An Adoption Story - Coming Full Circle

Way back in the fall we were studying China. Our study was quite personal, because our good friends Karen and Bruce were traveling to China to adopt their second baby boy, Noah. I blogged about it here - it was such an emotional time for us, and we weren't even the ones making the trip half way around the world to adopt a child!

Noah is home and doing so well. He is a bright-eyed two year old, who will just capture you at first glance. Getting to know him has been a blessing, for my children, and for my husband and I. Noah is especially close to my daughter.

Watching this relationship form warms my heart! This past weekend was Noah's baptism (you can read about it on Karen's blog) , and we were honored to be Noah's Godparents.

All along I told my friend Karen how proud I was of her and how brave she was to adopt two children from China. I mostly thought how I was not brave enough to do that, but Karen told me to find any way I could to support adoption. I'm so honored I get to be a part of Noah's spiritual development and to witness his incredible life here. We also like to support an organization, Love Without Boundaries, that provides very real assistance to orphans in China.

I can't help but think there is MORE that we can do, so I'm praying about that and I'm certain God will show us a way. For now, I'm going to enjoy this time with our friends (they will be moving away in July - many tears then, I am sure) and thank God for providing a loving home for two precious children.

Our China Studies - getting personal!

Wow - we have been studying China for the past three weeks. We have learned so many interesting things. My intention when I scheduled China for these few weeks was to follow our dear friends on their journey to China to adopt their second child. I cannot even begin to express what this has meant to our family. We first met our friends a little over two years ago when they brought their first son, Micah, home from China. GMan and Micah turned into fast friends and have been best buddies ever since. In fact, Micah and his parents have turned into lifelong friends for our whole family. Micah's parents, Karen and Bruce, have a special love for children; here they are with my children after last year's blessing of the animals at church.

My friend Karen gave me all kinds of resources to share with my children as we study China - I am grateful for her knowledge and openness as they have gone through such a long journey. Tomorrow they will meet their new son, Noah. We have been following Micah's blog and it might be of interest to all of you homeschoolers out there. It is the trip to China from a five year old's perspective.

To make things even more meaningful for us this week, we found out Miss B's Sunday School teacher and her family were traveling to China this week as well - to adopt a little girl! Miss B told me all of the fourth graders made a wall of protection around her and prayed for safety in China. I was so moved by this - and clearly Miss B has been touched as well. Follow the Sisler family journey on their blog! I noticed today they had met their daughter and she ran to them with open arms when she saw them - get out your Kleenex when you read this one.

We've been watching a great BBC documentary - "Wild China" - which is giving us quite an interesting glimpse into the wildlife in China. If you click the link you can watch a short segment - you may get hooked! My children are enthralled with it. Yesterday we watched a segment about the bamboo forests and my neighbor happily cut some of her bamboo for us to examine. I think tomorrow's segment is about the Giant Panda, and we are planning to visit Zoo Atlanta next week to see them for ourselves. Another friend's husband has a factory in China and has brought us some things back from China - we will get them on Friday.

Another amazing resource (and this was purely for me, but it enabled me to learn more so I could share with my children) was a book - "Silent Tears" by Kay Bratt. Kay in an American who volunteered in a Chinese orphanage while her husband was working in China. Her stories of the orphanage will move you and want you to find a way to help these children in any way you can.

We have been blessed to have such a personal and enriching experience with this unit study. I am certain our family will never forget what we have learned, not only about China, but also about love, caring, acceptance, adoption, and most importantly - God's amazing love for each one of us.

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