Dedicating Josiah to the LORD

What a great experience to stand before the Lord and Praise Him for the gift of our son it was an amazing service and it will be forever etched in my memory. All is going well everyday Josiah sings new songs and seems to understand what more english words actually mean. It blesses my heart to watch him playing in the bathtub singing Jesus loves me. He loved bible school this week of course the opening music and dancing was his favorite part. tomorrow we will head to Silver Dollar City eventhough he went ni ni late I think he will have fun. I can’t wait untill the Veggie Tales show opens later this month he will be a hoot!!! We saw the dentist and as suspected he needs lots of caps so we are awaiting a call from the hospital on when they can fit him in to the schedule he will have to be sedated, all though now he is doing great brushing and we started flossing too.  He still amazes us everyday with all that he says and does and his huge smile and loveable personality wins everyone over.  We are so looking forward to next weekend, we are going to Tulsa for a heritage weekend ,finally we will get to meet some of the families that we have followed along on their journey’s in adoption. On a high note their are 3 known families headed to VN for their children I certainly thought we would have had more since us our GnR and theirs are 2 months apart. Pray that things will start to progress and all the waiting families would be united soon.  on a lighter side check out our little rapper who wears his jammies as a hat and thinks he’s pretty cool!!

If you like to talk to tomatoes ………..

you would fit right in @ our house. Seriously Josiah needs Veggie Tales REHAB we all walk around singing Veggie silly songs I guess music is universal because he likes anything with music and sings all the time.  If I could “you tube” I would post him it is hillarious.  Alot of his english is from some veggie song. Wow time is flying by he is growing by my calculations he has gained 3 lb. but he has to be hand fed all day I feel like a momma bird I am constantly putting food in his mouth he won’t sit and feed himself but wants to be fed all the time. He loves to be rocked and doesn’t usually mind laying down for Ni Ni. He is suffering from all the Walnut trees and he is finally learning to blow his nose, much easier than constantly wiping. because of the pollen we haven’t played out as much this week Praise God we woke up to a good rain to wash the pollen down.  We had a welcome home party @ church and he did great and loved the attention from all the kids. here are some pictures of the party, hanging out, a veggie carpet picnic and his favorite thing from the party his bomb,bombs (balloons).  On a sadder note please pray for all those families waiting for their children still in Vn I know God is in control and he will bring everything in his perfect timing and will, it is so hard to see the mountain top when you are in the valley and there is so much uncertainty right now with  Vn adoptions.

Lots of firsts

some good some not so much. Well we have seen the Dr. twice, we had a Long day @ the hospital getting a chest x-ray and giving a ton of blood (very traumatic 3 pokes and we ended up sucking it out.)  and so far nothing that can’t be treated with meds. although our chest x-ray was clean we will do 6-9 mos. of meds for a positive TB skin test not really a concern and I found it odd that they did a skin test when he has been vac. wouldn’t that make the skin test +? oh well he is doing good and if he can’t gain weight and grow in our house something is definitely wrong. He is sleeping well with Chanz and even going down easier for naps. He absolutely loves the play area and Veggie Tales He wants the silly songs on all the time he loves music. He copies everything you say and is starting to tie english words to what he says. He is not crazy about the car seat but doesn’t beg and scream to get out as long as he used to. We are starting to see small meltdowns if he can’t have something he wants but he will learn we have rules. He is definitely pushing to see how far he can go. He likes most every food and will at least eat a little of most everything. It is amazing how it feels like he has been here forever and I could not have asked for a better transistion. He is such a blessing This Sunday will be our first time to go to church and our first big outing other than the Dr. and hospital Hope all goes well. I know I will have to get him use to the nursery because he is soooooo LOUD and I know he would never sit in church. Thank goodness we have a big toddler, prek group that gets to go to the gym after Sunday school he will love it, he really likes to play with others. My niece is 2 weeks older than he is and they played great all weekend .It is so exciting to see everything through his eyes for the first time,

Enjoying the home life

Josiah has discovered he loves the outdoors. He absolutely loves the swing, the slide and the trampoline. we played outside from 11:30-4pm needless to say once we came in and bathed he was ready to sleep.  He is enjoying his big brother especially he wants to do everything he does. He may be small but he is definitely mighty. He loves his camcorder he made movies all day/ Friday we have our first Dr. appointment I doubt he will enjoy that as much as.

Home Sweet Home

Well we got home Monday morning a little delayed but we made it. our travel was ok but LA X was our meltdown he fell in the plane and bumped his head then he was so tired he couldn’t deal with much… Customs, luggage it all took  it’s toll but by Dallas we were back on track and by the time we hit springfield we were tired but  Josiah was jumping out of his stroller with excitement to see everyone Chanelle put out her hands and he jumped right to her then he was happy to be passed around. We’ve done well He is such a sponge and loves to be with everyone. He loves his daddy and wants to do everything his big bother does. I just found out Vietnam will shutting down and my heart goes out to those stuck in the middle but even more my heart aches for all those waiting children who truly need a family, how I wish we could bring them all home. Statistically many have thought about adoption but never pursued it, my prayer is that God will use our blessing to  soften and open your heart to orphans all over the world. maybe you are called to pray for them, maybe you should financially support them, maybe your family is not complete yet….. praying God’s will for all those touched by his Command to care for the orphan and widow. 

Thank you Becky for these great pics

Final day in Vietnam

Well we have had an awesome journey thus far and both Mom and I LOVE Vietnam. It is such a beautiful country, people, and culture. we will have to check out @ noon and leave our luggage downstairs untill 3:45 when we will get a taxi to the airpot. the hotel sits on the same site as the war prison so we will visit that and maybe hit the Ho CHi Minh moseleum who knows this has been such a blessing and I am so thankful that our family decided to take this step of faith. I can’t imagine what lies ahead, but I truly believe Josiah was created for our family before the world began and I would be devistated if we did not meet him untill Heaven and what blessings we would have lost. Trust and Obey……..Thank you for following along

Coming Home

We will be in Springfield  Monday around 10:10 am AA flight 3663 for anyone who wants to welcome us home. We loved our trip it went so quick when you look back on it. Miss everyone back home and Like Mom said we got the best souvenier a Loud, smiley ,Loveable, gorgeous little boy Stold this saying from one of our travel mates but it will stick forever.

Two countries …one family, united by God

Praise to the giver of all good things!!!!!!! 

Embassy appointment done !!!!!!!

we arrived to the Embassy just before 10 am there was NOBODY there and absolutely no families having Visa appointments. I couldn’t figure out why the Tue. ordeal we were done about 11 am and Loc said he would be picking up the childrens passports w/visa’s and be back to the hotel around 5 pm. All the families but one went running around found the bookstore, bought luggage, back to the quilt store Fyi if you shop in Hanoi the giftshop @ the temple in the Lake is super cheap the stands in the Hotel very expensive. the child store in the hotel wasn’t bad. We have confirmed through error and the shopkeepers Only use the white Hanoitouristaxi’s the others rip ya off. The city is kinda cool because you will notice the streets are set up to specialize in one kind of item per street. I don’t know how prices are but there are a ton of pharmacies less than a block from the hotel (out the door take a  right and they’re on the  opposite side of the street) We went back to one of our  rooms and had Ice cream,to celebrate all of us going home this weekend we should have had ice cream out @ the vendors from the store in the hotel 6pints cost 48$ when I questioned the cashier she said ice cream very expensive ,Ya think ???? by the Lake I paid just over $5 for 3 double scoop cones . helpful hints I hope  We found a very nice gorgeous rest. HanoiHanoi Restaraunt by the bookstore right down from the lake ,looks super pricey but the food is unbelievable the manager speaks good english service like a 4 star and me ,mom ,&Josiah ate for about $14 tons of food and everyone was happy. Vietnam quilts is a must so gorgeous and cheap for a good cause. Like everyone has said pack less I would not bring any toiletries except face wash not even meds maybe tylenol or advil. Do as much laundry in the provice hotel esp. NT as possible the Rex does 2 pieces of laundry free but only for adults not kids. all the prices for services were more than the travel packet said so just plan for it . sorry for the book just travel tidbits hope they help some one if you have any specific questions just ask Tomorrow one of the familes is leaving around 4 so we will run to the botanicals and the moselium in the morning before they go. We love Vietnam, wish we did Ha Long Bay but are ready to be home.

Be still and Know I AM!!!

Wow …I can honestly say this is a lesson God keeps teaching me in this journey and I always seem to easily forget or stray well today we got a call from loc saying we now have a 10 am Embassy appt. (Praise God he is good) my bunch back home were losing it over our delay so as it sets now we will be done tomorrow late afternoon. Todd emailed back to tell me Monday looked promising and possibly sooner if anything opened up so I told him to move us and keep us posted since my phone quit working maybe we will sit by the computer. we found a stroller @ the store in the hotel and Josiah loves it so we will do that he hated the carrier, since it confined him, he liked it so much he spent most of the day in it . we looked for a ball since we left ours as donations and instead bought a pack of balloons all the kids love them. We walked to and around the Lake got ice cream (yummy) and it turned out to be a beautiful sunny afternoon. When we got back we met Bob in the lobby who told us we were on for tomorrow morning. We all celebrated with pizza and a birthday cake in Bob and carla’s apartment the kids loved the time together. This was my devotion when I logged on the computer how fitting
 

BIBLE MEDITATION:
“. . . the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.” James 5:7b

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
Sometimes the things that count the most seem to take the longest to get here. Some giant sequoias in California are 300 feet tall. That’s the height of a 30 story building! Yet each one began with the smallest of seeds that began growing and maturing since before the time of Christ! That’s a long time. You may say that you’re going to serve God. Then, you start to do something for Him, but when you don’t reap a harvest immediately, you get discouraged. Don’t try to hurry the harvest. In due season, you will reap.

Leave it to the US Embassy….

Well we thought we could get an appointment for Friday but as it turns out we got Tue. wow that means we will be in Hanoi for over a week, I must say this is my least favorite part of the trip maybe we could go back to NT and hang at the beach? We went to the water pupet show today it was ok found the quilt shop and wanted to buy them all, so beautiful but I refrained got his baby quilt and a few other things. if anyone wants to see their wonderful work they have lots of products just google vietnam Quilts.  We ordered the 5 gal jug of water and we’ll probably hit the grocery store tomorrow and the tour guide office, Ha long Bay has a big celebration starting Fri. and that is the one place I did want to see. Hopefully we will get a chance to run around and snap pics. we did venture into an alley market Mom was so fascinated she carried the camcorder and enjoyed the aroma, Lots of raw meat. I was glad we traveled in outfits with jackets because it is cool, rainy and extremely windy and will be all week. Little man is holding up but I will be glad to get him home and acclimated to our family. He has truly been a blessing.  We found the playroom and he enjoyed the ball pit and Ben the other boy adopted from NT, I am so glad he and Josiah have had eachother as we shuffle through this CRAZY process.