Little Lambs

One of my favorite AOII traditions is Big/Little Reveal! I love getting to add someone to the most precious family and share with them all of our traditions.

Waiting on our newest addition

 My precious little

 So excited for sweet Emily's lucky family

 When did we get so old?

Look how our sweet little fan jam has grown through the years:

2009

2010

2011

2012

It's hard to believe I'm a great-grandbig to adorable Melanie Beth! We're so happy to have her in the fam!

It's Pie Time

Despite the fact that it's still a fairly constant 80 degrees outside, inside I like to pretend its fall. Fall is my favorite season, probably because it never lasts long enough for me to get sick of it. (Unlike Alabama summers.)

Finally, all of my favorite pies are in season. Pumpkin, pecan, chocolate, sweet potato... now all socially acceptable to eat since we're getting close to Thanksgiving. (53 days, people!)

To start the season off right, I made a chocolate pie.

It smelled delicious, but I don't know how it tasted since I gave this one away to a little friend about to take the OAT. We'll see if he thinks it made the cut!

Try it for yourself, here's the recipe.

Happy Fall, Y'all!

The Not-So-Colorful Color Run

We had good intentions. Promise.

The Color Run came to Birmingham on Labor Day. We made a team. We signed up. All was well.

We expected the day to turn out like this:

It kind of looked like this (minus the dementors): 

We met at 6:30am to drive out to the track. The weather was looking rather nasty, but we went ahead.

After an hour of standing in the pouring rain, we decided to call it quits. We were soaking wet, cold, and not at all well trained to run 5 kilometers in the rain. I mean, we were planning on jogging/walking it anyway.

Hey, we got our t-shirts and color packets. Maybe we'll have better luck in Atlanta in March?

Best hat there. I'm sorry we had to leave it in the parking lot.

"On a scale of 1-1990, how 90s do I look?" --Caroline Evers

Brady

And you thought it was over...

Nope.

Meet Brady.

While neither one of my precious little nuggets from camp are not able to be adopted, Brady is. He's six years old and is currently waiting in foster care until his forever family finds him.

Brady is awfully shy, but is a gem.

He loves riding bikes, television, and, like any little boy, squirt guns.

After my time at camp this summer, I am itching to get back. My time in America is spent mostly thinking about them. The ones we left behind.

We've kept in touch with our translators from camp. They go and visit the kids. While I love seeing new pictures of them, it breaks my heart to hear what they say.

They're waiting on us to come back for them.

They cry themselves to sleep at night.

They still remember us.

And you know what? There is nothing that will ever make me forget them.

. . .

As much as my heart longs to go and love on them, I know I have work here to finish.

Won't you help me find Brady his forever family? He deserves to be loved deeply by a family of his very own. 

Hopefully soon I'll have a video to accompany this! The challenges of driving the technology struggle bus...

Blessings

Getting back from China and into real life has been an adjustment, to say the least. It took me over a week to get over jet lag alone. I'm pretty sure I've healed from the flu faster than that. 

One thing we talked about on the way back was how we were going to deal with life in America after leaving so much of our hearts in China. Suddenly dealing with things that were classified as "important" were now utterly ridiculous.

Perspective is so good.

Even though I would board a plane tomorrow back to Beijing, I know that right now I'm not supposed to be anywhere except right where I've been planted. While I don't always take that gracefully, the Lord has been so good in providing me with incredible opportunities and relationships for this last year in Auburn.

Meet my Pi Chi girls. I have been so excited to meet them since January. Along with 89 other girls, we trained to not only guide them through recruitment week, but also to help them in their process of transitioning to Auburn. The girls of my group were each an individual blessing and I'm so excited to watch them begin this journey!

As if I couldn't have loved my girls enough, I loved my roommates just as much. Emily and Mary Ann, you two are complete hoots and I loved getting to know your hearts this week. I couldn't have survived the week without the support of these two and Lindzi, who I never got a picture with. (Nonsense.) They encouraged and challenged me over the week and I'm pumped to keep up with them as we all go our separate ways!

The Pi Chi experience got even sweeter since I had the chance to reunite with this dear friend after she spent several weeks studying in Austria! Missed you, pal!

Once the bids were handed out and my job was done, I got to reunite with these dear friends. How I missed them so! Can't believe this is our last year before the real world hits. Or more school. Probably school.

So excited this sweet Shades girl is a baby panda! Praying that you soak up every second of it!

Number one reason why I love AOII: this fam jam. I can't believe I'm taking Dana's spot as great-grandbig, but I'm so excited to keep our legacy going through the newest little one!

After all the hype of recruitment had finally died down and I was able to get more the four consecutive hours of sleep, I boarded a transit to take this crew to Camp Chandler. IMPACT has been such a unique group to be a part of and, along with Pi Chi, one of my favorite Auburn experiences.

This year's group of Project Coordinators. They were hand-picked out of over 100 applicants, and we couldn't be more excited to work with them!

There is a reason we can't have a meeting that lasts less than an hour. This bunch has jokes.

The buddy system. It's lonely at the top, Chris.

I'm so thankful that I'm already having to stay up late to finish homework because I spend so much time with all of these people and then some. I always wish that I could major in "interpersonal communication" or "Kingdom building." I guess English Literature is close enough.

Summer Reads, Make Me Feel Fine

When I look at this list of books I read over the summer, I feel two things. One, I must really not like fiction. I always knew it wasn't my favorite, but geeze. Two, I feel like this list is pitiful compared to how many novels I have to read while I'm in school. However, I'm doing good to read even one novel for the sheer pleasure of it during a regular semester, so I can't say this is all bad.

1. Creating Community: Five Keys to Building A Small Group Culture by Andy Stanley and Bill Willits

While this was a look into how to literally create small group culture in a growing church, this was such a good reminder of how important discipleship and fellowship among believers really is. While this book is more of a blueprint in church building, it has helped me understand how to organize large groups of people in the most relationally effective way. This is about as calculating (not cold) as you can get when you are talking about forging relationships and connecting people in a meaningful and intentional manner.

2. Wilderness Skills for Women: How To Survive Heartbreak and Other Full-Blown Meltdowns by Marian Jordan

Now I have to admit, I was a bit hesitant when beginning this book. I was afraid it was going to be a self-help book with a few pieces of Scripture thrown in. (And the wilderness theme threw me for a loop, too.) How wrong was I. It was like this woman was peering into the depths of my heart and addressing everything going on, but with a wickedly funny sense of humor and at the same time the sympathy and tenderness of having been there, too. She offered wonderful and Biblical perspective on the rough seasons of life and provided countless examples from the Word and made me realize that there are others who have been there, too, and how faithful God is despite whatever grief/sorrow/worry/anxiety I may be plagued with in the present.

3. Set-Apart Femininity by Leslie Ludy

This is what my wonderful discipleship leader, Ashley, and I worked through this summer. While there were times that I just rolled my eyes when reading (every time she mentioned her other book or when she slammed the author of another popular Christian book), the conversations it led me and Ashley to have was worth it. She spoke a lot of convicting truth, but it was a labor of love getting through the writing. If you have the tenacity to trudge through it, do it, otherwise pick something else.

4. My Lucky Life In And Out of Show Business: A Memoir by Dick Van Dyke

I'm a sucker for a good biography. I love looking into the lives of other people, especially when they are humble enough to admit their shortcomings as well as situations and circumstances that got them where they are. While it's hard to be critical of any person's own story, I was a bit let down by this one. However, I think that was due to my own expectations. Let's be honest, I wanted to hear mostly about Mary Poppins.

5. Kisses from Katie: A Story of Relentless Love and Redemption by Katie Davis

I feel like you almost have to be living under a rock to not know something about this book. Or maybe it's just because my community in Auburn is always talking about it. Regardless, I picked this up while I was still in school with every intention of reading it in one sitting. Didn't happen. But I'm so glad I waited to finish it closer to my trip to East Asia. While Uganda and China are vastly different, I was even more excited to love and kiss on the precious faces of my orphans.

6. The President's Club: Inside the World's Most Exclusive Fraternity by Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy

If you don't like history, you definitely won't like this book. And if you don't have a working knowledge of history, you're not going to understand this book. Other than that, it's a very well written (read: dense) book chronicling what is a very real club: the fraternity of living presidents. It's more than just a social club, it's the arsenal on which each president can call upon when he needs someone with the right skills and connections to help make the impossible possible. Overall, it's one of the better history books I've read and would recommend it if you have any interest in the 20th and 21st century presidencies.

6. One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are by Ann Voskamp

No one is more disappointed than I am when I say I didn't like this book. It didn't live up to my expectations after numerous trustworthy friends recommended it. From the first page I had my doubts. Her prose is impeccably poetic, and maybe that's what threw me for a loop. I looked back on Amazon to read other reviews (which I neglected to do after so much word-of-mouth) and thought one reviewer stated it perfectly: the message gets lost in the words. It's not so much a disagreement of the points she is trying to make, it's the distractions of trying to get there that I found frustrating. I have plenty more books I'd recommend before this one.

7. Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Mataxas

I've been eyeing this one since spring break when my sweet friend Abby toted a copy to the beach. Knowing she spent two years of her Auburn career in the history department, I imagined this book at 542 pages would be easy for her and more challenging for me. And let me tell you, it was a dense read. There was more detail than I could pay attention to, so there I skimmed a paragraph every now and then, but overall I loved this book. If you don't know about Bonhoeffer and you have the time and attention span to handle this biography, do it.

8. Spiritual Profiling: How Jesus Interacted With 8 Different Types of People and Why It Matters for You by Tom O. Hovestol

 Once again, I started this one while I was still in school and never reached the half-way mark due to lack of time. But now it's finished. While I wouldn't say this a step-by-step evangelism instruction guide, it definitely gives great perspective on how Jesus interacted with people of different social, political, economic, and religious sects. The depth of study is outstanding for the length of the book, and provides different accounts throughout scripture of Jesus speaking with people others wouldn't have spoken to if their lives depended on it.

9. Esther: It's Tough Being A Woman by Beth Moore

I love Beth and all of her craziness. (P.S. If you don't follow her on twitter, you should. What a hoot!) Naturally, I felt predisposed to enjoying this study. While it started off  s l o w l y I finally rejoiced, half jokingly, half seriously, with Ashley when I finally flipped the page to the next part of Esther in my bible after spending over three weeks on the same page. Huge fan of Beth's look at this Old Testament story and, as usual, walk away full of new knowledge and understanding of how this plays in the big picture. I've got notes scribbled in every book from Genesis to Revelations that relate back to Esther.

10. Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Christian Community by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Legit. This has quickly moved up on my favorite books of all time list right next to A.W. Tozer's The Knowledge of the Holy. And the main reason I'm so aware of that is because those two books have more lines underlined than not. Something about short books (this one coming in right at 122 pages, in my edition at least) and the poetically brilliant, yet straight to the point, authors really grab my attention. Full of wisdom, Bonhoeffer examines the nature of Christian fellowship with such depth and scriptural reference that he hardly leaves room for questions before answering them. I can't recommend this one enough. Just trust me.

11. Bossypants by Tina Fey
I needed something mindless to read while we travelled to, through, and from China. Well, I was way too tired to do a whole lot of reading, but I did suffer a bout of insomnia on the way back home. When I wasn't completely enthralled watching our flight tracker I read this on my kindle. I needed something that I didn't have to think about, and that's exactly what I got. 

My-Not-So-Obligatory-Yet-Still-Important-What-I-Learned-In-China List

Okay, so I couldn't let it go completely. In the spirit of my list-making tendencies, here's a broad list of what we learned on our trip to China. Mostly the funny parts. But funny is real life.

1. Dramamine is essential on any trip. No matter where you're going or what you're doing, you'll inevitably want it at some point.
2. If you look especially pitiful to the flight attendant, she'll take extra good care of you.
3. Never make a Chinese man late. Especially if you already nicknamed him Ping Pong.
4. Don't underestimate the power of charades and body language. Eventually they'll get the point across. And put the sales people in good spirits since they'll undoubtedly laugh at you. Shameless.
5. Ever want to feel like a unicorn? Go to a Chinese train station and be the only white person there. Then people will stare at you and exclaim, "Wow, they really do exist." But you won't know they're saying that because they don't speak English.
6. If you're not sure what the shallow metal bowl that is sitting next to your sleeper on the train is for, assume it's a bed pan and treat it accordingly.
7. Always, always, always establish a meeting spot at the train station. Assuming you get off at the right stop.
8. When riding in a car or van in China, just close your eyes if you don't want to elevate your blood pressure.
9. The question still lingers, which is more fun: homemade fun or a Wii?
10. Always write down things that are funny so you can revisit them later. At more appropriate times.
11. Old Navy isn't a nickname, but they will email you more than your parents.
12. Never leave without a substantial amount of toilet paper in your backpack.
13. If you can get really good at holding in your liquids, you can usually wait to find a western toilet and avoid squatty potties altogether.
14. It's possible to not go to the bathroom for 12 hours. (I didn't say it was healthy, just possible.)
15. Always snag the extra toothbrushes from the nice hotel rooms in Beijing.
16. There are no accidents when it comes to toothbrushes. That sucker touches the faucet water and it's game over.
17. Run faster than The Flash through Chinese locker rooms while looking down at the floor or up at the ceiling.
18. There is a real need in this world for designated stroller parking.
19. Chancing explosive diarrhea is worth it for ice in your beverage.
20. And street food.
21. You can never have too many wet wipes handy.
22. Asians really do carry around umbrellas.
23. Don't get overly ambitious when the buffet finally serves sweet and sour chicken. You'll pay for it.
24. Chopsticks make it super hard to sneak food off someone else's plate.
25. The stair stepper at the gym doesn't hold a candle to the Great Wall.
26. Sometimes you just have to leave in the middle of lunch to get sick because the noodles were too spicy. It's okay, another foreigner will understand and watch your kids for you.
27. Noodles can look like tapeworms. Be sure you know the difference before telling a story.
28. A little self-disclosure can make a good story great.
29. Mulan is so much cooler than I ever knew.
30. If you have to ask what kind of meat it is, don't eat it. Or pretend it's chicken.
31. Fried eggplant sure does look a lot like sweet and sour chicken.
32. Fried eggplant and sweet and sour chicken do not taste the same. On any level.
33. Chinese fortune cookies don't actually exist in China. Bummer.
34. Sit close to the grill at Korean BBQ or else you'll get so hungry you'll take a bite of raw onion.
35. Sometimes kids practice their English on you. And they only know animal vocabulary. Just roll with it.
36. ALWAYS ask if anyone needs to go to the bathroom before moving on to the next activity.
37. Women are doves. Unless they talk about poop. And then they're pigeons.
38. The smell of urine lingers everywhere. Just don't ask.
39. Sometimes you don't have any time to take care of your own basic needs. So you pee in the pool. Just kidding. Maybe. It was definitely suggested at one point.
40. You have to ease back into dairy. In the words of Phil Dunphy, "Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast." Smooth is totally what we're going for here.

Next Steps (China Part 11)

I just want to warn you this post is probably going to be anticlimactic. 

I've just poured out the impact this trip has had on my life, and then I'm supposed to wrap it up with a profound ending.

Well, hate to break it to you, but my conclusions are always the worst.

However, I do want to do my best to encourage and spur you on.

 If you want to know more about the trip or just hear about it in person, please just ask! I'll probably be that annoying person who can't stop talking about it anyway. Not because of anything I've done, but just because of how the Lord has broken me and given me a new heart for Him and His children.

If adoption is on your heart, I would love to pray with you about it and point you toward some wonderful resources I know of! Even if you are like me and are just a twenty-something student, it's never too early to start praying that God would prepare your heart. And you can always pave the way for others.

While neither one of my girls from camp are able to be adopted at this time, other children at camp are. Currently I'm waiting on some pictures of a precious little boy in an Asian orphanage who would love a home. While I don't necessarily expect one of you to adopt him, I want you to have a name and a face in your mind and heart. Please advocate for these kids who don't have a voice! I can't stop dreaming about my kids and I would love for them to find their forever home.

Don't just advocate for these kids, lift them up to the Lord in prayer. By name. Look at their faces and intercede on their behalf. Ask God to shower them in blessings and love. Ask for them to come to know Him. Ask for Him to accomplish the impossible and supernatural. And then believe that He can do all of those things.

Sometimes donating money seems like such an easy answer. However, good orphanages remain able to provide love and care for so many children because of God's provisions to them especially through donations. Please ask me if you want me to direct you to some wonderful organizations who are in need of financial support. You can even help me sponsor my kids if that's on your heart.

I know going across the globe is not exactly something that most people do on a whim. Shoot, I'd love to just pack my bags and go wherever I please whenever I'd like. However, I would really encourage you to consider volunteering at camp next summer. I would be more than happy to tell you about the organization we went through as well as connect you with other people on the trip so you can hear their experiences. This trip changed my life in a way no other mission trip has. If you haven't already picked up on it, this trip is hard, but rejoice in your obedience to the commands laid out for us Acts 1:8, James 1:27, Isaiah 1:17, Psalm 82:3... I promise there are more.

This is the video from our camp week and city. They showed it to the entire group the last night of camp and it was so precious to see the kids smile and squeal when they saw themselves!

Thank you so much for taking this journey with me. Your prayers and encouragement while I was overseas was more of a blessing than you'll ever know. Thanks for accompanying me on this process of grief and joy, and also letting me be vulnerable before you. I hope the Lord worked in you through this trip, too. 

Lisa Frank Money and Other Wonders of Hong Kong (China Part 10)

Once we were finished up at camp and regrettably had to leave even after begging and pleading to stay another week, we reluctantly left for Hong Kong.

We heard myths of this fascinating city.

"You'll feel at home in Hong Kong more than you do at home."

"It even smells clean."

"It's just like America, but in Asia."

Umm, hello. We just left a huge part of our hearts in China.We were certain that nothing could make us feel better. Not even home, so probably not Hong Kong.

We were just a little bit wrong. 

The air even smelled nice getting off the plane. Like spring rain, lavender, freshly cut grass, and peppermints all in one. (Excessive, but it was really clean air.)

We had never been so excited to flush toilet paper.

Hong Kong was one of the coolest places I've ever been. I still would have traded it to be with my babies, but if we were going to be miserable, well shoot, I'd rather be miserable in Hong Kong.

 Hong Kong has different currency than China (and obviously America). They have what I like to call "Lisa Frank dollars." Check out the scalloped edge on the $2 coin and the ultrabright $10 bill.

 View of the harbor from our swanky Marriott room. That bad weather? Yeah, a level one typhoon was on its way in. Honestly, none of us would have been especially sad to be stuck in Hong Kong for a few extra days.

After we made it through immigration and customs, we waited for our bags to catch up with us. While killing a few minutes, Jenna asked us what we wanted to do with the rest of our day. 

Explore the city? Go to the harbor? Shop? Sleep at the hotel? 

Tori looks up at the sign above our baggage claim (which I am still convinced was God-given) advertising Disneyland Hong Kong.

NI HAO. This is absolutely what we wanted to do. At least the three girls. We immediately turned into 8 year olds so overcome with excitement we could hardly contain ourselves.

Blake just said if he could get a hamburger first, he'd be in. (Done.)

I think James was just as excited as we where when we told him there was a Toy Story Land at the park.

Jenna was fine with it, but tried to warn us that since July is when most Asian schools have a break and that it may be so crowded we'd be unable to get tickets or get in and that this was not like the Disney World we're used to. 

So we scooted to Burger King to eat (and thus getting Blake on board with our plan), went to the hotel to drop off our bags and exchange currency, bought tickets from the concierge, and headed in two taxis to the most magical place on the Asian continent.

 If this doesn't just perfectly capture our euphoria about Disney, I don't know what does.

 The guys acted like little boys when it came to the Buzz Lightyear ride. I'm so glad they enjoyed it.

 Toy Story Land is a Hong Kong Exclusive

Blake is the funniest person to sit next to on rides. You'd never expect it, but he is a squealer. It is incredibly entertaining and we all took turns sitting next to him. Meanwhile, poor James fell asleep on a bench after catching what we've been calling "China flu."

A day at Disney was exactly what our hurting hearts needed. Even though it was supposed to be so busy that we couldn't get in, we had no problem getting tickets and never waited more than 20 minutes to get on a ride, most were maybe half that time and some we walked right on. It was such a perfectly timed reminder that the Lord is still good and is always present in laughter and fellowship. He knows just what we need to keep pushing through, even if that is just a Mickey Mouse ice cream.

After getting back to the hotel, we decided to go out and see the Hong Kong cityscape. Everyone was feeling sick or tired or both, so Blake and I were the only ones who went on that excursion. I'm so glad we did because we got to see it lit up at night and wonder in fascination how so many people live in such a small area.

That was also when I really noticed how clean the city is. If I dropped something on the floor in the subway, I'd pick it up and eat it. Well, probably not, but I'd definitely contemplate the five second rule if I was really hungry.

Once we got back, James was sweet enough to treat us to french fries and ice cream, although he doesn't remember it in his sickness-induced delirium. I promise the phrase, "Don't think, just spend" was used. Blake as my witness, I was charged with spending his HK$1000 (that's right, one thousand) bills.

While we didn't spend nearly that much, we did eat the best ice cream and french fries I've ever had in my life, even though we tried to order Hazelnut dome cake and apple pie, which room service was either out of or just didn't know what we were trying to order.

All of this was consumed while we were actually clean (a first on this trip), in the bed, wrapped up in a bath robe, and watching movies.

The next day we had to board our plane for the 15 hour flight to America. 

Hong Kong, it certainly was real.