Christmas Letter

Because of Christmas letters and recent visits, we seem to have a few new readers checking in. As our Christmas card didn't include a letter, but a simple link to the blog, allow me to catch you up on the tumult that is our lives these days. We'll move from the least to the greatest, at least in age.

Adoption
We are still a waiting family to adopt a child from China. At best guess, Mei Mei will join our family in the fall of 2011. Due to some rather significant mis-communication, our wait time has changed drastically. One year ago, I would have told you that China was deleting their Expedited List, and that we will be a waiting family for another 3 years or so. Then in May, we learned that this was entirely untrue - and that we were at the top of the list. We quickly wrote a letter asking to defer our status for one year, and will follow up with CCAA this summer.

Annika
We wrote that letter because in May of this year, Annika was born. She has been a peaceful and sweet baby since the day she was born, and her sisters love her in an intense and sweet, if not always peaceful way. She immediately fit into our family perfectly.

Sophia
Over the summer, our family moved on very short-notice from Shanghai to Shenzhen, China. Distance-wise and climate-wise, this is like moving from D.C. to Miami. The move has been good for Sophia, as she's got a more kid-friendly house with a fenced-in yard, a small street for riding bikes, and a playground nearby. Her classroom doesn't seem to be a great fit for her, but outside of school she continues to be the dramatic, lovable and intense child she has always been.

Lilly
Lilly has landed quite well in Shenzhen. She began kindergarten this year as the youngest in her class, which had Dave and I nervous at the beginning of the year. But it has become clear that she is in the perfect place . She is a star reader, she has loads of friends in her class, and her social confidence is growing as fast as the bananas in our backyard (that's really fast!)

Dave
Dave continues to work for Uncle H--, who continues to manage our lives in a very intimate way. We moved to Shenzhen over the summer because Dave has taken on consulting for one specific client on-site. That client is in Shenzhen, and so we are as well. This experience has been interesting for Dave - the work is new and challenging, the culture is extremely Chinese, and the travel is pretty exotic. Although he likes the work he does every day, Dave still feels a call to the U.S. Foreign Service and continues to work toward that goal. His position seems faily strong, leading to a possibly call to the May class - good timing for our entire family. But with the new Congress promising budget cuts and hiring freezes, nothing is certain for future federal employees this year.

Lynne
Like Lilly, I have landed blessedly well in Shenzhen. Within a few months, I have found a strong support group, a place in the church, and a generally comfortable life. My time disappears in ways I can't really understand, as my schedule is primarily that of the 4 people who surround me. I'm trying to focus more on my photography this season, but realistically I spend more energy trying to maintain a peaceful household among the major changes we experience and continue to expect this year.

Although we are certainly thankful for all of God's blessings in our life, I have spent more time this year simply being thankful for His presence. Friends and family surrounding us with prayer kept my spirits buoyed during the pregnancy, and made an intense transition to a new city surprisingly smooth. God gave us a spirit of peace through this past year, which made all of those changes both positive and amazing. I'll admit that I'm struggling to face the coming year with as much peace - the wait for the Foreign Service has been long already, and the longer we wait, the more that uncertainty bothers me. The timing of the adoption makes me nervous as well, both when I think about Annika's age when she becomes a big sister and when I think about where we may be living when she arrives.

But if I have learned anything from our time in China, it is that God is faithful and that His peace can carry us through anything in a very positive way. I pray for His peace again this year.