Worship at the International Church

Today we were able to attend the International Church.  It was amazing to worship with people from 49 other countries!

Little Miss brushing her teeth.

 At the service

 Daddy and Khloie taking a walk

 One of Khloie's new techniques ~ melt into a puddle when she doesn't get her way.  It's a lovely thing.

 Occupying herself with crayons

 ...for hours

Prayers were answered today when Khloie finally said a real word ~ MAMA!
She is so quiet and only coos, and her medical need certainly could affect her verbal skills.  We've just been praying and waiting.  She's clearly very intelligent!  She picks up the baby signs immediately.  And today God answered our prayers and confirmed that she can indeed speak!
Praise HIM!

Medical Exam

Today was the medical exam.  And as a public service announcement to save others from embarrassing themselves as I did, the medical clinic has moved off the Island :)

Khloie and Daddy spent a little time together today.

 And these are the only pictures we have of the medical exam...

It is so nice to join other families and get to know each other!  We have an amazing group with so many beautiful kiddos. It is such a blessing to meet online friends face to face.

Tomorrow we will attend church together!  And it's a non-g*vernment church!

Goodbye Xi'an; Hello GZ!

Just a short post to let you know we arrived safely in Guangzhou at 9 pm!

Little Miss sometimes takes to the stroller, and sometimes she doesn't.  A stroller ride in the airport was mandatory :)

 Saying goodbye to precious Celine.  One amazing young lady! *note that Khloie does not wish to be in the stroller at this time*
It is always bittersweet leaving our childrens' province.  There is sadness in knowing they may never return, but there is also much promise and hope for their future.

 Her first flight

 It was turbulent, but Girlfriend didn't even know it!

 Our first day at the Garden.  Daddy says we could live here :)

We are off to a long day at the medical exam...then hope to pick up a few summer clothes for Miss Khloie.
Have a blessed day night!

Extravagant Love ~ A Thank You Note

Mr. Brad and Ms. Kim are doing an amazing job of caring for so many people!  And our church family is doing an amazing job of caring for them!

Kim has blogged about their crazy 'normal' a few times, and here's her latest post.

We've been able to skype, and we miss our kiddos so much, but we know they are being loved extravagantly!

THANK YOU, BRAD AND KIM AND CHURCH FAMILY!!!

Oswald Chambers says this:

Though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved. — 2 Corinthians 12:15

Natural love expects some return, but Paul says – I do not care whether you love me or not, I am willing to destitute myself completely, not merely for your sakes, but that I may get you to God. "For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor." Paul’s idea of service is exactly along that line – I do not care with what extravagance I spend myself, and I will do it gladly. It was a joyful thing to Paul.

The ecclesiastical idea of a servant of God is not Jesus Christ’s idea. His idea is that we serve Him by being the servants of other men. Jesus Christ out-socialists the socialists. He says that in His Kingdom he that is greatest shall be the servant of all. The real test of the saint is not preaching the gospel, but washing disciples’ feet, that is, doing the things that do not count in the actual estimate of men but count everything in the estimate of God. Paul delighted to spend himself out for God’s interests in other people, and he did not care what it cost. We come in with our economical notions – "Suppose God wants me to go there – what about the salary? What about the climate? How shall I be looked after? A man must consider these things." All that is an indication that we are serving God with a reserve. The apostle Paul had no reserve. Paul focuses Jesus Christ’s idea of a New Testament saint in his life, viz.: not one who proclaims the Gospel merely, but one who becomes broken bread and poured out wine in the hands of Jesus Christ for other lives.

This is our 'thank you' note to you, Smith Family, and to you, Church Family!  You are pouring yourselves out and loving extravagantly!  We are so thankful!

And now as we prepare to fly to Guangzhou, I will post a few pictures I swiped off Ms. Kim's blog of some of my Treasures back home~

We Love you!

Forget the Bottle...

...we've discovered bacon!

Yeah, who needs powdered formula when you can have pork?!?

Today we went to the Xi'an city wall and the local market.  Ready to go!

 The city wall, the most complete city wall in China.

 We tried the Ergo today...success!

 At the market.

 Wonder how much corn a guy could plant in here?

 Dumpling designs for the dumpling festival.

 Drum tower in the background

Anything you could possibly want at the market

 I've never been a fan of tea, especially the flower teas, but the wheat tea in this province is awesome!

 Drum tower

Give me a hand...er, a hoof

 Fish.  

Khloie continues to blossom.  Today she played with her toys and walked around the room.  She's now decided Mama is ok.  Girlfriend has a stubborn streak!  When we try to put her in the stroller, a high chair or down on the floor, if it's not what she wants at the moment, she protests by either turning into a noodle or getting stiff as a board.  Yep, she's 2!

Tomorrow afternoon we get her passport and fly to Guangzhou!  We won't land until 9 pm, but we are so ready for GZ!  This will be Khloie's first flight and many more changes for her.

Until then...

Terra-Cotta Warriors and Good Stuff

This picture is actually from yesterday afternoon, but I didn't think you'd mind :)  Khloie and Daddy take regular naps.

Our internet has been sketchy, and it drives me crazy!  We are staying close to the room to acclimate Khloie and gradually introduce her to the outdoors and crowds.  *Girlfriend has no idea the Krowd waiting at home*

Anyway, the indoor pool here is bone dry and you can only walk the halls so many times.  The only English TV channel is CNN, and there's only so many times ya' need to hear about the Soda Ban Failure...so we are watching all seasons of River Monsters and Man Woman Wild on Netflix. Therefore, it is a bad thing when the internet fails :)

Today Khloie did amazing!!!  The start of the day wasn't the best with a diaper blowout which caused me to strip her bed and wash her PJs and blanket, but following that she relaxed and even started chattering.  Her bouts of sadness break my heart, especially as she is so brave to try and fight through them.  Poor baby.

As always, we went to breakfast...

Isn't she breathtaking?!?

...and then we took the hour-long drive to see the Terra-Cotta Warriors.  I'm so glad we got to see this *unofficial* 8th Wonder of the World.

I'm not much of a history buff, but this is truly amazing to me!  8,000 terra-cotta warriors, horses, chariots and other relics, undiscovered until 1974.  The excavation process is ongoing, and it's fascinating.  This is Pit 1.

We have some very dark pictures of Pit #2 and 3 because somebody might have messed up the camera settings.  Yep, that'd be me! 

Kneeling Archer, the symbol of Xi'an.

 Crown Chariot #1, made of bronze, built to guard Crown Chariot #1 which guarded the soul of the Emperor when he came out for inspection in the afterlife.

 Little Bit's first taste of Pepsi and KFC

 Chillin' in the room.  She l.o.v.e.s her stacking cups!

 And finally, the picture of the day!!!!

*She was sleeping in my arms*

Please continue praying for our family (Smiths and Johnsons) back home and pray for Khloie's continued transition.  She has regressed so much it's hard to say what she can really do.  She prefers to be fed and carried, which is no problem at all.  Even though we think she can walk very well, we don't know how her vision affects her balance so we are careful.  We also realize regression is very common.  We just don't want to take any chances of her falling.  She is absolutely irresistible with her ready smile.

*UPDATE*
As I was writing this blog post I stopped to play stacking cups with Khloie and she said "Da Da!"  Then when I asked for a kiss, she leaned in and gave me one!  Be still, my heart!!!

And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.  

2 Cor 9:8