As I sit on the deck with the delicious smell of our turkey on the smoker I can say I have so much to be thankful for. This Thanksgiving is definitely different but when is life not changing on us. We are having limited people over this year but it is not that we are scared or worried. It is because of marriage, cancer and caution. My oldest daughter has new extended family now that she is married and what I told her was always do what they feel is best when it comes to visiting love ones at holidays. Yes we want to see her but there will be no guilt or hurt feelings because she is not here. We love her and don’t want to add stress to their young marriage. Shelly’s dad has just had surgery to remove some cancer out from under his tongue and in his throat. In his condition of recovery he needs to be very cautious as he heals and doesn’t need to take unnecessary risk of getting sick whether it is Covid, the flu or just the common cold. We will miss them around the table today but will still be giving thanks for what we have.
Shelly and I have each other. This past May we have celebrated 26 years of marriage. We have had tough times but our love for each other and our commitment to God has gotten us through. Our oldest daughter though not here with us today has brought so much joy to our lives. We are thankful for her faith and compassion for others. Kyle our youngest until this year is 18 and as many his age try to push the boundaries as far as possible and explore being a young man, he is a challenge. God has used him to make me think about my parenting abilities and how much grace God gives me every day. I am so thankful for my son. I would say he is my mini me but he is now bigger and stronger than I have ever been. He has such a spirit to serve and he really likes to work. I am proud of the work ethic he displays. Our youngest daughter, Wei Wei is so far physically from us still but has such a dramatic influence on our lives. As I sit on the deck writing this I think about the challenges she has had in her life and the ones we will present to her when we finally unite. A week ago we were able to video chat Wei Wei. We got to show her our house and especially her room. It was exciting to speak and hear her voice live but when she cried and asked us how come we have not come for her yet, that was heart breaking. I am so thankful for the ones in China that have been taking care of her, feeding her, encouraging her, loving her and allowing her to become a blessing to our home. I don’t know the circumstances in her parents life that caused her to be brought to the orphanage. I can’t imagine the grief and helplessness they must have felt. I pray for Wei Wei’s parents. That God will bless them and ease the pain and agony they probably have everyday. We are blessed and thankful, not for the tragedy, hurt and pain that Wei Wei and her birth parents have experienced but for God giving us the ability, the compassion and the love to help. As much as we already love her and desire to be able to go get her today. I know it would be better for her if somehow her own parents could show up to love and take her home. As much sorrow we would have, I want to think that this is something we could be thankful for if it happened. God you have opened our eyes and hearts to love and I give you thanks for that special blessing. I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and are able to see the blessing God gives us all.
Adoption Update: We have received our L.I.D. ( Log In Date) from CCCWA in China which means they have received and logged all of our paper work into their system. We now wait on a L.O.A. ( Letter of Approval) and hopefully our travel approval after that. We have no time frame to share we just continue to wait with hope that China will open there boarders to the USA soon.