Christmas

This year we had many Christmas celebrations and spread Christmas over a whole week.  We made so many great memories, it is hard to narrow it down.  Here are some of the highlights...

Christmas with the Harts - December 22nd

Our big boy all ready for the first Christmas celebration

Family Christmas Eve - December 23rd - This year we wanted to start a Christmas tradition with just our immediate family in addition to the whole family celebrations.  We decided to turn Christmas Eve into our Christmas Day.  On our Christmas Eve we allowed Liam to open one present before bed.  It was the baby crocodile he had been wanting.

While Liam slept soundly with his baby crocodile, we put all the presents out under the tree.

Family Christmas - December 24th - When Liam woke up, we let him open his stocking and then his presents.  We took breaks to eat breakfast and lunch (cinnamon bread for breakfast, oriental salad and pasta with bolognese sauce for lunch - Dave and Liam favorites).  Liam likes to open a gift, play with it for a while, and then open another.  Christmas lasted quite a while this way, but it was so much fun to see him enjoy all the things we bought him.  Some of Liam's favorites were the Saturn 5 Rocket from his stocking and his big Jake and the Neverland Pirate Ship.

Daisy was not impressed - it was way too early for her!

Pirate Liam

Watch out Pirate Liam, there's a crocodile outside your ship!

We attended the family carol service at church, one we had never been to before having Liam.  It was a good service for families with small children.  Someday, we would like to be able to attend the candlelight service again, but will have to wait until the children are older.

We finished the night with dinner at the Guesthouse with Grandma & Grandpa Herman, the Koehlingers, and Lockards.  Then, we loaded up the car and headed to Michigan for Christmas.

Christmas with the Kusches - December 25th - Liam was so excited, he woke up at 4:30am.  We tried to get him to go back to sleep, but it was unsuccessful.  So, at 6am we decided to let him start playing with some of the presents that were left out, unwrapped.  After everyone arrived, we opened our presents.  We all took a nap!

Liam LOVES his new Jake and the Neverland Pirate toys.  It was a pirate Christmas.

Who needs toys, when you can play in a box?

Liam had fun playing with his cousin Verona.

Grandpa Kusch took Liam to play in the snow.

Christmas with the Hermans - December 28th & 29th - On Friday we celebrated with ALL the Hermans (aunts, uncles, cousins, etc.).  There were a lot of us gathered.  On Saturday, we celebrated with Dave's parents, sisters, and their families.  There are 21 of us now (10 adults and 11 kids).  Liam loved playing with his cousins.  He warmed right up to them and they had a great time.

Family tradition - caroling with Grandma Herman

the cousins lined up - waiting patiently to open presents

Liam with his buddy Gabe

Liam, Lucy and Adelynn

Liam helping Uncle Jon and Andrew with their new project

We finally got to meet our niece Lucy in person - what a cutie!  Meeting Lucy makes us anxious to meet our little lady.

the siblings (Dave, Laura, Julie, and Debbie)

Patience

When we started our current adoption, we knew it would be a roller coaster ride and we have reminded ourselves often to trust God's timing and plan.  Things have been going so smoothly.  Other than some minor things here and there, everything has gone according to plan.  We have been blessed!  God showed us through Liam's adoption that He had everything planned perfectly and we know He will do the same with our daughter's adoption.

We were shocked last week when we got a phone call from our social worker saying we may be matched with our daughter on December 17th.  The call came sooner than we thought it would.  After waiting up until midnight on the 17th, we learned that the CCCWA did not put the children online like they should have and would do so on the 19th.  So, we waited up again last night.  The CCCWA did not put very many children online and none of the little girls were a match for us.  We went from disappointed to hopeful to disappointed again.  It has been an emotional week.  Although we are disappointed, we still firmly believe that there is a reason we were not matched with a child last night.  According to our timeline, it could take 1-9 months to be matched with a child.  Our social worker reminded us that the average wait time for a referral is 2-5 months.  Some couples review multiple children before accepting one.  We would have a very hard time saying no to any child.  We are praying that the Holy Spirit guide the selection process, so our first referral, whenever it arrives, is the right referral.  Maybe, God was sparing us from making a difficult decision and saying no.  Disappointment seems easier to deal with than the idea of not being able to offer a home to a child after seeing their picture.  Whatever the case, we still have hope and are looking forward to the day when we can see our daughter's face.  We know for certain that we have a little girl waiting for us and we will go get her when the time is right.

I found this picture and think it suits where we are in the adoption process.  We are definitely expecting! 

Christmas Letter 2012

December 2012

Dear Family & Friends,

For you make me glad by your deeds, Lord; I sing for JOY at what your hands have done.  How great are your works, Lord, how profound your thoughts! Psalm 92:4-5

            We pray that God has blessed your family as He has ours, and has given you joy.  Joy seems the best word to describe 2012.  As we look back over the year we are amazed at how quickly it as gone by.  We have made many great memories as a family of three and we are making preparations to become a family of four. 

            We started the year with a toddler and have ended the year with a preschooler.  Liam has grown in so many ways this year.  His active imagination, creativity, and intelligence bring us many adventures.  Liam is gaining independence and he loves to learn and explore new things.  He has a tender heart, and is also determined.  We adore being his parents.  We can’t imagine life without his contagious laugh and spirited personality. 

            Tiffany spent January and February helping choreograph Beauty and the Beast at Concordia High School.  Liam spent that time flirting with the high school girls who watched him and making himself at home in the theater.

            In March we began the adoption process for our daughter.  We feel called to adopt a girl with a special need (minor/correctable health concern) from China.  God opened doors and closed others, which lead us down this adoption path.  The process has gone smoothly so far.  We hope to receive our daughter’s picture and medical information by the end of December.  We know that God will give us the daughter we are meant to have.  If things continue to go smoothly, we will travel to China in late spring/early summer. 

            In April, after celebrating Liam’s second birthday, we took a family vacation to Disney World with Tiffany’s family.  We had a fantastic time!  Tiffany had written to Disney Guest Communications ahead of time explaining that we were in Disney when we got the news of Liam’s birth.  They arranged a special meet & greet with Mickey and Minnie at the Magic Kingdom before the park opened.  Liam was so excited to meet his pals.  Liam loved the rides and parades.  It was definitely a magical trip and one we will remember forever.

            In June, Tiffany finished her Masters in Special Education and graduated from IPFW with a 4.0 GPA.

            Our summer was filled with lots of pool time, both in the small inflatable pool in the back yard and at Grandma and Grandpa Kusch’s pool.  We took countless trips to the zoo and enjoyed being outside as much as possible.

            We also took a family vacation to Maryland to visit Dave’s sister, Julie, and her family.  We took a couple day trips to Washington D.C., spent two days at the beach in Ocean City, Maryland, played at the park, and enjoyed spending time with family.  We stopped in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania on the way home.  Liam was an excellent traveler.

            In the fall Tiffany started another school year teaching with Lutheran Special Education Ministries at Suburban Bethlehem and Ascension Lutheran.  She added an extra day a week to her schedule and now teaches three days a week.  She loves being able to work with students one-on-one and in small groups.

            We took some small weekend trips this fall.  We took Liam to the Children’s Museum in Indianapolis and spent a day hiking at Chain O Lakes State Park.  One of fall’s highlights was a weekend trip to West Lafayette to Purdue University.  Dave ran his first 5K on campus.  We enjoyed staying in a hotel, swimming, and walking around campus.  It’s so much fun to have a son who loves to explore new things and finds excitement in everything.

            Dave continues to work with Thrivent Financial for Lutherans and enjoys what he does.  He touches so many lives, not just by helping people plan for the future, but by genuinely caring for all his clients and viewing his profession as a ministry. 

            We look forward to all the ways that God will use our family in 2013 and anticipate the new adventures He sends our way.

            We wish you a very merry Christmas and happy New Year. 

With Love,

David, Tiffany & Liam Herman

Adoption Update - LID

We have reached another milestone in our adoption process.  We have received our LID (Log-in date).  Now, we can anticipate getting a referral (picture and medical information).  We can also follow the timeline a little more closely.  We have officially been on the list with our placement agency for 36 weeks and 1 day.  We are moving right on schedule - Thanks and praise to God!  Here is the letter we received this week....

Dear David & Tiffany:

 

The CCCWA has informed us of your log-in date. Your log-in date (often abbreviated as LID) is 11/26/2012 and reflects the date CCCWA logged your dossier into its database. CCCWA uses this date to track your dossier through its system.  As you progress through the stages of your adoption in the many months ahead of you, please remember your LID.  We include a tracking chart of DTC dates and LIDs on our China news webpage as well.

 

Congratulations to reach this phase and have a great day!

Santa

We are not going to to the whole Santa thing with our children.  This was an area of debate for us for some time.  Dave grew up believing in Santa and had fun doing so.  As he often mentions to me - it didn't hurt him at all.  I did not grow up believing in Santa.  My parents wanted to include Santa in Christmas at first, but my older brother wouldn't fall for it.  We knew our gifts came from our parents as a response of their love for us and in gratitude for the blessings Christ had given them.  We had years of plenty and years with few presents, but we always knew we were loved.  Other traditions, like decorating, baking, spending time with family, caroling at the nursing home, and preparing the Christmas program at church were the traditions I remember most. 
Dave and I finally agreed not to include Santa in our family Christmas plans.  We think each family can make their own decision and do not think un-fondly of those who decide to add this tradition.  It can be a fun addition to Christmas plans.  Like Dave mentions, many families have done the Santa thing.  We decided to keep Christ's birth the at the forefront of our Christmas.  I believe Saint Nicholas was a great role model.  What most people don't know is that he didn't want people to know he was giving to others.  He did his giving in secret.  The Santa that has developed in our culture is one who seeks glory and fame.  I don't want our children focusing on a mortal man that will disappoint them and can not bring them the gift that matters.  I am not comfortable teaching our children about works righteousness either.  I want my children to be well behaved, but not because they will earn anything in return.  Our faith teaches us that our acts of service are in response to our love for God, not in an effort to earn redemption.  We are sinners and can not earn favor with God apart from Christ.  Only Christ's death on the cross can earn a place for us in heaven.  Aside from Easter, Christmas is the most important day of the year, and it should get all the attention it deserves.  What a miracle it was to have Christ with us!  It gives meaning to everything else.  
Liam recognizes Santa.  It's hard to miss him this time of year.  As he asks questions about the fables of Santa, we will be sure to tell him the truth of Saint Nicholas and point him back to the true meaning of Christmas.  I don't think our family traditions and preparations will suffer from the lack of Santa in our home.

Getting Ready for Christmas

We are anticipating Christmas and making preparations.  Liam is so excited about Christmas this year.  He loves Christmas trees and decorations.  Every time he looks at our tree in the living room he says, "Aw, it's perfect."  Amazing and perfect are his two favorite words right now.  Liam has his own tree in his room.  He picked out the red ornaments at the store and helped decorate the tree.  He is very proud.

We have some family traditions.  Every night after dinner we do our advent devotions.  Liam is in charge of putting an ornament on our advent tree banner.  Each ornament goes with the devotion for the evening.  He also puts a character on the nativity banner.  He blows out the candles on the advent wreath.  We keep explaining to him that he will have to share these responsibilities with his sister next Christmas.

I do almost all my Christmas baking with my mom and sister-in-law, Anna.  However, this year I decided that Liam was old enough to help with sugar cookies.  He loves to help me bake, so I knew he would do great.  He was such a big helper!  I think the cookies turned out really well. We cut out and baked the cookies in the morning, took a break for lunch and to play in the snow, and then decorated them in the afternoon.

Today, we had our first snowfall of the season.  It was a light dusting, but Liam has been anxious to try out his new snow gear.  We had fun playing in the little bit of snow that was in our yard.  Daisy was not amused with the weather.

I love witnessing the awe of Christmas through the eyes of a two year old.  Everything is so magical for him.  My favorite part is hearing Liam say, "On Christmas we have a birthday party for Jesus."  My prayer is that we always keep that the center of our Christmas season.