I unfortunately have never had the opportunity to post about our trip to Starfish.
We went on 12-21-11. It was truly amazing.
We loved babies, fed babies, saw the amazing work being done, and met Amanda de Lange. We also got the very rare opportunity to visit an orphanage. My heart broke. I realized how precious each and every life is and I was overwhelmed by need.
the little girl below is the child i insisted on bringing out of the orphanage. I absolutely refused to leave her. Amanda agreed. {thankfully} her name is now Liliana {I got to choose} and she is being taken care of, loved and is treasured at Starfish. this is just one of the many babies.
Amanda was truly Ainsley's life saver in China. She brought all kinds of amazing things to help us 'fatten and healthy' her up. Creams, foods, everything. Her generosity was overwhelming like the rest of that trip.
I don't know if I will ever be able to properly word and describe that day.
at the orphanage picking up babies. so emotional.
Anna Grace and her new best friend Mila :)
the famous Jack! Nana, Anna Grace, and Mila
Charlie
David
Bryant. He is such a sweet heart and was saved just in time. Please pray for Bryant and the other babies that we brought that day. They were all very weak.
I don't think I will ever be able to THANK Amanda enough. She is truly unbelievable. Starfish is unbelievable and those babies are SO loved and they are taken such good care of.
Please lift Amanda and her Starfish babies up in prayer daily.
A few days ago, Amanda was diagnosed with cancer. I received an email and my heart just broke. Please lift Amanda and her sweet starfish family up.
She is in URGENT need of medical services in the USA or Europe to save her life. Please lift her up and if you know of any one who can provide this care please let us know.
Thank you for the prayers.
Today, most everyone in America is remembering the tragedy of 9-11-01. It is a day forever etched in our hearts and minds. It is a sad day. filled with so much pain, sorrow and just pure torment. Thousands of innocent people lost their lives on this day in 2001.
and Here we stand 10 years later.
September 11 will always be a day that everyone in America remembers. For most it is NOT a happy day. For us, it is.
On September 11, 2006 most Americans spent the 5 year anniversary of 9-11 watching the local news, crying, praying...
But all the way across the world on September 11, 2006 a precious baby girl was born in Chongqing China. She was beautiful, healthy, had gorgeous little almond shaped eyes and had a thick head of black hair.
On September 11, 2006 many mourned, including the birth mother of our precious girl. I cannot imagine what she went through giving her sweet baby up. How can any mother take that lightly? They don't. She didn't have a choice. She did what she knew was best for her baby, our baby. To her I will always be grateful, because of the decision of Anna Grace's birth mom we are now the ones holding her when she cries, playing dress up with her, watching her write her name, and seeing how amazing God really is through the eyes of this child. I pray that today her Birth Mom will know and feel that her/our baby is safe, loved, adored, cared for, learning all about the LOVE of Jesus, has siblings that will do anything and everything for her and what a miracle this precious child is to our family. I pray that her birth mother knows how amazing this child is...How smart she is, how beautiful on the inside and out, how wonderfully she has accepted her new brother, her smile, her precious personality, her spunk, her strong will, her love of everything pink, purple, or Princess, her daily blessings to us by just being, the way she rules our house with such grace, how she can say anything and it makes you smile, how she teaches me to be more like Jesuseveryday, and overall that this child is loved by everyone that crosses her path.
On September 11, 2006 a little girl entered the World. But September 11, 2006 was just the beginning to this precious little girl's life....As I kissed my 4 year old sister for the last time last night and tucked her into her new big girl bed I thought about how blessed I am that out of all of the people in the world HE chose ME, me! 15 year old Ashton to be the big sister to this Precious Girl {and two other beautiful adopted children}. To be the one that gets to watch her grow up, kiss her every night, Greet her with Hugs and Kisses, Teach her songs, Help her learn about the Love of Jesus, Sing to her, Hold her when she cries, Play tea-party with her, Dress her up, take pictures, Make her a Princess, Look at her beautiful face, teach her all kinds of songs {ahem} and enjoy her sweet little life.
I will be forever thankful to the ONE who went before us and chose Anna Grace to be a part of our family. God had a plan for this little girl's life when she was in the womb HE CHOSE her...He CHOSE ME, HE CHOSE OUR family
and for that, I will be forever grateful.
One Year Old. LOOK at that BABY.
Two Years Old That smile. oh goodness.
Three Years Old she's gorgeous. so gorgeous.
Four Years Old. My BABY...is growing up. Going to cry now.
{finally}FIVE Years Old Please, Please tell me it isn't so.
Happy 5th Birthday, Anna Grace.
I love you more than words can describe, the stars in the sky, and to the moon in back {150 times}
xoxo forever,
Sissy
But even before I was born, God CHOSE ME and called me by his marvelous GRACE. -Galations 1:15
We have gotten a baby for Ainsley. yanno the soft, lovey ones that you send to them and you just love to look at and pray that it makes it to your baby and that she loves it as much as you do. With Ainsley's birthday in a month exactly. {well yesterday} we are preparing a package for her...So very sad we will not be with her for her 2nd birthday {I share the same birthday with her and it will be my 16th...bittersweet}
Well we decided that until we sent the doll...everywhere we went and everyone who was close to us that we saw we would take a picture with the baby...then when we sent it to Ainsley she could look at the pictures of her family holding this baby and maybe connect the dots...it also just makes us feel better...yanno..this sister heart and my sweet mama's heart.
We bought two dolls..and plan to take the other doll everywhere else with us so Ainsley is truly with us everywhere we go...even if it is through a baby doll...
We can't wait to send this sweet thing to our girl and hopefully we will see her holding it and loving it...just like we are. We can't wait to hold you sweet love...you will sure be a whole lot better than a stuffed baby :)
Please pray for us this week and that we get more information about Ainsley...that we are LID already and we are able to start waiting for LOA. Thanks for your prayers!
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Check out more Sunday Snapshots here
Ainsley's story is truly a miracle. God literally placed our sweet girl in our laps and we knew that she was ours. God is truly mountain moving and awe-inspiring.We could not be more thrilled to welcome this perfect, beautiful, and precious little girl into our family.
After over a week of torturing you, here it is..Ainsley Faith's story.
Ainsley's story begins before we brought Anna Grace home from China. While waiting for Anna Grace my Mom would always say she knew she had two little girls in China, named Anna Grace and Ainsley Faith. she knew. She wanted two sweet Chinese Princesses that she could put big bows in their hair and dress them just alike. It would be so very perfect. Right before we got Anna Grace's referral, my mom asked all of the kids to draw a picture for Anna Grace. Being the so artistic 11 year old at the time I drew a lady bug with 7 spots with a note "7 spots so you are 7 months old at referral" Well, behold to me when we received Anna Grace's referral she WAS 7 months old. Once home, my Mom still had not forgotten about sweet little Ainsley that was somewhere out there. She and I would actually pray for her. I decided I would again draw a picture. I drew the same lady bug with 7 spots but this time I just put "Ainsley, Fall of 2009." I drew this in 2008 and was thinking that she would be home in Fall of 2009. Amazingly enough, not knowing at the time, Fall of 2009 was perfect..she wasn't home...but she was born.
May 1, 2009, 2 years to the day of seeing Anna Grace, God revealed to us another little face. No, it was not our "Ainsley" it was our boy, Andrew. Oh, how He knows us so much better than we know ourselves and His plans are oh-so-perfect.
While in China with Andrew our group would place bets on who would adopt again. We were always brought up, My Mom would say "No-Never. we are done. done. done." or her trademark quote "If we ever go back to China, Jesus will have to come in my kitchen sit me down and say 'My child you have a child in China'" basically a no, never, ever, everrrr situation. She kept that No for a year.ha.ha.ha.
I, being the crazy-adopt-as-many-as-possible-the-more-the-merrier person I am would constantly bring up children from lists and advocacy blogs I had found. "Oh, look Mom, isn't she sweet? Let's get her!" My very loving parents would always respond with a "No. No. and never ever." After about 15,000 I decided to let God do it on His own time. If and when we were meant to adopt again, we would.
So, about May 13, 2011 my dad was driving in the car and he prayed "God, when we are supposed to adopt again let Angel bring it up and ask me what country" This was his prayer with Anna Grace, too.
The very same day my Dad walked in from work and my Mom says "Since you are sure we are going to adopt again, which country will it be, Africa or China?" My Dad automatically told her about his prayer and they started looking for an agency--My Mom , Anna Grace and I went to NC for the weekend to celebrate one of my Mom's close friends daughter's birthday. On Saturday my Mom got an email from a friend saying "this is my agency's list and I felt compelled to send it to you" so my Mom opens it and automatically finds a little girl, J. She is smitten with her. She Called my dad gets him to pull up the list and without saying who she chose, he chose J as well. We called the agency and told them we wanted her. They told us we were family 3 on the list and would have to wait. This was on Saturday.
We dropped it and assumed what was meant to be would happen.
The following Monday we called an agency to find out more about a specific child..we heard no reply.
A week passed and we heard nothing from the agency with J so the next week we called the agency and asked. They said Family 1 had turned her down and that Family 2 was reviewing. We decided to just pray and wait. On Wednesday we got a call saying they had sent J's file to China because many red flags were raised about her. We would have to wait until they got another report and for the 2nd family to decide.
Later that day an agency {who we had called 2 weeks earlier} and said they had the child, S, who we had said we may be interested in. They sent over the file and we reviewed it. She had major needs but we felt God calling us to her. Us having her file was so God...He was preparing us for OUR Ainsley.
We called immediately{no more than 10 mins after getting the file} and said to lock S..Unfortunately we got an email 20 minutes later saying she was gone. We were crushed. The next morning my Mom got up and contacted 6 agencies. One agency was willing to work with us and said they would go IN TO the CCAA* and find out what was going on with S. {Mind you nothing has been heard about J} and we just prayed for God's will yet, we wanted the baby. {That was on Thursday June 2} On Friday{June3} morning at 6am we received an email saying that S was for sure gone and already had a family. We rejoiced in the fact that this precious little girl had a family and knew that our Ainsley was waiting. We had planned to just start our dossier with an agency and let them match us. Again, God had other plans..much better plans.
My Dad had prayed over the past few weeks that not only would God show us where we were going but he would show us our child on Friday, June 3. My Dad revealed that to us on Thursday, June 2. He told us he had been "throwing a fleece" out. "God please reveal not only the country we are supposed to go to, but our child as well" He got this from John 14:14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
On Friday, I got up at about 8am and just glanced at Rainbow*Kids* to see if J was still there and if there were any new kids. The first child on RK was a little girl with CLCP {which is Andrew's SN and a need we are very comfortable with} and born on my birthday. I jokingly showed my Mom and was like "Oh look here is a baby!"
She was drawn to her and asked me to get on her email and request her file-{She was with the same agency as the other little girl who we had just found out was gone} I sent the email and we just waited.
The email said
"Funny you should ask for this little girl my facilitator had just returned from the CCAA checking on the other little girl's file and she said that this little girl looked just right for you. I was about to send the file anyway. It will come through in about 5 minutes."
We got the file and the email header said "Chinese Name : CLCP and Special Need"
My Mom almost didn't open the email because of her second SN, We opened it, prayed over it, and started really looking. God was changing hearts. We got more information and talked to numerous peds, surgeons, international doctors and neurosurgeons.
We had a lot of questions and the agency sent us to a great woman who helped us out a lot {and had a whole lot of patience!}
So we talked to her and found out the orphanage is very very cautious and they send kids for things at the smallest problem. So she could have fallen and had a bump so they sent her for a CT. We then found out that in just a few days there will be a family going to her orphanage. They said they will get her pictures, size, take our care package and cleft bottles so she can be properly fed. It was amazing and so God.
Friday night while still so unsure of what we were going to do my Mom said "If she had her palate surgery, I would say let's go now..No stopping us"
My dad prayed that Friday night God would give us a sure sign of what to do. My Mom sent a few more doctor friends her file and got some opinions. She was a little discouraged by a comment so she go0gled Ainsley's name China and Cleft. It pulled up a site that is called China*Care* which gets the sickest and most need orphans their surgeries. Ainsley had been FULLY funded. She would have her lip surgery and 6 months later have her palate surgery...That means that RIGHT now she is preparing to have her palate repaired. We KNEW at that point God had all but filled the LOI out for us. We had to send it by that Sunday night which is the day we got Andrew's file two years ago. {hence thispost}
Right before my parents decided to definitely say "YES" to Ainsley, they asked all of the kids what we thought about her. No matter what we said we would not be judged and I could not harm them for saying no. {ha.ha.ha} Anyone of us could have been selfish and said "NO! I do not want to bring her home. She may just change the life I am living right now. We may lose some things and we may not get to do and go as much. So, no no no. " But, none of us did. I have been blessed with an awesome Jesus-loving family. We know that this life is not ours and it is only by the grace of God I am typing this to you right now. He has blessed us. He has shown us a need. What are we going to do? Turn away? Leave her in an institution and refuse to help her? We clearly SEE the need and KNOW we can take care of her, yet we say no? That was not an option. We as a family refuse to leave a precious child, OURsister and daughter to live a life in an orphanage. It just would not happen. Adam {12 year old brother} said it beautifully, "Mom, if we know she's there and she needs a family, then how could we ever say no?" We couldn't. Regardless of her future, she is ours. She needs us, but we need her so much more. {We sent LOI on Tuesday June 7 and received PA on Thursday June 9}
We have finally found our girl, our dream, our answered prayer. Ainsley has great needs, but she was created in the image of a GREAT God. She is perfect, so beautiful, and worth more than rubies.
If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."-Matthew 17:20
Nana, Anna Grace, and Mila
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