God is unbelievable!!! We are So excited!!! :0)

Phil and Niki Smith are proud to announce that they are zealous parents of an 18 month old girl!!!!!!!!  :0)
What can I say, but WOW!  God is so Great at all times, but we are in awe of Him right now!  Our entire family is SO happy!  Her name is GiGi Dahl (silent h - pronounced Dall; not everyone seems to be familiar with this name) Smith.

GiGi is 18 months old and was abandoned when she was 5 month old in the bathroom entrance of a plaza.  She has been in the orphanage since. She has been diagnosed with Scoliosis and is missing a few ribs.  Dr. Marta (our pediatrician) says her scoliosis is moderate.  LeBonheur Children's hospital (about 1 hour from us) specializes in this and does a surgery with titanium rods for children with scoliosis. And every 4-6 months, the rods have to be lengthened since children grow so quickly.  GiGi also may have to have a titanium rib placed, but we will really not know exactly what all she will need until she gets here to the U.S. They sent x-rays and pages of medical information, but until a doctor her can see her and look at x-rays done here they don't know for sure.

GiGi's diagnosis is a little more than we had originally planned on taking with a child & we were going to adopt 2 children with one trip. After many, many prayers GiGi is our child! Since she will possibly  have several surgeries a year, we will  not adopt another child at this time due to time and possible extra finances associated with her medical. I know not everyone understands why in the world we would adopt a child with medical conditions like this and it's not for everyone. A lot of people praise us for what we are doing, but we honestly don't see it as that big of a deal to adopt a child like GiGi. She is our child  and we all take care of our children. It's not exactly a choice and sure you want your kids to be healthy in all ways, but it is our calling and she is our baby girl. We have been blessed with 2 biologically beautiful healthy intelligent children and now blessed with a child born in our heart!  We always wanted to adopt a special needs child that can lead a normal life with the needed medical intervention -> surgery/medicines/therapies/etc. that we can provide for her. This child will be no different than Colt and Macy Jade are to us  now with our love, care, etc..  Did I mention  - We are all excited! 

We still have to get all our information translated in Chinese and wait on approval from the Chinese government to invite us to come get her. This is the HARD part! How do we leave OUR child in an orphanage for months? It breaks our hearts!!!  Colt and Macy Jade cried for her!   However, we knew that we would have to wait on her when we started the road to adoption and it's not in our hands!  Our adoption agency told us that it would likely be 3-6 months before we travel to China to get our GiGi angel once our Dossier is completed - we are so close to being there!  PLEASE PLEASE pray for GiGi!!!!  We cannot stand the thought of our child in an orphanage, but we have no other choices!

I'm so very proud of Colt and Macy Jade!  They were the very first ones to claim her as "ours".  Macy Jade came to me asking about her baby sister.  I tried to explain that at that time we were still in prayer to make sure she was our child.  Colt overheard and demanded she was his baby sister too!  I think this was the answer to our prayers speaking the loudest!  They had never claimed any other child as "their sibling".   They immediately loved her as they do each other even with only seeing her picture!  They talk about her all the time and pray for her each day!  Macy Jade has asked for a Chinese babydoll for her birthday.  She said it would be her GiGi until we were able to physically get her!  Macy Jade explained how she would take this baby doll around and sleep with her to feel closer to GiGi!  They are amazing kids and I know GiGi has wonderful role models to follow in their footsteps!  She is going to be so rotten! 



I think GiGi will fit in perfectly with our family! I've never seen our kids so emotional and immediately in love as they are with her! They HAD to have a picture where they were on the page and GiGi was on the page so they cut and pasted picture of them and GiGi on a page.  I cannot post pictures of her on the web yet until we get clearance from the adoption agency.  Her little face is just precious; we love her so much- of course we do; she is our child! Macy Jade said "Oh mommy she has my nose!" :0) How could she NOT be our child??? We love her; we love her; we love her!!!!!  Praise be to God!  THANK YOU! and Thank you to all of you for all of your prayers!  Please continue to pray; we would LOVE to have GiGi before the year is over!  What better Christmas gift????

I wanted to share to you all our excitement!  Thank you for all of your support!


Love In Christ!
Niki

^"Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them.  But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.  And he laid his hands on them, and departed thence."

Matthew 19:13-15 (KJV)

Talking the Talk

For all of you young, willing writers out there: I have but one piece of advice (this is more or less what they will tell you at every writing conference, in every writing book, etc.). Writing is a verb. Seems simple doesn't it. Every school-kid knows that "writing is a verb". This verb is often confused with the "talking" verb. They seem so different, don't they? Ask any elementary (or high school or graduate class) what they had rather do- write or talk- and I'd be willing to bet that, given the choice, most (as in 100%) would lean toward the talking option. It is alot more fun. But even the serious student of writing has this confusion from "day one". They will most always blend the "writing" in with the "talking". What does this mean? For even the most passionate novelist in training, writing is often talking. Most folks get pretty skilled at telling you (and definately, other writers that share the same passion) what they "are going to write". It is really fun. You talk about the books that you are going to write, the songs you are going to write, the screenplays you are going to write, the articles you are going to publish. You talk about the mood of your novel, the writers you admire, what is lacking in the movies that are at the cinema, your theory on why a certain type of story has been closed out by the main stream, why music stinks today compared with the poets of long ago. But in the end it all amount to a bunch of talking and not much (if any) writing. Converstation between friends fades quickly and is rarely the stuff of historical significance unless it is written. The written word changes everything. If I had done the hard work and written most of the things that I had talked about writing, volumes would be in my collection. It might not be great, but it would BE (as in exist). Talking is great. The majority of my personal break-throughs have come by my talking with a trusted friend, but they have been just that- personal. They have not really benefited society. There is a distinct difference between changing my mind and changing "things". It is probally at this point that you (if you have not fallen asleep) are asking yourself "what in the world does this have to do with this whole story I'm following!"" I'm not some girly poet. I don't need a seminar on geek stuff."

But I have sorta noticed that "doing good" (or charity) is alot like what I've been talking about with the "writer's delima". Have you ever said (something like) if i had a million dollars like Brittney Aguilera, I'd build a hospital or really afordable coffee shop? It is fun to talk about the thing we "would" or "are going to do" if we had tons of cash; but a hospital probaly cost a good bit of money( even if we had a million or so) and while most us haven't developed a lean because of the weight of our wallets, we have more than a few dollars to rub together, but yet a few bucks in the coffers of the homeless is totally out of the question (let's hear it for run on sentences!!!! Faukner fans....anyone?.....anyone?)

Point I'm trying to make is that it is easy to talk about the good we are going to do, the lives we are going to change, the books we are going to write, the person we are going to help- it's a whole different matter in the actual doing of our grand deeds. The doing is HARD, seriously, it is hard. I struggle with this stuff everyday. I dream of making my mark on the world. I wan't to leave this place a better place, but man, Judge Judy is really letting them have it!!!!!!!!!! Where was I? It is really easy to get distracted.

Think about it.

Phil

PIF TONIGHT

O.K. so today I feel terrible.  No belly aching here as I'm pretty sure it's just allergies.  However I thought, I want to feel better but I don't feel like getting up and doing something so what can I do to feel better?  


Phil and I have been discussing how we can thank everyone for their prayers, support, encouragement, purchasing of items, & so many nice gestures we've had over our journey.  We had already thought that a prize drawing or something would be great, but today I've decided something a little different.  It's not a new idea, but new for our blog!  


How great do you feel when you do something for someone else for no reason???  The smile and unexpected joy you give to someone?  It makes me feel great to see someone happy when I do for them!  It's easier for me to give than receive!  I've decided that today I'd like to do a Pay It Forward....not one, but 5!  There has been so many unexpectedly nice things people have done for us (I'm not adding them all so please don't think I don't appreciate something that isn't listed...we've appreciated every little {which wasn't little to us!} comment in person, writing, text, etc.)  These are just a few of the very unexpected things people have done over the last couple weeks (in no order of importance):
-a bag without a name was left at our door steps with goodies in it
-a very sweet person brought us some very yummy food out of the blue
-2 people have handed us a donation check
-a very sweet person offered to get a handout to each U.S. Supreme Court Justice about our cause
I've only included 5 above and that is not even close to the nice things people have done to help us get our cause promoted - some have handed out our fliers in their church, schools, communities, and work.  Some have helped to get our shirts sold and then placed big orders.  Others have contacted celebs that they know to get t-shirts to them.  Some have posted our links to our blog and coffee shop on tweets, their facebook, blogspot, shop fronts, and other places in the webworld.  A few people knew they might get some public attention at an event and wore our shirt to help gain more support for us.  O.k. I said I wasn't going to go on and on, but the support we have gotten has been phenomenal!  We say thank you so much but that doesn't seem enough!


I know most all  of us do things for others and never even think about it; however, today I want to start a PIF.  Later, I will post all the details on how this will work.  I will let you know that you will need to "follow our blog" by email to qualify.   See in the right corner, it says "follow by email" - just put in your email, click submit, then confirm your request in your email.  If you do that now, you will be a step closer when I post details tonight.


Everyone please re-post this, tweet this, email friends or whatever you can to get people's attention over the next few hours.  Everyone likes to get something nice even if  it's just a smile to make us feel better!  Let's get as many people involved as we can!  When others are nice to us, it just makes us feel good!  If this goes over well, I'd love to do more things like this over our journey!


Oh and if you love coffee or need special/unique gifts, please don't forget about the special that ends TONIGHT on our coffee site 
http://www.justlovecoffee.com/longroadtochina
Buy 3 bags of coffee and get 1 FULL size (13 oz) not for-sale yet espresso for FREE!  
(OFFER ENDS TONIGHT for the free bag!)


^"9And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. ¹⁰As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith."
Galatians 6:9-10  

Wait time

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!  Phil has been updating so I've taken the passengers  seat the last few posts.  We are a team like that; when one is tired/worn-out/etc. the other one picks up the slack.  Have I mentioned what a wonderful husband I have today?  God has truly blessed me with the best family!  I know we are not completed and He is still working to add more. 

We do not know any new information about the adoption.  We are constantly checking our e-mails to see if we have been matched.  It's hard for me to just wait, but there is nothing else I can do right now.  During this time, I've been very busy trying to fundraise.  Some one asked me the other day why we have started so early since it may be 6-12 months before we leave for China.  It's hard to raise a large lump sum of money all at once.  We want to be prepared and not feel so pressured for the $25,000-$40,000 (this is per child) international adoption fees.  We are saving and doing all we can to  not have any delays due to fiances.  All the fees are not paid at the end, but along the journey.  A bulk part of the financial burden is at the end of the journey, but we still have fees along the way to pay.  They do not let you continue to the next step until you pay the payments.  I know most families have to take out another mortgage on their house, but we do not want to do this until we have to.   No matter what we have to do, we will bring our child home!  This is why we have started so early with the fundraisers.  

Also, during this wait time, I've been trying to read and study; however it doesn't seem too often I have time. lol  I have been reading on adoption, Chinese adoptions, and Chinese culture.  I'm still learning so much new information!  I am reading a book (actually I've started about 3! lol) by Xinran called Letters from an Unknown Chinese Mother: Stories of Loss and Love.  This book will bring anyone to tears!  I'm anxious to read more from this author.  She is a Chinese native that writes many books about China.  I think her information is going to be very productive for me and I'm hoping it will give me better understanding on some issues.  

And of course, during our wait time, our family has been enjoying our time together!  I cannot believe school starts back so soon; it is going to be so strange to me.  Both Colt and Macy Jade will be in school this year and of course Phil will go back to teaching.  This process has strengthened, changed, and grown us so much!  I never new the starting process (even prior to having our other children with us) could change everyone so much!  

Colt is such a sweetheart!  Sunday at church, we sat down from a family with a young daughter.  I thought Colt was going to go sit by her; he kept saying "Look Momma, she is so cute!"  Then that afternoon, we were fortunate enough to run into grandparents that had a 4y/o granddaughter from China.  They showed us her picture and Colt went on and on about how cute she was, how precious she was, and wondering if his sister would look like her.  When we got in the car, he said  that he just couldn't help thinking about his baby brother or sister everytime he saw a baby.  He is just a sweetheart!  Macy Jade was excited too, but Colt was just smothered with love everytime he sees a baby! 



Both kiddos have dentist appointments tomorrow in the morning so we will be in Corinth again tomorrow.  If you want a shirt or have  not gotten your shirt, you can text us at 415-0190 to meet us in town & pick it up.  We will be going by some businesses tomorrow that have ordered shirts and delivering them.  If you work in Corinth and want us to stop by your work for a shirt, please just text us to let us know.  


I hope you all have a wonderful day & if it's as hot in your location as ours (103 today) then please stay cool!  Thank you all for continuing to follow our adventure!  Say a little prayer for us and all our children tonight!  Love you all! Niki


"But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint." (NKJV)
Isaiah 40:31

June 30 at 1:13am -- Kiss the ground you walk on. We did nothing to deserve this.

Phillip Smith

I've been thinking about Jesus tonight (no the sermon is not about to begin). I've been thinking about his philosophies and how they have really differed from mine. I was raised in a religious family (church on Sunday, Wednesday, etc.) I graduated from Freed-Hardeman University (undergrad and grad) so I know my way around "THE BOOK"- even studied a little Greek in my spare time. But, I took a good long look at myself and compared my road with the one of Christ. A Christian is one who emulates Christ in his life. His compassion. Strength. Meekness. He came to this world to be a servant- A SERVANT!!!!!!!

I've been thinking about my role as a servant in this world. Seriously, we teach our kids from a young age to "rise above" and "make a name for yourself", but do we ever consider how they treat others? I'm not trying to be dramatic. Not how they treat others who can help them, but how they treat "the least among us". I'm great at being cool with people who can (or could) possible help me in the future. Or with folks that are easy on the eyes, but what about the guy that's not cool or stinks or whatever. A teacher once told me to read the book of James (bible) and rate myself on how my actions compare. Try it. It's a humbling experience.

I know that I'm starting to ramble, but my "looking out for number one" attitude is difficult to parallel with Christ. I think i need to remind myself WWJD- not in terms of "Jesus wouldn't get loaded and rob the bank" but in "how would Jesus treat the meth addict that is at the end of his rope?" Or, on a more personal level what would Jesus do if he were in my shoes. This adoption process has humbled me in ways that I'm far too poor a writer to express. He has opened my eyes to the world that I live in. God has blessed me. God has blessed you too.

I found some stats that really made me think.

"If there is a meal in your fridge.."
"If you are dressed with a pair of shoes..."
"If you have a roof above your head..."
You are better off than 75% of people in this world.

Kiss the ground you walk on. We did nothing to deserve this.

June 30 at 1:13am

June 30 at 9:19pm -- Out of my comfort zone

Niki Suitor Smith

I hope everyone has had a wonderful day! We got the t-shirts ordered today and the shop stated that they should be in next Thursday or Friday. I will update you as soon as I have them. We ordered extras and hope to be putting in more orders when we run out of these.

On Monday, we will have a booth set up at the Jacinto Fourth of July Festival with profits going to our adoption costs. We will have jewelry - pendants, necklaces, & bracelets of all kinds. We will also have a concessions stand set up next to our craft booth with snow cones, nachos, & drinks. If you have not ordered a t-shirt, we will have order forms there also. If you don't have plans on Monday, come out and join the fun. There will be political speeches - it's one of the largest in MS. You can also enjoy arts and crafts, music, petting zoo (I think), and food. If you are there, please come by our booth. I know some of you we do not know and we would love to meet you. Please do not think we will try to get you to buy something if you come by or that you need to purchase something. It just makes our day when we hear people say they are following our story.

I would like to share something with you that I told a friend in a message. Maybe it will help you all to get to know us better.

I see already that we are changing. Phil & I are very quiet, private, and independent people. We never want anyone to help us & for this to work, we have to raise some funds or grow a $ tree - & I can't find any seeds for those. lol It is making us so humble and grateful for all the people that are supporting us! Not just in the fundraisers, but with prayers, love, support, encouragement, etc.. Most people don't know Phil & I because we are quiet and private. We help others when we see a need, but are always behind the scenes not wanting to be noticed.

I've never been one to just sit down and write nor have conversations with people I don't know. I'm not a snob, but shy and feel so awkward around people I don't know well. However, I felt so strongly about our adoption that I felt the need to share God's work in us to others so that is why I'm writing about our journey. Maybe it will inspire someone or someone will see God's work and follow His way, or maybe somebody will feel blessed in some way. Maybe it will help us all see each other as ONE in the same and bring some unity. I'm not sure why God wanted me to open up to others. It's typically out of my comfort zone, but I knew I needed to do it for some reason. Who knows what people will get out of it. This journey has taken me out of my comfort zone on so many levels, I cannot even explain!

Let's see how I can start to explain some of the many ways I've been out of my comfort zone:

1.) I'm very shy, awkward & often feel uncomfortable around people - especially people I don't know. (This is all me and rarely ever - if ever- the people that I'm around.) I'd much rather people not notice I'm there than to stand out in a crowd or be the life of the place. Well, by God's plan, this adoption is definitely drawing attention to us through our journey and I'm meeting people that I would have never met. I know I could have been this same mysterious & private person and gone through our entire adoption without writing about it. That would have been the easy way out for me! I feel I am suppose to write this journey as it goes and maybe this is God's way of working on me and making me more comfortable.

2.) I can be a germaphobic - especially when my kids were younger.
Well, our child(ren) is going to be in an orphanage for atleast his/her first 6mo. of life --need I say more on this? lol Not to mention all the foreign diseases that we don't have over here and that we could catch - not that China is nasty, but we are not use to the same diseases/sicknesses here as they are there.

3.) I HATE to fly
You cannot get any further from us than China! I'm thinking about starting to dig a hole to get there, but Phil thinks people will think that is too weird (and trust me I know people probably think we are weird! We do march to the beat of our own drum!) or that there is some kind of law against that sort of thing. I don't know what he is thinking?
- oh wait, did I mention I really HATE to fly! No joke! You can give me the stats all day on how much more likely you are to die in a car, but it doesn't matter!

4.) I'm the type of person that likes to know where things are headed; not necessarily a control freak, but just a general direction.
With adoption, you have to be ready for anything. There is no "general" direction other than the end result is holding your precious baby! You may run & run only to wait a week or weeks for someone else to return a signed form. You may have all your forms completed and then the agency may call & say can you have this one redone or we also need this, this & this. I never know which direction I'm going!

5.) Patience - not my best virtue & probably my worst! And also, we have no idea when things are going to happen. I have people ask me all the time "When will you get your baby?" or "When will they match you?", etc. I don't mind at all the questions, but I never know the answer. It's all a wait and see, but I know it will happen. I check my email numerous times a day to see if the agency has sent a match for us. Once we are matched, we will have to WAIT until China invites us to come get our child. God is definitely teaching me a thing or 2 here!

6.) Phil and I are very independent people! We don't like to ask people to help us!
We've had so many wonderful, wonderful people that are always willing to help, but we like to do it all on our own. Not always a good thing.

7.) As I said above, Phil and I are very private people. Few people know a lot about us. We lean on each other and don't let others in. It's good for us to be strong, but we need to let people in to know us better. We are kinda strange (o.k. I know a few of you are thinking real strange.) and don't do things like everyone else. I think we may seem stranger to a lot of people because we are private and quite leaving others to sometimes draw their own conclusions about us rather than getting to know us. At least I'll say that is why they find us so peculiar - I know we are different and that's o.k. with me! There are wonderful people, but we like to make our own way.

O.k., I could give you all my downfalls, but we'd never get to China to adopt & I'd have to charge you for a book. lol
I never would have thought God would have called us at 36y/o & 40y/o with 2 kids to adopt more nor did I expect Him to want me to open up to people. It's all in His timing and He uses situations, people, etc. to prepare us for His plan even though we don't know it at the time. Thank you so much for all your support - I feel like I've said that a million times and the words aren't justification for how grateful we are by each of you! You have no idea how much it means to us!

We hope to figure out how to get our blog up so people can follow there - it's gonna be kinda strange for our blog to be on all these t-shirts and no information when people go there. I've never done a blog so I'm lost! lol I'm going to make myself uncomfortable here and ask for some help on this. If someone knows how to set up a blog or what I need to do it, please let me know. I've read up on it, but I'm confused. I don't want someone to do it for me, but to help me with things like how to put pictures on it, change the background, theme, etc. I know nothing about HTML codes so you might as well be speaking Chinese if you come to me starting to talk about those things! lol So any of you that know how to do a blog, I would appreciate so much some help on where to get me started. I've searched the web and cannot tell if I need a program for this or what I'm doing. Any help, would be appreciated. I just need to get it together soon since we are using that blog spot for people to follow us - I don't want them to think we are being our normal private self by not putting any information on there! haha

If I'm not on here before Monday, please everyone have a safe and wonderful 4th of July weekend! I hope to see you at Jacinto!

"This is my commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you."
John 15:12

June 30 at 9:19pm

May 20 at 9:33am - This process is going to be harder than we thought

Niki Suitor Smith

Oh my, this is going to be harder than I thought. I have read 3 profiles of available children & how will we ever pick when the time comes? Please start praying for us now that God will lead us to our child when the time comes as picking our child may be the hardest part! They are all so precious; I know we will want to take them all {of course this isn't possible. lol}.

This is bits of the description in one 2y/o child: a lively & adorable child, perceptive, obedient, and good-natured, often helps the children who are younger pick up toys, takes own toys & gives it to other children to cheer them up, concentrates very hard on music & dances when hears a familiar song, calls little boys in books brother, will give most loved toys & food & share with other children {My kids would corrupt in no time! haha}

O.k. some of the descriptions say they aren't so sharing, stubborn, etc. {stubborn would probably fit in better with our children lol}. Just kidding our children are really wonderful! We are proud of them & love them so much! We are so proud of their excitement to share love with another in our family! They love each other dearly but have that sibling love {We think they may kill each other sometimes, but no one else better mess with the other! lol}

Thank you all for your support & prayers! God bless each one of you!

May 20 at 9:33am