A Little Overwhelmed. . .

Ready Set....

Women's Christmas Party

All School Christmas Concert

Out of town guest for the weekend

Husband entertaining clients from Germany

Children's Ministry Christmas Party& Parent's Night Out

Dress Rehearsals

Four performances of the Nutcracker

Coordinating Flower sales for Nutcracker Boutique

Staff Christmas Party
Kidz Choir sings a Christmas program at the Atria

That's what the next four days look like.

Excited to see how God brings it all to pass!  

Decking the Halls

What a glorious Thanksgiving  we shared with friends.

The day was beautiful in every way.  

I didn't take ONE picture....so sad!

The highlight was our Texas pecan pies 

made from the pecans we collected a few weeks back, remember?  That's HERE.

Today, Meredith led the charge to deck the halls for Christmas.

Ian and Peter brought down all the boxes from the attic and the kids went to town.

I delighted in Meredith's interest and careful attention.

She did the mantel all by herself with greenery and berries and flowers

It is lovely and she was quite pleased as well!

The Jesse Tree found its place in the family room

My favorite angel sits atop the piano

The creche is assembled

(a youth group fund raiser from many years ago!)

Charlotte is outside working on lights

My kids are taking over this year....and its kinda fun!

Christmas music is playing and we made a Starbucks run for warm drinks...

If only we would have had the dusting of snow that MN received this morning...

nonetheless, it's been a great couple days being all together as a family

sweet, sweet memories of another Thanksgiving

and we look forward to the Advent season as we

prepare to celebrate the birth of Christ!

I pray your Thanksgiving was a blessing, too!

David Day!

Two years ago today our family of six, with my father,

walked into the civil affairs building of Hubei Province

in Wuhan City, China

to meet our son and brother. . .Wu Yue He.

We walked out a few hours later a family of seven!

He was 2 1/2 years old and had been living with foster parents

under the direction of the city's large orphanage since open heart surgery recovery

at six months of age.

Oh how we longed for that moment to see him and hold him and love him

after waiting 11 months from the first time we saw this precious face

on AAC's waiting child list.

I knew this precious child of God was an Achterkirch and the Lord lavished us with

the blessing of calling him our son.

It is hard to believe it has been two years for it is like he has always been ours.

Adoption surely changes the lives of children

abandoned and institutionalized and forgotten
{this month is Adoption Month and I pray many children will find their forever family}

 God has used adoption to deeply change our family. . .

and we are forever thankful for the journey He has set before us and for our own

adoption as Sons of God!

We celebrate Wu Yue He today....how God graciously folded him into our family

from the other side of the world and made our hearts to love him

before we even saw him.

That's what God's love does.

We celebrate the plan God has for David - unknown to us, but known to God.

From Wuhan City to Houston Texas via Phoenix, Arizona through an agency in Colorado.

That's a glimpse of God's sovereignty.

We celebrate all the ways in which David has flourished in our family.

The joy he brings to everyone that knows him.

He is such a happy kid!

That is Christ's peace and joy taking root in him!

We celebrate our family -

authored by God

upheld by His grace day by day.

And we remember with wonderful fondness our journey two years ago to David's homeland

So rich with memories for us....
and a tangible reminder of God's grace and mercy and lavish love for us.

This video was made as a remembrance of God's mighty work in David's life and ours!

Glory be to our great God!

Happy Gotcha Day, David!!!

Little Lady Warrior Soccer

Claire is playing in our school's elementary soccer league

and on Saturday mornings we play our games

The team, which is made up of her classmates, has really improved

during the first weeks of the season.

Instead of running in a little blue clump....they are learning to run to space.

Instead of avoiding the ball, they are learning to go to the ball.

Instead of waiting to see what the other team is going to do, they are learning to

be a little aggressive!

Our coaches are wonderful....

a 5th grade Cypress teacher and a beloved Kindergarten teacher's husband

They sure do make it fun for the girls to learn a new game!

And our Claire Bear....she has really enjoyed it!

One things for sure.....she is fast and she is strong.

I took the camera to last Saturday's game and got some good action shots...we have another game this morning.  

They get tired out there!!!

The post I don't have margin to write right now is our family's insane schedule.

Achterkirch's Adventures is not just a catchy title....every day

is truly an adventure.  

It is amazing we get through most days.

It is by God's grace that we do!

Tired?  Yes I am.

Rejoicing? Yes I am.

Delighting in all that God gives us to do.
May we do it ALL unto Him

even soccer and ballet and taikwando and laundry and football and homework and birthday parties and work trips and family relationships and class projects and Bible study and small group and volunteering and rehearsals and tests and meal prep and piano and cleaning house and car maintenance and book reports and church events and lawn work and pet care and grocery shopping and ministry

{deep breath}

God,  you have created us for every good work
and granted us gifts beyond measure
and set us in relationships to treasure
and called us to work and play in your kingdom
to make your name great.

We savor your goodness to us.  We are busy, but we are rich because of you!
Today is yours, God, every busy crazy bit of it.
Help us to enjoy you this day and delight in your good gifts to us.
Use us in all our activity at home and away from home for your glory.
Help us to be a joyful, thankful, loving, servant minded family!

...and go Little Lady Warriors!

中秋節

Sunday is the Chinese Moon Festival or Mid Autumn Festival

It is one of the most important traditions and one of the most significant festivals

in asian countries

In Chinese culture it is a time of reunion.

Gathering together.

Traveling, sometimes great distances, to be home.

With family.

For fellowship and food.

We were in China in 2004 for the Mid Autumn festival.

It was truly wonderful to see the preparations and so many people
moving across the cities and the country to be home.

For many who leave home and work far distances away from family,
this time of reunion is very significant and very sweet.

Here are the symbols for reunion of family - the symbols say a lot!

Lanterns are lit and fireworks echo all night long.  Mooncakes are everywhere!
This was a beautiful mooncake stand in our hotel in Changsha.
All those gold boxes are filled with mooncakes!

During our wait for David, we marked the festival time by sending
 a box of mooncakes to his foster family in Wuhan

and pajamas and socks to the orphanage for the children to have for the upcoming

winter months.

David was then two years old and the report back from his foster mother was,

Wu Yue He like cake....very rich so only eat small bite!"

Believe me....I only ate a small bite, too.  

They are beautiful, but the fillings are quite unusual...

like red bean curd, lotus seed curd, whole aged egg yolks or salted duck eggs.

Much more beautiful than our traditional Christmas fruitcake,
but equally dense and not deserving, really, of the name "cake"

This year was a special celebration for our family.
David's friend Joshua, also from Wuhan City, was adopted by a family in Dallas.
We followed their journey and they followed ours.  We've kept in touch.

When we moved to Texas, Joshua's mommy introduced me via email and facebook to
 another family they had traveled with on another adoption trip to China who lived in Houston...
and another family from Florida that has just moved to Houston from Florida.

Melissa, Carie and I reached out to each other this past summer.

Our three families met at PF Changs tonight.

I love the bond between strangers that is in Christ Jesus.

I love the bond that adoption from China brings, too.
We had a really nice time!

Three beautiful girls!

and a little early birthday celebration to add to the evening's festivities

My kids thought it was funny we were meeting strangers for dinner.

But we all became fast friends and rejoice that God drew us together to celebrate

the beauty of those folded into our families from China.

It is a glimpse of the global church responding to the biblical mandate to care for the orphan.
What a really beautiful thing!

It is so important for our chinese daughters and sons to enjoy and embrace their culture...

and the festivals are a fun and easy way to do this for our family.

Our childrens' story - their life story
 includes being Chinese and we celebrate that!

And it was a joy to celebrate with new friends this evening!

Thankful for the gift of these two beautiful children,
a love for their homeland and its rich history and traditions
and new friends in Texas!

Precious Ingrid Xingling

Prayer Warriors.....

here is an update from China

(it took several days, but we have a smile!)

and isn't it the cutest smile you've ever seen!?

How wonderful to see Ingrid with her family

(this photo was taken at the orphanage with Ingrid's caretaker)

What a beautiful family!

Keep praying, friends!

Ingrid is doing well, but she is grieving oh so hard.

This is such a good sign that she is expressing it...all a part of attaching to her new family.

But so hard for the boys...and for tired parents living out of suitcases in a far away country!

She is very attached to Matt 

(quite common as her caretakers have all been female and so that is the source of rejection)

She scrams when Kris so much as looks at her.

What a patient mamma my friend is being.

Tenderly loving her new daughter in her husbands arms.

Whispering her heartfelt affection into her ear as she sleeps.

Tending to her every need through tears and clinging to Matt.

While Kris knows this is common and healthy and will slowly subside,

it breaks a mother's heart 

especially when you've anticipated holding your baby for 18 months!

They travel to Guanzhou today, the last leg of this God ordained journey.

It is a beautiful city.

They will enjoy it greatly!

May each new day bring healing to Ingrid's heart

and may our God, who knew before the beginning of time, that Xinling

would be the precious daughter of this family-

and brought it all to pass....

knit their hearts together

help them to savor the amazing memories they have made

and bring them safely home.

All praise to Him - THIS is a great thing He has done!!!

Four Brothers and a Little Sister

Ingrid Xinling Anderson -

Precious darling

Child of God

is coming home!!!

God has provided for her.  And surely she has received decent care in

the orphanage in China.  But her family, our dear friends from Minnesota, leave tomorrow

to be united with her forever. . .and bring her home!

Yes.  God is good.

How my heart aches for every child to know the love of a family.

Ingrid won't be starving for affection

with these four brothers looking out for her....

Noah, Bjorn, Isaac and Oskar....

She's gonna make a darling little Swede!

This family is in our fervent prayers and they journey to China

and fold Ingrid into their hearts and arms and lives.

If God should bring them to your mind,

join me in praying for them the next 12 days....

To God be honor and praise and great thanksgiving

Great things He has done!

WE LOVE YOU ANDERSONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dog Days of Summer

Hip Hip Hooray for three day weekends!

Oh the Dog days of summer.....

dog days

 

noun

1.

the sultry part of the summer, supposed to occur during theperiod that Sirius, the Dog Star, rises at the same time asthe sun: now often reckoned from July 3 to August 11.

2.

a period marked by lethargy, inactivity, or indolence.

We enjoyed our extra day of being together.

And with our air conditioning being fixed after two days of no air upstairs,

we're all happy campers!

It was a hot one....but we took to the pool and that made for a lot of fun

and some relief from the hot, hot and humid Houston weather!

We even hooked up the slip and slide one last time!

Even Zoe can't help herself...she loves to swim!

Peter got home from football practice and cooled off, too!

You should have heard the squeels!!!

Back to school for everyone tomorrow.

And back to work...my first day "in the office".

Ian is grilling hamburgers and hot dogs and we're fixin'

to enjoy a true summer feast tonight.

We love summer together days.

but we're looking forward to fall, too.

And cooler temperatures!

Happy Labor Day, y'all!