Open arms

OH, Lily Lou! Where I am failing you in letters, I am making up for it in paperwork to bring you home. We are tired and weary from all that's going on in our lives, but even with all the noise, distractions and work, we still make time to talk about you all day, to pray for you each night , and to love you every second.   You are already such a blessing. We are working on your room! I'm hoping to have it done soon! It seems like yesterday we were working on the same room to bring Joy home and it feels really weird to be adding another bed in there. When I step in the room to work, I remember the terrible feeling of Joy's absence as I prepared  for her. This time is a bit easier because now as I step in the room, although I feel your absence, I also know the feelings I will have once you're  home; Feelings of joy, relief, praise and the feeling of not remembering you didn't come from my belly. You will just be one of us. We have a lot of time lost to catch up on, but we spend every day together, so maybe we can catch up quickly . We watch your videos over and over and dream about the day our arms are around you. We are all coming to China for you! Anna, Ezra, Eli, Joy, Mama,and Baba are all flying halfway around the world to see the hotel door open and you walk right into our hearts. Oh, what a moment that will be! It will probably be really hard for you. We know that you are leaving everything behind to go with strangers. You've had the same foster family since age 2... We know this will take time. Our love for you will be immediate and unconditional, but we all understand that your love will probably take time. We have time... We can wait. At this point, God must really think that we are patient and can handle things or He may think we are very impatient and need the practice. I haven't decided yet which it is. All I know is that we love you and welcome you with open arms into our family. You are a miracle and are treasured. 

                                 Until we meet,

                                        Mommy 

P.s. I will call you XinLi until the day we part, if you want me to. :-) 

A beautiful mess

• http://www.nohandsbutours.com/2016/01/11/saying-yes-beautiful-mess/

Here is my recent article on saying "yes" to the beautiful mess called adoption. You might want to read this someday.  We love you, Lily, and pray for you every day! We can't wait until our arm are around you! There are many here who love you!!!!
                                                  - Mama

Lily, what a treasured daughter.

Well, well. We didn't expect this journey so soon, but God's timing is perfect - He laughs at our plans! I would like to tell the world a little about you and how your name came about.  I will then start the letters to you.

Lily Xin Li Williams is from a province close to Beijing, called "Shandong". She lives in Zibo City. She went to the orphanage at 3 months old and lived there until she was two years old. At the tender age of two, she went into foster care in  a family's home and has been there since. We hear she is well-loved and taken care of there.  She is in the fourth grade and doing great in school.  She loves any sports, running long distances and singing.  She is a smart, sweet girl who will be so loved with us. We cannot wait to have her home. 

Justin and I wanted to choose a name immediately for Xin Li (pronounced 'Sheen Lee', meaning "new beauty"). We had to have a Biblical name, since all the other's are Biblical. We thought about Esther, Magdala, Eve, Miriam and Lydia, to name a few. Nothing was right. We googled until our eyes crossed for days upon days. We might text each other names throughout the day. Nothing was right.  We also wanted to somehow incorporate part of the name "Solomon" (a small part of his name maybe?) .

 

Solomon is a special little boy who had my whole heart and now he is a hero that saved many lives by gifting his precious little organs - a true hero indeed. He suddenly died on a cold, snowy February Day in 2015 of an unknown brain tumor. We wantedSolomon's memory and legacy to always remain in our hearts and lives. Each time I say her name, I have a brief thought of Sol. That's exactly what I wanted. Pain and aching for his earthly body, yet a peace that he is with the King.  I'll see you again, Sol, and we will laugh like we always did... Promise.

  I have loved birds for a long time. I have them all in my home, on my clothes, and paint birds frequently. There is just something free and calming about birds. My "love" for birds came about from the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew. When I worry, I frequently whisper "remember the birds, Allie" to myself to remind me not to worry and that He takes all our worries when we lay them at His feet.  So, one night I was up, lying in bed, praying and worrying. 

(Remember the birds, Allie)

I decided to get up right then and open my Bible to Sermon on the Mount. I have read that verse over and over in my life.  I opened to Matthew and was brought to tears and chills.


And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:

And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these

Matthew 6:28-29

That was it! Her name is Lily. God delivered that name to us, just like He delivered the calling to be her parents.

Justin actually found Lily on another agency's waiting child page, while we were in the hospital over Thanksgiving. He knew 100% that Lily was our daughter. We got RenAi's adoption file started this month and estimated it to be done in a year. We felt she was our child. When Justin saw Lily's face, he knew that our year- long journey that we had been on, to RenAi was maybe just that .... We did what we were supposed to do for her and now she would have a family of her own when the file is finished. 

We mourned her "loss",as she is precious and spicy :-).  RenAi was Joy's foster sister and will forever be very dear to our hearts. I can't describe the hurt of "losing" her, while there is a peace that we know that this path is for us. When Justin told me about Lily, I knew it was a plan from God. Who was I to question that? If Justin knew 100%, then I knew 100%. It took a few days for me to realize this was happening. Busy with hospital stays, doctor visits, round-the-clock drain emptying and caring for Joy's needs, while caring for three other's needs,homeschooling every second we can, post-adoption reports and now a DOSSIER TO China!? We just have to say "yes" to the mess, because Jesus said "yes" to ours. It is a beautiful mess to have and we are all blessed that it is our mess.
Many people have asked and asked if we would have more children. I always think "I'm sure glad God had me when He could've said  'eh, I have enough'. Thank you, Jesus, for adopting us as your children!
We are hoping to get all of Joy's medical issues resolved by time of travel and do school work through the summer, so that we can take time off when it is time to go to China and to bond after she is home.  All of the children will be making the trek with us to China. We feel it is important to not leave Joy yet and also we feel it will break the ice for Lily. Let's face it; Lily will basically be taken by us from her "parents". This might be a hard transition! We also feel like the children need to see where their sisters were born and learn about the culture. The kids will have the ultimate learning experience while traveling abroad .  They hopefully will learn about the orphan crisis while having their eyes opened just like our's were opened in China.  We can't wait to meet our daughter and sister in China, but even better will be when we are doing daily life together!

We are blessed once again by the gift of a child. What a special gift!