Don't Miss It~

One year ago this past weekend I was invited to the If Gathering at the last minute, and on the second day we were asked to write on a stone a word God was speaking to us.

I wrote the number 7.

God had shown me 7 a few times in the weeks before and would after too.

I really felt like He was leading us back to China for a 7th child but when I shared this with Scott, he reminded me of a pact we had made 6 months before that. He said no.

---

It was June 27, 2014 and as we hit the tarmac, we locked hands, looked into each others’ eyes, and made a promise we were done! Done with travel, done with adopting, and just ready to be home. Little did we know, God had such better plans for us.

---

Back to February 7, 2015… I was home from a mountaintop experience thinking I had heard a clear word from God and my husband was sure I had not. I didn’t know what to think or pray.

I decided to pray IF we were meant to go back for our 7th child, God would tell Scott. It was SO hard to sit back and let Him work.

In April, I saw the face of a little girl that took my breath away. I wanted her to be our little girl but didn’t know how to approach Scott about her. I casually mentioned a precious little girl who looked just like SJ, and he said she probably had a family. I checked… no!

I told him I would advocate for her and just see what God would do. That was SO hard. Trust God to give her to us even when I was putting her out there to be chosen by someone else. I believed with all my heart if she was meant to be our daughter, God would work it out.

For two months she waited on an agency list and I kept praying for her, for Scott, for our family.

I remember getting a message while we were away for our anniversary in June that another family had sent LOI for her, and I had to force myself to be thankful she was chosen and loved. It hurt so much but God was working.

For two months her file was gone and we believed a family was pursuing her adoption. I still thought about her and continued to pray for her.

In August I was standing in the school room staring out the window watching the rain pour when a message appeared on my phone that Raine was back on the list and the family had released her file. I could NOT hold back my feelings. I sent the file to Scott with a note saying, “Don’t be mad.” For days he didn’t say a word.

One Saturday he was running and God revealed her eyes to him. He knew. The next day at church God would make it SO clear during a sermon challenging us to be Lifesavers… who were we going to save?

Bam! That was it… the answer to my prayers over the last 7 months. That night he reached over to take my hand, looked me in the eye, and said Okay. Nothing else needed to be said. I knew he meant Okay, we have a daughter and Okay we are going to get her. It was also a moment when 7 made complete sense.

7th child had been chosen 7 months after God had spoken to my heart. He had taught me He is able to do immeasurable MORE in His timing. I just had to believe and wait.

Our children were thrilled when we told them they had a new sister while vacationing at the beach.

And the rest is history… we are waiting for LOA and hoping to travel in the Spring.

---

Chosen for Life Conference~ {Yesterday}

One year later yesterday, we were invited to share our video and testimony at Chosen for Life Conference. One year later God gave us the beautiful privilege to share our adoption story with people chasing adoptions or foster care. It was amazing to stand on stage and shout God’s provision in our marriage over the last 30 years! SO thankful to Bryan and Lisa Miller for this amazing opportunity!

IF I had not gone to IF Gathering, I might not have been available to hear God’s plan for our family.

IF I had chosen to ignore God’s nudges, I would have missed the blessing of speaking for His glory.

IF I had pushed Scott instead of waiting on God, I might have missed our 7th daughter.

IF our marriage had been weak and we had been selfish, we may have chosen our own path.

---

SO What to Take from all this?

God will reveal His will to BOTH of you but not necessarily in your timing OR at the same time.

Prayer moves us to a place where God ordains His will.

Never say never because you don’t always know what God has in store.

His plan is ALWAYS better!

Ephesians 3:20… Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.

Our favorite matra lately has been: WHAT if we had missed this?

Final Thought: DON’T MISS IT! It’s TOO good to miss!!!

Share what might be holding you back from a first adoption or maybe your 7th.

The How of Adoption~

You can imagine the stares and questions we get when we walk into a place with all our littles. And the head shaking that ensues when we share about CallaAnne! I know! I used to be the same way when we were a family of three girls and bigger families were near. The same questions popped into my head that I will share below and little did I know God had MUCH bigger plans for our family than we would ever imagine.

Giving God control of your thoughts changes your life and gives you blessings you NEVER saw coming!!!

People ask us all the time HOW in the world are we able to handle this adoption life God has given us and at times its hard to put into words. My husband Scott chose this topic today and hope together we are able to give hope to anyone called… you just have to say yes.

Go HERE to continue reading my blog post at A Beautiful Symphony.

Dossier to China~

It is a stellar day when these 13 beautiful documents are handed off to our agency~

and word comes they are off to China... DTC (dossier to China)~

There is much work involved as these documents are compiled and keeping them organized is key so I wrote a post HERE to explain my process~

Go to A Beautiful Symphony: Adoption Paperwork Mountain to read more.
We are so thankful they are in China and now we wait for them to be Logged In and official wait begins for official word of LOA~ Letter of Acceptance!!!!!

Adoption Series: The Faces of our Children {Match}

Nothing about adoption is easy! Except maybe the relief of finding your child and knowing her face but then a whole new uneasiness begins. I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s start at the beginning.

Our adoptions have begun with a myriad of ways, ALL with one commonness, God’s Hand on each one. He has revealed each face to me except EK and her referral came to us as we watched her face appear on our computer screen on January 27, 2006. A day forever etched on my heart. With EK, we chose our adoption agency first (CCAI) and worked through paperwork plus home study before being matched.

The six matches since then have been somewhat different due to a special need diagnosis. Most children adopted from China these have a need identified and families decid if it is one they canhandle for lack of a better word. SJ and WP came to us with heart defects, EC cerebral palsy (which she didn’t have), PC with spina bifida, HM hydrocephalus, and CA will come with heart defect as well.

I hesitate to say this next statement because most people can’t relate unless they’ve been through the adoption and matching process but here it goes.

To read the rest. Click HERE~ A Beautiful Symphony

Tshirt Deadline: Sunday, November 29 @ Midnight

One Last Call for Tshirt Orders~

Please order you tshirts by Sunday, November 29 @ midnight to get your shirt by Christmas.

Go to Project: Love One HERE to order.

Blessings and Love to all!!!

His Story Told on His Radio 89.3~

November is National Adoption Month and Sunday is Orphan Sunday so we were so excited to release our video yesterday to share our adoption story.

As Scott drove to work Tuesday he was listening to His Radio 89.3 and had a thought to email their station with our video in hopes they would want to use it to bring awareness to Orphan Sunday.

He did email and one of the cohosts, Alison Storm, emailed him right back to say she loved the video and asked if we be interested in an interview at the station.

OF COURSE!

This morning we left home about 5:30 with all the kids and drove to Greenville for one of the most exciting things ever~

Alison, Rob, and Jim were SO nice to us and truly we felt we had known them always. We were not nervous and the kids were welcomed with open arms. {In a radio studio... LIVE!} SO cool!

We loved sharing parts of our family story with them and later Alison sent me a link to Rob Dempsey's blog with our interview.
Please click on the link below to watch~
Orphan Sunday: The Ankerich Family's Adoption Story

We are SO very thankful for this amazing opportunity and a chance to point our story straight to Jesus because really...

It's not our story.

It's His Story Told on His Radio 89.3.

If you haven't had a chance to watch our film shot by 314 Productions, here you go~

This morning in my quiet time I read this~

It hit me like ton of bricks... We would be foolish to approach adoption looking only for how it applies to us or others, forgetting to find what it says about Him.

Adoption is Jesus. He adopted us into His family when He took our sin to the cross and lives today that we would have eternal life with Him. 

Everything in our family, our adoptions, and this film is for Jesus and His glory. May He be glorified in it only and He would bring more orphans home to their forever family!!!

A Story on Film~

Today we had the joy of having Nicole Cole from 314 Productions 

filming God's story being written in our family~

She was with us all day and lots of sweet moments shared.

We pray and believe this film will spur hearts toward

many MORE children finding their forever families!!!

Psalm 68:5-6

Father of the fatherless and protector of widows

is God in his holy habitation.

God settles the solitary in a home;

he leads out the prisoners to prosperity,

but the rebellious dwell in a parched land.

Adoption in the Raw~ {WHAT Breaks Your Heart?}

 I guess because EK finished up her school work before the others,

she went digging through our home videos~

and instead of FIAR activity time, we had Life lessons time.

As I sat reliving Amelia's birth, I overheard their conversations processing what they watched.

~you had Mimi in your tummy

~is that little girl Nana

~ where is Gigi

~we're in China

~they didn't GET them like us

~who are those people (Scott's parents gone before they came home)

~look at Memommy and Sissy

Just a beautiful picture of redemption for me.

An hour later, still watching~

It is times like this when adoption thoughts get deep 

and soulful... and I hold my littles each extra tight

so they can FEEL the Forever they now live.

The reality of their loss takes my heart over the edge sometimes

and I would never have wished it on them even if it meant me not being their mom.

{Now THAT is RAW for me!}

I would have chosen their first parents getting the joy I get every single day

BUT

that's not how life turned out for them SO...

We make adoption and loss and hard things a normal okay kind of talk

every single day they want to talk about it.

They ask questions and I answer as best I can

 with my broken/thankful momma heart all rolled into one.

I don't know all the answers and probably never will

but I want them to know...

 they can ALWAYS ask 

and I will ALWAYS

walk through the good,

 the bad, 

the beautiful, 

and the raw right along with them.

I recently listened to a sermon by Andy Stanley @ North Point Community Church

called Resolution: The Better Question.

He said,

This is that time of year when we become painfully aware of where we are not, who we are not, and what we need to do differently. Traditionally, the new year is a season of self-absorption. It’s all about what we can do to make ourselves better people. The result is that churches, health clubs, debt counselors, and vitamin shops do a booming business.

But we tend to forget that the people we respect the most didn’t devote their lives to becoming the best version of themselves. They devoted their lives to making a difference in the world . . . or in someone’s world.

Learning to give myself away has been the biggest lesson in my adoption journey.

Once we chose this path for our lives, 

our commitment to self was sidetracked.

Andy's key question was~

WHAT breaks your heart?

The beginnings of THESE~

is WHAT breaks my heart!

The choice of their first parents to let them go.

The time they each spent abandoned all alone until found.

Being taken to orphanages where they would live until chosen.

Waiting, waiting waiting.

Cold, hungry, crying, sick with our love to wrap them up.

Being taken to a scary place one day and given to total strangers.

Thrown into a whole new life with no experiences to hinge it all on.

I could go on and on and on but I'll stop here.

Our children have so much to overcome and

so much to live for as well.

Watching the videos today opened up even more opportunities for love to grow

through all the things they have to process.

At one point in the sermon, Andy told a story of he and his wife having a moment

when they broke down over the question~

WHAT if we had MISSED this?

Scott and I feel the same way about ALL our children...

Brings us to SOBS when we think~

WHAT IF WE HAD MISSED THIS?

{what if we had missed the 5 births and the 6 gotchas we witnessed}

It may be the hardest calling in the world,

but I wouldn't trade my life for anything in the world!!!

{Good, bad, beautiful, and raw}

SO I ask YOU today~

WHAT Breaks Your Heart?

There are 153 million orphans in the world.

Does THAT break your heart?

Please take time to pray how God could change not only the world of a child

but also the blessing you might be missing.

What if you miss it?

Believe me!!!

You DON'T want to!

Nehemiah 1:11a

Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant 

and to the prayer of your servants who

delight in revering your name.

Nothing would make me happier than helping YOU begin a journey

toward YOUR child waiting somewhere in this world.

I am just a comment, email, or call away.

I will help you begin to mend hearts!!!

Lifeline Fall Festival~

Adoption families gathered for the Lifeline First Annual Fall Festival Reunion.

We enjoyed a great lunch and games for the kids~

 I think the best thing about it was being able to talk and share 

with other families doing exactly what we do every single day.

It was also so cool to see many of the children we have prayed for...

now in their forever families~

We ALL had a great time and look forward to next year when we have sweet Abby home!!!

Thankful for Lifeline helping us bring home three of our precious blessings!!!

A Fabulous Friday~

First of all we want to thank Jennifer {our sil} for thinking of, organizing, 
and working a fundraiser yard sale for our adoption this weekend~

 We have a fee due Monday for our USCIS  fingerprinting and Jennifer has already raised all that for us. 
We have another sale day tomorrow and whatever is made then will go toward our second agency fee due too.
Blessings to everyone who has donated anything to this event!

Tonight we were so excited to spend time with Jessica and Peter for dinner and the football game~

Absolutely LOVE watching Rose cheer!

When we left @ halftime, they were winning 44-0!

A Fabulous Friday for sure!!!

Thankful Thursday... {HollyMei}~

Lots of families come home from China worn out and emotionally drained. 

Unless you have adopted, there is no way to understand the feelings, emotions, physical strain, and stress... 

more times than not I have come home saying we are done... 

and Scott always says 'nothing surprises me' or 'never say never'.

I have to be honest.

I tried to stop reading adoption blogs.

I tried to stay off advocacy websites.

I tried to not look at waiting kids on every agency list.

I tried to tell God I was done.

Truth is... He was not done with me.

He knew I still had room in my heart, my home, and my arms.

On July 19 I saw a face I had seen before but was too soon to know. This time it was different... I knew.

I sent an email to ask if she had a family... no.

May I see the file... yes.

Wow, our precious new 3 year old daughter.

She is 3 months younger than Evie so they will virtual twin babies.

Her special need was nothing we had ever considered but not one single doctor or specialist said no.

Scott and I talked and prayed for days about her.

The update Lifeline was able to get was probably the deciding factor.

She looked to be hitting her developmental milestones.

I think someone had asked for an update with photos without her clothes on so there was one of her in just some shorts 

and her face was just so angelic~

 There were also two videos of her and I screenshot lots of photos from them~

Want to know why I loved The Scavenger's Daughters SO MUCH?

Our baby is in foster care with a Ye Ye and Nai Nai...

 she is dancing with her Ye Ye in these photos. 

Hope to have the videos soon!

 I felt like as I read the book I was visiting my baby's life for a little while. 

Such a blessing she is living with a family right now...

In the long run will be huge for her attachment and bonding. 

I'm sure this comes as a surprise to some and so NOT a surprise to others.

We have shared this amazing news with most of our family, 

especially with our own immediate family and everyone is happy and excited.

The bigs are not surprised (always ready to love another)

 and the littles are excited to have another play/school mate.

I have reached out to people that might be able to shed light on her special need or maybe ones that know about her orphanage/city.

Yay! Lori Borah... our babies are bro/sis!

Everyone has been so helpful and supportive.

I am amazed each day at the many red threads God weaves through His children's stories.

There were two precious friends that meant so much to me as we prayed for direction from God...

LeighAnn (Abbie) and Kelli (MeiLi) shared their girls' stories with us and we are so thankful for their willingness.

We are naming our baby~~

HollyMei (Mei Mei is Chinese for little sister).

So join us for Thankful Thursday as we introduce our baby and announce PA (pre approval) for

HollyMei Qiuhan Ankerich~

Look at the twin babies...

Aren't they gonna be the cutest pair in the world?

I am still wrapping my heart and mind around this amazing blessing! Scott too. LOL

Pool Fun~

I've said it many times... adoption friends are some of the sweetest people I know.

We were invited to Lyn's house yesterday for some Pool Fun along with 3 other families.

It was sweet to watch our 14 children  

(12 from China and 4 more coming home soon) 

play like they had known each other forever~

 It was also so wonderful to share some mom time as well!

Our time together as families was precious as we shared adoption stories 

and being in the throws of bonding and attachment right now.

Looking forward to the next time... thank you Lyn!!!

Forever Connected~

SJ has been home almost 3 years... longer than she was in the orphanage and almost longer than the time without us. In the past I have asked her many times about her life before us and honestly she just can't remember {so she says} and I don't push her. She does think she remembers to some point things we have photos of {thankful a little camera we sent came back with photos}. In some of her photos were shots of her and a foster sister. 

I think because WP was able to reconnect with his foster brother not long ago, it made SJ want that too. Today we were able to do just that through Face Time~

I know they are just little kids but their connection was easy and familiar. They showed each other around their houses and talked about just day to day things. There are so many things to be thankful for and having a Forever Connection to a foster sister is definitely one of them!!!

Parade of Families~

A couple of weeks before the Lifeline banquet we traveled to Columbus to be interviewed about adoption with two other families. The video was shown @ the banquet and I am sharing with you in hopes your heart is touched for many waiting~ 

To be a part of a family that loves them beyond measure.

Blessings to you all as you watch and be moved. 

Adoption~

Because of His GREAT Love for us before the world even began...

We were chosen BY GOD to be adopted as His children... 

We Love because HE first loved us... 

A pure act of faith is to care for His children just as He cared for us.

  Adoption is partnering with Jesus to see lives transformed...

Adoption is a Miracle! 

This beautiful canvas was sent to our family today from The Franks family... {Grayson's family}.

Such a sweet act of love from one family to another as we all share the awesome miracle of adoption.

It now hangs in our school room and will be cherished each day as I step in to teach them of God's greatest gift to us... Jesus and the miracle of being adopted into His family. 

LOVE this beautiful reminder!

A Sweet Meet~

Today we were blessed with a visit from my friend Donna and two of her six children. They were on the way to Shriner's in Greenville and we just happened to be on the way. Donna and I go way back to 2007(?) when we were starting our journey to SJ and she was waiting for Shelby. She was a great help in leading us to BAAS and finding SJ. Then in 2011, she forwarded an email with WP being the 19th and last child on a BAAS list- we saw our son and today she met him.

A Sweet Meet~

Our children hit it off and played with every single thing they could find. :) It was nice to meet her new son, Ian and hear more of his story. I loved seeing 5 little people playing together giving me a glimpse into our future once PC and EC are home. Thank you Donna for a wonderful afternoon together as kindred spirits loving on our little ones!!!

 

Posted with Blogsy

Another Adoption Circle~

On June 13, 2011 I saw this precious photo of WP (Perry) @ Shepherd's Field being loved by Jennifer.

I instantly reached out to her and she shared photos and video of our little guy while we waited to travel.

There is nothing sweeter than seeing your sweet one while waiting...

 As time passed we became closer friends online.

A few weeks ago she shared she would be in Atlanta at Together for Adoption conference and I knew we had to meet.

SO today the littles and I loaded up and headed to meet Jennifer.

We were immediately in each other's arms sharing the bond of orphan ministry and adoption.

A complete Adoption Circle...

a circle that began in China with Jenn holding WP all the way home to meet once again.

Jennifer shared photos and videos with us, spoke to WP in Chinese, and took him back via computer to his days at Shepherd's Field.

It was just the sweetest time to see Christ's love pour out of her once again onto our little son.

I also ran into a precious adoptive couple we have to come to know through Rosie and my sweet friend Andrea as well.

All in all, it was just one of those Red Thread full Circle kind of days and I was completely blessed through the whole experience. 

Love to you all... Jennifer, Kathy, Blake and Shae, and Andrea!

James 1:27
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: 

to look after orphans and widows in their distress 

and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

A Sweet Day~

Today my friend Melissa and I loaded our kids and took a day trip to Andrea's house~

Andrea and Melissa

We joined many other Lifeline families in all stages of their adoptions.

It was great for me to be with other families waiting to travel and great for Melissa as she met families waiting to be matched.

As soon as we arrived, we began meeting some very sweet friends.

Sweetness came in the form of the infamous 'red thread' quote~

"An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place, or circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle, but will never break." --An ancient Chinese belief" 

 Let me share the red thread through the four of us~

   First is Andrea~ we were in China in 2010 at the same hotel, same week, adopting our TOF heart babies, EL&SJ (just met).

Next is Becky~ she immediately knew she knew WP and when I told her he was from SF, she was overwhelmed to tell me she held and loved on him when he was a sick heart baby in 2010 as well while there on a mission trip.

And Shannan~ we were in China together in Nov adopting our boys, next door neighbors at the Garden Hotel, and became fast friends.

I'd say that made for a Sweet Day! 

The day was spent swimming~

 Eating~

and making new friends~

A LOT of new friends. :)

Thanks Andrea for having us ALL over to enjoy a day celebrating lots of forever love!