Adoption Day!!!

Today was a day of celebration because we finalized the adoption of Emily and Ashley. Thanks to many of you who took the time out of your day to help us celebrate.

Six months ago we weren't sure if we would be ready for this day, but in God's kindness he has knitted our hearts together as a family, and so this morning as the judge signed the paper work, there was great joy in all our hearts as we legally enfolded Emily and Ashley into our family. You can watch the actual signing of the decree below, but I love these series of quotes from the judge as she was explaining this process to the big kids in language they could understand:

"It's like magic...Once I sign this, the department of health will issue a new birth certificate for Emily and Ashley that says they were born to your mom. Isn't that like a miracle that we can do this with papers...So if someone in the future looks them up, they will see (recorded in their birth certificate) they were born to your mom. Isn't that cool! This decree once I sign it says, 'the twins are yours forever and ever, and that can never change.'"

I couldn't help but reflect on the gospel. Once we are enfolded into God's family and adopted as sons and daughters in Christ, we are His forever and ever and that can never change.

Signing the Adoption Decree from Roland Sanchez on Vimeo.

Emily signing

Emily Signing the Alphabet from Roland Sanchez on Vimeo.

Our little girl who had no language just six months ago...

Emily Signing O Holy Night from Roland Sanchez on Vimeo.

The highlight of Christmas is the annual Christmas play that the five cousins put on for the adults. Roland used to write it and lead the rehearsals, but now the kids do everything on their own. They work hard on it for months. It just keeps getting better each year.
This year there was a new dimension as the kids tried to incorporate Emily and Ashley into a couple scenes. The most touching part of the play this year was when the big kids signed O Holy Night. Emily lights up as she sees them signing and spontaneously joined in. She repeatedly nudges Ashley to try and get her to join in as well. We all got a little teary eyed watching Emily enjoy this sweet moment.

Great reminder

Yesterday, I had a long day at work starting at 5:30 am and ending at 6:30 pm so I was gone most of the day. Needless to say I was pretty exhausted as I came through the door. I received the usual greetings from the family (where everyone lines up and gives daddy a big hug and kiss - which is always refreshing after a long day at work). I noticed two little girls missing in this line up, which was not a surprise because it was late and they were probably already in bed. LaNae told me, however, during dinner Emily noticed that I was missing from my usual spot and and signed "where's daddy". My gut reaction was to just say - Oh she was probably just scratching her head, but by God's grace, I refrained from letting my mind go there. She was looking for her daddy...

I came across this video from "Lifesong" and it reminded me of why we did what we did in bringing Emily and Ashley into our home. Watch it and at least consider asking yourself the question, "why wouldn't I?"

Let the children come to me...

Freed to Visit Orphans from Together for Adoption on Vimeo.

Mark 10:13-16 ~ "And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, 'let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God'...And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them."

Orphan Sunday: November 8th

Orphan Sunday from Christian Alliance for Orphans on Vimeo.

Would we trade our dream for His...

Here's a slide show that captures the reason why we went to the Philippines. We chose the song "Somewhere in the Middle" by Casting Crowns because it depicts the wrestling of our hearts for many months...Could we let go of our own plans for our life and embrace God's plans for us? Would we trade our dreams for His?
So glad we did...

You can also click on: http://www.photoshow.com/watch/GD7rj6WX

The Final Stretch

This clip was taken at the Inter-Country Adoption Board in the Philippines. We had some final paperwork that needed to be signed. After this final meeting we received Emily and Ashley's visas that would allow them to enter the United States.



There were many that greeted us at the airport upon our return. It was encouragement to all of us.



Life begins now as a family of seven. It's still hard to believe that this is what much of our energy was devoted to this past year.



We are so thankful that God has placed in our hearts a desire to adopt children into our family. It gives us a small glimpse into the sacrifice made on our behalf in order to adopt us into God's family.

This part of the journey is over, but the journey of God unfolding what he will do in and through this process is yet for us to see. Regardless of what circumstances we might face on this journey, I was thankful for God's word this morning in Psalm 59:16-17 -

"But I will sing of your strength; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress. O my Strength, I will sing praises to you, for you, O God, are my fortress, the God who shows me steadfast love."

Thanks to many of you also who have supported us through your prayer, finances, and encouragement. We are grateful in your participation in the gospel minstry of adoption.

Mommy and the Twins are Bonding

Emily and Ashley are both warming up to LaNae. She is definately mommy to them now. They follow her around everywhere. When she makes a move, they make sure she's in thier view. We prayed that the girls would bond with us quickly and it looks like they are. We weren't sure how they were going to respond to us, God has shown his faithfulness once again. We are also thankful again for the CSC staff for teaching Emily and Ashley how to bond with people who love and care for them. Praise the Lord.

Good-bye to Children's Shelter of Cebu.

Said good-bye yesterday to the Children's Shelter of Cebu children and their staff who took great care of Emily and Ashley for two years. The two of them were well cared for and loved by them so it was a difficult good-bye. Many tears both of sorrow and joy. We made some great friends these past few days in a short period of time. Friends we will never forget. We hope to return with Emily and Ashley one day so that they can express a heart of thanks to this team for taking them into the shelter. What an amazing ministry God is using right here in Cebu all because of one couples commitment not to live for themselves, but for him who died and rose again for their sake (2 Cor 5:15).

They're ours!

Today was our last day at the orphanage. We met with the girls' nurses and therapists. Were given very detailed reports, for which we are thankful.

Then they had a ice cream good-bye party for them. The kids and staff all sang us the song, "God will take care of you" and then the girls' house dad prayed for them and us. Had a very sad goodbye. Ashley cried and fought as we pulled her away from her house mom. Heart-breaking. She cried in the van as we drove away.
I asked Paul, the director, "Are we doing the right thing? Cuz it sure doesn't feel like it..."
"You are," he said. "We can't come close to providing what you can provide."

Trusting the Lord that He will knit our hearts together as a family.

A tear-filled day

It was a tear filled day yesterday...

Took a tour of the hospital where the girls were born and spent the first few months of life...cried that God in his loving sovereignty chose to keep them alive despite all the odds that were against them.

Imagined the mom that gave birth to them there in that dirty, crowded hospital and sat by their side, feeding and caring for them, as they clung to life for three months...cried for all the sacrifices this widow made to give them a chance at life.

Learned that their cause of deafness was antibiotics that they were given in the hospital...cried for all they will not hear.

Sat across the room from the girls' mom, a selfless woman who did all she could to keep her family together...cried because I understand a mother's love for her children.

Watched this woman hold her children for the last time and kiss them good-bye...cried as I tried to imagine doing the same.

Looked down into the eyes of a small boy on the streets as he clung to my arm and begged me for five pesos so he could eat... wept because we are so rich in America.

Streets of Cebu City

Here are some random clips taken from the streets of Cebu City.

Cebu Medical Center

This is the hospital that Emily and Ashley were born in. They stayed here for three months because they were born premature. It is the local city hospital. As you can see in this clip the care that they received would have received was very poor. God in his grace allowed them to live so that we would have the privilege of adopting them.

Meeting the Girls for the First Time

Here a few clips that capture what that first day was like with Emily and Ashley.

Road to the Orphanage

From the Airport to the Orphanage

We landed at the Cebu airport at 1:30 pm on Monday and had a 40 minute drive to the orphange.



I captured this picture of these children sniffing glue at one of the street corner. Very common here in Cebu.

Cebu!

We met our new little girls today! It was better than we could have hoped for. They are beautiful. The kids blew bubbles with them right away. It was a great ice-breaker. Emily and Ashley would dip the wands into the bubbles hold the wand out for the big kids to blow on. This went on for at least 20 minutes. Before long Kailyn, Cade and Claire were holding their hands, walking around with them, even carrying them and feeding them. Ashley was trying to do Claire's hair-trying to put it in a pony tail.
We were told that the package that we sent them had not arrived, but it had! Praise God for small surprises. They had the teddy bears we sent them and the little family photo albums. We were told that they carry our picture around everywhere. They even had received the sign language DVDs that we sent. The other kids and the house parents were all signing "mom" and pointing to me and "dad" and pointing to Roland.
Praise God for so many answered prayers!
I will post pictures soon...

The Journey is ending…or is it just beginning?

Kailyn wanted to express her thoughts regarding this whole adoption process. This is her very first blog entry.


It seems as if our adoption hardships are behind us… endless stacks of paperwork, sleepless nights, frustrating conversations, tear filled weeks… For more than a year we have gone through the joys and trials of the adoption process. We have seen God’s hand provide in a hundred ways. He has tested our faith past what we thought was our limits. It is an amazing thing to go through something like this and watch God work in numerous ways, all the while testing our faith and refining us to be more like Him.
Paperwork, hardships, frustration-those seem to be fading. Comfort seems to be just on the horizon. A year long journey seems to be coming to an end. But is it really ending?
Bringing Emily and Ashley home is a dream that won’t seem real until June 18th. But there’s also reality…rambunctious toddlers, dirty diapers, constant signing… Part of our adoption journey is ending-the journey that began on June 1, 2008. But it won’t end when Emily and Ashley are home. There’s another kind of journey that’s just beginning.
In fact, all of our Christian life is a journey. One filled with pain and heartache but also tremendous joy and hope. This journey won’t end until we see Christ’s face. He is calling all of us on this journey- to live for Him and His Kingdom. That was one of the reasons we started this adoption-to advance God’s Kingdom and give two girls an opportunity to learn about the salvation that Christ offers.
Adoption takes energy, time, and money. To do it is a sacrifice but God only gave us these things so we can show that He, and not these things, are our treasure. We have only one life to live, why don’t we spend it doing something worth living for?

When Waiting is Painful

Came across this encouraging post from the Together for Adoption blog, and it expresses much of the roller coaster ride we've been on this past year as we have waited on God's perfect timing to bring our children home.

Plane tickets

After spending much of the day on the phone, I was able to get tickets for all of us to leave next Thursday...It was a crazy day. First, the travel agent said there was not space available for all of us and that we would have to fly home on different fights with an 8 hour layover in one city. He said that the twins' one way flight would be more than double our round-trip fare.
But, we saw God work in it...By the time I was ready to purchase our tickets this afternoon, we were all flying on the same flight with a max. 3 hour layover and the twins' tickets were one-third of what he had quoted me a few hours earlier.
Praise God for more answered prayer!