What are you thankful for?

Although we don't have her home, we are sooo thankful for the many faces of Dillen... enjoy!

this is her... "I've been caught!" face

this is the... "I already know how to do it!" face. You just hold it to your ear and talk.

this is her... "Daddy, please?" face

and her "but, why?" face... i just want to push the babies in the swing!

the exhaustion from being so cute!

Ribbons and Bows!

So we've been trying to keep ourselves busy, and not think about the looming holidays. This year has been difficult because of this lengthy process, and the amount of money spent. If we complete our adoption in 2008, we will be able to get some of our money back in taxes this coming year... if we don't, then no money. We have applied for loans and grants, and with the slipping economy things seem to be tight for these nonprofits, and for us. So we have decided to get crafty. I have never been much of a girlie girl, but crafty? I love! So in the next few weeks, you will see some of our handy work as a feeble way to raise money to bring Dillen home. All money received from our crafts will go directly to our adoption expenses and bringing home our baby girl. If the Lord blesses us with an abundance of money, we will spend 100% of it on bringing these children home or providing necessities to those children in need. I will not put a price tag on our crafts. If you wish to purchase any of our creations, you can send me an email (rushbrookemyers@gmail.com or b.myers@learningrx.com) with your address and I will mail, or drop off your order. Chris will also continue to list items on ebay. I have a few pictures of some hairbows that I have made. If you have a particular size or color scheme you are looking for, let me know and I would be happy to email you more pictures. Thanks!

Another weekend

Do not worry about anything, but pray and ask God for everything you need, always giving thanks. And God's peace, which is so great we cannot understand it, will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.... I have learned to be satisfied with the things I have and with everything that happens. I know how to live when I am poor, and I know how to live when I have plenty. I have learned the secret of being happy at any time in everything that happens.... I can do all things through Christ, because He gives me strength.

-Philippians 4:6-7, 11-13

Oh what a trip!

Most of you know that the Blackwell family has recently returned with their little guy Zane. Chris and I will be making plans to head north for a visit, and I'll take some pictures when we are there. Although they came home with their boy, you don't know how their trip REALLY went...

On arrival to HCMC, Teresa became ill... and stayed sick throughout most of the trip.

Daniel lost his father while in Vietnam, he also lost a lot of time away from school (he's taking classes over the Internet), and almost 25lbs because the food was so bad. He apparently tried to live on Oodles of Noodles. Daniel, if you are reading this i think you could make a lot of money writing a diet book... How to live on Peanut Butter and Oodles of Noodles for One Month. I'm sure we've got a before and after picture!

There seems to have been an accident back at home while they were away, resulting in a possible broken bone for one of their other children.

While they were caring for Zane before they had their adoption ceremony, he fell in their hotel room. His eye was almost swollen shut and he has a large bruise on his face.

After leaving HCMC and flying to Hanoi the Blackwell's realized that Zane's shot records were still in HCMC.

As they were travelling home through Hong Kong, they were informed that none of their luggage made it on the plane, and Zane had to have is temperature taken because of the recent outbreak of the Bird Flu!

The sickness continues on the plane, this time it's little Zane with vomiting and diarrhea.

Once landing in LAX, they were informed that they were not on the next flight and would have to wait until the next morning to come home.

After talking their way onto that flight, their seats weren't together and the Lord blessed Teresa with a lovely lady (who was travelling alone) that refused to switch seats so that Daniel could sit with his wife and kids.

What an adventure! When you learn all the facts, aren't you just glad they made it home? We can't wait to see them and their precious son! Welcome home Blackwells!

Experiencing God's Patience

I joined a Bible study a few months ago at our church. It was a women's group of about 30 or so, that was going to study the One Month to Live book. I thought... well I've only got to give it a shot for six weeks and then I could throw my hands in the air and say, "I tried Lord!" I had already decided to never get involved in church again. Attending is one thing... invisible entry and exit, but actually getting involved? Finding people that will pray with you and for you, recognizing the lady two isles away because just last week you prayed for her father or mother... I just didn't need it.

So I went, partly to pacify a friend, partly because I wanted God to fail me once again, and partly because I was curious. I loved it. It was like reconnecting with a friend that you once knew. It was exactly what I needed in my life to live in this waiting, this year of nothingness, the moments of depression, it was everything I needed it to be. So for that God, I thank you. I tell about this group of women because we just started a new study... it is called Experiencing God's Peace. I decided that before i can experience God's peace, I should try to experience God's patience....

We received an email from the in country facilitator yesterday... he informed us that they need more time. There are some issues with Dillen's life story. I will post about our journey, and about how we miss our girl, and I will post news on travel, but this new information is for her to tell when the time is right. Pray that God gives us His patience.

And now they come home...

We are so excited to welcome Zane home from Vietnam to the freezing South! We heard from the Blackwells that all went according to plans in Hanoi and not only will they be home this week, they will be home Wednesday morning! We are so thankful! Lets pray for safe travels for the four of them and that they make that connecting flight in Hong Kong, they only have 40 minutes or so.

Lets also hope that we hear something about our adoption. Although the facilitator has told 2 families to send things to Vietnam by way of us next month, our adoption provider has no knowledge of when we should travel. They tell us "this is just the Vietnam experience." If you are in the process, you should know.... this is not normal. As always, we'll keep you updated.

To get you through...

There is no news to report. We once again tried to contact our adoption provider without a returned phone call or email. Even if they don't have any news to share, it would be nice if they attempted to keep in touch with us, or tell us that they don't know anything about our case. It would be nice to know that they called Vietnam, and tried to get an update about our case. If it wasn't for them, we would not have Dillen, and for that I am thankful. I am also grateful that we have met a few wonderful families that will always be in our lives. Other than that, we have no intention of ever working with our agency again or recommending our agency to anyone. So to get you through another weekend, here she is....