About Lily Scroll down for an update!

Lisa: November 5th, 2008 – Oh Glorious Day! I got the call at 12:14! Tears flowing, barely able to see the road, I tried 8 times to get a hold of Steve. Unable to reach Steve at school, I just couldn’t help myself, I had to see the pictures! I rushed home to retrieve Lily’s pictures off the email, and the computer wouldn’t start! What a day for the laptop to give up the ghost! So… Wil and I ran next door to Uncle Greg’s house... “I need your computer!” What a relief, the email was waiting to be opened. There she was, our BEAUTIFUL new daughter! It was love at first sight. A great moment to share with Greg. I finally got a hold of Steve, but he was unable to get the email opened until 3:30. Wil beat me back to the house, running in the rain. I held Lily’s picture protectively beneath my jacket as I ran back to show Grandma her new granddaughter. “Mom! Here she is! It’s Lily!” More tears…..What can I say; I had a lot of calls to make! Steve: I was in the middle of teaching my afternoon class when Lisa got a hold of me to tell me we had Lily’s picture and records. I had to wait until class was out to look…that was hard! One of my students needed help after school so I was unable to open my email right away. Finally, I just asked her to wait a minute because I had to open my email. I paused with my finger over the “open” button for several seconds…nervous and excited about what I would see. When I saw her pictures, it was definitely love at first sight. I couldn’t help but introduce my new daughter to my student. Her response: “she is sooooo cute”. Yes, I thought, yes she is. It struck me that my student was herself an internationally adopted daughter after the loss of her parents in Africa. Sharing that moment of discovery with her seems somehow very appropriate.

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart.” ~Jeremiah 1:4-5

We feel so grateful to God that He has chosen to bless us with this magnificent gift. The journey to Lily has been long and there have been times when we wondered if we would ever get her. But we know that the Lord has promised us the desires of our hearts when we are called according to His purpose and He is faithful in all His promises. The time of waiting is nearly at an end and the time of celebration is at hand! Her documents have not yet been translated but here is what we know: She was born on April 8th, 2008 She is a deep sleeper She can hold her head up while lying on her stomach She can locate the direction of a sound or voice She can visually follow moving toys She can laugh out loud She can distinguish between acquaintances and strangers She is described as being active, having a ready smile, being fond of listening to music, fond of playing with toys, and fond of playing games We appreciate your support and prayers over the last three years. Please continue to pray for Lily’s well being, for her care-givers, and for all the travel arrangements that will soon be made. December 8, 2008 The time has come! We will begin our journey to Lily on Tuesday the 16th! Dealing with all the legal documents, making all the travel arrangements, figuring out how to pack "light" for the trip, learning how to use the new camera; we are going crazy with all the details! After 34 months of waiting we will soon hold Lily in our arms and can hardly wait for the moment when we will finally meet our little girl! We have been blessed to have another family to share this experience with, Bryan and Melinda. Their adoption paper work was processed by the Chinese government on the same day as ours, their baby is in the same orphanage as Lily, and our two girls were born within five days of each other. All of these similarities are incredibly coincidental but here is the really amazing part: despite the fact that adoptions are arranged with families all over the US and Bryan and Melinda could live anywhere in the country, they live right here in Milwaukee, OR, just 20 minutes from our house! We have been able plan the trip together and will be with Bryan and Melinda through every step of the process in China. This has given both our families a sense of comradeship and the reassurance that we won't be completely on our own in China. I suspect this may be the beginning of a life-long friendship! Thanks to everyone who has been praying with us for this day and please pray that there will be no problems with the Chinese government, no travel difficulties, and that everyone will stay healthy! Future updates will be found on our In China page, so join us there in a few days!   Is there a baby under all those clothes? Lily's first set of wheels. Before we know it, she'll be asking to borrow the keys to our wheels!

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