HERE is a very interesting video about Chinese orphans. You may not think you have much to offer an orphan child. Maybe you just don't realize what real poverty looks like, and how much you could offer a child that has nothing!

We decided to put the tree up early because Juergen most likely will be spending Christmas week with his mom and dad (his mom is very sick). Sarah was really excited. I took this photo of her joy. Juergen says it looks like a dentist commercial, I say it looks like a very happy kid!

Update on Sawyer...His mom wrote...
"As most of you know he was diagnosed with Neurocutaneous Melanosis, now
symptomatic. Some children are living normal, well as normal as they can
with seizure activity, lives. However he has significant leptomenigial
involvement which doesn't produce the same positive statistics. We are
praying and hopeful that he will beat those stats and live a long and
fruitful life."

You can send a card to this family. I will e-mail the address to you if you e-mail me at amy_heymann @ yahoo. de (remove the spaces)
Remeber, this is a single mom...so please slip some money into that card too! Put your self in her shoes. She is a brave and wonderful women. I pray she is overwhelmed by a flood of compassion and support (both prayer support and real practical support). She isn't asking for anything but we should all send it anyway!

Looking ahead to 2008. In August 2008 I hope to be taking Nicole (who will be turning 15 years old) to Mexico to build a house for a poor family. She has been raising the money to pay for her own flight and expenses. We also want to help pay for the building materials for this house. It's a very basic house and the materials cost $5000. So far only one wonderful soul has given money towards the building of this house. Nicole is a little discouraged, but I told her to pray. I'm writing you to ask if you could contribute a small amount towards this house. Even $5 or $10
would really make a difference. All the money will go towards building material...100%. Mother Teresa visited Tijuana once. She said she saw poverty there that was as bad as what she had seen in India. I use to live in San Diego, and take trips down there to help. People live in shacks made of whatever they can find. They have dirt floors that turn to mud when it rains. I want to teach my daughter how she can use the gifts God has given her to change the world. Nicole is a very gifted and compassionate person. It is a huge honor to be her mom. I thank you for any gift you give towards this project. You can donate money for the house through pay pal. The donation link is on the side bar of this page. Just click on ChipIn.

Sarah's Christmas shopping tip: bring a sword to help cut through the crowd!

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I remember waiting for our TA(travel approval) last Christmas. This song made me cry.
For all you waiting families, this song is for you! The song is by 3rd Day.

Please pray. I met this sweet boy in Nanjing. I even advocated for him to find his family. His single mom has only had him for a few months. The moles that cover a great deal of his little body are also now deep with in his brain. They are causing him to have seizures. I read this prayer request on IAAP's web group.

"If you are a person who prays, please say one for Sawyer, Shelli, and
his siblings. He had a grand mal seizure last night that would not stop with meds and he was put into an drug-induced coma on a respirator.

This morning he was still sedated, but off the respirator. He is in Cincinatti Children's. If we hear anything, we'll try to update here.!"


He is a beautiful child with a really wonderful mom. Please pray for this family.

Sarah got to meet Saint Nicolas this afternoon at the kindergarten. I don't have any pictures because parents weren't invited. Saint Nicolas gave her one of his old hats filled with lots of good stuff. She was a little afraid when I brought her to school. I had to talk her into staying. Boy was she jazzed when I went to pick her up! I hope the kindergarten took pictures, but I have these "after" shots. Oh what joy!!!

Santa almost forgot to leave the cookies on the table this morning. It is Saint Nicholas Tag in Germany. The kids get cookies and candy, and a small little gift from Saint Nicholas . Sarah was very sleepy when Juergen brought her to the table to meet her new bear. She did like the cookies, but only eat one. the rest she will eat later. This afternoon Saint Nicholas comes to her kindergarten. Fun, fun, fun!!!

I've been watching Adoption on the Hallmark channel online. The newest episode is very interesting, it's called second chances. It's about an amazing women who took in Russian orphans who have had disrupted adoptions. These kids have been through very awful situations in these institutions. This sort of adoption is not for cowards. I think this women has some pretty good clues on how to help post institutionalized kids. She speaks about structure, teaching them to work at natural things (gardens, cutting wood, raising animals) and ridding horses. I think I can apply some of what I see here to the lives of my own kids. Their experience was not so awful, but they were all in institutions (Philip, Thomas, and Sarah). They all need structure, respect, and hard work. Work is very important because everything is done for you in an orphanage. A great deal of pride and self worth is passed on when a person starts a task, and manages to finish that task. Like I said, this kind of adoption is not for most of us, but I found this very interesting.

I just dropped Sarah off at the kindergarten. Her teacher told me that tomorrow afternoon Saint Nicholas will come to the kindergarten for a visit. We told Sarah and she got very afraid. I almost could not leave her. I had to stay for 10 mins. just to calm her down because she just seemed so afraid. She has no real concept of this whole Santa thing. Here in Germany December 6Th is Saint Nicholas day. The kids get cookies and small gifts in the morning. Santa does not come on Christmas, that is the Christ Child. I actually like the German tradition better then the American way. We also decorate the tree on Christmas eve. I will buy the tree next week, and leave it on the balcony until then. Every day until Christmas (beginning December 1) our kids get a small gift in their advent calender. Every morning it's a small bit of excitement.

In the Christmas card I just posted of Sarah, I was trying to recreate a photo I took of Nicole when she was 4 years old. The dress is very special. It was made by my mom. The white satin was from my wedding dress. I love this photo of Nicole, but Sarah was so goofy...she would not sit still. Oh well,As Edna Mode said in the movie the Incredibles,"I never look back...it distracts from the now!" BTW, the dress almost didn't fit Nicole when she was 4, and it is way too big for Sarah.

I just saw this beautiful adoption video. I don't know the family but their daughter is very lovely! I know many people are just waiting to bring your kids home. It is so hard to want them home for Christmas. Oh, we wanted Sarah to be home for Christmas last year. It hurt that she wasn't with us. But she is with us now! She will be getting a bicycle for Christmas, and she can not wait! All I can say to those who wait and those who dream to adopt is hold fast to your dreams. It will be worth the wait. It will be wonderful!

While I'm at it...How can a little two year old girl as beautiful as this still be waiting for a family after one month? Her SN has been corrected. Her development is normal! She should have been snatched off the waiting list in one day...no, one minute. I expected people to be fighting over her. People please take my word for it...this is a treasure! I am so amazed her family has not found her yet! If I could only get a waver from Juergen I would adopt her myself! She is on CHI's waiting list. It is easy to get the password. Just ask for it HERE. She has the cutest mouth, like a little bird.

The girl in the light blue shirt is 11 years old and available for adoption through CHI. She is healthy and does well in school and is helpful with other children. Her only special need is her age. When she turns 13 she can no longer be adopted. Do you have the room in your heart and home for an older child? Her profile reads, "she is studying in Grade 4 in primary school, studies hard, respects teachers, is friendly to classmates, like to commonweal activity at school, got excellent grades for every lesson in exams, is gifted on drawing and well-liked by teachers and classmates." It also reads "She likes cleanness, is polite and obedient to the caretakers as well as care for younger sisters and brothers. She often shares the food distributed to her younger sisters and brothers in the SWI. She is outgoing and empathetic." Sounds like a real treasure! Did you know that if you are past the normal age limit to adopt from China, you can still get a waver to adopt an older child like this child?