Need a Will Fix?

Facebook is a wonderful thing at times~

especially when a family posts that they are about to fly

to China for their little girl @ Philip Hayden Foundation

where Will lives.

Yep, that happened and I immediately sent Gayle a message

that our Will was there.

Asked her to blow him a kiss while she was there.

Well, she did WAY more than that!!!

You guessed it~ PICTURES!!!!! YAY!!!

Gayle actually sat on the floor and played with our baby~

This is what Gayle shared~

Quite honestly...the pictures we took of him are not the best...we were trying to be discreet as the ayis were there and Sara said that they do not yet know about Will being adopted and we couldn't talk about it or make it obvious.

I have sent this picture separately because it is my favorite...i didn't notice the sweat coming down on his face, or I would have wiped it for him! He is such a sweet little boy with a quiet disposition, but slowly we 'made friends' and he was happy to play blocks with me/us. I was showing him how to blow his tower over and he loved that! This picture is of him holding up his tower...this was his 'proud little smile' as he held it for the picture. I truly cannot wait to follow your journey of bringing him home...i am excited to watch him bloom and open up as he is loved on by your amazing family!!

Thank you SO much Gayle for loving on our son

and giving us this precious glimpse of him!!!

More pics of Will's house and PHF to come. :)

A Sweet Father's Day~

We had a very sweet Father's Day

(dedicating Jing!)

and celebrating with a house full of love!

What could be sweeter than a dad with his beautiful daughters?

First year for SJ with a forever baba!

A dad with his beautiful daughters and one son?

How about next Father's Day with two sons?!?!

Last year for Will not having a forever baba!!!

(Sent to me by Jennifer along with the video!)

He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children,

and the hearts of the children to their fathers … Malachi 4:6a (NIV)

How Do You Spell D.A.D.?

The time we have with our children is a gift from God.

Depend on God!

Always love them!

Devote your time!

(Rick Warren)

A Little Good Will this Morning~

Annie posted these adorable photos of Will.

He loves being outside and playing on the playground!

Annie said Will would put sand in his bucket

and just laugh and laugh!

Is this not the sweetest face???

Sara giving Will a little tickle~

And then Popsicle time!!! :)

I just can't put into words how amazing it is

to see sweet Will through the eyes of Annie!!!

SO thankful!!!

Pool, Ladybugs, and Will~

EK invited some of her friends over after Bible School today.

They enjoyed a picnic lunch~

SJ constantly says, "I want to do my 'wimmin' lessons"

and ready to shed her swimmy.

Having the time of their lives~

Josh gave EK a ladybug land kit for Christmas

and we finally got around to ordering them.

They came in the mail today and everyone thought it was SO cool!

They came in a canister ~

They needed water~

EK said, "This is SO exciting!"

Careful observation~

AND a few new pics of Will...

doing puzzles at preschool~

playing in the sand~

and eating~

and eating~

and eating!

All in all, it was a wonderful day!!!

This and That~

Today I woke to another photo of sweet Will @ preschool.

He was so diligently working on his finger painting~

and while EK was @ bible school,

SJ asked if she could paint not knowing I had a pic of Will painting too~

Don't you think they favor each other???

Bible School is going great!

EK says she loves it every day.

Today as we walked away SJ asked if she could go to her Bible School~

I said next year when she was 4 she could go...

she wrapped her arms around my leg and said,

"Yay! I LOVE you mama!"

When we get home,

it is time for lunch and today after EK was done

I looked over to her bar chair and this is what I saw~

Poor baby curled up sound asleep on that hard chair...

What in the world will she do when she has to make it all day @ K?

Definitely think naps will be a necessity. :)

Another SF Friend

A while back I commented on a FB post of Jennifer

and saw that she would be at SF along the same time as Annie.

I told her about Will and hoped she would meet him.

Yesterday, I got a message from her that she had in fact met him

and completely fallen in love with him.

She said she actually has to sensor how many pics she posts of him

because people will know who her "favorites" are. :)

She sent me three pictures right away~

and wrote~

"Sharon - your new little guy is wonderful...and quite welcoming! Like Annie, when I walk in the house, he takes my hand, walks me over to the floor, has me sit, and plops himself down on my lap. Yesterday when we were outside, he was having such a great time and thoroughly enjoying his melon treat. I find myself having to sensor and not post all of the pictures of him because then it becomes obvious that he is one of my favorites :) What a blessing!"

She also sent me these three as well~

She wrote~

"Perry being a goof...would've been better caught in video. Joy decided that Perry wasn't eating fast enough so first she spoon fed him and then held the dish of soup up so that he could drink it."

Then today I received word from Sara @ SF

that Will started preschool this week.

I am SO interested to see what he is learning

but these photos are just precious!!!

Playing with duplos!

Sara wrote~

"Will just started the preschool today and he seems to love it!!!"

Sitting in his chair looking so handsome!

LOVE the backpack~

Won't he and SJ LOVE doing school together???

New Item for Will's Auction~

Esther Beth Moore Bible Study Set

A Joyful Heart to Will

Ride 'em Cowboy~ Will

Annie posted these sweet pics of Will and his best friend Grayson~

A few days ago when I was in House of Peace, I took out the rocking horse there for Perry and Grayson to play with. They had so much fun and (for the most part!) took turns with it very well! Perry laughed really hard when I'd whinny like a horse as he was riding. Maybe cow-poking is in his future!

I'd say he's going to LOVE the horses

right across the street as much as EK&SJ!!! Yay!!!

Will's New Clothes

When I found out Annie was going to SF

to spend time teaching and would be seeing Will,

I had to send him something.

I didn't want it to be too personal so soon

like a photo book or anything.

I had a pair of blue crocs that EK had worn

and decided to send them.

Annie also took him some clothes

and from her post, you can see they were both a little big.

He is much smaller than I thought.

This is what Annie had to say~

Perry receiving the clothes from me and crocs from his family that I brought. He and his housemates were playing outside when I came with the stuff and the ayis immediately took him to the corner of the sidewalk and started dressing him in it. He was very excited to try on the crocs and took his sandals off right away to put them on. Everything was a little big on him, but he'll grow into it eventually! It was so much fun to bless him with these little gifts! <3

James 1:17

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

Sweet Will (from Annie)

Our son Will is called Perry @ Shepherd's Field.

Annie has been his sponsor and is there teaching for the next few weeks.

She has blessed me every day or so with emails

about what she is learning about Perry/Will.

On June 2, I got an email from her that said...

"As for his personality, he is a total sweetheart. He's not *real* good at sharing his toys, but I'm sure his two new big sisses will fix that! He's not one of the "yelling, jumping, wild" kids :), but also not too shy or quiet. He came right up to me the first day and started playing, slowing coming closer until he was on my lap. :) He babbles and talks to me a lot, but of course I don't know what he's saying... :(. He smiles all the time and LOVES to pose for pictures so he was meant to be your son for sure! He loves to be tickled and will laugh and giggle very easily!"

On June 3~

"I saw him today and found out that his bandage on Children's Day was from falling against something and getting a cut. He had three stitches but the bandaid was off today and it looked fine. We read books for a little bit and he loved that. Then we played with the clear lego buckets, putting them on and off our heads and laughing. He is so much fun!"

On June 9~

"I saw him twice today for about 1-2 hours each time and we had a ton of fun. He recognizes me now and comes running whenever he sees me, which completely melts my heart :). In the morning we played outside for awhile with two of his ayis and housemates Josh and Melissa. He mainly was driving one of the big toy cars around, turning the steering wheel really fast and then pushing the horn and repeating "beep beep!" after me. :) He loves to look at the pictures I take of him on my camera and always points to himself when he sees himself on the camera. :) When it was time to go inside, he took my hand and led me into the house where we sat down and played some more. He loves legos (the big kind) and built a really big car today for me to take a picture of. :) After my classes were over I went back to House of Peace and hung out with him and the other kids again. He sat in my lap for most of the time, playing legos, climbing all over me, and laughing when I tickled him. He is so much fun to spend time with and his smile is the very cutest thing in the whole world. I LOVE how his eyes completely disappear when he laughs...it is precious. :) And his cheeks are SO kissable... <3 In short, I've completely fallen in love with your little man and can't WAIT for you to see him in person!! Hopefully very soon!"

Then Yesterday,

Annie posted 4 times about Will!!!

I could scarcely take it all in.

I am going to post each one separately

and today I start with...

Perry Part 2~

Reading books...he was so careful turning the pages and examining how each pop-up worked

(even though most of them were ripped out!)

Perry's room...his bed is the one with the teddy bear on it :)

Putting the lego bucket on his head...a favorite pastime! :)

Perry and the camera strap his mommy made for me...awww... <3

Nearly every day at some point I find myself traipsing over to the House of Peace to cuddle with my adorable sponsor baby, Perry! He is so squeezable and his laugh always makes my heart feel ten times bigger. He's starting to recognize me now and come up to me right when I enter his house, ready for playtime or a little tickle. It is so amazing to know that he has a family coming for him very soon and I feel keenly the privilege it is to love on him and minister Chr1st's love to him in their place while they are waiting to come to him. Enjoy these pics, Ankerich family! Your guy will be even more adorable and wonderful when you see him in person! :)

For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' "Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

Matthew 25: 35-40

A Joyful Heart for Will Adoption Blog

When I posted on Monday Will is Real,

I had several donation offers for an auction blog.

I have spent the better part of today

revamping ShayleeJoy's Joyful Heart auction blog

to make it Will's.

I am excited to reveal

A Joyful Heart to Will Adoption Blog

is up and ready for donations.

When you click to our website,

you will see our button and code in the sidebar.

We would LOVE for you to get the code

and add our button to your blog sidebar.

We would also appreciate any FB posts or Twitter tweets.

Any way you can spread the word will make the auction

more successful and known.

If you have an item to be auctioned,

please email me @ shayankerich@gmail.com.

I was so excited to have been on FB just a little while ago

and saw a new photo of Will!

Who cares that his eyes are closed...

isn't he still adorable!!!

(In the red, white, and blue striped shirt)

God is REAL too!

I want to thank each of you for your comments,

emails, suggestions, and gifts over the last 24 hours.

Let me share just a little of what God has done!

As soon as I posted last night,

I had two donations immediately equaling $125

and you know why that is amazing?

We had to mail our dossier documents to Houston today

and guess how much we needed??? Exactly $125!!!

God is REAL and SO good!!!

Then today I worked on preparing a packet to be sent to our agency

so our dossier can be sent to China hopefully by next Friday.

Again we needed $2300, $480, and $80.

I had the $2300 in my adoption account for this reason

and had no idea where the rest would come from.

I was going to wait about mailing until we could figure it out~

all of a sudden I heard my phone ding

and looked to see a $500 donation!!!

Why am I surprised???

God is REAL and providing right when we need it!!!

I've had so many great suggestions today of ways to raise funds

and hoping to get an auction going in the next few days.

We still have international travel fees, in China travel fees,

and the orphanage fee to raise.

I am SO excited to see how God is going to bless.

To HIM be all the glory and blessing

in the miracles that are blooming!!!

May He bless you all!!!

Thank you from the bottom of my heart!!!

Will is Real!

I have written this post in my heart and head about a million times

but something different comes out each time.

How do you come out and say we NEED help

except to just come right out and say it.

I wrote two posts about how Will came to be our son

HERE and HERE.

We were not looking for him

and really thought when we came home with SJ

we were done.

God had different plans!!!

Even though God chose us to be Will's family,

there were and are many reasons why we could have said no...

why in the world's view it didn't make sense to adopt again~

Mainly

there is no extra money with two adoptions

and a major heart surgery/dental surgery.

Many people would say that should tell you something right there

but how do you tell God no?

We couldn't!

And we couldn't live knowing we had a son in China

and left him there.

We have to go get him~ we LOVE him!!!

All we know is that Will is Real

and he is waiting on us to come get him FOREVER!!!

I know and believe it is God's will

with every fiber of my being!!!

This little precious boy needs his Forever Family

and we need him!

SO we are asking for help...

1. Please pray for us and the provision we need to get to China!

2. Please place an order and allow me to sew for you!

3. Maybe you don't feel the call to go and adopt but want to help us,

we would appreciate a donation by clicking our Donate button!

4. Maybe you have an item you would be willing to donate to us

to sell on Craig's List or in a yard sale.

5. Maybe you have ideas for fundraising we haven't thought of~

we are at a loss for ways to raise provisions.

Won't you pray about a way you can help???

I remember when we finally accepted this call for Will,

Scott said it will take a God sized miracle for us to adopt him.

Won't you be a part of this miracle???

We know God has called us to this mission

and we are committed with our whole heart!!!

It our prayer that God bless you all

with every good and perfect gift from above!!!

(James 1:17)

Ephesians 3:20-21

Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine,

according to His power that is at work within us,

to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations,

for ever and ever! Amen.

Adoption Update~

While away on vacation,

our I797 came SO

I made it to a notary, county clerk of court, and secretary of state

all today to have our documents certified.

Tomorrow I will send them off to Houston to be authenticated

and then hopefully to China very soon for a new Log In Date.

Then the real wait begins~ probably 3 months...

thinking we will travel sometime in October~

hopefully by Will's birthday on Oct 17!!!