Stay Tuned!

We leave in a week! Sometimes when those words come out of my mouth I think I must be making the whole thing up! This will be the place I update our trip so we'd love for you to follow our blog and see this journey unfold. (If we have good internet connections, I hope to blog a little each day.) The reality set in today that we will have 6 people in this house for only a few more days - soon it will be 7! I asked a friend today to pray that I would have the energy to "do" this week well with all that will need to be done. I don't want to turn into a demanding, stressed-out troll! I am enjoying all this right now so I pray the stress doesn't get to me. I dream about this trip and what it will be like. I imagine Zachary here in our home. I think about the people who are holding us up in prayer and I am so grateful. As I dream, I also know the reality is that it will be hard for all of us. Please pray that even when it hurts, our eyes will be set on Jesus.

Stay tuned for more in about a week!!!!

February 14!

I just got the call we have been waiting for from our agency!! We have an appointment to pick Zachary up at his orphanage on February 14! Today has been a rollarcoaster of emotion for me (it didn't start out so great) and then God provided a sweet friend to brighten my day (thanks Cherish) and now this wonderful news. Adoption is quite a journey, but one I am very thankful for. So happy to share this news with you!!

Uh-Oh (aka pacifier)

If you know our kids, you know that ALL of them have had serious addictions to their pacifiers (which we affectionately call "uh-oh's"). Justin was the first to notice that in many of the pictures we have gotten of Zac, he has an "uh-oh" nearby - usually tied around his neck with a dish cloth. This was yet another assurance that he is truly a Vandewater baby! =) Here is a picture we just received today of our little guy and I was so happy to see he still has his uh-oh. I think it will be comforting to him when his whole world changes in the next weeks.

We are still waiting for our "Final Decree" phone call and after we get it, we will be traveling within 1-2 weeks! We still are hoping for this month, but I was reminded that Taiwan will basically shut down for the Lunar New Year, which begins on Jan 23 and lasts for 2 weeks, so we may be waiting a little longer. Patience!! You can be sure I will post as soon as we find out when we travel.

We couldn't be more thankful for the overwhelming support we have gotten from friends and family. Christmas was an especially sweet time as many family members remembered Zac and gave us gifts for him. We are so blessed to have you in our lives!!

New Pictures and Matching Grant!

Our agency has been wonderful about sending us updates on Zachary! Here's the latest!!

Love that smile!! LOVE the chubby little legs!!! We love this little boy!!!!

We also are so excited to announce that we have received a matching grant from Lifesong for Orphans!! Here is a letter explaining how to donate if you would like to:

To our dear family and friends,

Hello from the Vandewaters! Many of you already know that we are on the journey of adoption! I (Jaymi) have had orphans and adoption heavy on my heart for a few years now. I have often found myself in tears when praying for the little ones who have no mommy or daddy to hold them. There are an estimated 145,000,000 orphans in the world today and because of this unimaginable need, I have believed that we would adopt one day, I just didn't know when. On March 7 I was looking at a waiting child listing through an organization called Bringing Hope to Children and one little boy took my breath away. Through that little boy God led us to our son, whom we have named Zachary because it means “the Lord remembers”. Zachary is two and he lives in Taiwan and our whole family has already fallen in love with him! We trust that God has brought us to this place and that He will guide all our steps in this process. If everything goes “normally”, we will have Zachary home with us in the next six months.

We believe that we have all been adopted by Christ and that we are called to care for those who can't care for themselves. Our family has a lot of love to give and our kids are thrilled to be welcoming another brother into our home. We truly feel called to this and we humbly ask you for your help. I have never doubted that God would provide for our adoption because He is the defender of the orphans. I have been on the team of Katelyn's Fund Orphan Ministry for almost two years now and I am in awe every month when we meet at how story after story is told of God's faithfulness and provision. This whole process will cost around $25,000. We would be so grateful if you feel led to be a part of this adoption by giving a financial gift to be used specifically for this purpose. We are so excited to tell you that we have been approved by a wonderful organization called Lifesong for Orphans (www.lifesongfororphans.org) for a MATCHING GRANT up to $2000! We have a goal date of January 9, 2012 to reach the $2000 mark so if you would like to give to our adoption, make your check payable to Lifesong for Orphans and in the memo line write “Vandewater #2390 adoption”. It can be mailed to:

Lifesong for Orphans
PO Box 40/202 N Ford St
Gridley, IL 61744

100% of all the funds received by Lifesong for Orphans will go directly to cover adoption costs. (*Note: In following IRS guidelines, your donation is to the names non-profit organization. This organization retains full discretion over its use, but intends to honor the donor's suggested use.)

We are thankful to call you family and friends and we would be so blessed to have you come alongside us as we follow God's lead to a new member of our family! Thank you for your prayers as we wait. Please pray for Zachary, his caregivers, and his adjustment into our family (for all 7 of us!). Thanks for loving us!!

Love, Justin, Jaymi, Grace, Lainey, Joah, and Asher

I hesitate to write today because sometimes it seems like the only time I really "journal" is when I'm struggling. I think that someday my kids will read my journal and be surprised at the "glass half emply" mom they didn't know because that glass is usually overflowing! This morning Justin and I were talking about some struggles our oldest daughter is having and he brought something up I hadn't thought about. Does she think that she can't be not okay? Cuz I think I do. I think that if I am struggling it must be because I'm not pressing into the Lord like I should, distancing myself from Him. If I really was who I long to be I will be ready at any moment to help someone else, to pray for them, to love them through their struggle. But what if I'm having one? I feel oppressed today, discouraged. I'm actually not sure why. But because of the conversation Justin and I had this morning I can't stop thinking that I need to share it with you. Because what good would I be if I did it all right all the time? My daughter needs to see me cry. She needs to know she can be real with me and that I will love her no matter what. She needs to see me on my knees. I like things to be good - relationships especially - but you can't always be fair and nice, nor should you (right Seth? =) So I guess I'm just thinking about Grace today. I don't want her to turn her face and hide when she's hurting so I probably shouldn't do it either. It's a big job to be a parent - there's no coasting or assuming someone else will nurture and equip your child for life. Today is a day I don't feel like who I know I am in Christ. Good thing it's not up to me and that "feelings are vagabonds" (quote from Brian White). I want to be better at embracing the hard days and turning to the only one who can help instead of shutting down for the day or putting on a happy face for my kids because that's what moms should do (it's not by the way). I'm pretty sure I'm the one who just wrote that it's in the brokeness that we see our need for God...yep that was me =) Guess I better click "publish post" then. Thanks for listening...

Yesterday

Yesterday was a special day. One reason is because we got to be a part of an orphan awareness service at the church I grew up in. I was moved to tears more than once just by looking around the sanctuary and seeing so many beautiful families. I am so inspired by these people. I thought about Zac a lot and wished he was there with us. I also thought a lot about my dad yesterday. I wished he was with us too. November 13, 2001 was the day he died. 10 years ago yesterday. He was driving in his car and his heart stopped and I have never been the same since that day. I was shaken in a mighty way. I have struggled in the past with intense fear and worry. My biggest fear was losing someone I loved with all my heart and that day it happened. Good things will come from shaking. Real things. I know many of you reading this already know that firsthand or have at least heard it before. I have said before that nowhere in the Bible does it say we are promised an easy life but that it's in the hard things that we grow and see our need for God. I desperately need Him. There is no life without Him. I miss my dad so much. I could write pages and pages about growing up with a dad who adored me and what an enormous impact that makes on a girl...about how God brought me face to face with fear and showed me that there is nothing to fear when we are living for His Kingdom first and see that he wasn't joking when he said this life is the blink of an eye. A kingdom perspective changes everything. The picture above is my family with my mom and brother. I think about what it would be like if my dad was in that picture too. I think about how short life is and wonder why he couldn't stay with us longer. The hardest part is my kids not knowing him as they grow up.

As I remember my dad 10 years later I want to give glory to God more than anything. He is a Good Father. He is the Giver of Peace. He is eternity. He gives us freedom from gripping fear and reminds us what life is really about. I have a thankful heart today.

Thank-you!!!

I just got this picture today - he's such a big boy!! Zac turns 2 on Monday!

We want to THANK YOU for supporting us in so many ways. The 31 fundraiser brought in $1670.00 including both the party sales and gifts people gave us, and we are blown away by this! People we haven't even met were led to give and that is incredibly humbling. Thank you especially to Joy and my mom for doing so much work to make it happen. What an amazing gift.

Many people have asked for an update and right now our dossier is in Taiwan and we are waiting for our "first decree". We are told it will be anywhere from 3-8 more months depending on the judge our case gets handed to in Taiwan. Thank you for being a part of this. We have no doubt that we have been called to adoption and it is not something that we were meant to do alone. I am amazed at God's love for His people and the way we have been surrounded by that love as we are led to Zachary!