Nearing a close...

Hello sweet readers!!!

I have just cut/pasted the entire blog (piece by piece... eek!) into a photo scrapbook online through something called Blurb. It was really one of the main purposes of this blog to begin with! Kate will have a record of our seeking her out, God putting all the pieces together, and her coming home. As I went back through the entries, I realize how completely LONG WINDED I am... sorry about that! You are/were all so sweet to read! Our older two girls each have an old-fashioned scrapbook of my pregnancies with them... so this will sort of be the more technological version of that!!! So this will be sort of the "last entry" in that book...

I'm not sure if I'll keep blogging - I'm thinking so... just probably on a different blog address. I chose the address "I set you apart" from a verse early one morning when I first started the blog. Kate is certainly set apart... God set her apart for great things! We pray she knows Jesus as her Lord and Savior and that her life glorifies Him. Her gender and/or cleft lip/palate set her apart in China... and let her dear parents to courageously leave her on the orphanage steps on the day she was born (it is illegal there to put your child up for adoption, so they were really caring to do that ... they risked being caught in order to leave her in a place they were sure she'd be found as soon as possible). They could have left her in many other places where she would never be found ... we are just so hugely grateful for their act of sacrifice in giving us their baby. I can't imagine the heartache and pain of doing that - and never knowing your little one's future... so that the child would have a better life... wow, it just astonishes me. I was rocking little Kate tonight before bed and I was just overcome with thankfulness to her mom/parents. Wow. We pray for them too. What an odd connection to have to people you will never meet on earth!

Anyway, I got side-tracked (this is why my entires are so LONG! Eek!)... so even though Kate has been "set apart" in so many awesome ways, she is now together with us... she is no longer apart from us. So I feel like we need to start a new blog with a different address! Every time I see this address I grimace a bit - it is just not ringing as true anymore ; ) This is one part of her and our story for sure - but there is another part! God "puts the lonely in families" (Psalm 68:6) and that is what He has done with sweet little Kate. She is still set apart for great things and in neat ways... but she is set TOGETHER with her family now ; )

So when (if?) we start a new blog (I'm dragging my feet until I think of a catchy title!) I will post the address on this blog. It will be exciting in other ways I'm sure... but it will not be quite the crazy adventure of adopting (unless God leads us there again!). It will be more of a "normal" family-ish blog. So you may not want to read it! That is totally fine! I've really enjoyed blogging - just a great way to sort of journal my thoughts! Would be just as cathartic if no one even read it at all! But of course I love all the sweet comments and encouragement too ; ) And the photo book thing has been neat. I may try to blog in the future and keep turning each year into a book or something. So anyway, thank you for reading, praying, and loving us through all these months (and years!). We love you and are so very thankful for the amazing community of family and friends the Lord has blessed us with. So goodbye for now!

Merry Christmas ; )

love, liz (for the whole wessel crew ... ; )

ps. here is our "christmas card" this year... the digital version at least! I've had all sorts of embarrassing technical difficulties with them this year... the biggest being a slight envelope size debacle ... so in case they never get sent, here you go!!! (photo taken by katie cochran, cool zigzags and writing done by someone on etsy recommended by katie cochran... thanks katie!!! i should have had you print and mail them too! it would have certainly gone smoother!! haha ; )

A good verse to close with ...

Isaiah 9:6 -

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Jesse Tree Project...

Ok, this is really not a crafty blog... but I just thought I'd post this in case it helps anyone. I was trying to find a good project to do with the girls that would incorporate Jesus more into Christmas... and my friend Paula told me about these Jesse Tree things. The idea is that you get a small-ish tree and each day leading up to Christmas you read a scripture and put an ornament on the tree that has to do with that scripture. You start with creation and go up until Jesus is born on Christmas. They are really cool! You can buy really creative kits on Etsy, let kids color ornaments each day, buy your own, whatever. We'll probably buy a few and make the rest. Then over the years (if we like this) we will complete the collection and have a real ornament for each day - and hopefully the kids will remember the ornaments from year to year and create some fun family memories that center around Jesus! All Jesse tree reading plans and ornament and passage choices are different. I couldn't really figure it out... so I just figured I'd make one to go along with our Jesus storybook Bible. And then I went ahead and finished out December and did a couple additional readings from Jesus' life, Paul's journey, and revelations... So, for what it's worth, here's what I came up with. Please feel free to print out and use and pass around. It's nothing special (well, the word of God is WAY special, but you know what I mean... I just typed it out... you're basically reading the whole Jesus storybook Bible minus a few of the stories! Below is the plan, then a supply list, then a bookmark... just in case you want to try it! We're gonna start tomorrow ; ))

Jesse Tree Readings and ornaments from “The Jesus Storybook Bible”

Dec 1 – Get out your little tree. Read “The Story and the Song” – p. 12

Dec 2 – Creation, p. 18, put ornament on tree (world or light)

Dec 3 – The Fall, p. 28, ornament – snake or fruit, also put on a tissue and band-aid, b/c adam and eve were sad… and sadness and pain entered the world

Dec 4 – Noah’s Ark, p. 38, ornament – ark, boat, rainbow, or pair of animals

Dec 5 – Tower of Babel, p. 48, ornament – ladder

Dec 6 – Promise to Abraham, p. 56, ornament – star, night

Dec 7 – catch up day! Or review, ask children what their favorite story has been

Dec 8 – Abraham and Isaac, p. 62, ornament – ram

Dec 9 – Leah, p. 70, add ring

Dec 10 – Jacob and coat, p. 76, ornament - coat

Dec 11 – Moses and burning bush, p. 84, ornament – bush, fire, twig, or leaf

Dec 12 – Red Sea, p. 93, ornament - water

Dec 13 – 10 Commandments, p. 100, ornament - bible, tablets

Dec 14 – catch up day! Or review, ask children what their favorite story has been

Dec 15 – Joshua and Jericho, p. 108, add army man or trumpet

Dec 16 – David and Goliath – p. 122, add stone, shield, or weapon

Dec 17 – David, Good Shepherd, songwriter, p. 130, ornament – drum, harp

Dec 18 – catch up day! Or review, ask children what their favorite story has been

Dec 19 – Isaiah – p. 145, ornament – cross, shepherd, letter

Dec 20 – Daniel, p. 152, add lion

Dec 21 – Jonah, p. 160, add fish

Dec 22 – catch up day! Or review, ask children what their favorite story has been

Dec 23 – Get ready, p. 170, add party streamer or something festive

Dec 24 – Read Christmas Eve – p. 176, add baby Jesus ornament

Dec 25 – Read Shepherds and Kings p. 184 &  p. 192, add kings to tree

Dec 26 – Jesus baptized & prayer, p. 200 & 222, add shell

Dec 27 – Sermon on the Mount & feeding 5,000, p. 228 & 244, add flower, bird or bread

Dec 28 – Crucifixion and Resurection, p. 302 & 310, add cross, take off snake/fruit

Dec 29 – Paul – p. 334, take off the ten commandments, jesus abolished the “rules”

Dec 30 – Revelation – p. 342, take off band-aid, tissue, sprinkle tree with glitter or tinsel

Dec 31 – p. 351, ask what kids learned from God this yr, if they want to say yes to Jesus

Supply List

(any ornaments you don’t have or can’t find, just have your kids color on Christmas gift tags and hang those ; ) … also, when it has two options on a line item, like “snake or fruit,” just get one…

-“The Jesus Storybook Bible” by Sally Lloyd-Jones

-set of mostly blank paper gift tags to hang for any missing ornaments

-tree for ornaments – can be small tree or hang on your larger tree – whatever

-world or light

-snake or fruit, also put on a

-tissue

-band-aid

-boat, rainbow, or pair of animals

-ladder

-star or night

-ram

-ring

-coat

-bush, twig, leaf, fire

-water

-bible, tablets

-army man or trumpet

-stone, shield, or weapon

-drum, harp

-cross, shepherd, letter

-lion

-fish

-party streamer or something festive

-baby Jesus ornament

-kings

-shell

-flower, bird or bread

-cross

-glitter/tinsel

BOOKMARK: (print out and cut ; )

JESSE TREE with

“Jesus Storybook Bible”

Date – pages to read, ornament

Dec 1 – Get out tree. p. 12

Dec 2 – p. 18, world or light

Dec 3 –p. 28,  snake or fruit,

tissue & band-aid (pain enters)

Dec 4 – 38, boat, rainbow, animals

Dec 5 – p. 48, ladder

Dec 6 – p. 56, star, night

Dec 7 – catch up day!

Dec 8 – p. 62, ram

Dec 9 – p. 70, ring

Dec 10 –p. 76, coat

Dec 11 –p. 84, bush, fire, twig

Dec 12 – p. 93, water

Dec 13 –p. 100, bible, tablets

Dec 14 – catch up day!

Dec 15 –p. 108, army man, trumpet

Dec 16 –p. 122, stone, weapon

Dec 17 –p. 130, drum, harp

Dec 18 – catch up day!

Dec 19 – p. 145, cross, shepherd, letter

Dec 20 – p. 152, lion

Dec 21 – p. 160, fish

Dec 22 – catch up day!

Dec 23 – p. 170, party something

Dec 24 –p. 176, baby Jesus

Dec 25 – p. 184 &  p. 192, kings

Dec 26 –p. 200 & 222, shell

Dec 27–p. 228&244, flower,bird,bread

Dec 28–p. 302&310, cross, take off snake

Dec 29 – p. 334, take off 10 commands

Dec 30 – p. 342, take off band-aid, tissue

sprinkle tree with glitter or tinsel

Dec 31 – p. 351, say yes to Jesus?

Pictures and Videos ; )

Here are some pictures and videos!

Below: Kate taking her bottle, Molly draped over couch watching TV (just thought that was cute!), Kate playing on her little tip toes at the kitchen (look at those cute little legs!!!)...

Anne and Molly making a cake (it was gluten free and didn't turn out too well! that's ok, the fun was in making it for sure!), all three girls in their outfits from our sweet friend Chris, Molly's little fanny sticking out of her "hide and seek" spot, both girls making gingerbread houses at a precious friend's birthday party...

Kate can eject DVDs from the DVD player... eek! James with all three in the grocery cart ; ) Anne and Molly taping Anne's picture on the fridge - I just thought it was hilarious how much tape they used!!! oops! I should have been more involved in that process for sure! Our first dinner out as a family of FIVE (big Rosie's of course ; ) and the girls playing with chalk...

Just some random videos from my phone... Anne swinging from the swing...

Kate doing some sign language! She won't really be able to talk much until after her palate is repaired so I taught her "more" ... that's the only sign we've learned but maybe we'll do some additional signs one of these days ;)

The next two are just of Kate clapping/dancing to music (sorry, it's my singing which isn't great!) but she sways and bobs and claps... it's a hoot!

Molly singing a version of the bumblebee song that Mrs. Mary taught her ; )

Molly singing the "buckle up" song that my mom taught us as kids...

and a little Jingle Bells... ; )

Ok, that's all for now! hope everyone is doing great! The Extreme Makeover Home Edition was on last night! If you missed it, here's the link to the page (it is the Zdroj family episode ; ) James and his team are toward the end of the first hour: http://abc.go.com/shows/extreme-makeover-home-edition

Take care!

a little bit of JOY!

Sorry I've been writing so little! Not sure that anyone is still reading... it's certainly more exciting to read when we are traveling the globe! Hehe... but for any still reading, here's an update!

Kate is just a little treasure! She is so happy and playful and JOYful. There are definitely a few tears now at then... but really, she is a very easy baby! She sleeps through the night, takes a great nap, plays well independently and with her sisters, eats well, etc. It's not like having a newborn ... it's been MUCH easier. When you pick her up, she gets SO excited! She beams and laughs and kicks her little legs and gets so excited! It just melts our hearts - just for someone to be THAT excited to be with you! We are reading too much into this (it's probably that she just likes to be held!) but she just seems excited to have a family and be loved. It is SO SWEET!

Molly ... oh, my sweet little Molly! Stuck right in the middle ; ) My mom thinks that a cute title for a children's book would be "Molly in the Middle" ... and my mom is an amazing writer and artist, so maybe one day she'll write it! Anyway, she has moments when she really loves little Kate and moments when she isn't sure about the whole thing! Which is totally normal of course. She always thinks Kate is after her toys - Kate just looks in her direction and Molly screams "HE IS TAKING MY TOY!" (Note the "he"... we're working on this, but it is a hoot! Molly never says she about anyone - and lately she is mostly talking about Kate, so it's "he took his bow out!" and "he pushed me!"). And Kate has gotten really good at hiding her toys behind her head when she sees Molly approaching. It's a hoot!!!!  Now is the time that my mom (back to my mom) would tell you about how I reacted to my little sister (19 months younger)... at one point... well, I rolled her under a dresser and told Mom she was "all gone." Well, she was asleep, so she really was "all gone" for HOURS. It turned into a bit of a panic... Dad came home from work, grandparents came over the search the house, etc. It must have been quite a scene! And my 19-ish-month old self had forgotten where she was so I was no help ; ) I just kept saying "she had to go!" Anyway, we're super tight now - and I'm so thankful for my sister! So we know that Molly and Kate will be the best of buds. Molly does think Kate is very cute. She keeps saying, "Kate is just a tiny wittle fing!" (tiny little thing). But if you think of sweet Molly, you can pray for her as she adjusts. Hers is certainly the hardest adjustment! She went from being Mama's little baby to a big girl... and that's tough!!! ;)

Anne is doing great - she loves Kate and Kate loves her. Anne has been playing like she is Kate's mom, then her sister, then the baby-sitter, etc. Kate was getting upset by the toy bottles that Anne kept giving her today. Kate kept turning them over and shaking them and looking puzzled at why there was no real liquid in them ; ) Anne and Molly both love to pretend they are going to China to pick up a baby (which is where they think babies come from these days ; ) and they also like to pretend to be babies too - so cute. We get them sippy cups of milk and rock them and give them extra love ; )

James and I are doing well too - we are really enjoying this season. It's so nice to finally have Kate home! It feels like we can relax and just breath a sigh of relief and thankfulness. Things will pick up soon I'm sure - Kate's surgery got moved to January 7! So that will be a little crazy ; ) Also, if you like "Extreme Home Makeover," James' company donated a fire truck and the show will air Monday, Dec 3 at 7 pm central time... we are hoping they get some good air time! Should be a neat show!

Ok, that's about it on our end. I'd post pictures but I'm doing some sort of new thing with dropbox so they are all on dropbox and not my computer... I haven't got it quite figured out yet but when my sister comes for Christmas, she has promised to help me and my long-time photo storage issues ; ) Have a joyful holiday season!!!!