Jn. 19:5, Rev.17:4). Interestingly, we don't know anything else about Lydia of the Scriptures; however, our prayer already is that the life giving transformation of Christ "in the heart" that the Bibles' Lydia experienced will be our own child's experience at an early age. We covet your prayers.

Mark (for Cindy, Jason, Andrew, and Lydia) :-)

Our stork has landed!!!

Oh my goodness!!!! We were out of county last night watching Jason play basketball when my phone rang. It was 8:09 p.m.!! My guess was that they needed more last minute info ... but instead she said "I have great news for you guys... I'm holding a photo your daughter!" I nearly hit the floor. I scooted back in the gym and waived Mark down from the stands and we listened in stunned shock to the following details.

She is from the Jiangxi province, and is from the Xinyu Social Welfare Institute. She was born on February 27, 2008 and was admitted to the orphange on the 28th. She entered into foster care at 1 week of age. Her most recent physical was back in August and it has her weighing 13 lbs, and 24 inches long. It also informed us that she is a mod. to light sleeper and can be restless. Hmmm..... It states she enjoys music, and laughs aloud. It also said she has a ready smile and knows strangers from aquaintences. We hope to get more updated info asap.

Our boys are beyond excited! We feel like we are in a dream because nothing has gone the way referrals "normally" go. The date on the official red seal on our Letter of Acceptence is December 25, 2008!!!!!

Yesterdays scripture on myPower of a Praying Parent calendar reads...

Isaiah 65:23

They shall not labor in vain, Nor bring forth children for trouble; For they shall be descendants of the blessed of the Lord, And their offspring with them.

Our hearts are full... we love you you all very much! Continue to remember us when you pray.

And by the way... Jason sunk the winning basket of the game in very last second!!!

Love,

Mark, Cindy, Jason, Andrew and Delaney??? Sarah??? Rebecca??? Lydia??? Leah??? Jenna???

Dream Weaver

Happy New Year!!

We have just returned home from a great week with family in Ohio. While we were there, referrals came! It is completely likely that we will have a referral in Feb. or most likely March. It is a "twin" thing that makes me believe it will be March...Cheryl came home with Josie on March 9th, she got Emilie's referral on March 9th, and my paper work was logged in at the CCAA on March 9th. I thought the March 9th connection was complete until I realized that March 9th 2009 is on a Monday... a very likely day for referrals to arrive for the March batch. TBC......
During the past 3+ years of waiting I have had a few dreams along the way. Now before you jump to conclusions that I have leaped off the deep end, let me reassure you that I come from a family of dreamers. God himself used dreams numerous times in the Bible to reveal Himself.
So, I have decided to post a few of my dreams that I feel were from the Lord to bring comfort to us as well as reveal Himself in this process.
In September 2005...
I dreamed we were in China getting our girl and she was sitting in the box she was found in. There was a date written in pencil on the flap of the box with her birthdate. It read November 17, 2007 ( or 2008.) I remember noticing that the year was much farther out than what it was supposed to be, and this is why the year is a fuzzy detail. I was so busy telling the Lord he got the year wrong I couldn't see that He was trying to show me that the wait was going to be much longer than I expected. I noticed that when they were handing her to Mark that there was a wooden chair in the box that was sitting in a thin aluminum pan. I immediately thought to myself that she must have come from a family that cooked for living and that they did not want her to get wet (or dirty) while she was waiting to be found. The guide asked Mark what her name was and he told her "Caroline."
On December 15, 2007...
I deamed of a beautiful park in China. I noticed a young couple who was sitting in the grass crying and comforting one another. In this dream I remember having the awareness that they were grieving the abandonment of their daughter. The father kept referring to her as "Po-Po."
(There were some very personal details in this dream I have chosen to keep private, but should she arrive and there be a connection to those details, I will certainly post them as a testimony to the Lord.)
January 12, 2008
I dreamed about being led with Mark through a side entrance into an orphanage. There were babies everywhere on the floor... not in cribs. You could hardly move without stepping on them. I began to cry. Mark reached down and picked up a tiny one. I saw 2 women asleep in the far left cornor of the room. One of them woke up and I was struck by the sheer exhaustion on her face. I picked up a beautiful girl playing on the floor and she threw up on me. I remember being alarmed that it had worms in it!! I thought to myself..."as soon as we get her home we are all getting wormed!"
August 27, 2008
Not exactly a dream...
As I was in that in-between time of awake and asleep I saw a georgous baby girl sitting in a plain room with white walls. She was in a high-chair of sorts being fed a bottle. She was wearing a pink outfit with a cute pink headband.
I got out of bed thinking "was that a dream or a vision?" Later as I was getting ready it hit me like a ton of bricks! We were leaving that morning for Atlanta to complete or 3rd (yes... 3rd) round of federal fingerprints. I firmly believe that the Lord was encouraging me to remember that "she" is what this day was really about.
Now there you have it. Call me crazy or call me blessed. I know I am blessed!
Pray for us often..
Mark, Cindy, Jason, and Andrew

Joel 2:28