Yes, I'm Still Here!!

It's been a long time since I posted here.  It's a really busy time of year for everyone.  Adoption news...we received our USCIS (immigration) approval on May 12 and RAN to scan it to Karla!  Our dossier has been wherever it goes to be certified and authenticated.  We hope to be DTC any minute!!
 I had hoped the busyness would take my mind off the waiting...didn't work!  Kell's one of my babies now and he is already a big part of our days.  We talk about him, pray for him, think of him everyday.  Several weeks ago there were a few days where it seemed bad news was all around us...grief, tragedy, illness.  Many friends were suffering and prayers were being lifted for them.  One evening after a longer than usual prayer time, Doug started to close and Burke yelled out, "No!  We haven't prayed for Kell yet!  Close your eyes.  I'll do it."  He said a sweet and sincere prayer for his brother.  Yep, he scolded us!  We hadn't forgotten Kell.  It was more of a time issue, I think!  I hope he always takes care of his little brother that way.  Here's what's been up with us...
                                                                           A prom,,,

                                                                         Another prom...

Young Life Family Camp

Family wedding in the Virgin Islands...

St. John...beautiful...

A 5th grade graduation...

LOTS of baseball...

More baseball...

More baseball...

Summer is finally here and I love it!  I love for my kids to be home just hanging out with lots of friends around.  With 3 baseball schedules we don't have many real "lazy days" but make the most of those we do have!  Kell just may think Americans are crazy when he comes to live with us...he'll adjust!  He'll think everyone's house is full of loud boys and flying balls...and the occasional flying food!!

Thanks to all of you who are supporting us financially, prayerfully, and emotionally.  That's orphan care...that's right, even the moral support! Here's to one less lonely boy in the world, one less broken heart!

Soon he'll be home and he'll know Jesus who will heal his broken heart, and he'll never be alone again...PRAISE GOD!!

"Father to the fatherless, defender of widows-this is God, whose dwelling is holy.  God places the lonely in families"  Psalm 68:5-6

"Pure and lasting religion in the sight of God our Father means that we must care for orphans and widows in their troubles, and refuse to let the world corrupt us."  James 1:27

James is one of my favorite books.  Short, simple, practical rules for life.  We are taught by the apostle Paul that our salvation is by faith alone, a free gift and not by works.  James adds that good works will follow true faith.  We are each called for different works according to our gifts and talents.  I hate to think how many times I missed an opportunity that God was showing me.  Several years ago I made a decision to live more intentionally for Him.  I decided to pay closer attention to the needs of those around me and take advantage of opportunities He placed in front of me.  Right away He showed me children in need.  Children of different ages, different races, different needs and abilities.  Love...that's what they need.  I can do that!  Homeless kids in the city, teenagers in my community.  I don't really think of myself as a "kid person" so that wouldn't have been my first guess as to what He would ask of me.  Now I see that he was readying me for this adoption.  I'm sure you've heard it and it's true: "He doesn't call the equipped, He epuips the called." 

It's so much more comfy to stay in our own little world and take care of our own little business and not pay attention to what's going on around us.  That's not living our faith.  Not listening so we don't have to know is not living our faith.  If we listen, we will know.  If we know, we must act.  "Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and not do it."  James 4:17.

That leads me back to our sweet Kell.  He told us, we knew, we knew He knew that we knew, so here we are...SO HAPPY TO BE HERE!!!

What is He calling you to do?

Waiting Patiently and Trusting

Waiting patiently...not really my thing!  I am a planner, a doer, a list maker.  I love to make a list and mark off a task when done.  If I do something that's not on my list, I will write it there just so I can mark it off!  There's probably a diagnosis for that!  So, here I am, a planner, dealing with a lack of control.  I bet this whole adoption thing would go faster if they'd let me be in charge!!

We received our appointment date for biometric fingerprinting.  Yeah!  Movement!  We've not been forgotten and lost in the system!  A long wait for that appointment...but it's out there!

God has proven over and over to me that he is in control and his timing is always is perfect.  He's proven it and he tells me in his word...
Proverbs 3:5  Trust in the lord with all your heart...
Psalms 37:3  Trust in the Lord...
Psalms 37:7  Be still in God's presence and wait patiently...
Isaiah 1:19  Obey me and let me help you....

And so I will wait patiently knowing that we are in his "good and perfect plan".  The day will be chosen by God and the timing will be just perfect...I will mark off my list "bring Kell home".

We have new pictures!  Take a look...

NOW THAT WILL BE WORTH THE WAIT!!!!

KELL YEAH!!

One of the first things we learned about adoption is that the fees are substantial...SUBSTANTIAL!!  Dan Cathy has said, "A God-inspired dream will never fit into your checkbook or calendar.".  We have a God-inspired dream that doesn't fit the checkbook.  Part of what makes it so sweet is the sacrifice.  We have to rely on God to provide.  We have to trust that he will.  He is always true.  Most families that adopt cannot afford it...like us.  There are many ways that adopting families find the funds.  There are grants, loans, fundraising, letter writing.  I have seen some creative ideas to reach the goal.  If you are considering adoption and the financial aspect is holding you back, don't let it.  If God is calling you to do it, he will provide.  There is lots to learn and lots of support in the adoption world.
We started with good old fashioned cutting corners, eliminating unnecessary expenses, beenie weenie dinners.  So many expenses are unnecessary compared to the lives of these orphans.  I love watching my kids come to that understanding.  It's so great when they pass up something they want and say, "We should use that money for Kell" and then we slip that amount into the ziploc bag in the kitchen that collects "Kell money".
Doug put together a fundraising bracket for the men's college basketball playoffs.  Thanks to all who played and GOOD LUCK to those of you who still have teams in the tournament.

Now there's the KELL YEAH t shirt sell.  Our friends at SportsPrint in Marietta printed the shirts for us.  They did a great job so call them for all your printing needs.  Had to get that plug in!  We are selling them for a minimum $10 donation.  Email me if you would like to buy one. berryptc@comcast.net
I cannot tell you how humbled and grateful we are for all who support us in many ways in our journey to Kell.  You all have a part in changing a life forever.

"WAIT"-Nobody's Favorite Word!

Waiting...that is what we're doing right now.  Our home study and I800A are somewhere on someone's desk in a US immigration office.  To them it's another piece of paper that they will get to when they get to it.  To us it's Kell Berry in China who needs to get to Peachtree City PRONTO!  The wait there has just recently increased.  Not sure why.  I talked to a friend yesterday who finally got through that step...7 weeks!  Oh, I need patience now!  That is one thing I pray for.  To use this time wisely to prepare for this sweet addition to our family.  I pray that this time is used to prepare him, as well.  I send lots of pictures of the everyday things of Berry life...baseball games, kids playing, even Kroger!  I want everything to look familiar when he gets here.  Included in my reading this week was Hebrews 10:36:  "Patient endurance is what you need now, so you will continue to do God's will.  Then you will receive all that he has promised."  Perfect!

but, God...

Encouraging words from my friend, Andrea.  I love this.

but God...it's too darn hard
"follow me" Matthew 9:9

but God...what if i fail miserably?
"follow me"  Matthew 8:22

but God...what if i feel like what you're calling me to do is too challenging?
"follow me"  Matthew 4:19

but God...I have everything right here and things are good in my life
"follow me"  Matthew 10:38

but God...how can i step out of my comfort zone?  what if...
"follow me"  Matthew 16:24

but God...it will cost money and so many sacrifices will have to be made
"follow me"  Matthew 19:21

but God...i am weak, tired, and weary, lacking faith, discouraged
"follow me"  Mark 1:17

but God...there is so much at risk.  what if my family and friends don't support me?
"follow me"  Mark 2:14

but God...what about my family and their comforts?
"follow me"  Mark 8:34

but God...my faith is smaller than a mustard seed
"follow me"  Mark 10:21

but God...i don't know if i can do this. i don't know if i have what it takes
"follow me"  Luke 5:27

but God...can i trust you in this? really? can i?
"follow me"  Luke 9:23

but God...i don't want to walk on the water right now. i like it where things are calm
"follow me"  Luke 9:59

but God...can't you see that my family is happy with the way things are right now?
"follow me"  Luke 9:61

but God...how can i know for sure that I have heard your still small voice?
"follow me"  Luke 14:27

but God...you listening? how will this all come together?
'follow me"  Luke 18:22

but God...think you could give this assignment to someone else? please?
"follow me"  John 1:43

but God...what if things fall apart and my world comes crashing down?
"follow me"  John 8:12

but God...i'm afraid of failure
"follow me"  John 10:27

but God...give it all up? seriously?
"follow me" John 12:26

but God...(insert reason not to do something)
"follow me"  John 21:19

but God...(insert one more great excuse)
"follow me" John 21:22

Sound familiar?  Excuses, excuses.  All very valid, of course.
Ok! Ok!  I get it, Lord!
God, you are trustworthy, dependable, good, kind, loving, patient, abounding in grace and mercy, faithful and true is your name.  How can I possibly not trust you with everything I have?

"Then he said to them all: "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me."  Luke 9:23

Even when the road is hard and things make absolutely no sense...I will follow you...

...simply because you said so...

Moving Along!

Those days when there is nothing we can do but wait are really hard.  And we have lots more of those ahead!  Good news is we finished the home study and I have just returned from mailing our I800A!!  We are sending it ahead of the final home study report.  Just going to the post office made me feel like I was doing something that is in my control.  Now it's another long wait!   Did I say I was in control?  I keep forgetting!  It's not me, it's God!  Why is that so hard?

Above is a picture of the first care package for our Kell!  There are small gifts for his foster parents and foster sister, also.  He gets the all important candy, a baseball (of course),  Braves gear (gearing up to be a home town fan!), a photo album of his new family, his new home, his new dog.....wow!  That's a lot of changes for a little guy!  I pray he will not be overwhelmed by it all!

Also pictured is my new friend, Henry.  I was directed to him by a friend.  He works at a local family owned chinese restaurant.  Henry knows mandarin and can translate the written words.  I found that even though some immigrants can still speak the language, they have forgotten the thousands and thousands of symbols used in writing it.  What a difficult language!  Henry was so gracious to me.  He translated a stack of labels for pictures in the album amd a couple of letters.  He refused payment even though I told him he hadn't seen the last of me and my translation requests!  His only request is that I bring Kell to the restaurant.  Oh, I will be there!  Kell will miss his noodles like I missed my grits...that's where I got the name of the blog!

The package will be hand delivered next week by a family who is going to Dongguan to bring home their precious 6 year old daughter (thank you!).  I hope his heart is happy!  I pray that daily.  I sometimes go into my children's rooms when they are sleeping...aren't sleeping babies sweet!?  I pray for them while they are peaceful and quiet.  At many times during the day when I pray for Kell, he is sleeping on the other side of the world...peaceful and quiet...and I can't wait for him to be sleeping in his new room, in his new house, with his new dog on the floor, with his forever mommy praying for him.