Dear Blog Friends,

Hey y'all! Thanks so much for all the encouragement you have given to us since reading about us on Adeye's blog. I love meeting new people in the adoption community. We got a really nice email from a man named Aus (a former RH) this morning, just giving us his affirmation of our decision. He knew he didn't have to do that but something (the Holy Spirit) told him he should and we were so extremely blessed by that.
Our family has been unbelievably supportive of our decision. Probably because we have shared our hearts with them every step of the way. They have seen our desire turn into excitement and then to fear & uncertainty and then back to desire which has led to peace. We have been very open and honest with them and have tried to pass along what we are learning and educate them along the way as well. They have ALL jumped on board. It is an amazing feeling to know that others believe in you. They see our frailties and our weaknesses and yet they believe in us just the same.

I mentioned a while back on my blog that one of the most frequently asked questions we get is, "Does she speak any English?" And my response to them is usually, "No, and that is the least of our concerns." :)
Seriously, I wish that were the hardest part. Our friends, the Jacoby's, brought their daughter (Olivia) home from China last December at the age of 13 and she is now speaking fluent English. AMAZING. Even though she is 14 (or so they think) she is in the 6th grade with our son. I think that, in and of itself, is AMAZING. To come here and within less than one year be speaking English clearly and be in school with kids close to your own age is remarkable. Ashlyn has some speech delays due to her cleft palate and it is stated that she doesn't do very well in school, so we have no idea where she will fall academically when she gets here, and quite frankly, we really don't care. I don't care if we have to start from scratch. She'll eventually get it. It's not like she's going to turn into a pumpkin when she turns 18 if she hasn't graduated from high school. So we are planning on homeschooling her. I still have our "Reading Made Easy" curriculum and we will get her an English teacher. We have Olivia here to translate when we are in a bind and for that we are extremely thankful. I also have Aidan's "Leap Frog: Letter Factory" DVD. As silly as that sounds bc it is for younger kids, I think it will really help her. I do plan on taking her as far back emotionally, socially, academically, & developmentally as necessary. There is a lot of healing that needs to occur and I am up for the challenge. I am excited to be able to give her the love and nurturing that she has missed out on and I PRAY that she will be open to receiving it.