THE T-SHIRTS ARE IN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay, get ready..........because the first round of EllieDub t-shirts came in yesterday!!! THEY ARE AWESOME!!!! I can't wait to post pictures. We will hopefully have www.elliedub.com up and running by the weekend. You can then see the pics of the shirts and order them through paypal or check. Our friends, Amelia and Scott, did an UNBELIEVABLE job on the designs. They are our partners in this new venture. I can't wait to see people wearing the shirts (they would make fun Christmas gifts)!

Love ya'll,
Lindsey

The Wheeler Story (pre-Eliana)

Here's the video that was shown at our church this weekend!
Our good friend Scott Moore made it (shout out)!

P.S. We will post the interview from church soon....it picks up where the video left off.

What a weekend!!!

How much do I love my mom and sisters??!!! They sat through 4 church services, so that they could watch our video and interview....they are amazing!! Thank you mom, Lauren and Leah for loving us and for getting so excited to hold little Eliana. I love the picture frames (our first gifts for her room!!).

Okay, I think I have the cutest husband ever! I love him more and more every single day. I love his tender heart. Every year at the Shaohannah's Hope (check out their web-site...it is amazing what they are doing for families) fundraiser dinner....we both cry our eyes out. It is so inspiring....and challenging. This is literally our FAVORITE night of the year!! This year was even more special....because we kept picturing sweet Eliana.

Here are five of my favorite people at the dinner (my familiy, Amelia, and Mitzi)!!


Thank you to the people that came to Fellowship to watch our video....you don't understand how much it meant to us. For those of you that weren't able to come....we will post the video in the next few days. Thank you for your prayers....we both felt like the Lord was able to use our story to encourage others on the adoption journey.....actually it is His story! We love you all.

Love,
Lindsey

I miss her so much tonight...

Have you seen anything cuter???!! She would fall asleep with a huge grin on her face. I wonder what dreams she is having....hopefully she is smiling now thinking about her mommy and daddy.

I could just stare at her sweet face for hours! Today has been one of those days that nothing really feels right. I have been pretty down....praying for answers.....and begging God to bring her home to us soon. My heart is also heavy for sweet Xio. I have no idea when her next court date is, but I know the Lord does. Please keep praying for a miracle.

She is in the middle of talking to us during this picture (and she was definitely too tiny for 3-6 month clothes)! I don't think I have officially posted her name.....it is Eliana ("the Lord has answered") Hope Wheeler! Thank you for your continued encouragement and support. We are so grateful to everyone.....and couldn't it make it without you.

Love, Lindsey (and Chris)

P.S. If you have questions about how to get to our church this weekend, e-mail me at lindseyewheeler@hotmail.com. Also, PLEASE PLEASE keep lifting up Sandi and baby Hannah in China. They have been told that she will not be able to bring Hannah home. We have been fighting this for her....calling senators and congress. She has lost her husband...she needs her daughter Hannah soon. Pray for officials hearts to change and for her to be able to come home soon. She needs to be around friends and family.

Our video debut.....

Hey friends,

I wanted to give ya'll a little heads up on what is happening this weekend. Our church (Fellowship Bible Church in Brentwood, TN) is showing a video on our process through adoption and our love for Guatemala. We will then be interviewed on-stage so people can hear the latest updates. They wanted to show a couple's journey that is still in process. As most of you know, our journey has had its ups and downs already......and we are just beginning. So, we would love for anyone that reads this and lives close.....to come meet us in person!! There is a Saturday night service at 5. Sunday services are at 8, 9:30, and 11:10. We are excited to see how God wants to use this and us!!

Love ya'll, Lindsey

I'm aching for this family!

I just got an e-mail from one of my friends who is in China right now. One of the families in her group has experienced a tragedy that is so hard to comprehend. The wife Sandi and her husband Dennis have been married 18 or 19 years, and this is their first child. Hannah (who is being adopted in China) is their daughter, and they were preparing to return to the States when Dennis fell ill.

Dennis was struggling to keep his blood glucose levels in check while in China and fell in to a diabetic coma yesterday. He died in Guangzhou two nights ago.

Sandi’s mother and brother are trying to get emergency visas to get to China to help out, and now there is concern that the US government (via the Consulate in Guangzhou) would deny Hannah’s visa to return to the States with her mother, as her father’s death affects the status of her adoption (on paper only, though).

Please pray for Sandi, Hannah, and their shock & grief. Please pray that the Consulate would not deny Hannah’s visa and that they would be able to return home unhindered, and for all arrangements for Dennis’ body. I ache for them....this just seems unfathomable! PLEASE PRAY!

NEW PICTURES!!!! YEAH!

She will probably be so mad at me someday that I put a diaper picture of her on our blog...but I had to show ya'll her new pics that our AWESOME agency sent to us!! IS SHE NOT A DOLL??!! How could she have grown so much in two weeks? Her hair is even longer! I love this little girl so much. I think I will look through her new pictures a thousand times this weekend.

Keep praying for a miracle in our adoption,
Lindsey

We need prayer....

Hey friends,

Below is an update from JCICS....please join us in praying for all of the kids and the adoption system in Guatemala (and around the world)! I am trying to not get too excited, but it is pushing me to pray even harder!!

People keep asking me how I am feeling....honestly, I'm not sure. Chris and I are moving forward....trusting the Lord! We have hit road blocks....and people that really don't understand adoption and the true battle that we are in to save their precious lives. It is amazing how opposition comes when and where you least expect it. Be praying for both of us to have strength to persevere.....to look only to Jesus. He ALONE knows our hearts! What comfort that brings to our souls.

Today, I am praising God for sweet little Maggie and the Oatsvalls!! Pray that she makes it smoothly home to the U.S. from China. AND PRAISE GOD FOR ELLIOT GETTING OUT OF PGN!!!!!!!!!!!! I CAN'T WAIT TO HOLD THE LITTLE MAYAN KING...We love you Scott and Amelia! Also, be praying for our friends Mike and Suzanne...they are meeting their new little man today. Pray for things to go smoothly...and I am keeping their kiddos....they are the best! How fun.....we are praying and thanking God for a Chinese adoption, a Guatemalan adoption and a domestic adoption!! LOVE IT!

"What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?"
Romans 8:31

Love you all,
Lindsey



November 7, 2007

Joint Council has continued to advocate for a rational and child centric transition to the Hague Convention in Guatemala. During our recent presentation at the Adoption Ethics & Accountability Conference in Washington, D.C., Joint Council called for the completion of adoptions in-process, the implementation of the Conventions core elements, an effective implementation date of April 2008 and funding for capacity building. We have continued to work with our colleagues in Guatemala along with members of the Guatemalan Congress in developing a functional child welfare system.

We can now report that members of the Guatemalan Congress, including numerous party chiefs, have submitted a new legislative proposal which;
- Includes a strong ‘grandfather’ clause,
- Designates April 30, 2008 as the effective implementation date of the Convention,
- Allocates $5 million Quetzales ($650,000 USD) for the creation of the Central Authority
- Allocates a percentage of the total government budget for child welfare services
- Creates a new government entity to act as the Central Authority in Guatemala,
- Provides for private non-profit accredited entities to provide services to children,
- Allows single potential adoptive parents to apply for adoption,
- Creates a functional process by which children can find a permanent, safe and loving family.

The new legislation is scheduled to be introduced to Congress early next week. In line with our mission of advocating for the right of each child to a permanent family, Joint Council will continue to work with our colleagues in Guatemala towards a positive and child centric implementation of the Convention.

WE MISS YOU!

Eliana will be four months old tomorrow......keep praying for our sweet little girl! Here are some of my favorite pictures of her. Isn't she the cutest??!!




My favorite thing.....her falling asleep in my arms!!



Check out her smile behind that bottle!!!



We heard about the "Bumbo" recall right before we boarded our plane to Guatemala. We still wanted to see what she looked like in it....of course, cute!





Eliana is giving a peace sign for the "RED" campaign at Gap....she is supporting Africa!




We will post more later!

Love you,
Lindsey

Reflections from Antigua...

Melissa is one of our favorite heroes of the faith! Her heart for the fatherless and forgotten inspires Chris and I to live a life beyond belief....to walk the road less traveled. Spending last Friday and Saturday morning with her in Antigua was more than a gift....it was God weaving our stories together even further. Chris called her St. Melissa of Antigua. You should have seen how people responded to her....they LOVE her...and the feel loved by her. Two precious little chicas followed us all over Antigua just to stand by her. They walked with us to Hermano Pedro and then to dinner. If I could be like anyone, it would be her!! Thank you Melissa for loving us, for praying for us, and for encouraging us on this journey. We love you!

We got to experience so many things in such a short amount of time. Spending time at Hermano Pedro (the state hospital in Antigua) will forever leave an imprint on my heart. There are so many things to say about those kiddos. The second I walked in to the room, my heart sunk....and I really felt sick. Many of the older children with disabilities or sicknesses were just left in their beds....pretty much comatose. A few would be crying but most were just staring off blankly. All you could do is touch them....reach your hands through their cribs (which seemed a lot like cages) and touch them. It was amazing the response....the beautiful smiles. They need love, like every other person on this earth. They need to know that they are not abandoned....that someone loves them. It broke my heart. It felt wrong to spend a few minutes singing and loving on them and then have to move to the next person. Hopefully this will be the first of many trips to visit these precious children at Hermano Pedro!

We will keep sending updates from our trip last weekend....it is hard to believe that we were with "Sweet Girl" this time last week. I miss her more every single day!! Pray for our paper work to happen quickly. We love you all.

Love,
Lindsey

P.S. Chris and I had an amazing day yesterday meeting quite a few "friends" that we have met through blogging....we will tell you about it soon!!

Love At First Sight!

As cliche as that sounds, it's exactly what happened! We fell immediately in love with this teeny little thang! We got to spend 2 and a half amazing days with Sweet Girl and it already feels like perhaps we've always known her! We loved feeding her, listening to her jabbering, and dancing with her all over the apartment! We've never seen a child laugh and smile like her at 3 months old before! She has this adorable habit of smiling right after she falls asleep which just melts your heart! We love how she smells...this sweet soft baby smell that is pretty much intoxicating! (We really hoped that our clothes or blankets would smell like her when we got home, but not so much.)

We couldn't leave the apartment while we had her and we had no internet or cable TV so we just played with her and watched movies and tried to make the time last as long as possible! When she fell asleep we just stared at her...when she was awake we took turns holding and playing with her!

Lindsey by the way became an instant MOM! I was literally amazed...this maternal instinct clicked in and she had this ability to soothe, and patiently handle the whole crying in the night no sleep deal! Fussy was just cuteness intensified for Linds. Unbelievable...she had way more energy than me too! Normally I'm Mr. late night hyper guy, but on this trip I was about to slip into a coma of sleepiness and she was just playing and laughing with Sweet Girl at like 4:15 in the morning!

By the way so sorry it's taken so long to get these updates out- life's been nuts you know!
Keep reading
keep praying
God is up to something HUGE in all this!

-Chris

PS More details later but BY THE GRACE OF GOD AND THE GENEROSITY OF HIS FAITHFUL PEOPLE WE'VE MADE IT TO OUR FIRST FINANCIAL GOAL! We are so grateful! Just more confirmation from all of you that this is a work of God and not anything we could've done on our own! Hip Hip Hooray! Thank you thank you thank you!