Dear Phillip!

Hey Phil,
     Is it okay if I call you Phil? Hmmm, well I guess we can work that out when you get here. Maybe Philly...or Lippy. Naaah, those are no good. Maybe we'd better let you pick the nickname.
     Well, it seems weird to be thinking about such a little thing when you're not even here yet, but all of us have been thinking through the joyous, little details of making you part of our family. We scheme ways to get you in and out of the car, we talk about rearranging dishes so you can reach them all, we wonder how it will be having you right at the dog's face level. We think about everything, and we think all the time. That's not because we're worried or obsessed. It's not because we're detail freaks (although that is sometimes true). It's because GOD has laid this on our hearts and He keeps it there day and night. You don't even know it, but there are at least 4 people that love you right now more than you've ever been loved. And if God is willing, you WILL know that soon. Hang in there, big man. We're coming as quick as we can.
     Love,
        Your Big Bro :)

Summer Phun!

Dad and I can't wait for camping trips with Phillip!

 Hey, he wanted to get buried and I wanted a good picture. It worked out PERFECT! Dawson's gonna be an awesome neighbor for Phillip.

 Our AMAZING friends the Blews in their natural habitat: the LAKE! It was so fun hanging out on the water with you all!

 Mrs. Blew and Syd are geniuses! Look at all the hard work they put into spelling my bro's name!

God's Plan, Power, Peace, and Praise!

We're relieved to be able to tell you that our homestudy should be done TODAY!  That means that the international adoption specialist can proceed with the next portion of our paperwork called the "dossier."  We're so grateful for your prayers!  We're seeing God's hand daily with joyful expectation!  (Lamentations 3:25)

Adopting Phillip has been a leap of faith for our family.  Most days find us excitedly talking about bringing him home and loving on him.  We talk about how we want to see Him grow in his faith.  We debate about the best ways to teach him to read and to improve his English.  We practice our Mandarin Chinese.  We joke about me possibly having to drive a mini van again.  (Okay, still working on accepting that one...:)  We use chopsticks.  We make Asian dishes and experiment with making them really hot and spicy the way Phillip loves them.  We spend hours researching cool wheelchairs and space-age home vacuum elevators.  We stock up on sale clothes in Phillip's size.   But....there are times when we have to walk through some harsh realities.  On those days, we desperately pray for God to equip us and to empower us to overcome in Him.  We pray for the Holy Spirit to do a mighty work in Phillip's body and spirit.

One time our family watched people with parachutes jumping off the cliffs at Wallowa Lake.  They got themselves into position and seemed to go through a safety checklist.  They faced the cliff and then jumped backwards into the canyon below.  I'll never forget their expressions.  There was a moment of absolute terror as they started to free fall followed by absolute joy and shouting when their parachutes took over.  That's how following God's will is for me.  I make sure that everything is in order:  Prayer?  Check.  In line with His word?  Check.  Sought wisdom of godly family and friends?  Check.  Booyahahaha.........!

 When I truly seek to discern  and obey His will, He is the loving arms that catch me when I leap and  then throw me into the air again!

I'll never forget a story that a friend told me about a reoccuring nightmare.  He kept having this dream that he was falling and he would wake up scared and anxious.  Someone told him that if he ever hit the ground in his dream, the trauma would literally kill him.  My friend devised this plan to fan his t-shirt and to let it fill with air like a parachute and to lightly touch down when he had the dream again.  He did it.  Not only did he touch down lightly, he stopped having the dream altogether.  When we see roadblocks and challenges and experience stress, often God is calling us to see things through His eyes and to see that He is able.  He is able to meet our needs in creative ways that are greater than we could ever think of or imagine.  Where we end, He begins!  We're counting on that as we hop, skip, jump and LEAP towards bringing Phillip home.

Joni

Your Mommy and Daddy LOVE You!

Dear Phillip,

Do you know how much your mom and dad love you? Even though you are not here, yet? Even though Daddy hasn't even met you, yet? What a picture of GOD'S LOVE that is! They love you so much. Mom has pictures of you all over the house already-every one that we could get a hold of. She has even printed tons of extra pictures to give to friends so they remember to pray for you. Mom shares about you as often as she can. Daddy gets teary each time he talks about you. That is one of  my favorite things to see. He is getting ready to start working on your room and bathroom. Both are so eager to finish up the paperwork so we can get you home ASAP! They just want you to be here where they can get to know you, make sure you are getting the best care, encourage you, and love on you. 

See you soon...

Brit

Results of our Phantastic Phamily Phundraiser

Kyle and Lucy enjoyed coloring together in air-conditioned comfort.

Dinner with our family after the yard sale tasted especially yummy.

This is Brit, Lucy, and Gracie.  I think someone ate their profits cuz I see chocolate chip cookies on those li'l girls' faces.



Thx so much for blessing us!



Enjoy your toys, Josh!  We're so glad that you guys stopped by!

Autumn, you ROCK!  Is Yeager enjoying the moose toy?

Thanks for helping us out, Lori!  Someone is really enjoying your mixer right now!

The Segallas and Taylors were some of our BEST customers!

Pholks, you totally blessed our socks off!  Thanks so much for braving the heat and for checking out our yard sale.  You were the highlight of our weekend!  We are so grateful for the many donations and hope that you all enjoy your purchases! Thanks to our phamily for helping out as well.  Enjoy the pictures!

Would you be willing to pray about our paperwork?  We are looking for God to move in that area and for his timing.

KKPB&J

Phun in Leavenworth!

Don't you love crayons and butcher paper?

 According to this keychain, anyone named Phillip should be active, joyful, and a lover of horses. 2 outta 3?

 Aren't they great together?

 What a find!

 Whoa! Big air!

 Brittany posing with her lovely sand creation

We can't wait to go with Phillip soon!

Phillyball and Phuno!

 Panther power! Phillip's mom and her volleyball team.

Grandma Croft ROCKS at Uno...which happens to be Phillip's favorite card game!

Thanks for all your prayers and support! We are SO EXCITED!

Dear Phillip...

Dear Phillip,

Do you know how many people are PRAYING for you! And not just praying that you'll get to come home, soon, but praying for your HEALING-emotional, PHYSICAL, and spiritual. THAT blows me away. You, my friend, are being covered in prayer from half-way around the world every day! THAT is how much your forever family (and many of our friends) love you already!

Brit

Moving forward...

Wehaa!  We're working on the last stages of our adoption.  The "dossier" is started.  We hope to finish it by the end of July.  Of all of the paperwork that we have completed, it seems to be the most complicated.  It includes Phillip's passport and immigration papers as well as required information about plans for his education and ESL concerns. It must go to both the U.S. and Chinese governments for final approval.

Many of you have asked when we will be able to bring Phillip home.  We can't really predict the time accurately, but it could be as early as Christmas.  A friend of ours sent her dossier in April and will travel to China to get her children in the next month or so.  We're trusting God's timing, but we'd love to be able to plan ahead.  We'd all like to travel to China so that we can all share this experience as a family. Thanks for praying about this with us.

Some of you have been wondering about remodeling our office and powder bath to become Phillip's room and bathroom.  Since Karl is currently working out of town, it has been difficult to dismantle the office and the workbench in the garage which needs to happen before we can add on.  Hopefully, Kyle, Brit, and I can make progress on this project next week.  When we have our yard sale on the 5th and 6th of August, there will be space in the garage to store items from the office temporarily.

I was listening to a Beth Moore CD today.  She was talking about our responses to rejection and specifically mentioned adopted children.  Adopted children are so vulnerable to feelings of rejection and abandonment.  They struggle to proccess the emotions associated with the loss of their biological parents. 

We won't be given any information on Phillip's biological family.  His history is sketchy, but we believe that he was abandoned at a police station at around 7 months old when his family realized that he was paralyzed.  At one point, he lived in an orphanage where he was not allowed to bring his wheelchair in the house.  He crawled everywhere.  We are so grateful that he was moved to Shepherd's Field by some folks from Love Without Borders in Shanghai that loved him and went to bat to find a better situation for him. 

Please pray that Phillip will be resilient and that he will continue to have the hope that there is a family for him.  (His orphanage has a policy to protect the orphans that postpones informing the child until the Chinese government has given travel approval.)  Pray that he will be free from attachment and bonding issues.

Your prayer support is such an encouragement to us as we move forward!
Joni Croft

Blue Herons.....

     I'm fascinated by blue herons.  When we visit the Blew's lake cabin, I love to kayak out to the lily pads and strain to find the familiar gray shape of the pencil thin bird standing on the muddy shore. Blue herons are at once alarmingly prehistoric and graceful.  Their days are spent standing still, seemingly trying to disappear into the scenery.
     I've often thought about the plight of the blue heron as it tries to fade into the woodwork.  It spends its life either hiding or using its magnificent 6 foot wingspan to hastily retreat from danger.  In the book of Genesis, Hagar ran from the abuse of her mistress, Sarai, and found herself by a desert spring.  An angel of the Lord appeared to her and encouraged her with the news of her pregnancy.  As she pondered God's mercy, she proclaimed that, "You are the God who sees me...."
    Later, after the birth of Isaac, Abraham sent Hagar and Ishmael away.   Hagar found herself wandering in the desert again.  As she watched her baby languishing in the desert sun, she couldn't have felt more alone, "BUT GOD heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, 'What is the matter, Hagar?  Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there.  Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.' "
    
     Phillip, I can't wait to kayak with you and to be with you the first time that you get to pick out the hazy gray shape of a blue heron in the distance.  I can't wait to affirm that God has SEEN you all of these years and that He has HEARD your cries for a family.  I believe that God has GREAT plans for your life and I'm so thankful that Dad, Brit, Kyle, and I have the privilege of seeing firsthand how HE will lift you up and take you by the hand!   :) Mom

Phillip Pics :)

 Yep, that's really his hair. Yuck!

 Yummm...

 He just keeps popping up everywhere!

 Yummier!

 Jumping for JOY! Joy, because PHILLIP HAS A FAMILY!

...and we can't wait to take pictures with him in them instead of just his name.

Bringing Phillip HOME...

The other day, I was hit with the realization of how appropriately named our blog is. Yes, our goal right now is to bring Phillip into our home-to make our home his home, to make our home as if it was not home without him! But, ultimately, our goal and prayer is that through this we might be able to bring Phillip HOME. THIS world, is not our home. Phillip doesn't need a physical house to sustain him. He needs the HOPE of living forever with CHRIST. This is the place we are excited to bring Phillip to... as the five of us walk together towards HOME.

"I'm At Home" by Chris and Conrad
Brit

PRAISE!!!

Praise the Lord! If you've been following our blog at all, you know that we've been anxious to get the results back on our fingerprint checks so we could wrap up our home study and take care of our dossier. Well guess what God tucked inside our mailbox yesterday: two official letters from the Department of Justice! Our results are here and we can move on to our dossier! God is showing Himself faithful again and again, so we will be faithful to praise Him! Thank you SO MUCH to all who have been lifting up Phillip in prayer. Sometimes we feel like we just can't pray enough so it's a huge blessing to know you all are joining with us!

Jehovah Jireh - God PROVIDED!

~ The Crofts

Sidewalk Chalk Phillip!

Phillip has the CUTEST cousins in the world!

Frisbee Golf Phillip!

Phillip's cousins can't wait to meet him!

Thai Food Phillip

The lovely Croft ladies displaying a culinary masterpiece: Phillip in carrot slices!

Fingerprints!

Hey Friends,

We have had a little delay on Mom and Dad's fingerprinting results and need them to come in soon! Could you pray with us that they would be expedited so we can finish up our home study ASAP!

THANK YOU for PARTNERING with us in PRAYER.

Brit :)

Through the Eyes of a Window Washer

           So I’m a window washer now. A genuine, squeegee-wielding, ladder-climbing, bird poop scrubbing polisher of panes. It’s a great job, really. The work is light, the customers are well…nice, and every day I learn a new facet of window washing. As with any job, there are a million little lessons that you have to learn the hard way the first time. So far I’ve learned to NEVER wear my shoes inside someone’s house. Drain your squeegee handles BEFORE carrying them over carpet. Don’t reef on window screens. They rip. Easily. Always keep your belly button pointed between the legs of the ladder unless you want to find it plummeting toward the ground real quick like. My extremely conscientious employer has spared me from learning most of these lessons the hard way (although I have ripped a few screens). But one of the MOST important (and fantastically allegorical) lessons I have learned is this: when inspecting a window for flaws or mistakes, the best thing to do is to look UP and into the LIGHT.

            Up into the light. That’s the only way to see what you need to fix. When you look down into the dark, bug spots and towel streaks virtually disappear. They are invisible against the darkness below you, but they are outlined clearly when you catch them in the reflection of the light above you. Up into the light is exactly where our family is learning to train our eyes. Like any family, we’ve got a few greasy smears on our windows that we’re trying to buff out. So far, we’re discovering that when we drop our eyes and look down at the monumental task of adoption, we can’t see clearly. We miss things when our eyes fall from the light at the top of the pane to the dark space below. The light is essential too. I suppose you’ve figured out by now that light has a spiritual counterpart, the light of God’s truth. John 3:21 says, “But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.” As we get ready to bring Phillip home, we want to look UP to our Heavenly Father and into the LIGHT of His truth. We want to see the ways that He desires to change us and make us new. We’re not perfect, nor will we ever be. When Phillip gets home, we’ll still have some smudges and scrapes on our windows (maybe even a few ripped screens, haha), but by God’s grace all of our necks will be incredibly sore from our constantly straining to look UP and INTO His LIGHT. 

~ Kyle 

Endless paperwork....shots....cleaning and organizing....SHOPPING!

Those of you that have already adopted children know this well.  Adopting a child requires a lot of documents.  Today, we are filling out the 16 page Child Desired forms that detail every type of illness that an internationally adopted child could possibly possess.  Needless to say, this will be a bit time consuming.

We are doing our online required reading program as well.  It isn't difficult.  It just requires one to hold still, to read, and to take a test.  When we've finished each course, we take a test and then receive a certificate of completion.

We chuckle to note that we are required to update our dogs' rabies shots .  Having seen countless dogs wandering the streets of China, we think this is an interesting requirement :)  Look out, Nitro and Gonzo, you're gonna have to take one for the team this week!

People from all over the United States have been contacting us about adopting Phillip.  Since over 2,000 people visit the orphanage each year, many folks have met and developed a heart for Phillip and the rest of the older children at Shepherd's Field.  Several friends are returning to SFCV this summer and have offered to take gifts and to take pictures and video.  We're so jealous!  We all wish that we could go to China, but will have to wait for God's appointed time to bring Phillip home.

Since our friend, Paula, offered to host a yard sale at her home to raise funds to adopt Phillip, we're storing a lot of items that we would normally donate.  They are starting to fill Karl's bay in the garage.  We're eager to clear any clutter and begin to eliminate the work bench in the garage.  Karl hopes to begin extending the walls of the powder bath and the office into the garage.  Kyle will organize the storage room and then begin to empty the shelves of the workbench this afternoon.  Weehaa!  Progress!

Brit and I are already starting to watch sales for clothes for Phillip for school.  Hey, we're girls, it's only natural!  Although he is only 12, Clay and Jewel from SFCV think that he might wear a men's size shirt because of his brace. 

Not Too Short

Numbers 11:23-"... Is the Lord's arm too short? You will now see whether or not what I say will come true for you."

The context of this verse is great! God has just told Moses that He will provide an abundance of meat for the complaining Israelites to eat-so much that He says it will actually come out of their nostrils! (Numbers 11:20) After this promise, Moses, with his finite little brain, begins to reason out how in the world God is going to do that. Moses asks (in my own sarcastic paraphrase), "Do you realize how many people there are here? How are you going to do that, God? Really? Are you just gonna go fishing and catch ALL the fish in the sea, or something?" God calmly and graciously answers Moses' question with another question, "Is the Lord's arm too short?" Moses' only response to God's question is to go tell the Israelites what He said and make the necessary preparations.

I was challenged with this verse at youth church the other night. Chris Rogne pointed out that when we ask or fear that the arm of the the Lord is "too short" we question God's goodness and God's competence. I believe we also question His faithfulness. Why do we question Him? Has He EVER failed us? No never.

As with many things, lately, I immediately applied this verse to the context of the adoption and the questions we could ask: Is the Lord's arm too short to provide finances to bring Phillip home? Is the Lord's arm too short to provide emotional support for our family? Is the Lord's arm too short to provide the grace needed for each set back, each step forward, each unanswered question, each needed preparation? Is the arm of my God too short to meet Phillip's needs-physical, emotional, and spiritual?

The resounding and triumphant answer to all these questions is NO. No, the arm of the LORD is NOT too short. Praise God! I am claiming this for our family and cannot wait to watch God come through strong on our behalf.

Glory to God.

Brit