52 marbles...

I recently attended a conference where I learned that we have about 936 weeks of real influence in our children's lives (from birth to 18).  It's amazing how quickly you watch that pass if you have a jar full of marbles and each week you transfer one into an empty one.  It puts a whole new perspective on time spent with your children.  You become very intentional as you watch the weeks pass, much quicker than you expect.
Well, our time is almost up.  We have 52 weeks left to train up our oldest.  (Well, technically 50 and 6 days as of today).  God gave us an unbelievable treasure to care for and to train up to honor and glorify Him.  John John is truly becoming a man of God.  An honest, hardworking man, full of integrity and honor.  He has turned from an inspiring, vibrant, joyful, boy to a man that loves God, his family, and others.  He has been through so much already in his short life.  The past almost 5 years have taught he, and us, what he really is made of.  These years have shown us that God has equipped us completely with what we need in our life; we just have to dig deep, find it, and trust Him.
John John will be an amazing husband and father one day.  I can't wait to see what God has in store for him.
I really don't know what else to say except where has the time gone?!
John John, I love you!  I'm so proud of you!  I can't wait to watch your next 17 years!

Proverbs 22:6

⁶ Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.


HAPPY 17TH BIRTHDAY JOHN JOHN!!!!

What's in a name...

So, one of the most common questions we get is "What are you going to name her?"  Well, if you only knew how hard that is to decide!  We know 3 things...  Her first name has to start with a "J". All of our first names start with "j" and we don't intend for her to be different. Second, we want it to mean something!  Our 3 other children we just kinda picked what we liked, but we feel like with her we should put more thought into it.  She is a gift from God and we plan on her name saying that (not that our 3 biological children aren't also but we feel like this is a part of us that we are giving her).  Last, we fully intend to use part of her Chinese name. We can't wait to see how that fits into the names we have narrowed it down to. We are not 100% on what we've chosen yet so we are not ready to share but we have a few options. Maybe next update will be about that (though I hope not, I hope it will be that our paperwork is being sent to our agency!).
Anyway, please keep praying that things continue to move smoothly and quickly.  We are still praying for God's glory to be shown in this process.  We believe this is not about us; this is a part of God's story and we just get to enjoy the ride!
Til next time...

A tree update!

So, it's been a little while and our tree now has some leaves!!!!!
Thank you so much for all of you who have joined our "family". We can not wait to share with her the people who have loved her and hoped for her before we even saw her face!  Her tree will be a true culmination of love!  I've added a link to the sidebar of the blog to make joining her family easier, it's labeled "her family tree".
Anyway, on to the pics...

Checking the list...

WOW!  We are really making some progress on our paperwork!  We had our last home study visit last night and we have 2 more things to do for that and our part of it will be complete.  I think we have 3 more things to get for our dossier and our part of that will be complete!  Holy Cow, it's moving fast now!  We were told to be prepared, that things would move quickly and then it will seem like we are just waiting again for a little while.  I'm fine with both, as long as it's leading us closer to our precious girl!
We are so excited and anxious to see her face.  We talk often of how much we can't wait to see her laughing and playing with her brothers and sister.  We can't wait to see her sweet face and watch a smile come across it.  We can't wait for every part of this journey, from the tiny insignificant things to the amazingly huge things!  We are trusting God through this whole process and are learning so much while watching Him move.
After our home study is finished and approved and we have all of our dossier approved our agency will begin the matching process.  We can not wait to receive an email with a precious little girls face on it!!!
We are so looking forward to that moment.
Also, because our paperwork is moving so much more quickly than we had expected we are going to move the close of the fundraiser up.  We are hoping now to have her tree full by the end of June.  If you're not quite sure what that means go back a few posts and read about our fundraiser - her "family" tree! To those that have already become a part of her "family", it means more to us than you'll ever know!
Well, until next time, please keep praying for God's glory to shine through.

A pic!!!!

This is the amazing piece of art that has begun to form for our precious jewel's "family" tree!  We hope to fill it with all of our friend's and families' names!  If you're interested find the fundraiser post in the blog (I believe 2 posts before this) and the details are there.  Thank you so much to those who have donated.  I will post pics probably every month or so so you can all see the progress!  Remember, we want to fill this tree by the end of July!

(By the way, the little girl in the pic is my friend's (and the artist) 3 year old daughter.  I couldn't resist that AMAZING grin!!!!)

Another offer from a friend!

First, let me say that it is amazing all of the support and encouragement that we are getting through this process.  THANK YOU so much, friends and family, for loving us!

Awesome news....  Another amazingly talented friend of ours has offered a portion of her earnings to be a part of our new treasure's story!
April of Ric Rac Ribbon has a true talent in sewing and she has an etsy shop which she sells her creations from.  If you're able/interested PLEASE check out her shop.  She truly is gifted in creating boutique looks for a fair price!
https://www.etsy.com/shop/RicRacRibbon
In purchasing, you will also be joining in the story of our new little one.  A story that is so much bigger than us that it can only be a part of God's story.

Thank you so much April for being a great friend and for loving us and supporting us through this journey.  Thank you to all who purchase from Ric Rac Ribbon for helping to bring our precious girl home!

FUNDRAISER, her "Family" Tree!

WOW!  It feels so official now!
As most of you know we have started the adoption process to bring home a little girl from Ch*n*. We have had our first home study visit, and are continuing to push along through all of the other parts of this process. Even though we probably have a year left we grow more and more excited every day!  We can not wait to see what God has in store for us in this journey!

We have a FABULOUS friend that is also an AMAZING artist (in my opinion).  She asked if she could do a fundraiser for us so we threw around some ideas, and John and I talked, and this is what we've come up with.  A "Family" Tree for our precious girl.  We have decided it would be an amazing thing for our daughter to have a lifelong treasure of all the wonderful people that helped to bring her home, her "family".  Our friend is going to be painting a tree and, prayerfully, filling it with leaves that our friends and family have purchased.  We would love to fill the tree with all of your names!  Our goal is to have the tree full by the end of July, that is about the time our next chunk of money will be due.  The leaves can be purchased for as little as $1, to as much as you'd like to give.  Once your payment has been confirmed, a leaf with your name on it will be added to the tree making you part of her "family".  We will post updated pics every so often so you can all see the process. After the tree is full her name will be added to the bottom of it.  After she's home we will take a picture of her with the painting and send a copy to all of her "family".  We are so excited to give her a "family" tree so that she will forever know all of the people that loved her and helped bring her home.

Most of you probably know this process is not a cheap one.  Many of you may ask why would we choose an expensive route?  Well, first, we didn't.  We believe with all our hearts God chose this path for us.  After 15 months of prayer you just trust what's on your heart to be God's guidance.  He is sending us there!  Second, God calls us to ALL the orphans.  We COMPLETELY understand that not everyone is called to international adoption; but as I said before, God calls us to care for ALL the orphans, so clearly some of us are called there and we believe He has called us there.  We have complete faith that God is going to provide for us in taking care of this financial burden whether it be from our own resources, generous donors and fundraising, or any other way He chooses. We trust that God has placed this little girl on our hearts for a reason and we trust that He is going to be with us, and her, through its completion.

We have spoken with our agency and they requested that we have all funds sent directly to us.  Here is a paypal link button

or if you don't have paypal or would just prefer to send a check please send it to:
                          John and Joy Turner
                          1236 Palm Dr
                          St. Johns, FL    32259
with "family tree" written on the memo line.  As I said before, as soon as the payment is confirmed your name will be added on a leaf to the tree.

We want to say, in advance, THANK YOU!  From the bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU!
We know that God is faithful and we can not wait to see how He uses our friends and family to help us bring our little girl home!
Please continue to pray with us in this time; that His name will be glorified in this whole process.