Christmas Present

Bottle of Tears

Across the blue planet.

To the other side of the world.

She sleeps in her 40 pound frame.

Dreaming of a magnificent ocean.

She stands beside it.With a bottle in her hand.

Inside are her tears.

She throws it into the waiting sea.

Every night the dream is the same.

Until,one night it floats under...A statue of hope,of liberty.

A hand reaches out embracing the bottle of tears,

comprehending, truly understanding...

Merry Christmas to my wonderful wife who comprehends and understands all the adopted children in waiting.
From: Tim Kerr

My Husband wrote this poem for me for Christmas and it touched my heart. I wanted to post it to share it and hopefully, the poem will open our eyes to the plight of the orphans. There are so many hurting children in the world. We can each do something to ease their suffering. Maybe something small like a sponsorship to help with food, clothing, and medical help...maybe something bigger like helping an adoptive family with the costs of the adoption, or something even bigger such as opening your heart and home to a child in need. Just a thought.

Because we can all do something.

Anna and Jordyn love to dance together and practice the dances for hours. This is their favorite dance.

Visiting with Family for the Holidays

Grandma Sharon Kerr

JonMarc Loves Christmas!

BFF

Cousin Sara, Anna, and Friend Sara

Look at all the pretty girls!

Merry Christmas From our Family to Yours! Anna, Amanda, Jordyn, Melanie, Noah, Tim, and JonMarc

I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas holiday and enjoys time with their family. I have been getting ready for Christmas. Shopping, shopping, and more shopping. Having a large family to buy for makes for alot of shopping!!! I have been doing very well by finding things on Ebay and other listings and saving ton's of money. We are on a tight budget this year and I am trying to save as much as possible. I am thinking of Jailynn more and more and wishing she could be with us this year. I am buying her Christmas presents and planning to keep the tree up until she comes home. That was also a request from Jordyn and Amanda. They are both so excited for her to come home.

Our tree is in a sad state though. Somehow the stand to the tree disappeared and the lights do not work. So we have a make shift stand which causes the tree to lean to the side no matter how hard we try to fix it. Also, Noah loves to rearrange the ornaments so the tree is not so beautiful this year. Oh well...at least we have a tree to decorate.

I am hoping to keep the focus on the Real reason for the season this year by displaying a nativity seen under our tree. I am still looking for one. We are also giving clothes and toys to a needy family from Tim's work. This really inspired my children and they gave up lot's of nice toys they do not play with and some they still love for the family. I want them to learn that giving feels so much better than just getting all the time.

Joey and Kym are home and staying with us temporarily. So we have four more people in our home which is hectic! They are working on getting jobs and Kym is planning to go to school starting in January. Having them here has been both challenging and rewarding but I know that it has been the right thing to do. We are having a positive influence on them and it will be special to spend Christmas with them here. Our family is growing in leaps and bounds with Joey and Kym and soon Jailynn. I am sure that they will have thier own place before we leave for China (that is the plan). Please pray for our family that we adjust to all the changes and that Joey and Kym find jobs and get into their own place soon.

Merry Christmas,

Melanie

New Update on Our Sweet Jailynn!!!!

Jailynn (red coat) and her friend Fung-Fung

Jailynn and Director Ding

Jailynn and her cake we sent her!

Pretty Jailynn!!!

What a wonderful and exciting email to get this morning. I woke up to find updated pictures and info on our sweet little Jailynn!! We sent her the cake on November 6th and requested photos of her. I am so happy that we got them. She looks healthy and adorable! I can't wait to hold her in my arms. Jordyn is so happy and excited to see her new pictures. We are still waiting for our LOA and then our travel approval. I think we will most likely travel in late January or early Febuary. Please pray that it will be soon and that God will continue to provide the money we need for the orphanage fee and travel expenses. We are trusting God that He will provide because we know these two sweet girls belong together. Here are the updates on Jailynn's stats:

We have obtained You Yu’s current measurements from the orphanage. (cm=centimeters, kg=kilograms)
Height: 112 cmWeight: 16.4 kg Head circumference: 48.5 cmChest circumference: 51 cmLength of foot: 18 cmNumber of teeth: 10 upper teeth, and 10 lower teeth

She is so tiny! She only weighs 36 lbs and she is 3ft 9in tall. We just absolutely can't wait to bring Jailynn home!