delivered!

and received "happily".

Oh my stars.

Stacy and her family just received Solomon yesterday!  And when they did, they gave a letter with MANY pictures of us in it, to the orphanage director of Emma and Solomon's orphanage.

I awoke this morning to an email in our inbox relaying the following information (oh my lands!):

Hey Mama,

We gave Emma's album to the orphanage director yesterday...she was sooo happy to see it. It was fun watching her look through it!  We weren't sure if we'd be given permission to visit the orphanage so we wanted to make sure she got it.

What an amazing thing.  To know that the orphanage staff HAS the package is so sweet. To know they are HAPPY to see it, is another whole piece of sweet!  

Our hearts are so joy-filled this morning.  So excited to know that Emma Kate will know we are coming, and will have seen us before she meets us.  We are incredibly grateful to Stacy, and thrilled this made its way all the way to the hands of Emma's caregivers.  Those that have loved her ahead of us.

SOON she will be in our arms.  

We long for that day.

It's Chinese to me!

How cool is this?!  Emma Kate's letter.  And I know what it says since I wrote it myself!

亲爱的玉晓：
你好！我们很快就可以来见你并且和你成为一家人了。玉晓，我们非常高兴能够认识你并且成为你的家人！你的妈妈，你的爸爸，还有你的两个哥哥Cooper(库珀)和Jeb（杰布）会一起到中国来见你，接你回到明尼苏达的家，永远和我们生活在一起。库珀和杰布已经上学了，但是他们都非常想看一看中国这个你生活的地方，并且他们很想第一时间和你见面，所以我们会带着他们一起来见你！路克和安娜，也就是你的哥哥和姐姐会和爷爷奶奶在家里等着我们，因为他们都太小了，不能一起来，每个人都为你能够回家感到非常开心。
等着来见你是很难的！我们已经很爱很爱你，我们大家都非常感恩你将成为我们珍贵的女儿和妹妹。
我们想给你送去一些照片，这样你就知道我们长什么样子，并且知道你将在生活的地方是什么样子了。我们想你可能也会愿意把照片给你现在的朋友们看。我知道Susie小姐和你的其他的老师们都非常爱你，他们一定会想知道你将来和我们在一起的生活会是什么样子的。我们希望这些照片会让你感觉开心，玉晓，并且也会让你的阿姨们心里感到快乐！
1．这是你的房间！你将和你的姐姐安娜睡一间房，她也来自中国！这里有一张你们的床的照片，你床上的枕头上面有你的美国名字Emma（艾玛），我们将会叫你艾玛玉晓！好听吗？
2．这个娃娃是给你的！这也是我们抱着娃娃的照片，我们会带着这个娃娃和我们一起到中国来的见你的，她就是你的了！这个娃娃的身上也写着你的名字，你的姐姐安娜有一个和你的一样的娃娃她每天都抱着睡。每天晚上我们把她塞进怀里时，我们都为你祈祷，看着你的床，请求上帝保护你安全，帮助你感觉到被爱，被保护，还有感觉自己很特别。安娜7岁了，所以你将有一个非常好的朋友和姐姐。她非常高兴你将成为她的妹妹！
3．这是一张库珀和杰布的照片，他们都会和我们一起来见你！我们大家会一起在中国度过两个星期的时间才能回到明尼苏达的家，这对我们来说将是很特别的一段时光，在这段时间里，我们将互相了解，并且让你适应和我们在一起。
4．这是你的爸爸和我-你的妈妈。我们非常爱你！我们把你的照片挂在我们家里的每个角落，我们把它们做成了一本书，这样当你和我们一起离开中国的时候，你可以永远记得你在中国的生活，还有你爱着的人们！
5．这是一张你的家的照片！你的哥哥路克站在前面的台阶上！这也是你的房子！
6．这是我们的狗狗Swede（斯维德），斯维德是一只安静善良的老狗，它喜欢躺下小睡一会，斯维德从来不叫，它非常可爱友好。我们觉得你一定会非常喜欢它的。
7．这是我们大家拿着一张你的照片！我们爱你，玉晓！
我知道你还不认识我们，这一切可能让你想起来感到有些害怕，或者你也许有很多关于我们的问题和疑惑。我们保证我们会永远好好照顾你，会温和对待你，对你好，如果你感到害怕或者难过也没关系，我们知道这是你的感受的一部分，我们想让你知道我们会照顾你，爱你，就算你难过害怕的时候也一样。我们是你的家人，我们会永远爱你！我们知道你将学会相信我们爱我们。
玉晓，我们很快就可以见到你了！
来自你的家人的爱，
妈妈，爸爸，库珀，杰布，路克和安娜

final care package...via Cali!

My friend, Stacy, is going to bring Solomon home!

We thought we would be in China together, but the Lord has decided to send her ahead of us.

Stacy has quite the streamlined packing list.  Her luggage is dialed down to essentials, and extra space is precious.

This dear woman, has, nonetheless, offered to take a little package to Emma Kate for us; delivered directly into the hands of the orphanage staff from Solomon and Emma Kate's orphanage.  Her exact words were, "You send me whatever you want to and I will take it to her!".

I will not take advantage of her thoughtfulness!  What a gracious offer and such an act of thoughtfulness.  We are blessed by the kindheartedness of friends we have met along the adoption journey.  Kindred hearts who know the meaning of a letter for a much-beloved child a world away.

So off our letter went to Ladybugs n Love From Above.  More pictures, more words conveying (we hope!) our love.  Some of it reiterates things we have said before.  Somehow I don't think you can say these things too many times.  I pray they become etched on sweet Emma's heart in a way that eases meeting us.

Here is what we wrote (the numbers correspond to pictures):

Dear YuXiao,

Hello!  We are coming to meet you and become a family very soon.  We are so happy to know you and be your family, YuXiao!  Your Mom, your Dad and two of your big brothers, Cooper and Jeb, will come all the way to China to meet you and bring you home to Minnesota to live with us forever and ever.  Cooper and Jeb go to school, but they want to see China where you live and meet you right away, so we are bringing them with us!  Luke and Anna, who will also be your brother and sister, are going to wait at home with your new grandparents because they are too little to come.  Everyone is so excited to have you come home. 

Waiting to meet you is hard!  We love you already and are so grateful you will be our treasured daughter and sister.  

We wanted to send you some pictures so you know what we look like and where you will live.  We thought you might also like to show your friends where you live now.  I know Miss Susie and your other teachers love you very much, and will want to know what your life will be like when you live with us.  We hope that these pictures make you feel good, YuXiao, and that they fill your nannies hearts with joy, too.

1.  This is your room!  You will share it with your sister, Anna.  She is from China, too!  Here is a picture of your beds.  The pillow on your bed has your American name on it, which will be Emma.  We will call you Emma YuXiao!  Isn't that pretty?  

2.  This doll is for you!  These are also pictures of us holding the doll.  We will bring the doll to China with us when we meet you, and she will be yours!  The doll has your name written on her, and your sister, Anna, has a dolly just like yours that she sleeps with each night.  Every night when we tuck her in, we pray for you and look at your bed and ask God to keep you safe and help you feel loved and protected and special.  Anna is 7 years old, so you will be very good friends and sisters.  She is so glad you are her little sister! 

3.  This is a picture of Cooper and Jeb, who are coming with us to meet you!  We will all spend two weeks together in China before we go home to Minnesota.  It will be special time for us to all get to know each other and for you to feel comfortable with us.

4.  This is your Daddy and me, your Mommy.  We love you so much!  We have pictures of you hanging all over the house.  We have made them into a book, so that when you are living with us you can always remember your life in China and the people who you love, too!

5.  This is a picture of our house!  Your brother, Luke, is standing on the front steps!  It is your house, too!  

6.  Here is our dog, Swede.  Swede is a very quiet, kind and old dog.  She likes to lay down and nap.  Swede never barks and she is very sweet and nice.  You will like her very much, we think.

7.  Here we all are, holding a picture of you!  We love you, YuXiao!

I know you don't know us yet, and this might all feel a little bit scary, or you might have many questions and wonderings about us.  We promise we will always take the very best care of you, and will be gentle and kind to you.  It is okay if you are afraid or sad.  We know this might be part of how you are feeling, and those feelings are not bad ones, YuXiao.  Those are natural ways to feel, and we want you to know we will take care of you and love you even when you are sad or scared.  We are your family, and we will always love you!  We know that in time you will learn to trust us and love us, too.

We will see you very soon, YuXiao!  

Love from your family,

Mom, Dad, Cooper, Jeb, Luke and Anna

our life in photos....or not

We are making a photo album to send off to Emma Kate.

It will be filled with photos of family life, our home, her room and each family member along with captions translated into Chinese so Emma Kate knows who and what she is looking at.

Ann, at Red Thread China, is doing the translating and compiling them all into a book to send to Emma.

We have a problem: good photos.

We actually have a lot of great photos, but out of context they would most likely give Emma great anxiety about her future life with us.  They are not great because of the perfect composition, or incredible photography.  They are special because they are memories.  Of us.  Our family and the life we love sharing together.

So how do you take this

and explain that it is the annual Father's Day water fight.  And that everyone is actually having a ball!  Even the neighbors lined up to watch they thought it was so fun and funny.  

The end result 

That just looks weird if you don't know what it is we are doing.

And then there is this

the annual 4th of July haircuts on the deck.  Each year one of the boys seems to decide it is time for a major hair change.  Last year Jeb chose a buzz.  This year Cooper went from a flippy hairdo to a short, tight cut.  Very handsome.  

Not a photobook picture, though.  Just a great memory.

We also have a bevy of images like this:

because what is beach play without burying one of the big kids in a giant sand hole?  

Probably not super encouraging, however, for the joys of family life if you don't already know how fun this is.  Looks more like a punishment than a treat!

And there is always the 4th of July Olympics, family style.  

Those look like this:

Oh, yeah.  Your Daddy has a lot of hot air.  He came in second to Aunt Kiki for the biggest bubble this year.  A prestigious placement.  She's a pro!

Besides bubble blowing we also have the sport of the water balloon toss.  It looks like this:

Really.  It is fun.  I promise!  We really, really do like each other! 

It is especially joyful to recall the fun of this lake sport:

See how that ends? 

Our family loves to play all together.  I don't know how unique or how common that is.  I just know it is us.  And I'm grateful for it.  The time we spend enjoying one another, celebrating life and making memories is sweet.  And makes us who we are.  

The annual picture of the really tall guy on stilts in the cabin's beloved small town 4th of July parade makes us all smile.  I don't think Emma would quite "get it".  Uncle Sam is odd enough, never mind a 14 foot tall Sam.  And why are the kids all crouched over near the ground?  One word: candy.

How to explain the joy and splendor of sitting on the dock and seeing who can spit a cherry seed the farthest?

Doesn't work in words.  Or pictures really.  And cherry pits?  That's strange.  Not really, though.  Not when you know how hard it is to find a watermelon with seeds these days!

It's context, people!  Good exegesis of our life in pictures.  Not really translatable in a photo book.

Soon, though, she'll be home.  Here.  With us.

And then, it all becomes her story, too.  Her stories.  Her experiences.  Our shared joys and laughter.  Life lived well together.

Soon, all the photos will make sense.  And a photo book will become a place for memories, not introductions.

Until then, we will omit these pictures, and include ones that need no translation.  Ones like this:

Cousin party.  Family love on a walk in matching dresses.  

Emma Kate, you belong.  You are so loved and we await the day you are home forever and part of all our silly pictures that record the fabric of our family life.  

Love,

Momma

Sing a new song!

Notes on Emma YuXiao:

She LOVES to sing and she sang a song for me when i evaluated her.  When I visited the Believe in Me classrooms, she was happily playing and singing as she played!  She seemed to be the song leader, and as she started a song, the other children would join in!!

Psalm 98

A psalm.

 ¹ Sing to the LORD a new song,
       for he has done marvelous things;
       his right hand and his holy arm
       have worked salvation for him.



We sing a song of joy to our King, our Rock and our Redeemer, for He has done marvelous things for us!  
Emma Katherine, YOU are a song in our hearts.
Emma Kate YuXiao, YOU sing a song to your King who put that song in your heart.



 ² The LORD has made his salvation known
       and revealed his righteousness to the nations.
 ³ He has remembered his love
       and his faithfulness to the house of Israel;
       all the ends of the earth have seen
       the salvation of our God.

When I evaluated YuXiao - she seemed very bright and quite functional.  She was able to use her hands quite well and has develped alot of her own ways to do things to adapt for the missing fingers.  The only thing she was having some difficulty with was holding the pencil, and I gave her a special built up grip to help hold the pencil.

We sing a song of joy for the Lord, and sing in hope that our joy rises like a sweet aroma before Him.  The aroma of Christ who saves and takes care.  The aroma of His faithfulness- stretching from one end of the earth to the other.  HIS earth.  Our joy made complete in watching Him care for YuXiao, and show us His care in such glorious, marvelous ways.  Her adapting and the beautiful ways she is growing.  Oh, Jesus, I stand in total awe of you. 




 ⁴ Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth,
       burst into jubilant song with music;
 ⁵ make music to the LORD with the harp,
       with the harp and the sound of singing,

Hi Sara,
Just wanted to let you know what a special girl your daughter is!!  My daughter and I became quite attached to her while we were in Jinjiang - I am so glad she is getting a forever home! 


The music of God's love, poured out for YuXiao.  The splendor of His graciousness, displayed in who she is...because of WHO she belongs to!  She is special, and beloved, and treasured, wanted and needed.  We, who thought we were complete, learning of a bigger, better, fuller completion with her in our family.  


⁶ with trumpets and the blast of the ram's horn—
       shout for joy before the LORD, the King.
 ⁷ Let the sea resound, and everything in it,
       the world, and all who live in it.
 ⁸ Let the rivers clap their hands,
      Let the mountains sing together for joy; ⁹ let them sing before the LORD,
       for he comes to judge the earth.
       He will judge the world in righteousness
       and the peoples with equity.

When I explained that I was taking a few pictures of your daughter and one of the other little boys (JianFeng) so that I would have them to pass along eventually to their adoptive parents, the staff were thrilled that she was getting a family (I don't think the staff usually find out that the kids are leaving until right before the go).  She seems to be a favorite!!!
 
We sing for joy at the people God has raised up to love His beloved little ones.  That the "least" of us- the most vulnerable and needy- are being tended in love and affection.  Jesus, make it so.  And draw those precious caregivers to you- to know the Hope they are called to in You, the fullness of being loved by You.  The depth, height and width of your love for them in Christ Jesus.  




I think of Emma Kate and hear a song in my heart.  And I know the God of glory is connecting our hearts from here to there with a song that is true.  He is even now tuning us to resonate and fit together in a song that is beautiful and full- because it is His song!


The picture of our little girl singing as she plays is such a treasure.  I am treasuring the picture that gives me in my heart.  Treasuring and loving to hold that picture.


We do sing a new song of joy to our Lord and King.  Great things He has done for us.  Great things indeed.