Go Red!

Last night Scott and I sent off another gift package to Charis. We want her to receive something about every 2 weeks during the last part of her wait. You will all be glad to know that Charis is a Buckeyes fan. It just comes with being a Chapman. So she should receive her official Buckeyes t-shirt in about a week! Red is a good color...actually the BEST color in China. You Blue fans will just have to continue being blue. Go Red!

She will also receive a little blanket, a pretty pink t-shirt, a matching pink pullover hoodie and a pink Hello Kitty bag to carry it all in when she leaves the orphanage. I washed everything so she could experience the smell of her new home. I can't wait to see her wear these things. Soon...very soon. God is in control. And He is soooooo good.

I'll look at the moon tonight

September 25th is China's Mid-Autumn Festival. People will get together all over the country to celebrate abundance under the harvest moon. Charis should receive her moon cakes and a letter from us letting her know we are thinking of her on this festive day. We sent enough so she could share them with her friends and the oprhanage staff. I looked at the moon tonight because it is already tomorrow in China and in a few short hours, my precious daughter will look up into a China sky and see this very same moon. It's amazing to me to think that we are over 6000 miles apart, and though we can't yet see each other, we will look up into the heavens and see the same night light. I love you little one. Soon we will look at the sky together. Indeed, the whole earth is full of His glory.

Sugar and SPICE and everything nice

Hunan Province in China is known for its spicy food. I am told that the girls there are known as spicy girls because they LOVE very hot, spicy food! The Walkers' little girl, Esther, certainly fits the bill. When they were delayed a few hours in the airport waiting area, the attendants brought the passengers 2 bowls of food each. Trina said one bowl was steamed rice, the other bowl looked something like octopus legs. Realizing her new family wasn't quite sure what to do, Esther found a ledge by the window on which to place her bowls, motioned for her family to follow her and dug right in. After tasting the food, she grabbed a bottle of water and gave it to her mom...not because she was thirsty but because she knew her mom would need the water. Those things that looked like octopus legs were SPICY!

I've decided that when God made our little Charis, He made sure that SPICE was in the mix...just for her Daddy! After all, that's what little girls are made of!!! We certainly are fearfully and wonderfully made.

She is tall for Chinese and not crazy loud!!!

More news and pictures from the Walkers arrived this morning. Yeah!!! I posted a picture of Charis (and Jeremy) holding the gifts that we were able to send her through the Walkers. And here's what Trina had to say about Charis: "She is healthy, rather tall for Chinese. She was well behaved. She does smile but a lot of the photos she is aware I am taking it and then they get very somber looking… not sure why. Her peers seemed to accept her and treat her well. And likewise she was kind to others. She was good in class, not crazy loud like some of them were."

Okay, could there actually be a calm Chapman child? God does only give us what we can handle...so I am counting on a very sweet little girl who always obeys, never says anything with a sassy voice, walks (not runs, slides, flops, hops or bounces) from room to room, remembers to pick up after herself, takes joy in doing chores and hmmmm, doesn't argue when it's time for bed?! I'm kidding of course! Every word that I read from the Walkers' e-mails is so beautiful to me. When I see their address in my in-box, it almost takes my breath away!

They have seen my daughter. They have observed her. They have spoken with her. Wow! I can't wait to do it myself. To think that before she was even born, God saw her. He created her. He knows her inside and out. He has been a part of her life, at work on her behalf, intervening and interceding for her...and for us. And soon, we will be together. To be seen and known by the Lord. We are so blessed! "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

I must be nesting!

Well, this afternoon we received 2 pictures of our little girl from the Walkers. In one Charis is sitting at her desk in school, and in the other she is eating lunch at the orphanage. Her hair has grown a little compared to the referral picture we have of her and we can see much more evidence of her facial burn. It also looks like she lost one of her front teeth! Ahhh, the joys of being 8 years old.

It is somewhat surreal to look at your daughter, to see her living life par usual and not even to have met her. What we know about her is so little yet it is so much more than what she knows about us. I can't even imagine what must go through her mind when she looks at our picture!!

Anyway, after seeing these pictures, I had to buy SOMETHING! So, I headed over to SuperTarget and prepared a little travel bag filled with toiletry items just for Charis. Now she has her own toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, body spray, clippers, nail polish and strawberry lip gloss. For you guys, that may not seem too important, but any girl will know how special this little bag is. I can't wait to give it to her.

What is going through my head right now? We serve an AWESOME God!

Charis update from friends in China

This morning we received an e-mail from the Walkers again (family in China adopting little Esther). We found out that Charis and Esther (and another friend of Charis' named Jeremy) have all known for some time that they were going to be adopted. They have talked together about what it will be like to live in America with foreign parents! Gotta love that! How fun for them and what a blessing for us. And God has united our families (adopters) before separating them (adoptees). They have no idea how God is moving, ultimately to bring them all into His family and to keep their friendships alive. All things DO happen for good for those who love God!

We have our letter seeking confirmation!

Today we received a phone call from our adoption agency telling us that we have received our letter from China Seeking Confirmation. Once we sign this and it is sent back to China, all we need is Travel Approval. Our best guess is a trip to China in early November bringing Charis home around Thanksgiving. God is sooooooo good! We have so much to be thankful for already. What an extra special blessing to be thankful for this year. Give thanks to the Lord for He is good!

The neat thing about God's timing is that yesterday, Charis received a care package from us via another family who is in China right now adopting one of Charis' friends from her same orphanage. If you want to follow their journey and read about Charis' living situation and get a taste of what we will experience in China, go to http://www.walkerstochina.blogspot.com/.

Charis' name means gift or grace in Greek. She received her gift (art kit, family picture and a pillow) from us yesterday. Our gift (letter seeking confirmation) came today. Eventually, we will hold our gift (Charis) in our arms. Every good and perfect gift comes from above!