Continuing to be Amazed

Lord willing, our beautiful daughter, Kylie, will be turning 6 in a couple weeks.  That is so hard to believe!  I am pretty sure we are getting close to her asking more questions.  Last night during dinner, our family was discussing China and her orphanage.  Kylie looked at us pitifully and asked, "Where were y'all when I was in the orphanage?"  That hit me hard.  I couldn't get the words out, but Brad told her we were here.  We were able to share with her how we along with so many people were praying for her.  She told us, "I was waiting for y'all to come get me."  I know we got Kylie in God's perfect timing, but I so wish we could have had her sooner.  I remember waiting so many years for her, praying, waiting, praying, waiting.  Kylie understands that she was adopted, but I don't think she yet grasps that she has another family on the other side of the world.  We are praying that God would give us the words to say to her when that time comes.  There are times when I cry while praying for her birth parents.  I wonder if her birth mom hid while looking when Kylie was found by the police.  The Chinese government is cruel in the fact that you can't have more than one girl without an expensive fine, plus it's against the law to abandon your children.  However, just like the story of Joseph in Genesis, what they meant for evil, God meant for good.  God made a way for us to have Kylie as our own daughter through the way the laws are in China.  God does not make mistakes.  I am so grateful for Kylie's birth mom for choosing life for her daughter, and I believe she tried to take care of her but it was hard feeding her with her cleft lip and palate.

I have so much to be thankful for.  I thank God for saving me from His wrath through Jesus Christ.  I am thankful for a wonderful husband who continues to love Jesus more each day, for my children: Karsten and Kylie who I am so thankful I get to raise, and for my 2 in heaven, Kyler, and little baby.  I know my life is not my own and everything God does is perfect.  God has a story for each of us.  He desires for us to know Him and He wants to know us.  I continue to be amazed at the One who died for me and is alive so I can live.

One Year Ago: July 28, 2010

One year ago tomorrow my family and I embarked on one of the most incredible journeys ever...traveling 8,000 miles to China to finally bring home our little girl. I can get emotional really easy when I think about how amazing God is, how he has blessed us, molded us in ways that only He could do, how He continues to teach us through the eyes of our children, and how He has used and is using our 38-week-old son Kyler, who never lived outside my womb, for His glory! If you would have asked me in high school what I thought my life would be like almost 20 years later, I would have never guessed this. Mine was always the fairytale story living happily ever after. Certainly I have learned life is hard at times and not always happy. But I am thankful that the joy of the Lord is my strength even through the storms of this life.

What a year this has been!! August 2nd will be our Gotcha Day, the day we held our princess in our arms for the first time. Kylie has taught us so much about how to live. She gives it her all no matter what she is doing! She has survivor skills from being a former orphan that makes me sad that any child should have those. She is learning a lot about the love of Jesus at home and church. We can see God working in her heart by hearing her pray. She looks up to her big brother Karsten and he absolutely adores her. It has blessed our hearts this last year seeing Karsten playing out his role as a big brother. He waited six years to do that.


I have been a Christ follower for 13 years now. I am still learning everyday about what it means to follow Jesus. Following Jesus is the best journey you will ever take. I didn't say it's easy by no means, but God will take you places that you would never expect. This is what this life is all about, being the hands and feet of Jesus. We were created for His glory, to do His will, abandoning our desires to yield to His. I was born a child of wrath, now I am His daughter. I was an orphan, but He rescued me out of darkness and into His marvelous light. God gives each of us special gifts to use for Him. We all have a calling. The last three years God slowly began planting a seed deep in my heart for orphan awareness. That is what I was learning while we were waiting 4 1/2 years for Kylie. God does not waste time. It was a long time for us to wait, but He used that long wait to prick our hearts for something more. My family and I have a passion for orphans. I know that there will always be orphans in the world, but that doesn't justify to not do something. If we just help ONE. It may not be adoption and that's okay because God doesn't call everyone to adopt. However, He does call every believer to care for orphans. Jesus demonstrated His love for us, therefore we need to do the same for others. I am humbled and grateful to be a child of the King of kings. Everything I am, have, and do is all because of Jesus Christ my Savior. May He be exalted in each of our lives!

Recent picture of Kylie


Karsten and Kylie the day after we returned from China