We got our LID(log in date) for our Dossier!!!! This means that it will be between 5 and 8 mnths before we will go get our Opal!!!(Hoping and Praying for 5!!) Please pray for her health an safty while we all wait. We have been so blessed to  meet a

family that their little girl was also at the same orphanage as Opal. When they went to go get their sweetie they checked in on Opal and loved on her.(Thank you Patty!!) We are so excited to have new pictures!!

{Advocating} For the Strong Hero


March 6, 2012
Author Becca Bolt



“Who will be my buddy?”



These are the first words I heard Peter speak (in Mandarin).



It was Day 1 of the Bring Me Hope summer camp for orphans, and Peter was waiting with eager anticipation as he watched the campers get matched up with their buddies. As an exhausted staff member, I had previously decided to not have a buddy that week.



Plans changed.





With one look at this little boy, I knew we were supposed to spend the week together. I walked across the room and grabbed Peter’s hand, announcing I was his buddy. The smile that erupted on his face is etched in my memory forever. During that first day, Peter and I bonded more quickly than any other child I had every been matched with–evidenced during Day 2′s water gun fights. For over an hour, Peter positioned himself between me and the others shouting, “You can’t shoot her! If you shoot her I will get you!” I laughed as I watched him race around, trying to protect me by shooting all the other kids with water.



As the week progressed, my laughter turned into sorrow as I saw this precious boy yearning for love. If I spent one moment with another child, Peter would become jealous. He thought he had to work harder to earn my love. He served me food, filled my cup with water, gave me his toys, stole candy from other children to give to me, and even wrote me notes and drew pictures. The pictures always told the same story. He carefully colored a strong prince and one princess. When he gave it to me he said I was the princess, and he was the hero.

Even though he had a soft heart, Peter was strong. He tried to hide the fact that he wore a diaper because of being born with a myelomeningocele (spina bifida), disappearing for short times to change himself. When he returned, he pretended like nothing happened. I watched all of this and decided that Peter was my strong hero.





Friday came; time to say goodbye. I had been dreading this moment all week and wasn’t sure how Peter would respond. Hist strength faltering, he held my hand tightly as we walked to the car door. Before he got in, a small tear fell down his cheek. The first tear I had seen all week. Hesitating for just a moment, Peter turned around and hugged me tightly. As I wrapped my arms around him, a personal responsibility for him grew in my heart. He may be leaving, but I was his advocate.

The car pulled out of the driveway. As tears streamed down my face, it began to pour rain. I looked heavenward and asked the Lord, “Why is he alone? Why doesn’t he have a family?” The reply? “Becca, you can speak loudly on his behalf.”



And so I am. Would you consider bringing this little boy, my little brother, into your family?



His words are still in my heart: “You’re going to find me a family, aren’t you Becca?” desperately loving me to his best ability during the week when God redefined love for me

My children said,  Mommy an opal for Mother Day to have until we get our Opal from China. :)

Thank you to my sweet and wonderful Husband and Children! It is absolutely beautiful!!

Yesterday we were at the life stand and I watched Libbie as she held this sign and all I could do is thank the Lord for the biological Moms of Libbie, Kimmie and Opal that gave them the chance of a family! Our little girls are such blessings to our life!!! And I then began to think of all those precious children that didn't have that chance....

LAST CHANCE!!!!!!

Try to imagine the following scene. A young couple wraps their newborn daughter in red cloth and leaves her at a crossroads in a major city in Southern China. While the details may change, it is a scene that will play itself out over and over again throughout China as well as many other places in the world for that matter. Since child abandonment is illegal, this scene usually plays out under the cover of darkness as the couple lingers quietly in the shadows until the baby has been discovered by a passerby and taken to safety. I'll be honest with you. As both a mother and a grandmother, my heart breaks every time I imagine this scene in my mind. It is a scene that literally drives me to my knees and makes me weep.



While this post is not intended to address the often complex social, economic and cultural issues that frequently influence birth parents to abandon their children, it is meant to help one of those innocent babies who was left behind. You see, thirteen years ago, the adorable young girl in the above photo was wrapped in a piece of red cloth and left at a busy crossroads. She didn't ask to be born. She didn't ask to be abandoned. She didn't ask to spend the last thirteen years of her life in institutionalized care. Despite her circumstances, she has grown into a bright, independent young girl with a warm and loving heart. She likes to sing and dance and enjoys dolls and handicrafts. She reportedly has a diligent and methodical nature and wants to be a kindergarten teacher when she grows up. What I want most for you to know about "Julie", however, is that she has only eight months left to find a family before she becomes ineligible for international adoption. This is where you can help! I urge you to please share this link with at least two people and encourage them to do likewise. Using the power and speed of exponential "doubling" I challenge everyone reading this post to please help the search to find this little girl a family go "viral". If you have a blog please re-post. Please share on Facebook, RQ, Tweet or whatever social networking site you use. If the plea of a 700 pound man to lose weight can go viral withing 24 hours, surely we can help a deserving little girl find a family in equal time. Please understand that time is running out for "Julie". In order to meet the adoption deadline of November 15, 2012, families will need to complete and submit their dossier to China as soon as possible. I have been told that due to the urgent nature of this child's case, China may show some flexibility in eligibility requirements. In order to help interested families needing financial assistance, adoption fees have been reduced and a "SPECIAL BLESSINGS" grant of $5000 is being offered. For additional information, please contact Erin Mower at erinm@holtinternational.org

Shine,Shine,Shine!!!!

 I heard a beautiful story about the Opal, how it is made of desert dust, sand, and silica and owes its beauty not to its perfection but to a defect.  The Opal is a stone with a broken heart. It is full of minute fissures that allow air inside, and then the air refracts the light. As a result, the Opal has such lovely hues that the stone is called the " lamp of fire" because the breath of the Lord is in it. An Opal will lose its luster if it is kept in a cold, dark, place, but the luster is restored when it is held in a warm hand or when light shines on it. May your little Opal shine bright the rest of her life!

Thank you to Ms. Pat  a sweet sweet lady who is the picture of Gods love!! She shared this beautiful story with us. I am so thankful the Lord has entrusted us to hold His precious Opal in our warm hands and allowing us to be the ones that get to see her light shine!!!!! What a true and wonderful blessing!!!

Homestudy Approved!

Our homestudy is APPROVED!!! Hopefully we will have immigration approval by the 20th and then all documents authenticated and then finally DOSSIER to China by the first of April!! Praying that all things will go smoothly so we can get our precious Gem home.

WE GOT AN UPDATE!!!!!

Our sweet little Opal looks so grown up! She is doing well,and starting to eat with a spoon and chew!!!We are so proud of her and can not wait to get her home!!

This is our daughter, Naomie Opal!!!!!

This is our daughter, Naomie Opal!!!Please keep her in your prayers!! We can't wait to bring her home!!

I WOULD LIKE TO INTRODUCE OUR DAUGHTER WAITING IN CHINA...

Ok so I would like to but for now all I can say is that her name is Naomie Opal and she just turned 4!!! We are so excited to get her home!! As soon as we receive our pre-approval I will post her pic. She has been on several waiting list for a very long time...not for much longer!Just wanted to ask everyone who sees this to please keep her in your prayers.

What a Handsome little Guy!!!!

Guang Fujun AKA Xander born on 03/15/03 . Has autism.

Beautiful Jenna!!!

This is 3 yr old

Jenna

Jenna has been waiting for her family to find her,

since she was 11 mths old.
Jenna is on target developmentally.

And She is just beautiful!

Her need is of a personal nature. It is one that requires a special family who is knowledgeable about personal special needs.

 

Zoe, What a cutie!!!!

This is

Zoe

she is 2 yrs, 2 mths

born July 2009

SN: CP

Update: sits on her own, knows to wave good-bye to caregivers when she goes outside

***************************

Update on Nancy

MY FOREVER FAMILY HAS FOUND ME!!!!

Nancy is 2.9 feet tall and weighs 26 pounds,she has 20 teeth. Nancy walks and is saying some words like "Ah Ah" she eats rice cereal from a bottle. She can not eat with a spoon.....for now. This sweet little angel needs a Mommy and Daddy to love her and I believe she is going to blossom! My husband and I adopted our little girl at age 3,same as Nancy.She could not eat with a spoon. She only ate baby food and oat meal for the first year it took some time but 2 years later she eats as much as our 14 yr. old son!She eats pizza,hamburgers(prefers quarter pounder),chicken nuggets(only with a TON of ranch)she is such a blessing to our family! She weighed 22 lbs. now she weighs 46! She did not say a word when we got her now she is really starting to talk. If you are reading this please pray for sweet Nancy! She needs a family that is going to be patient and most of all loving. HOW CAN YOU NOT FALL IN LOVE WITH HER SWEET SMILE!