Overjoyed...Overwhelmed and in Awe!!!

Where do I even begin....this post may be all over the place because my heart is leaping!

We are overwhelmed with God's goodness!  He deserves all the glory and honor and let me tell you why!

We started this process 14 months ago by handing in our application trusting in Him to lead and guide us as He had done so by breaking our hearts for the needs of the orphan...especially those with special needs.

Soon into our process we identified a little girl who had come across our computer screen.  Bethany Christian Services will send out pictures of children who are waiting on families.  We would get several of these.  Break my heart!  Did you read that.....Children who are WAITING for a family to love them and make them their own!!!!  This particular picture and story captured our heart.  There were many unknowns but we felt God prompting us to pursue this sweet little one.  Resting completely in the fact that He will not give us what we can not handle.  He promises to carry us and be our strength.  Our life is not our own!  So began our homestudy and the rest of the adoption process.  At the time, Sadie was 4 months old.

As we walked through this trusting...not seeing...but believing in Him who is leading....He began to encourage us by confirming over and over again this is where we need to be.  He brought Bob and I even closer, our family began bonded even more as we prayed and prayed for our little girl on the other side of the world.  Our church family, small group, my bible study girls, friends, family, extended family, blog friends, fellow yahoo Bethany adoptive parents all became a part of our story by lifting us up in prayer and encouraging us on this long walk...with the ups and downs that come from this walk of faith.  Again, HE cared for our hearts and where we were emotionally enough to set up this wonderful group of supporters.

As a family we prayed and prayed.  We prayed for her foster mother, that she would love our little girl like her own.  That she would be patient with Sadie in everything, when she cried, when she changed her diaper, when she fed her, when she was acting out.  We prayed for Sadie that the Lord would start preparing her heart for her new family. We prayed that she would come to know Jesus has her personal Savior one day when she can understand.  Our prayers continued to draw us close to this little one whom we had not yet met but even more to our Lord Jesus.

Yesterday, after more then a year....we met our daughter!!!  The daughter that God so sovereignly put in our hearts and our family!!!  Our expectations going into this first meeting were ones that consisted of realizing she would be very shy and stand-offish.  She might not let us hold her throughout the entire time and we were prepared (as much as we could be) for this reaction.  Plus we had been prepared for by our social worker here in HK as well.

Let me tell you....GOD BLEW OUR SOCKS RIGHT OFF OF US AND REMINDED US WE ARE NOT IN CONTROL HE IS!!!!!!!  We are called to walk in faith...not come up with every kind of scenario and borrow unneeded worry...but to SIMPLY TRUST!!

She smiled when she saw us!  For about 40min-1 hour we spent trying to play with her on the floor with toys we had brought.  We tried to do whatever it took to interact.  After this time it was as if a switch at turned on.  She began playing with us!  Playing silly games with toys, throwing them to her..playing peek-a-boo.  She got so excited and started dancing and running to us.  Then we would lift her up over our heads and she would giggle.  She had been given a video of our family and a picture book of us as well.  She would look at our picture then look at us and smile!!!!!!  She was putting it together right before our eyes!!!!  She would kiss our picture.  One of the most beautiful moments was when she looked at Bob and said "Da da"!  We both just filled up with tears instantly( and really could have cried out loud)!  As the day went on she let me hold her and give her drinks and feed her wasabi peas???? Um in my house they would be choking hazards for toddlers but, hey?!

We took her to the park and out to lunch.  She would be toddling around and lift her arms up to us....oh melt my heart!  Even with her foster mother there.  As Bob strolled her she held my hand as I walked beside her!!!!

Sadie is full of life!! She is a little whipper snapper!  She loves to make people laugh and thinks she is so funny!  The faces she makes are hysterical...she knows she is cute, quite the comedian.  She loves being the center of attention.  When she gets tired she grabsShe seems to be so secure in her surroundings and has been well loved!

Which brings me to her foster mother.  We observed from 10:30-3:30pm the love of a woman who loved our child like. her. own!!!  There was no show going on for the "parents" this was a love that only comes from a person who has experienced Love.  She was amazing.  Both Bob and I just filled up again with emotions for this precious foster mother.  Sadie is her 10th but the only one that she has had for this long.  All the other children she had would stay with her for 3 months.  Sadie and her share a special bond...one that we will always be incredibly thankful for and will continue a relationship with her via sending pictures and keeping her informed with Sadie's progress and growth.  She has taken pictures all throughout the 15+ months of Sadie's life so that her infancy and toddlerhood are very well documented through pics for her to have one day...what a gift!  I, we, have such a love for this special woman who has loved my daughter with a genuine love.

We also found out that Sadie's birthmother left her a little letter and a small box of a couple of things.  Some of this is private and I am sorry that I can't share every detail....that's Sadie's to know when she is older.  But if you knew behind the scenes....the fact that her mother wrote her a letter made me cry!

Bob and I found ourselves throughout the day just thanking God....almost continuously!  Praising Him for revealing so much of our concerns and our prayers.  The power behind seeing prayers answered is nothing short of AMAZING!!

Our hearts are overwhelmed!  May God receive ALL THE GLORY!!! This is not about us...it's all about Him and looking to Him for all things!  He continues to blow our minds!  WE SERVE A MIGHTY GOD!!!

A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling.  God sets the lonely in families. psalm 68:5-6


I am the Lord, the God of all mankind.  Is anything too hard for me?" Jeremiah 32:27


"Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come."
Revelation 4:8


"There is no one holy like the Lord; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God."
1 Samuel 2:2


"He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
Psalm 147:3


I can not post pictures of Sadie on our blog until her adoption is finalized in 6 months but I am trying to figure out how I can cover her little face and post them on here.  If you would like to have me send pics to your email I CAN do that but you can NOT post them to the web.  Email me at cshirschberg@gmail.com

So much more to come!!!!

Our first day in Hong Kong (Sunday) February 27

We are here!  Yay!

What a trip that was!  Our plane departed somewhere around 4:30-5 and 16 hours later we landed in Hong Kong.  The trip was a complete blur...the twilight zone.  I think I might have slept a total of 2 hours.  The flight was uneventful other then we were delayed in the beginning.  I am all about uneventful flights!  So happy to have our feet on soil.

We got to our hotel and all settled in and hit the streets of HK looking for a little something to eat at 11:00pm.  HK is hopping....I mean hopping late at night and all through the night..we were amazed.

We are still just trying to take it all in.  Our internal clocks are quite off.  We got up around 5:30 this morning and headed outside to do some more sight seeing.  Of course, I forgot my camera (sigh).  We walked to a beautiful park down the street.  The park was beautiful!  Right in the middle of this bustling city is a beautiful, immaculately clean park.  As we walked through the park we saw all kinds of birds like flamingos.  Many people were doing Tai Chi or various forms of that all throughout the park.  People everywhere cleaning...I mean like nothing we've seen near us.  The weather was in the 70's and just gorgeous.

So in this wonderful world of blogging, we bloggers, blog hop.  Basically, you read someone's blog and then hop to a blog they might have on their sidebar.  It's really a fun thing!  So for instance if you jump to another persons blog and see the comments in the comment bar you can click on a persons name and that will take you to their blog(if they have one)...make sense to non-bloggers?  Anyway, about a year ago I found myself at Andrea's blog which I just love.  I would comment on her blog.  Several times when I would comment I found another person comment and always sign off with Love and blessings from Hong Kong so of course that peaked my interest and that is how I came to know Kim.

Today for lunch Bob and I met up with Kim, her husband Tyler, and beautiful children John Austin,  Matthew, Jackson, Sam and Lucy!!!  It was so great to meet Kim in person!  I have been following her blog and reading all about their life in expat living here in Hong Kong.  What a wonderful time we had eating the best Chinese food I have ever eaten.  We had Dim Sum...sadly I did not take a picture of it(remember I'm suffering from jet lag).  Kim and Tyler  filled us in on Hong Kong and gave us some tips for maneuvering around.  We had an amazing time and were so blessed by them.  We were so thankful for them taking the time to meet us and are still hoping to get in another visit before we leave HK...with Sadie in tow!  What a beautiful family...it made us miss our kids.  Sweet Lucy was such a love bug and gave me several hugs to which I just loved.  She must have known I needed some hugs since I'm missing my own girlies.  Thank you Kim, Tyler and kiddos!

Behind us you are looking at the beautiful view of Victoria's harbor.  To the left is the famous Star Ferry(one of them) which transports about 74,000 people back and forth between the islands.  The water is so clear and has that tropical blue/green color.

Kim gave us this sweet card and two childrens books about Hong Kong!  Thank you so much Kim!! So thoughtful and I love the books!  Look at the one on the right..she is standing right where we were in the pic above....love it!!

After a lovely afternoon we got back to our hotel around 3:30pm to get changed and do some more sightseeing but instead fell dead asleep....for 5 hours!!!!! Not a good thing when you are trying to get on schedule here!  Oh dear!  So we are trying to adjust to the time change...not very successful yet.

In 10 short hours we are meeting our daughter for the first time!!  We are so excited and I can't sleep...but it is 1:10am so I need to try.

I will fill you in on our visit!!!

My final thoughts as we leave to get our sweet little one!

It's 5:06 as I sit here in Sadie's nursery.  It just seems so surreal...something that we have been preparing and praying for is about to become a reality.  We couldn't be any more excited!


At 4 am I awoke to the rain hitting our windows and so began my mind racing in so many different directions.  The realization that we are leaving today.  Our life will be forever changed.  Our family will be forever changed.  We are thrilled!


" For this child we have prayed" 1 Samuel 1:27


My mind fills with lots of emotion...as we leave our children today to go and bring back our fifth little one!  As I laid in bed tears began to fill my eyes as I ponder how we got here.  I am flooded with lots of thoughts, questions, and unknowns.  My expectations change from one minute to the next.  I find myself anticipating but not knowing what that even will look like.  


What will I be like the first time I lay eyes on this child...this beautiful child that we have prayed for since she was 4 months old.  How will she react?  How can her little heart take on all this change when she couldn't be preparing the way in which we have...she's just to little.  Then fear hits me....and I allow those feelings that I try to stuff deep down inside to the surface.  You know those feelings, the ones that can lead you down a path of feeling inadequate, unworthy, scared, and anxious.  Just raw emotions.


"Fear not,  for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."  Isaiah 41:10




As quickly as they pass through my finite mind is as boldly as the Holy Spirit fills me up with His word. 


"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom" 2 Corinthians 3:17


"For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery" Galatians 5:1


 The Word that comes in and comforts my soul right when I need it most.  I begin to really shed tears for my heart is overwhelmed with the Love of my heavenly Father for me in this very moment.  My needs are a priority to Him, because I matter.  For I am His child and He cares about me in every way...even when I foolishly allow fear to take a grip.  Once again excitement fills me up.


"Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies"  Psalm 36:5


The unknown can be so scary.  But today I choose to walk in your truths.  I am not able to carry myself through it all but He Is.  My trust is in Him alone.  We serve a great and mighty God and I praise Him today.  My heart is overwhelmed with all that He has in store and I rejoice that He has placed me right where He wants me.  Because He loved me I can love!!!  


There is one sweet little girl who might not know how to receive our love but He will be right alongside of us, guiding us. His love is Enough!!!  Enough for everything ahead. So thankful for all things are in Him and through Him!  Praise be to our heavenly Father!


"We walk by faith not by sight"  2 Corinthians 5:7


"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 the glory..."
Ephesians 3:20-21

Hong Kong Bound!!!!

Today at 9:21 am I received "The Call" from our social worker Cindy.  At first I thought that she was just getting back to me about an email I had sent her...until she said, "Are you sitting down?" which at that point I was crying.....Oh my word!  I can't even begin to tell you how excited, elated, joyous this news was!  We have been praying and not so patiently waiting but trusting in the fact that God's timing and his plans are soooooo much better then ours.  He orchestrates everything!! Perfectly!

We will be leaving in a week.....I. can't. believe. it!!!! 

PRAISE GOD FROM WHOM ALL BLESSING FLOW!!  PRAISE HIS HOLY NAME!!!!

I was with the girls at their discovery session and pulled over in the car to attempt videoing them while I told them.  So in the excitement of it all I have the video turned sideways(sorry) but their reactions were so different and so precious...something that I will always treasure and Sadie will have to look back at when she is older and see just how much she is LOVED already!

I am hoping to get a video of the boys.  Bob stopped at home while I was with girls and I think he tried to video them when he told them..hopefully I can get them on here as well.

Ohhhh so please pray! Pray for us as we will busily prepare this next week(we leave in a week) to get everybody settled here.  Pray for Sadie as she is going to transition from the only family she has known since birth into our family.  She is very attached to them and will grieve them.  Pray for her special family and their hearts as they say goodbye to the little girl who they have taken care of since birth.  I am crying just thinking of them and how hard this must be for them.  Please pray for Bob and I as we travel over to pick her up and love on her and help her during her grief.  And of course, to pray for our children and family here who are holding down the fort!

Oh my I am just so excited and I wish I could sit with all of you and tell you just how our God is AMAZING.  He is in ALL of the details and HE cares so much for us!  I just can't Praise him enough!!

I am hoping this video works, if not I will try again!

I end this post with a beautiful passage of scripture from Psalms 84.  My friend, Andrea used this scripture at the Adoption mom retreat that I missed this year but will be at next year!!  I love this Psalm!

How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord Almighty!

My soul yearns, even faints,

for the courts of the Lord;

my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.

Even the sparrow has found a home, 

and the swallow a nest for herself,

where she may have her young

a place near your altar,

O Lord almighty, my King and my God

Blessed are those who dwell in your house;

they are ever praising you.

Blessed are those whose strength is in you,

who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.

As they pass through the Valley of Baca,

they make it a place of springs;

the autumn rains also cover it with pools.

They go from strength to strength, 

till each appears before god in Zion.

Hear my prayer, O Lord God Almighty;

listen to me, O God of Jacob.

Look upon your shield, O God;

look with favor on your anointed one.

Better is one day in your courts

than a thousand elsewhere;

I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God

than dwell in the tents of the wicked.

For the Lord God is a sun and shield;

the Lord bestows favor and honor;

no good thing does he withhold

from those whose walk is blameless.

O Lord Almighty,

blessed is the man who trusts in you.