Merry Christmas From Wolfhill

Wow, this has been a very very busy Christmas Season around here!! In addition to all the wonderful family traditions we have also been so excited and busy getting ready for our trip to China to bring home are sweet daughter Hope. She is waiting for us in Anhui Province, Peoples Republic of China at the Huainan Social Welfare Childrens Institute. We can hardly wait to officially make her part of our family.

Now for a quick rundown of the Holiday activities. On the Sunday before Christmas we all went to Harvest Time, it was a very beautiful Christmas service. We attended the Choir's Christmas program a couple of weeks ago and it was exceptional. We had a good sized Orchestra and Choir. Our new Pastor, Jonathan and his wife Janet were able to be here with us for Christmas and both participated in the service. Janet has a beautiful voice and sang a solo part on Oh Holy Night...I got chills...really beautiful. We are so thankful for our church.

We also attended Sunnie's Christmas Program at school. Now that will really get you into the Christmas Spirit!! Caleb plays JV Basketball as well as filling in on the varsity team from time to time, Bradley and Ben are playing Junior High Basketball so we seem to spend a lot of time in the gym! Tyler is still in elementary school and their games are later in the year.

My Step-Dad was able to spend Christmas with us this year and that was so nice. His power went off during the ice storm in Oklahoma and it was quite a while before power was restored and he just decided to stay for Christmas...that would have really pleased my Mom.

We traditionally have our Christmas together on Christmas Eve...I love Christmas Eve. We are all looking forward to next Christmas when Hope Marie will be with us. It was a little sad knowing she had to spend another Christmas in the orphanage but we were so thankful that we at least had her picture this year. She will be overwhelmed I am sure. Sunnie Kay and Hope received a Chinese Baby Doll for Christmas that is really really cute!! I'll post a picture.

I am so thankful for Jesus. The reason we celebrate this wonderful season. On Christmas Eve when we all sit quietly together and Ronnie reads the story of His birth from the Bible I look around at our precious family and just thank Him for His blessings to us. This year we all thank Him for Hope...

Merry Christmas

Becky

Winter Night

As you have surely heard by now, we have finally received our adoption referral. It’s a girl! She is just what we asked for in a process that started nearly three years ago. She was three years old on December 12 and she is beautiful. I’m sure that I am a little prejudiced, but she really is the cutest little girl I’ve ever seen since my other three daughters were that age.

We had hoped to use part of her Chinese name, and had waited until we learned it to finalize the decision. We had already decided on the first name of “Hope” about a month ago, and waited for the referral to see what she was named in China. Well, it looks like that may be difficult. Her Chinese name is Huai Dong Tan. We have decided on calling her Hope Marie, and are still thinking about the Chinese part.

It is the meaning of her Chinese name that brings a tear to my eye. “Huai” is the name of the orphanage that she is in, and the words “Dong Tan” mean “winter night”. Apparently, she was found on Dec. 14, 2007 and was judged to be two days old, so we can assume the she was discovered on a winter night. It breaks my heart to think about what her China mother felt like she had to do. I don’t judge her because I don’t know what it is like to live in a country that has been haunted by famine, war, and poverty. In truth we have decided to keep that unknown Chinese mother in our prayers in the future.

There is probably no season and time that can seem so bleak as a winter night. Those of us blessed to have a home, and family and loved ones waiting for us around a warm hearth should be very thankful. Can we even imagine the anguish of a mother who felt that her life and future were so bleak that she would give up a precious daughter? I believe however, that the Chinese mother had some degree, however slight, of hope. Hope that her daughter would be cared for, and hope that some loving family would take her child into a good home. We consider it an honor and a privilege to be part of the answer to that mother’s hopes and perhaps prayers for her child.

As we approach the celebration of Christmas this year the whole world seems to be in a dark, bleak, winter night of war, turmoil, suffering, fear, and anxiety. The one whose birth we celebrate came to bring light and hope to the world, yet multitudes choose darkness, and multitudes still wait to be told of the Gospel, the “good news” of Jesus Christ. We pray that in this holiday season all who read this would renew their hope in the promises of Christ, and especially that any who have not yet responded to Christ’s Gospel would do so.

Also, please pray for us to be able to complete our journey, and bring home our little girl whose name will be changed from “ Winter Night” to “Hope Marie”.

Ronnie

Population On Wolfill To Increase By One Beauty!!!

I am sure most of you already know about our daughter but we wanted to post her beautiful little face here too!!!! We are so blessed. We should be going to bring her home in 5 to 7 weeks depending on how fast things like travel approval from China and Visas and American Consulate appointments get here. You know we waited 2 years but it was well worth it. When we first saw her face we forgot all about the wait.

Becky

Adoption Update!!!!!!!!

It's getting close. The referrals from the China Center of Adoption Affairs in Beijing have arrived in the USA. This months referrals are especially exciting since.......WE WILL GET OURS THIS TIME!!!!!!!!

On Friday our Agency CCAI will call with the wonderful news. We will be waiting by the phone as calm as a cucumber. ( now who believes that??? ) When the call comes they will tell us her Chinese name, what Province in China she is in, a little about her health like weight and such, oh yeah and the most important thing HOW OLD SHE IS!!! Her age is a real mystery. According to the rules in China they try to match older parents with older children ages 3 to 6 years, but you never know sometimes they will not have an older child and will match you with one much younger. One thing is for sure....we do not care!!! She will be our daughter if she is 6 months old or 6 years old and we will love her with all of our hearts...we already do. While we are on the phone with them they will scan her picture to an email and in a few minutes we will see her precious face for the first time.

By the way for those of you who do not know we have chosen half of her American name!! Click on this link *Our Little Secret* and see!!! And then this link to read the other posts on China Hope

We are so thankful to the Lord who led us to this wonderful place in our lives, who we trust to go with us through every step of our journey to our little girl and give us the grace and wisdom to raise another daughter for Him.

We are also so thankful for our daughters Misty, Carmen, and Bethany who totally support their crazy parents..... crazy parents who love them more than they will ever know.....

Ronnie and Becky

Happy Birthday TYLER!!

We love you Tyler. Happy Birthday!!

Caleb, Bradley and Sunnie where in the world did you leave your smiles??

Aunt Bethany, Tyler, and the newest part time Wolfhill resident Buddy "Romo". Buddy is showing off one of Tyler's favorite Birthday gifts a John Deere toboggan.

Tyler and Buddy worn out after such a wild and crazy party!!

Happy Birthday Tyler! Today is Tyler's birthday. He is 11 years old and just a "tad" taller than most guys his age. We love you Ty and are soooooooo proud of you. We had the usual type of Wolfhill birthday party, hamburgers, hotdogs and lots of cake and pie. Early in the afternoon Caleb suggested to Ronnie that Tyler needed some chocolate pecan pie for his birthday. (Ty does not like chocolate pecan pie but Caleb loves it ). Needless to say...Ronnie cooked some pies!! Misty made Tylers favorite cake so he was a happy and just ignored the pie business.


Happy Birthday Tyler

We love you


Ronnie and Becky

My New Camera & Adoption Update

Hopefully we will have more pictures and video to post soon. Ronnie bought me a new camera last week and I love it. I am still learning to use it. It is a Cannon A570. Several months ago I dropped my other camera and the screen broke which meant that I could not change any settings on it. Even though I could still take pictures for a while it eventually stopped working all together. I'm going to be very careful with this new camera and try to make it last longer than a year!!

I think we may need a good camera very soon....since we will be traveling to China in JANUARY to adopt our long awaited little girl. Late next week we should be getting a call from our Adoption Agency CCAI. We will know about 24 hours ahead that they will be calling with our referral information, they take the time to translate and verify all information received from the China Center Of Adoption Affairs before notifying families. I appreciate that extra step that they take, even though we have to wait an additional day. Our agency Chinese Children Adoption International is wonderful. The wait has been hard and they have been compassionate and have kept us informed throughout the last 2 years. When we first began the adoption process the wait time from getting your paperwork logged in with China until your match with your child was made was about 6 months and about the time we got logged in the wait started to increase. Our date is December 9, 2005 and we will have waited almost 2 full years from that date to be matched with our little girl. We are so excited and ready to see her precious face and to learn her history. We are especially curious about how old she will be. We are finishing her room this weekend and will post pictures ( taken with my new camera!! ) soon!

Becky