Archive for July, 2009
Friday, July 31st, 2009
We’re headed to Texas tomorrow! We will be part of a group of 20 from our church that is taking 805 new pairs of shoes, plus socks and shoelaces to Buckner for their Shoes For Orphan Souls ministry. It has been a blessing to be a part of this campaign at church and we can’t wait to carry on and volunteer in the warehouse for two days. We want to instill in our children the importance of service to God and to others and this is a wonderfully practical way to do so.
On another mission note (!), we have arranged a date for Johanna’s baptism so that family from out of town/country can be here for this special occasion. She will be baptized at our church at 7 pm on Monday, the 10th. All our friends are welcome to attend. It will be very short, but the most important day of Johanna’s life. We would love to have you celebrate with us!
Posted in Ami, Benjamin, Chris, Elijah, Family, Jocelyn, Johanna, Michaela | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, July 28th, 2009
For more than one reason Chris’ 40th birthday will be one we never forget. Last night after we were finished with family devotions Johanna asked if she could stay up and talk to Daddy and Mommy. We got the other kids down to bed and then sat on the couch with Johanna. She poured her heart out to us about how she wanted to be baptized. She has brought this up many times over the past year and we have discussed and studied scripture together. We also read through The Case for Faith for Kids in our devotional time. She has really come to understand what it means to be a follower of Christ and to make that commitment. She expressed herself very maturely and sincerely last night with tears flowing. We asked if she could pray and express these thoughts and feelings to her Father and she did so eloquently, stating her belief, saying she was a sinner, asking for forgiveness, and saying she wanted to follow Jesus. Oh precious heart, we are so overjoyed!! It was a surreal moment, the one that we have been praying about for almost nine years. As we were talking and crying together I thought, “Wow, this is really happening. This is it! This is huge!” Johanna has such a tender heart. In some ways she holds that childlike faith, in other ways she is mature beyond her years. We pray that as she has taken this major step in life that she will lead her older siblings by her example.
We are working on details of when the baptism can take place. We are blessed that both sets of her grandparents are in the States this summer and will actually overlap here for a couple of days in August. What God timing.
Here is a picture of Johanna sharing the news over the phone. She wanted to tell all her relatives right away about her big decision. What joy in our household!
Posted in Family, Jocelyn | 6 Comments »
Monday, July 27th, 2009
It’s official, we now have a teenager in the house and a 40 year old. Despite the big number, Chris is not at all “over the hill”. He is actively fit; he just biked 50 miles on Sunday, lifts weights and keeps his boyish figure. 
We love our dad and husband. He guides us spiritually, works hard for us, plays with us and puts up with us. Here’s to celebrating your first 40 years and looking forward to what lies ahead. We love you, Chris!
Posted in Chris, Family | 2 Comments »
Sunday, July 26th, 2009
Our church just completed a month long campaign to collect shoes for the Buckner Foundation. With huge help from a local Christian radio station and our VBS kids we collected over 800 pairs of shoes, along with lots of new socks and shoelaces. We also collected monetary donations that will help cover the cost for Buckner to ship the shoes overseas. It is neat to be a part of this ministry and give the kids an opportunity to help in a tangible way. We packed the shoes this afternoon and on Saturday we will leave on a family mission trip with others from church to take the shoes down to Texas. We will work in the shoe warehouse and help sort shoes and do whatever else we can.
Posted in Ami, Benjamin, Chris, Elijah, Family, Jocelyn, Johanna, Michaela | 2 Comments »
Saturday, July 25th, 2009
Wow, hard for me to believe but it’s here. The best part is that we are looking forward to the teen years. Michaela has such a compassionate, helpful, and kind heart. We can’t wait to watch her grow into a woman of God and see how He uses her gifts. We had great fun celebrating last night, and then more today.
Posted in Family, Michaela | 1 Comment »
Saturday, July 25th, 2009
With Grandpa and Grandma Wolfe living in Russia, it’s been quite a while since we were all together for a good family photo. It will soon be outdated though, as a couple more Wolfe grandchildren are on the way.
Just click on the first image to start the image slideshow.
Posted in Ami, Benjamin, Chris, Elijah, Family, Gallery, Jocelyn, Johanna, Michaela | 1 Comment »
Saturday, July 25th, 2009
After a bit of planning and sneaking around, we pulled off a fun surprise birthday party last night. Michaela is now 13 and Chris is hitting the big 40 on Monday. With some help from friends and family we kept things secret and both Michaela and Chris were fully surprised. We had over 70 people here to help celebrate. We are truly blessed with great family and friends and we are grateful that several were able to come and celebrate life with us last night.
Just click on the first image to start the image slideshow.
Posted in Ami, Benjamin, Chris, Elijah, Family, Gallery, Jocelyn, Johanna, Michaela | No Comments »
Monday, July 20th, 2009
Summer has given us a new kind of busy. It’s great to be free from school work for a bit, but we have still been on the go with swimming lessons, trips, grandparents, VBS, and more. We’ve been enjoying time with my parents here. Dad has helped us do some more clearing in the woods and trimming up of trees. The yard looks great. We had record low temperatures, which for us means low 70s and no humidity. It was great for working outside. The kids helped a bunch, too, and got paid for their efforts. We’ve also been enjoying the birds and bucks that wander through our woods.
Just click on the first image to start the image slideshow.
Posted in Ami, Benjamin, Chris, Elijah, Family, Gallery, Jocelyn, Johanna, Michaela | 2 Comments »
Friday, July 10th, 2009
Four of the kids and I were able to meet Grandpa and Grandma Clark at the airport on Wednesday. Their flight was delayed quite a bit, but we made the most of it and spent some time exploring the Science Center. It was nice that it had only been since New Years in Japan that we had last seen them. They sent us off at the airport in Osaka and just a few hours later we met Elijah in China!
Yesterday the kids had their final day of swimming lessons. It was also Dad and Mom’s 48th wedding anniversary, so we took them out to our (and their) favorite BBQ place. Mom has traditionally made a baby quilt for each of the grandchildren, but since Elijah is not a baby she said he gets the biggest quilt. He was quite pleased with it and immediately began talking about all the creations (forts, hideouts, etc) he could make with it. Ha!
Posted in Ami, Benjamin, Chris, Elijah, Family, Jocelyn, Johanna, Michaela | 3 Comments »
Wednesday, July 8th, 2009
It has been half a year since we finally wrapped our arms around this little guy that we had been loving from afar for one and a half years. So much has changed in that time in our family dynamics, but we have been incredibly blessed. Elijah’s transition has gone 100% better than we ever expected. Honestly I had prepared myself for the worst with adopting an older special needs boy, but God graciously allowed for such an easy meld in adding Elijah to our family. E’s accomplishments have been great. Everyone is astounded by his English ability, he plays well with his siblings, he loves school and his responsibilities around the house, he tries to be very obedient and compliant, he is affectionate to us all, he spends his money wisely, his table manners have improved 500% (yippee!), and he especially loves our family devotion time in the evenings. Yes, we have had our moments, but truthfully they have been few and far between. God is still working. He is bonding us together more and more each day and our trust and love is building. We still covet your prayers as this is a process we are still in. The more we get to know Elijah and what he has gone through in his short life, the more we are amazed at the incredible kid that he is. God has been so good to him and protected his heart (physically and emotionally). We firmly believe that if Elijah allows, God will use his life and story to bring many people to Him. I can’t wait to be witness to that!
There is more to be excited about today! One of Elijah’s roommates is meeting his mama today!! Actually they should have already met and I am dying for her to update their website. Jamison is just a bit older than Elijah and has faced many challenges of his own. We had the privilege of meeting him in January and spending some time with him. Minnesota isn’t that far, so hopefully we’ll get these boys together soon!
But wait, there’s more! We’re headed to the airport this afternoon to meet my parents. Elijah met G/G Wolfe last week and will meet G/G Clark today. Elijah speaks often with affection of his grandparents in China, so we hope that he will create a special bond with his American grandparents as well. Such a blessing to be around family!
Posted in Ami, Chris, Elijah, Family, Jocelyn, Johanna, Michaela | 3 Comments »
