The Best Christmas Ever

        Christmas was full of laughter and family this year. My brother and his wife were home for the holidays and we enjoyed their company a great deal. A few months ago our girls expressed a desire to "give up" their Christmas gifts and instead use that money for our adoption. It was a selfless act on their parts. A few years ago, we completely rocked their worlds and stopped buying "stuff" through out the year for them. Of course we provided for all their needs, but the wants were up to them. They could earn money for things they wanted or wait for Christmas or their birthdays. In the beginning they really struggled with our new normal, but over time we saw them understanding the value of money and hard work. They also looked forward to the times during the year that they received gifts. So, when they decided to give up gifts we were a little shocked, but then quickly we were overcome with their selflessness. We decided as a family, to all forgo gifts and put the money saved in jars which would be counted on Christmas morning.
        Our family is competitive, like really competitive! Not surprisingly, our jars became a competition. Who could save the most money? Instead of just putting Christmas gift money in the jars, we began putting all of our change. Then we started putting any money we saved from coming under budget. We also sold items and put the profit in the jars. We even had some friends join in and give us jars full of pennies, checks for Ping, and Tessa's sweet friend gave us $236.00 for Ping! She is 12 years old and this was her entire savings! On Christmas morning we counted the money in our jars. We had $4,119.90! We were so surprised at the amount and felt so blessed! Our next round of fees was due in January and we were only $250.10 shy of the total amount.
        As we spent time with our family on Christmas, we were reminded of God's deep love for each of us and in particular our little girl, Ping Joy. His love is so strong, that He sent his son, Jesus, to earth as a little baby many Christmas's ago. Jesus, the King of Kings, came to us in a stable. He sacrificed his crown, his comfort, and eventually his life to save us. Now, we rejoice as he moves each mountain in our path to Ping. We were blessed with pictures and videos of our precious daughter from a family visiting her orphanage. They were able to hold her and tell her she is loved and that we are coming. Ping was enamored with the husband and thought he was her Daddy. She climbed out of her crib and ran to him calling "Baba". Billy and I were overcome with emotion as we watched the videos over and over. What love God has for us that He would give us such an undeserved blessing. What value He places on a single life! He has moved the hearts of friends and family and even strangers and through them showered blessings on our family.
        This Christmas we were able to better understand what it feels like to be separated from your child. We were able to focus on the true gift of Christmas and forget about commercialism, status quo, and stuff. We were blessed and hopefully able to bless others. At the end of the day, Bella loudly proclaimed, "This Is The Best Christmas Ever!"
     
        "It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It  came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more." 
       

-- Dr, Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!