Studying Up For This Daddying Thing

For Christmas, Elise gave me a book on Fathering. I had asked for one so that I could begin to prepare myself for the most important job I'll ever have. For some reason, having a daughter seems far more daunting (though equally special) . Perhaps it's b/c there's a foreignness to it all. I'm a boy myself, I have only 3 brothers, and I have a Mom that's been brazened by all the testerone of raising us four. My lovely wife is my lone coach in teaching me the ways of little girls. Having said that, however, I know there's a soft spot in my heart just waiting to be commandeered by Mia Grace. I fear, more than anything, just being wrapped around her finger.

John Mayer wrote a popular song called "Daughters" that really speaks to the power of a Dad in the lives and hearts of their daughters: "You are the god and the weight of her world, so fathers be good to your daughters, daughters will love like you do, girls become lovers who turn into mothers, so mothers be good to your daughters, too." Nice, huh? I would add a slight but ever so important twist to say that, as Dads, we have the powerful opportunity to show them God's heart for them and that their ability to love God directly ties to how we have been their father on earth. What a gut check job, I say.

Dan the Sand Man

As proof of Dan's deep love for his baby girl Mia, he actually took on the task of sanding, wiping down the walls, and painting Mia's room. To make it worse, all the work was on the ceiling. Since he absolutely hates working on the house in any capacity, let the record show that a Father's heart is already in play!

Out of Review Room Celebration

On September 9th, 2006 our dossier officially made it out of the review room with no questions asked. Phew! No more worrying about somehow getting kicked out of the program. To celebrate I (Elise) went and bought the highchair that I had my eye on for the last year. For whatever reason Mia's highchair was the one piece of baby furniture that I was the most excited about getting.

Mia's Tree

For Christmas 2005, Dan gave Elise a tree to be planted in Mia's honor. The tree is an oriental weeping cherry tree - a grafted tree.

The plaque has the following inscription: "Planted with purpose, grafted in grace, nurtured with love. Romans 11:17"

We fell in love with the following analagy found in the book, Twenty Things Adopted Kids Wish Their Adoptive Parents Knew, by Sherrie Eldridge: "A grafted tree. Magnificent to behold. One of a kind. Contrary to nature. Luxuriant leaves and intricate roots. Loaded with horticultural challenges for a gardner, but ultimately yielding a tree with unparalleled beauty. The adopted child. Magnificient to behold. One of a kind. Biologocial features often contrary to yours. Intricate roots that need to be healed. Loaded with behavioral challenges for parents, but ultimately yielding a life of unparallelled beauty."

Keiffer Becomes a Dog Phase 1

In November of 2005, we thought that maybe Keiffer needed to learn that she was not the center of our universe and therefore needed a little brother. So totally spur of the moment we went to Land of Paws, the petstore where we got Keiffer to see if they had any Yorkipoos. To our suprise they were getting a couple of Yorkipoos the very next day. We went the next day and fell in love with this little guy. After 2-4 weeks of waiting for him and visiting him everyday we were finally allowed to take him home (all 2 lbs of him) on December 2, 2005.

Boy did Keiffer not know what was in store for her!

More CHI Golf Tourney Shots

For the record, we did NOT just win the tournament because I had gone out and brought in some ringers. They WERE ringers, of course, but I distinctly remember a shot or two out of my bag that made a difference.

Dan Wins The Tournament

Dan and his team win the Children's Hope International Golf Benefit. Dan's team was loaded with powerhouse golfers: Josh Yerton, Jason Philips and Jeremy Paben.

Friends Gather to Pray

The Gazaways, Sunukjians and Jeremy Paben come over to listen to our heart about adoption, watch some videos (China's Lost Girls, Steven Curtis Chapman Story) and to pray with us. That night touched us all. My most memorable moment was when I jokingly said "So the reason we have gathered you here is to see who would be interested in also adopting from China to provide our daughter with a friend/family that looked like her" and Jeremy Paben quickly chimed in and said "I am in".

The Pabens however now have their hands full with twins born 1/25/2007.