He Is Risen!!! Let's Celebrate!

“In pagan times, the "Easter hare" was no ordinary animal, but a sacred companion of the old goddess of spring, Eostre. The Easter bunny has its origin in pre-Christian fertility lore. The Hare and the Rabbit were the most fertile animals known and they served as symbols of the new life during the Spring season. Since long before Jesus Christ was born, parents told their children that the magic hare would bring them presents at the spring festival. The presents were often painted eggs, as these represented the new life starting at this time of year." Hares are animals which look like rabbits, but are larger and in many countries quite rare. In most places, the Easter rabbit (bunny) has replaced the Easter hare completely.

Of course, with Christianity came the true meaning of Easter, that being the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. For this reason, Easter is celebrated by Christians as the most important and holy of all days! Praise ye God for the resurrection of the body, that we may spend eternity with thee in Heaven!

When the children began arriving Saturday morning, it hit me that when we hosted this event last year at Isom's Chapel, we were a family of four separated by half a world. That seems like eons ago and yesterday all at once. All we had was a picture or two of a little girl named Jiangyong Xing and a brief medical report. But, know this that everyone who came got to see that picture more than a few times! We were so excited to show our new friends our new daughter and didn't care one bit if they'd seen the picture already a dozen times, one more couldn't hurt could it?


We had met many of the Athens FCC families at the 2006 Chinese New Year celebration but still, we were new to the group and didn't have our little girl with us yet. Except for the pictures. Oh, we had Kaitlyn and Kristin around teaching us about girl stuff and were beginning to understand that Amanda and Emily were in God's plan for us, but Lily Grace wasn't there that day for our Easter 2006 celebration. We had worked tirelessly all morning. Kaitlyn helped us and was just as excited as the rest of us at the opportunity to see Mary Beth and all the others again. She and Austin decorated the fellowship hall and prepared the game tables for the kids. Connie and her Mom had prepared a feast (including peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the more discriminating tastes of the younger ones expected to attend). And I prepared the camera, but you'd already figured that one out right? And so we invited the entire Athens FCC to Isom's Chapel for an Easter celebration and egg hunt. Just for another opportunity to stand in awe at some of the most beautiful and loving children we had ever seen. [Sorry parents, the food was just to lure you into our trap!]

2006 Pictures: Check out Hannah and Emma! And Wendy and Gracie Mei

One Year Later ...

This past Saturday, we hosted the 2nd Annual Athens FCC Easter celebration at Isom's Chapel. And this time, Lily Grace was prominant among the children, garnering her share of attention. The children now know us a little better and are more comfortable around us. Mary Beth calls me Uncle Jerry - how cool is that!!! The parents have forgiven us (I hope) for our little trap last year and have become some of the most wonderful friends we have ever known. There is a certain bond that adoptive parents share that cannot be described - a simple look conveys thoughts more readily than a thousand words between those not blessed to share in this part of God's plan for His children. Our group continues to grow, with new families it seems almost every time we get together. I know in my heart of hearts that God has a special plan for these children and I cannot wait to see it unfold. God hasn't shared the details of that plan with me, but wouldn't it be awesome to see one of these children become a vessel for our Lord and lead their birth country to Christianity in large numbers! To be a part of that or just to see it happen would be awesome!

Anyway, back to our Easter celebration. Kaitlyn couldn't make it this year, but this time we had both of Lily Grace's grandmothers to help. Memaw was here already and Granny couldn't resist the tug of spending time with grandchildren, so she made plans to retire and move here. It's truly a blessing to see her excitement at every little thing Lily does. Our celebration included the usual festivities, food, and easter egg hunts, coupled with the excitement of a new family who visited from the Huntsville FCC. It turns out that our events are generally closer for them to attend and so we hope to see them more in the future. They have a beautiful daughter named Anna that we think came from the same orphanage as Mary Beth - cool! We missed those who couldn't make it and were greatly blessed to share time with those who did.

Praise God for His Risen Son, Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

Love,

Jerry, Connie, Austin, and Lily Grace