2014
has been an eventful year for us...The Fab Five now! I think it’s safe to say we never have a
“boring” year. On March 16, we welcomed
a very handsome and courageous 9 year old boy into our family. He’s gained two
new sisters/mama and baba/new friends, moved countries, learned (and reading!)
a new language, had major surgery to realign his ankle bones…and the list goes
on and on! He’s had so many “firsts” I can’t even begin to name them all. He’s
so brave- truly!
Abigail
is an 8th grader, and is not the quiet, little girl we once knew…she
has quite the fun & bubbly personality.
I see lots of her mischievous/prankster daddy in her now. Her favorite
things to do are playing volleyball with her team at school, starting back with
piano lessons this Fall, gabbing (rather texting!) her friends, and participating
in a discipleship group. Audrey An is now a 3rd grader, and despite
her later start with English she makes straight A’s- very impressive! She loves to smile and has a very caring/mothering
spirit. The highlight of her year was getting to see the Great Wall of China
and being briefly reunited with her foster family as we returned to the village
where she and Chan once lived.
This
year has been a huge transition for all five of us-. It has been filled with
emotions that have been all over the place. Anticipation, joy, frustration,
love, sadness, peace, hope & thankfulness (many times within the same
hour!). Google Translate was our best friend for about 4 months. Abigail &
Chan both had surgery. Christa & Chan competed for who had the best leg
casts/walking boot/ankle braces/crutches for most of the Fall while juggling
home-schooling Chan, relying on great friends to chauffeur my girls around with
David‘s crazy work schedule when I was unable to drive for many weeks.
Reflecting
on Chan’s parent/child dedication and testimony I gave this Fall I know and
shared one thing: God doesn’t make sense all the time, but He’s faithful, gracious
and patient with us as we try to navigate. It doesn’t make sense that a baby
born in Bethlehem was born to save me and the entire world from our sin, but I
trust and know it to be true. Physical adoption and spiritual adoption are so
similar and each have the same extremes. Joyful knowing that God has provided forever
families for my children yet sadness knowing there was heartbreak for birth
families in which we will never know the circumstances. There’s redemption and
celebration along with tears of anguish and sadness. The old is gone and the
new has come! Thank you, Jesus, that You have made a way both physically and
spiritually!
Merry Christmas from David, Christa, Abigail,
Audrey An & Chan
