Sunday, April 14, 2019


It is with a heavy heart that I tell you that our precious daughter Halainah Grace passed away on February 18th 2019.  She was 11 years old.   Our lives will never be the same.  Our hearts are broken and our lives irrevocably changed.  When Halainah was first put into our waiting arms, I turned to my wife and said that I now know what the true face of an angel looks like.  Halainah was an extraordinary child.  So kind, so very gentle, and so patient.  She never complained, and always made us proud.  To say we are devastated is an understatement.  There are no words to express our sorrow, no words to describe our pain.  Everything is empty.  The empty chair, the empty couch, the empty bed, the empty car seat. We will grieve her loss until our hearts stop beating and we take out last breath.  My lost love, my lost child, we miss you so very much.  We love you so very much.

Wednesday, July 16, 2014


In 20 minutes we will begin the first step of our long journey home.  We are taking a high speed train to Hong Kong.  Tomorrow morning at 10:30 am China time (10:30 pm your time) we will be leaving on a 15 1/2 hour flight home.  I am filled with anxiety about the flight and how Colton will do.  Please pray for us, for a smooth flight home.  And for Colton to be comfortable and relaxed.  The journey home is always exhausting.  I'm praying this time around it's less exhausting.

Not sure if I will be able to post from Hong Kong.  If not...I will see you all in America.

China...I will miss you tremendously.  You are a part of my children.  But there's no place like home and I am dreaming of my own home right now with all of my children tucked away peacefully in their own beds.

Thank you for praying for us and following our journey to Colton.

Tuesday, July 15, 2014


We had a full day today and are exhausted.








John 14:18

Monday, July 14, 2014








Sunday, July 13, 2014










Saturday, July 12, 2014


Our day started off bright and early once again.  Part of the adoption process involves a medical exam for your adopted child.  It does not take long, however, when you go to the office that performs the medical exams, it's jammed packed with other families from all over that are adopting as well.  It's always nice to meet up with others who are at the same stage of the game as you.  They check weight and hearing and a few other things.  Luckily since Colton is so young he did not need his blood drawn for a TB test or any immunizations.  

Colton's exam went really well and everyone can't believe that he was listed under the special needs program due to his birthmark on his face.  Seems really silly.  We are very lucky in more ways than one.  Not only is he really healthy, he is an amazingly sweet and easy little guy.  He is happy 99.9% of the time and is only sad when he is hungry or tired.

Halainah is battling something right now so please keep her in your prayers.  During our crazy journey from Changsha to Guangzhou yesterday Halainah developed a high fever at the airport.  It shot up over 103 degrees.  I have been keeping it down with Ibuprofen but once it wears off it shoots back up to 103.  We decided to start her on the antibiotics our doctor sent with us.  I'm so glad we have them.  Usually I would never just start antibiotics without knowing what we are dealing with.  But being on the other side of the world we decided that we don't want to take any chances.

So after Colton's medical exam we decided we needed to spend the day inside trying to get Halainah's health back in order.  We all slept a lot today so I think that we all sort of needed a day of rest.  We have been running non stop since July 2nd.  

Guangzhou is very nice.  We love the familiarity of it.  Since this is our third time here we know where the restaurants are and where to buy water.  We are staying at a beautiful hotel which makes days like today not so bad.  We have a few trips planned to different areas that we have never explored before.  I'm praying Halainah feels better so we can stick to our itinerary.  And we are praying the rest of us stay healthy.

Leaving Changsha was bittersweet yesterday.  Colton's orphanage changed me.  It brought such a deeper sadness to me for the orphans of the world.  I adopted 3 amazing children.  I know their stories although there are many gaps in their stories, I know.  But seeing in person the ones left behind, breaks my heart to the point that it's hard to breathe.  We had to turn our backs to the ones left behind, with our son in our arms promising to give him a better life, we had to walk away.  But what about the others?  What about the little girl in Colton's room that sat in a small little pink chair rocking back and forth staring at the floor?  Her eyes so desperate, her emotions non existent, her body so thin with bug bites all over?  What happens to her and all the others just like her?  I want to change the world, I want to do more.  Maybe the Lord has something in store for me...I don't know.  All I know is that his heart is far more broken than mine.  

I watch my son blossom more and more everyday.  He leans in for kisses now instead of pulling away.  He smiles more when you play with him and cracks up laughing.  He cries when we leave the room because he doesn't want to be alone.  He leans back in your arms instead of trying to sit upright.  He puts his arms up for you to pick him up.  His bug bites on his body are healing nicely.  We love him more than anything and so thankful the Lord led us straight to him.