Papa's Perspective

As our trip to China gets closer, my emotions change everyday.  This week, a friend who adopted a child from the same orphanage Mackenzie is in picked up their little girl.  She got to meet Mackenzie, see her nanny, and take pictures and videos of Mackenzie for us.  I spent a lot of time this week just staring at those photos.  Through the tears I prayed for her.  My mind can’t help but wonder constantly about what’s in store for her – and what’s in store for us.  And Lily – her pictures are on our fridge and on the wall in my office. The closer we get to bringing her home, the harder it is to concentrate on chores and responsibilities.  May can’t come quick enough.  

I don’t doubt for a moment that our heavenly Dad feels exactly the same way about all of his children who are still far from Him.  I bet he aches for them.  I bet he longs for the moment his children turn from their selfish ways and embrace the life He has for them.  Jesus told stories about how God is waiting to run towards his children who want to be restored to their heavenly Father.  He described parties that went on in Heaven when one lost child came home. The scriptures are clear that our “God wants all men to be saved and come to knowledge of their Father” (1^st Timothy 2:4).    

Thank you God – my Father, for making my adoption possible through Jesus Christ our Lord!

Peace and Goodwill,

Jacques

Mackenzie Ty & her Ayi (nanny)

Lily Grace

Only God...

The Shanghai orphanage has very strict visiting guidelines and policies.  When families ask to tour the orphanage sometimes they are told "yes" but often times they are told "no".  When a family is fortuitous enough to get a tour, the orphanage staff decides where the family goes, and what they get to see.  Typically the family is taken to their child's room, and then to a few other designated locations that show up in everyone's photos.  When my sweet friend Tricia offered to bring Mackenzie a gift from us we knew that only God could create the occasion for her to meet our daughter.  From one of our updates we found out that Mackenzie was living in a completely separate building from their daughter Pippa.  

Imagine my pure and utter delight to wake up this morning 

to an email bursting with photos 

of our sweet Mackenzie Ty.

Only God!

Oh how my heart is exploding with love for this precious little girl...

our daughter!

Within a few short weeks, a bedroom fit for a princess

will replace those metal bars.

And the person she will cling to...will be me!

Check out the baby chillin' in the crib next door...

this little one cracks me up!

Blowing kisses...

Perhaps the best gift of all for me lies within this video clip.

The tender, loving touch of a mommy...

Thank you Tricia!

"And my God will meet all your needs
according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19

A Taggie Full of Love

One thing I never expected about being on our journey to bring our girls home, was the amazing adoption community of women I would meet.  These women have been such an absolute blessing and encouragement to me!  There have been days along the way when I felt like my heart might just explode from helplessness or sorrow.  Without fail, these women have rallied around me - covering my family and waiting daughters in prayer.  You know who you are, and I can never thank you all enough!

One of these women is traveling to Shanghai this weekend to bring home her sweet daughter Pippa!  When Tricia should be focused and concerned about her own preparations and her own busy agenda, she sent me a Facebook message with an offer to bring Mackenzie a gift from us.  I ran out to target, and purchased a pink Taggies blanket that says "Love, Hugs, Kisses".  How appropriate!  Last night I slept with that special gift in my hand, and this morning I spritzed it with my lemon scented perfume before heading to UPS to over-night the package to Tricia.  There is a whole lot of love wrapped up in that tiny 12" blanket!

There are no guarantees that Tricia will be allowed to bring this to Mackenzie or even see her, but I will be praying my heart out that our Little M gets a chance to meet my sweet friend.  Please Heavenly Father, move the heart of the orphanage director, and allow my sweet little girl to experience a mommy's love and tender touch while she waits for us to come!

"And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19"

Update on Mackenzie Ty

Our Shanghai Sweetie

Mackenzie Ty!

Once you finish soaking up all that sweetness,

could you please do us a favor

and pray?

From a previous update we were told

that Mackenzie is

"the active one in her group".

There is no doubt that Soleil will have

a perfect partner in crime!

Take a look at Mackenzie's left ankle.

From conversations I have had with other parents

whose children were also adopted from Shanghai,

the string around her ankle

is more than likely to tie her to her crib.

Perhaps this is to keep the children safe from

falling out of their cribs, but the thought

of my daughter being tied up

breaks my heart.



1. Has Nian Shu had any illnesses lately?

She caught a cold a few days ago, runny nose. She gets cold easily. Usually when she has same layers of clothes with other children, other kids are fine, but she catches a cold. So usually nannies put more clothes on for her. But still she caught a cold.

2. What is the best way to comfort Nian Shu when she is upset?

Just give her some snacks and she will be fine.

3. What size clothing is Qiu Yan wearing now?

Because sizes are all different here, we don’t really look by sizes, we look her height. She is wearing clothes for 90cm.

4. Who are Nian Shu's friends?

Her closest friends are: Zheng Hui Jun, Xu Jia Li, Sun Ding Hong.

5. What types of food does Nian Shu like to eat?

She has good appetite. She especially likes some snacks that they usually don’t get, such as chocolate, crackers, etc.

6. What are Nian Shu¡¯s favorite activities to do throughout the day?

Time for free activities.

“Sing to God, sing praise to his name, extol him who rides on the clouds

 – his name is the LORD – and rejoice before him. A father to the fatherless,

a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling.

God sets the lonely in families (Psalm 68:4-6a).