Jonathan Lin Watson turned three years old on Friday! He is very proud of himself. Friday was a busy day. The morning started off with Jonathan and I dragging ourselves in the car at an early 6:15 while the temperature was -7. We proceeded to drive to the Fairbanks airport to pick up 300 dozen Krispy Kreme donuts which were flown to us overnight from Seattle. No, the donuts weren't for Johnnie's birthday but for a fundraiser the senior parents were doing to make money for this year's Grad Bash. We then took the donuts to the school and had Mrs. Hursh's Government class full of seniors unload them from the car into her room. While Johnnie and I were unpacking the donuts from the big boxes (I was actually unpacking them and Jonathan was playing with legos), the class of 20 decided to sing Happy Birthday to him. It was hilarious. Jonathan was standing there in front of the class smiling at the kids serenading him until it hit him that he was the sole focus of 40 eyes and 20 big voices. He proceeded to back up slowly, still half-smiling/half panic-sticken, and hide behind my legs......very cute!!
We didn't have a big celebration on Friday as we were having a combination
housewarming/Johnnie's 3rd birthday costume party on Saturday. Scott and I dressed up as 70s hippies, and Jonathan was Batman. Again, he was very proud to transform himself into batman. He tried to fly with his cape, but it didn't quite work out as he had anticipated. We had about 30 people come to our party - we had a blast.
Kaylee (our senior) is getting ready to go on a two-week trip to China at the end of December. She will be teaching English to about 80 high school students in one of the southern villages. I'm really excited for her as she has never done anything like this before. I'm also extremely proud because she worked her tail off this summer cashiering at the Commissary, and she was able to make enough money to fund this trip by herself. She used some of her 'car' money, but it's OK. Please keep her and the ones she's going with in your prayers as they embark on this great adventure.
My Grandpa, Mom, and Uncles had an interesting experience about a week ago. They encountered God. My Uncles came home to find my 87-year-old Grandpa semi-conscious on the floor. They called an ambulance, and he was rushed to the hospital. His body temp was only 88 degrees, and his pulse was very week. The doctor ended up breaking the news to Mom & Uncle Nick that he could not find a pulse and he was gone. My mother fell apart and called to tell my step-Dad and brother. After about 15 minutes, Mom & Uncle Nick went into the room to say their good-byes to Grandpa. When they walked in, they were informed that the nurse had found a faint pulse! After some tests, it was determined that Grandpa had a severe case of pneumonia. They treated him for that and hypothermia due to his low body temperature. They put him in a sedated sleep for about three days so the medicine could take effect. He was on a respirator and feeding tube. The doctor warned that Grandpa could have brain damage because of the lack of oxygen to his brain. Three days later, the doctors brought him out of the sedated sleep, and Grandpa was alert with bright eyes and understood what they were saying. He couldn't talk because he had a tube down his throat. Since then, he has been moved out of ICU into his own room and is almost fully recovered! Praise God!! I'm trusting God to use this experience in the lives of my Uncles to bring them to a knowledge of Christ. God can and will go to extremes to draw attention to Himself!!
I pray all is well with those who are reading this. I miss you all very much. Please email me at watson56@juno.com and give me an update on YOU!
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Sunday, October 5, 2008
1-Year Anniversary of Jonathan's Referral
Today is the 1-year anniversary of when we received our referral for Jonathan! As I've been re-living in my mind the incredible events of October 5, 2007, I thought it would be fitting to copy an email message I sent out last year explaining the events of that awesome day. The message was written a couple days after our referral because I was too overwhelmed to put it all into words before them. I pray you would praise our God of miracles with me as you read this message:
October 7, 2007
I just want to give you a testimony about Friday when we received the referral. The adoption agency contacted 120 families on the special needs list that they received 33 referrals on Oct. 1st. They were in the process of matching them to families and would begin making calls on Friday, Oct. 5th. 20 of the 33 children were in the age range we had asked for (6 mos to 2 years). There were 14 girls and 6 boys. Scott and I had never thought about adopting a boy. We started talking on Monday about how wild it would be if we ended up with one! Over the next few days I started thinking about it more and more. Before long, my heart was BURNING inside me for a boy. The chances were slim that we would receive a referral in this batch as there were 120 families on the list. They were even smaller that we would get a boy (.05 percent!) But God doesn't play the 'odds'.
So, I got up bright and early on Friday morning. I was on pins and needles begging God to let that phone ring. I tried doing my morning Bible study but couldn't concentrate. I got out my hymnal and sang "Great is the Lord". I checked my mail (we'd only told a couple people we were praying for a phone call), and one of our friends from Maryland said she was gathering her kids to pray for me & for a phone call. When I read that, I just broke down and started crying out to God for a miracle. I prayed He would let that phone ring.....and that it would be for a boy.
The phone did ring, twice. Neither call was the agency. I went back to my Bible study and was reading in Acts about when Paul healed the crippled man and people were marveling at what Paul did. Paul was telling them not to be in awe of him, but in the power of Jesus. As I was reading that, my cell phone rang. I got up and answered it. There was a pause then I heard, "This is America World". My heart about stopped. She went on to tell me they had a referral for a little boy. I
just about lost my mind! I got off the phone and waited for the email that would contain his medical records and picture. I had already told her we would take him (you have 10 days to accept a referral). I can't even begin to tell you the emotions going on in my body! I was literally running around the house with my hands in the air praising God. I think I scared poor Jackie! The rest is almost a blur. I was running on an adrenaline high for about 8 hours afterwards.
God is a God or miracles and faithfulness. This has been a long journey, and it has ended much differently than we had expected (getting a boy instead of a girl). You know, God knew the deepest desires of our heart when we didn't. Our family gives our Father all the praise and glory for this wonderful gift.
October 7, 2007
I just want to give you a testimony about Friday when we received the referral. The adoption agency contacted 120 families on the special needs list that they received 33 referrals on Oct. 1st. They were in the process of matching them to families and would begin making calls on Friday, Oct. 5th. 20 of the 33 children were in the age range we had asked for (6 mos to 2 years). There were 14 girls and 6 boys. Scott and I had never thought about adopting a boy. We started talking on Monday about how wild it would be if we ended up with one! Over the next few days I started thinking about it more and more. Before long, my heart was BURNING inside me for a boy. The chances were slim that we would receive a referral in this batch as there were 120 families on the list. They were even smaller that we would get a boy (.05 percent!) But God doesn't play the 'odds'.
So, I got up bright and early on Friday morning. I was on pins and needles begging God to let that phone ring. I tried doing my morning Bible study but couldn't concentrate. I got out my hymnal and sang "Great is the Lord". I checked my mail (we'd only told a couple people we were praying for a phone call), and one of our friends from Maryland said she was gathering her kids to pray for me & for a phone call. When I read that, I just broke down and started crying out to God for a miracle. I prayed He would let that phone ring.....and that it would be for a boy.
The phone did ring, twice. Neither call was the agency. I went back to my Bible study and was reading in Acts about when Paul healed the crippled man and people were marveling at what Paul did. Paul was telling them not to be in awe of him, but in the power of Jesus. As I was reading that, my cell phone rang. I got up and answered it. There was a pause then I heard, "This is America World". My heart about stopped. She went on to tell me they had a referral for a little boy. I
just about lost my mind! I got off the phone and waited for the email that would contain his medical records and picture. I had already told her we would take him (you have 10 days to accept a referral). I can't even begin to tell you the emotions going on in my body! I was literally running around the house with my hands in the air praising God. I think I scared poor Jackie! The rest is almost a blur. I was running on an adrenaline high for about 8 hours afterwards.
God is a God or miracles and faithfulness. This has been a long journey, and it has ended much differently than we had expected (getting a boy instead of a girl). You know, God knew the deepest desires of our heart when we didn't. Our family gives our Father all the praise and glory for this wonderful gift.
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