Hailee Update

Here's my Cinderella! She just turned 3, and starts K-3 in a few weeks. Everyone is surprised by her clear pronunciation and large vocabulary. We just think she's cute...

Calendar Girl!

Here are two of the I-don't-know-how-many pictures we are submitting for the America World Adoption Association 2007 Calendar Photo Contest.

I have to admit - as much as I loathe the word - she's "precious!"

14 months and counting

Hailee is 14 months old! She just started walking two weeks ago, and she's really becoming quite the socialite. Every restaurant visit gives her new opportunities to wave at... well... everyone!

She loves to wrestle with her brother, and eat. ...and then there's eating, of course. ..oh, yeah, and she likes to eat... Did I mention eating?

Oh, well - I guess a picture could explain better than all of this text...



Even though her face is plump, the rest of her is still just as tiny as ever.

She LOVES to take baths. And she really enjoys the singing at church.

Adoption Fears No More...

You know all those stories you hear about adoption? You know... About Attachment Disorder, sibling rivalry, etc.

Well, I guess were still waiting to see some sign of something like that - because so far, things have been as smooth as silk! Seth loves his sister. She loves him. And we are as normal a family as we have ever been. (OK, so we haven't ever really been "normal" - but normal is over-rated :-)

We officially became a microcosm of the United Nations on June 2, when we picked up our summer houseguests - two dear friends from Belarus. Tonya is 14, and her sister Lena is 11. Then, we had another friend from Belarus, who now lives in Vancouver, come to stay for a week as well. But wait, there's more! Tonight, we have friends who moved away a few years ago coming in to stay with us so that the husband can be in a local wedding. That brings the total in our house to 11 tonight! Well, we prayed that our home would be used for ministry - so we got what we wanted! The more, the better...

Anyway, here's another set of pictures of you-know-who...

Sunday Best.

Life is rolling along, and Hailee is fitting in just fine! Isn't she cute!

She loves her brother and loves to take baths - but loves to EAT more than anything! She's growing like a weed - a very attractive weed...

I never thought it could be so natural to have an adopted child. I think of her only as my daughter, nothing less.

Life is good.

The World is Red.

I am taking this Sunday to enter a story that is a departure from the usual posts, but I think will have a direct impact on Hailee and the rest of the Driskill family - so this is an appropriate forum.

I left home this past Wednesday to go to a job site that my company is responsible for - and no sooner than I boarded the plane, the storms of life began to surround my family, my wife's extended family, and my extended family. We seem to be the focal point of these storms, because our stance on several issues - and in some cases our imperfect ability to express God's truth - has made everyone we love more than a little angry with us. They feel that we are being cold, uncaring, and judgemental; when every intention we have comes from hearts that are broken, contrite, and pleading for truth.

All of this happening at home, while I am not even there to deal with these issues face-to-face with the people who are hurt, is creating stress in my family like I have never seen before. All of it leaves me asking God, "What are you doing?" Here is His answer:


I arrived at the job site on Wednesday afternoon, only to find that all of our electrical crew had alrady returned home. That is, all except for one person - a guy named "Red". He's a little older than me, battle-scarred, wild-eyed - but a genuinely nice guy hidden below a rough exterior. He's worked the carnival circuit, driven trucks, had a couple of brushes with the law, and countless other stories that I can't share here. When I asked him about his family, he told me about his wife by saying, "I cuss her a little, but I wouldn't want to be without her." Without a doubt, Red has a command of explicatives that few have achieved. He can cuss, and almost make it sound like poetry!

I purposed in my heart to get to know Red. When I first attempted to ask where he stood with the Lord, I got the answer I expected. It started with, "Now, I ain't try to knock religion or anything, but..." Red knew where I was coming from: I had prayed at the start of our meals together each day - he knew I was "one of those". If it hadn't been for the fact that I'm one of the owners of this struggling little company, he might just as well have broken me in half...

Yesterday, we all went to the metal-shed-turned-into-a-restaurant that's across from the plant for lunch. As we talked, Red was blowing my mind with his casual stories of an amazingly reckless life, all the while oblivious to the fact that everyone in the small dining area was listening-in as he let his foul language fly. Then, the "religion" word came up again, and I saw an opportunity to talk about Christ.

This is no dramatization - it's the truth: as I began to say the first word I was thinking, the entire room became as quiet as a hospital. It was literally like the old E.F. Hutton commercial. I even remember trying to lower my voice so as not to be too disruptive in so quiet a room. It was a very strange thing...

I simply said something close to this: "Red, people are just people. Whether people think we're rich or poor - whether we are the "owners" or the "installation crew" - we are all poor, helpless slaves. We can't stop doing what's wrong and start doing what's right no matter how hard we try. If that wasn't true, then Jesus never would have died to cancel our debt to God. I guess now I'm a slave to Him - because everybody's a slave to something."

...an eternal silence of less than two seconds followed...

In that moment, I saw Red's lip quiver just a little. Then, as quickly as the words were spoken, the conversation turned to whatever else... But I was still stuck in the moment...

Red doesn't claim to know the Lord. My heart is hopeful that one day he will. Until then, I would expect him to go on acting like the world acts. But, every once in a while, I pray that the Holy Spirit will recall the short conversation to Red's memory - and he will consider the master he is serving.

When I left the job site yesterday, Red was the first to shake my hand and blurt out a quick "Be safe."

The storms in my family and Cindys stem from people who claim to know the Lord, but continue in obvious sin, even when it's humbly pointed out to them through tears. I've been in that boat before, and it's a miserable place for a believer to be. Cindy and I have tried to voice the truth that an unrepentant heart will lead to lots of pain down the road - but we have been shunned as "judgemental" by people we love very much.

But the ray of hope that the Lord gave me this week is Red. My mission field is the job site. I've been called to share the truth with people who will listen. When the folks who already know about Jesus tell me to shut up - that's when I'll remember that God can talk to them. I don't need to defend Him, or to worry about whether I am liked or not.

I'll go talk to folks like Red, and follow Christ. If God is smiling, it really doesn't matter who is frowning.

Lesson learned Father! Thanks for getting me in line...

My son and daughter need to know that their parents are serious about holding on to Him no matter what. Even when we get everything wrong in our weak little minds - we will still hold on to Him. There is no other god we can go to for truth. So, I'm happy to be a slave to the God of grace.

Part of the Family.

Notice the heading is "part" of the family - not "the center" of the family. Hailee is learning about being a member of the family, but she definitely wants to be the center of attention. Oh well, these are the challenges of parenting!

After three days of letting her cry in the crib, consoling her in the middle of the night, and letting her cry some more, we finally managed a normal sleep schedule (actually, she sleeps about ten hours per night!)

Sleep, play, eat, repeat - seems to be the order of life for our girl!

Just two days ago, she started eating solid foods. This is exciting for a parent, don't ask me why...

No surprises at the doctor's office. ...but we are going to restart her immunization as if nothing has been done up to now. You know how some people update their service record on their car just before they sell it? You take one look at it and suspect foul play, because all of the entries are exactly on schedule with respect to dates/mileages, but it's all in the same color of ink, the same style of handwriting, and sort-of "perfect" - as in "too perfect". ...That's a good description on Hailee's immunization record that we received from the orphanage...

Seth has become the ultimate big brother. He's great! No jealousy so far, just a constant desire to hold Hailee and be involved with her daily life. I'll update you in six months on this - right now, it's still the "honeymoon period".

Moms and Babies

It's Tuesday morning in China. In less than 24 hours, if God wills, we will be boarding our flight back home. Lacy Rose is already looking Americanized. Haley is OK with whatever. The real question is: Are we parents ready?

Growing Every Day

Well, today she said "Da-da", held her bottle, and tried to sit up on her own. Not to mention the constant smiling and laughing when we played with her. This girl is really connecting! I know that we will see signs of adoption-oriented problems at some point, but I'm thanking God that, so far, things are much better than I could have ever asked for them to be. Some would say that I am just being a "glass half full" kind of guy - but that's not true; right now, I'm a "cup running over" kind of guy!










On a more solemn note, I grossed the entire group out at a Japanese restaurant tonight when I ate the head of a Goliath-sized shrimp!

A few of us also went to the Electronics District today, and found amazing deals - like Sony 8Gb USB memory keys for $33! Yes, Steve, I'm bringing one of them back for you...

Confidence!

Today marks Cindy's renewal of confidence as a mother. While we were at the clinic getting medical approval for Hailee to travel to the US, the doctors were not very sensitive to the kids. I guess that they see so many kids each day, they have lost their bedside manner. Cindy was not amused to say the least. Can you see the "don't mess with my daughter" look in her eyes?

Unbelievable!

Pete, one of the fathers in our group, decided to put together a worship service for tonight. ...and it was incredible!

Just when I started thinking that few people outside of our church were serious about worship, God used a whole collection of folks from all over the US to humble me and show me that there are lots of folks who are very serious about focusing all of the attention on the Lord. (NOTE: The paragraph above has caused some hurt feelings within my circle of friends. Still, it is an honest account of my arrogant thinking, which is sin against God that He broke down and replaced with humility while I was in China.)

Pete's encouragement to us was three-fold:

• Keep following the leading of the Lord.
• Enjoy your children, they are gifts from God.
• Live in a manner that humbly shows Christ to everyone who sees your family.

I was blessed to get to pray for two specific items:

1. That the hearts of the children and the adoptive families would be open to fully receive each other.
2. That the chain of generational sin would be broken within each of us, and in our new children.

Then, after open testimony time (which was great!), Kevin directed each father to come forward and collect the communion elements to administer to his own family. The reality of servant-leadership within each of our homes really came alive to us all tonight. It was the Church glorifying God with overflowing hearts.

Marc Quigley led the worship in singing, and started his time by asking the families to shout-out the states that they came from. A majority of the US was represented in our little service tonight.

Palmer closed us in prayer - and sent us out with confidence and clarity about what we are doing here, as well as the God who sustains us.

...And God was lifted up above all else.

The picture that Hailee will shoot us for when she's 20!

Here's the shot that will get me in trouble when Hailee is older. But, it's so cute that I'm willing to risk it.

Today we took her to the US Consolate's clinic to get her medical approval before returning to the states. She weighs 14 lb. 8 oz., and she's 26 inches long. That's pretty small for 9 months old!

Everything went OK at the clinic, and we haven't seen any roadblocks so far.

Hailee is getting more interactive and smiling/laughing more every day. We're having a ball, but we miss Seth alot... It won't be a complete adoption until we are all together. She has alot to learn from her big brother!

Hailee's new friend

This is Lacy Rose Quigley. She is a baby-doll...

Mother and Child...

Take a look at this sweetheart. ...and the baby ain't bad either!

We've discovered that her care-giver must have held her all the time. She pitches a fit if we lay her down at naptime. So, today will be filled with crying, as we renegotiate her contract for nap services...

Pray for us!

Friends Forever.

OK. I'll break down and use the one word that I have heard WAY too many times in the past year - "Precious!"

This is Hailee and Lacy Rose playing together. They are suite-mates at the China Hotel in Guangzhou.

Return Plans

In case I forget to post this later, here are our return plans:

We will arrive at GSP at 7:09pm on April 5.

Lots of folks have been asking, and this is the only way we can get the word out to everyone.

So, any Internet criminals out there who might want to use this information for evil purposes, be warned: my God made you - He can take you out and make another one that looks just like you - with better manners!

Playtime!

Is this not the cutest baby on the planet? (well, with the exception of the Quigley's baby - her dad is reading this as I type).

Did I mention the Quigley's - Marc and Megan? They have a high coolness factor. We are sharing an apartment with them in Guangzhou. Their baby is just a few days older than Hailee, and from the same orphanage. And they live in SC as well - who'da thunk it?

Even more mind-blowing: Marc knows the Blumer family from our church, who are in the adoption process right now! God leaves no detail to chance, does He?

But, back to my beautiful daughter. Ain't she something! We went to the park today, and were almost mobbed by Chinese grandmothers who wanted to poke, prod, and question... It was fun - and the park was absolutely beautiful!

Nap Time

It's 4:00pm on March 29 in Guangjhou, China - and Hailee just went to sleep after an hour of fighting to stay awake. Now is the time that I enjoy: just watching her and her mother sleep peacefully as the whole world fades into the background. There nothing in this time except quiet contemplation of what we have been put on this earth for.

...and when I look at my son Seth and Hailee, I know that my time is invested wisely. God wants one thing from us - that we would worship Him by reflecting all of the glory for everything in our lives back to Him. Seth and Hailee are a great opportunity to do just that. He created them, He brought them into my family, and He is perfecting them. What more could I hope for in life?

She's a Dream! (in spite of our schedule)

Hailee is a great child - even if I do say so myself. She's quiet, cheerful, and happy to have parents...

Today, we went back to the Adoption Affairs office to complete the adoption in China. It was when we were being interviewed that we all realized that it was my birthday. I was thinking that it wasn't until tomorrow - but I forgot the time difference!

So, I officially became Hailee Noel Jin Driskill's father on my birthday! The entire adoption group sang happy birthday to me immediately after our interview. What a present - a beatuiful baby and great people to share the experience with!

GOTCHA!

She’s in our hands now! We went to the Guangzhou Office for Adoption Affairs, and were the third family (out of twenty-something) to get our Hailee…

She’s curious, inquisitive, and very, very quiet. I wouldn’t say compliant, but quiet nonetheless. I’ve heard her cry a total of one time in the past 24 hours!

She hasn’t had any problem connecting with us – and she smiles a lot. Here’s a picture – I’ll update you on the details later!

(Note the deer-in-the-headlights look...)