Friday, December 14, 2012

It's Been Too Long

It has been 13 months since I last posted. I sincerely apologize. When I started blogging about our adoption journey I never intended to leave everyone hanging at the very best part. Before I begin with the details of my trip I would first like to thank everyone that supported us as we waited for our boys, for praying and donating the funds that helped to make it possible for us to bring them home. Words cannot express how grateful we are for y'all.
 Now, for those of you who were following along you may remember that when I last posted we had just received travel approval and I was excitedly waiting to travel to China with my sister, Amanda, to bring our sweet boys home. Which of course I did. And it was an amazing, memorable and bittersweet journey that not only gave me the blessing of two more children but also blessed me with a deeper understanding and appreciation for life and family. The trip itself was logistically challenging and filled with hilarious stories of missed flights, culture shock, luggage drama and the challenges of trying to communicate in a foreign language. We also met some wonderful people along the way and were deeply touched by their individual stories/testimonies regarding adoption and how the Lord had led them to China for their children. And of course, the unforgettable experiences of seeing Archer and Abel for the first time! The memory of those two days are gifts that I will always cherish. Sadly, the memory of those days also include sorrow and pain.  Our precious Archer had lived with his foster family from the time he was 3 months old. When he bravely took my hand that first day in our hotel lobby in Jinan, he walked away from the only family he had ever known. His first night with me was one filled with a river of tears that threatened to never stop, causing me to ask myself if we were making a huge mistake in taking this grieving boy from everything he had ever known. I held him and comforted him the best I could for over and hour as he cried out for his foster mother and gasped for breath as he tried to handle feelings that were too big for his little heart to contain. I offered to run him a bath, hoping he would be able to relax a little and calm down enough to sleep since we had to catch an early flight to Liuyang to meet Abel the next day. I gave him some little army men that I had brought for him to play with and he stayed in the bath for 3 hours. I would go in every 20 minutes or so to check on him, running more warm water, and letting him share his feelings. We finally climbed into bed very late into the night, his little forehead pressed against mine.
Archer woke up the next morning sleepy eyed but excited about his first airplane flight. I was relieved that he was doing better and hopeful that somehow we would make it after all. My sister and I were hurrying to put some last minute items in our bags when there was a knock on the door. At the exact moment that I opened the door for the bell boy to begin taking our luggage down the phone rang and what happened next changed the dynamic of that day, the rest of our trip and every day that I have woken up to since. It was our youngest sister calling with the tragic news that our father had suffered a massive heart attack and died earlier that day.  The despair I felt at hearing this terrible news brought me to my knees as I began to pray that God would somehow change the circumstance. Our beloved daddy was gone and we were half a world away from our loved ones and all that was familiar and a comfort. We needed our families, our children and beloved spouses, but little Abel was waiting for us to come and get him that very day.  Even now, a year later, typing these words brings fresh grief. For the past 12 months, I have put off coming here and sharing the events of this day, knowing how difficult it would be. Doing the very difficult work of attaching and grafting our 2 new sons into our family while simultaneously grieving the loss of my dad has been the most exhausting process I have ever been through. I just have not had the energy to spare for blogging. I know you all understand....I will be back soon to share about the rest of our trip.

In His Grip,








Monday, November 28, 2011

Travel Approval!

I am a little late in posting this but we have been crazy busy around here. On November 18 we received our official invitation from China to enter their country and come and get our boys! Woo hoo!! I will likely be traveling alone unless we are able to expedite a passport and visa for more sister Amanda. My trip will be from December 8 through the 23 and in that time I will travel to Beijing, Jinan, Qingdao, Changsha, Guangzhou and back to Beijing!! Whew!! So, while I am gallivanting all over China, sleeping in beautiful hotels and eating yummy Chinese food, my sweet Love will be home holding down the fort and trying to keep the natives tame. So, if you think of it while I'm gone, say a prayer for my husband. Please. Cover that man in prayer. He is gonna need it!
As soon as I get my itinerary I will let y'all know!

In His Grip,

Monday, October 31, 2011

Xbox KINECT Winner!

And the winner is:




Sarah Mitchell !!


I will be emailing you to arrange the delivery of your new Kbox KINECT! Thank you to everyone that donated. We are really are so grateful for your love and generosity extended to us. We hope to be hearing about Travel Approval soon! Please continue to pray for us as we work to get our sweet boys home. Blessings!


In His Grip,




Thursday, October 20, 2011

It's a LIFE not a choice









"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be."
~Psalm 139:13-16

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Welcome!

Asa James
For those of you who have found our blog through No Greater Joy Mom, thank you for taking the time to come and visit our blog! We are Tim and Nikole Hilton, the proud parents of 7 children- 3 boys, 2 girls and 2 more boys waiting for us in China! In November of 2009, our youngest son Asa was born with Down syndrome and the Lord used the circumstances of his birth to open our eyes to the blessing of having a child with special needs. While still pregnant with Asa, a friend of ours who also had a son with Down syndrome, directed us to a ministry called Reece's Rainbow which helps to advocate for and match adoptive families with children that were born with special needs including Down syndrome. Our hearts were deeply touched and we began to discuss the possibility that one day, Lord willing, we would add one of those very precious children to our family.

We started our adoption process about a year ago when we made the commitment to adopt a precious little boy, named Wu who was born with Down syndrome. We felt strongly that the Lord was asking us to also bring another child home during the same trip and we obeyed, adding an adorable 7 year old to our adoption named Ke Xin.  We are now nearing the end of our journey and hoping to travel in November or December of this year! So far, the Lord has faithfully helped us to fund raise over $25,000 but we still need $20,000 before travel time!! Would you please consider sowing into our adoption? We, along with our children, would be eternally grateful. You can do so by visiting the Reece's Rainbow website where you can make a tax deductible donation on our Family Support Page. You can also enter for a chance to win an Xbox 360 KINECT by clicking on the Chip In located in the top right corner of this blog. It is $10 an entry. If you donate and post about our efforts on your blog or Facebook we will give you 1 free entry!

In closing, we are having our fourth fundraising garage sale this weekend. Would y'all please pray that the weather would be beautiful and that the Lord blesses our efforts? Thank you and God bless.

In His Grip,





"I say to myself, "The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him."
~Lamentations 3:24
Waiting on Our Boys

Abel (Wu)

Archer (Ke Xin)

Monday, October 10, 2011

New Pics of Abel!

Last month we used Gifts to China With Love to send care packages to Archer and Abel. Included in both boys packages were disposable cameras which we were hopeful that their orphanage directors would use to send us current pictures of our boys. Well, Saturday morning when I checked email there was a message from Sheri, the owner of Gifts to China With Love, letting us know that she had an update on Abel and some new pictures!  This was my favorite of the bunch because we could see how much he has grown! First, just look at this precious little face. Oh Honey! I cannot wait to smooch those sweet chunky cheeks!


In addition to the pictures we were also forwarded a message from the director of Abel's orphanage:

He cannot walk by himself.He only can walk with help.
He cannot speak well.He knows something but not much. His intelligence is not the average of his age.

The director suggest the family think twice about the adoption of Min Wu.

Goodness gracious, our hearts were broken when we read that last line. I couldn't help but cry as the full weight of the reality that our precious boy is living in a place where he isn't loved and valued settled into my heart. We would have flown to China that very moment if possible to bring him home! No doubt, that the waiting now will be so very hard....We sent a message in return, letting the director know that we are fully aware of Abel's delays, that we love him very much already and can't wait to be his forever family. He sent back a message letting us know that they will take very good care of Abel. We will be leaning heavily on the Lord to faithfully ensure that this will be so.

Thank you Lord that we can trust you to watch over Abel and Archer. Please continue to help us to raise the money that is needed to pay their ransom. We trust that you will and thank you in advance for your faithfulness and provision. In Jesus precious name. Amen.

"I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those that sit in darkness." Isaiah 42:6&7

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

PROVISION!!

So, has anyone noticed that our ticker made a seriously dramatic jump?! Woohoo!! We got an email yesterday from the JSC Foundation saying that they have graciously awarded us a $10,000 grant!! Is that unbelievable or what?! God has been so AMAZINGLY good to us. We are humbled and incredibly grateful for His provision so generously extended to us. How could anyone doubt that we serve a FAITHFUL and LOVING God?  Quite honestly, like alot of families that answer the call to adopt, we have struggled with uncertainty and discouragement many times during this process. Without a doubt, this experience is teaching us to rely on Him like we never have before. Folks, we started this adoption process with nothing, seriously nada. But, we KNEW that this was what we were called to do and so we stepped out in faith, trusting that the Lord wouldn't expect us to accomplish this endeavor on our own. And he has proven to us time and again that He is there, guiding us, encouraging us and PROVIDING for us every step of the way! Thank you Jesus!

I have to share a sweet experience that I shared with our two daughters Abby and Avonlea a couple of nights ago- I had struggled throughout the day with anxiety about the amount of money that we still needed to raise. As we sat on the couch enjoying some chocolate ice cream together before bed, I shared with our oldest daughter, Abby that I was feeling anxious and we agreed that we needed to stop talking and start praying! As we prayed out loud together for Archer and Abel, I was close to tears as I heard my precious daughters pouring out their hearts to the Lord- asking Him to help bring their brothers home and praising Him for all he has done so far. After our time in prayer I finally felt the peace that had eluded me all day. And it was the very next day that we received the wonderful news about our generous $10,000 grant! I will always remember my sweet little Avonlea Love joyfully twirling in circles, singing praises to God and repeating over and over "You, Lord, are a God that always sees and hears us!" Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto me.......

Would y'all please pray for our family as we continue to work hard to bring Archer and Abel home? We are having a fundraising garage sale in two weeks to raise money for the required orphanage donations for our sweet boys. We still need $20,000 to be fully funded and we will likely travel in November. Yep, that's 20,000 smackers in under 2 months time. While this seems completely impossible to us, it is TOTALLY possible for God! After all, he loves our boys even more than we do!

*Just a reminder that our AWESOME Xbox 360 Kinect giveaway is still going on! C'mon you know you want it! You can enter by clicking on the Chip In in the upper right-hand corner.*

In His Grip,






"Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!"~Matt. 7:9-12