Generous Friends.....Again!

Call unto me and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.      Jeremiah 33:3

Earlier this week we went to the mailbox and this envelope was among other mail...mostly bills. There was no return address, no letter, and the postmark was from Pittsburgh. So, that pretty much narrowed it down to all of our family and many friends! However, I noticed the handwriting and it took me just a few minutes to recognize who sent us this not-so-anonymous gift. She is a friend from high school and has a family and just wanted to help us bring Mariah home. I was so touched and I'm honored to call her my friend. Her cover was blown due to my uncanny ability to remember weird things, like handwriting. Why do I remember such odd things? Anyhow, this time at least it paid off and I can properly thank her for her generosity.

The picture to the right is something that was handed to me as we walked into church this evening. It was in a small gift bag and it was HEAVY!! My kids were so excited to see that I got a gift and couldn't wait for me to open the package. I think the picture might be a little dark but the gift included a jar of coins, mostly quarters....and lots of them! Included in this package was a red magnet of China and the sweetest two page letter and a story about this sweet elderly woman's heart for the people of China. She apologized to me and said she hoped it would help. I was so touched as I read the letter as church began and had to leave for a minute as tears made their way down my cheeks. (If you ever make an adoption journey you will learn that emotions are at an all-time high....just like a pregnancy.) She also included a recent missionary letter of close friends that she and her husband support in China. This woman's love for China began as a child. Her story was so sweet and means more to me than she could possibly imagine. What a memory book Mariah is going to have!

I have heard, not from my agency, that the Chinese Adoption Authority was moving offices the past few weeks. Not that anyone in this hemisphere knew, but it certainly explains why there have not been many approvals for families in the past few weeks. Evidently, they do not have access to computers or phones.  

So while they are moving offices, Mariah waits. Today is our 46th day of waiting for our LOA. It is a difficult wait, but somehow we manage to stay busy. We managed to make a trip to Morgantown to see Kyle's ENT on Wednesday. That appointment created more appointments in the coming weeks...allergy testing again for one! And we have several of Ben's doctor appointments coming up in Morgantown and Cincinnati. Then there are dentist appointments and orthodontist appointments. In a way I'm thankful for these distractions but I hate that Kyle's sinuses are such a mess and that our dear Ben has so much to go through. 

I love these kids with every ounce of my being! They bring us joy!! But I'll be honest, I cannot wait for school to be over. I have their school year scheduled through the end of April. I think we may need to go another week into May. We have had a very rigorous school year and we only took off a few days for Pap Leard's funeral, two days at Thanksgiving, two weeks at Christmas, and one "snow day". That's it! We began school in mid-August. If I was completely honest, we have had school many Saturdays too. Not that they appreciated that.....especially Ben.

Jeremy and I continue to be amazed at how this process has touched not just the lives here in our little house in WV, but also the numerous family and friends that just check in to see how things are going and to let us know they are praying for us and our dear Mariah. I feel like we have become popular at church as so many people just stop us and ask how it is going. WOW! Who knew that Mariah would touch so many lives? We are forever grateful for your love and support for us.  I will say thank you but that really doesn't come close to how we feel. Your prayers for us truly mean so much. We do as for continued prayer as we finish this process.


As a result of taking a rare Sunday afternoon nap, I am still awake at 2am. But I think I am finally getting sleepy.

In closing this blog post, I would like to request prayer for a sweet adoption friend who is struggling. In the process of her adoption, after being matched, her husband got sick and passed away. As she has tried to apply for grants, she is being denied because most grant foundations require you to be married. I am trying to help her with a few grants and I ask for prayer for her as she will be traveling in about 10-12 weeks to get her precious toddler in China. She lost her husband in the summer of 2011 and has two children she plans to take with her to China.