Isaiah 40:31 says:
“but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint”.
God bless and have a great weekend!
Friday, March 1, 2013
March Update
Our wait list number did not change for the month of March so we are still #38. Not what I wanted to hear, but trusting in God's plan for us to get the child He has for us, when He wants us to have him. The agency we are with went through license renewal and many people, including one of my very best friends, got court dates!!! Erica and Preston have waited almost 4 months since they accepted their referral for sweet Sutton and they are leaving to meet her this afternoon! I can't explain how happy this makes me :) please lift them up in prayer for safety, health, and for God to prepare their hearts and the heart of their daughter. I pray this next week is full of precious memories for their family.
Isaiah 40:31 says:
“but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint”.
God bless and have a great weekend!
Isaiah 40:31 says:
“but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint”.
God bless and have a great weekend!
Saturday, February 23, 2013
Mix Tape
I have an "Adoption Mix" on my IPhone that I just love. It makes me cry sometimes, but crying is cathartic so leave me alone. It also gives me such great encouragement in this journey for our little boy. Hearing God's promises to me, my family, and to Grayson wherever he may be, in this form is such a gift. Music is able to bring about emotion in a very unique way. I am not musical in the very least. Seriously. Tone deaf has been used as an adjective for me..... I am also not very trendy or sophisticated in my musical selections. My IPOD has songs from 3 Doors Down, Keith Urban, Stevie Wonder, Justin Beiber, and T Pain. But God's word, plus talent and passion equals good stuff. I know there is a way for me to make a playlist and put it on this blog but sadly, I am not very sophisticated when it comes to computers either so I have pasted Youtube links so you can hear some of my favorites. Enjoy!
Audio Adrenaline; Kings and Queens
http://youtu.be/U64bongHqYU
Kristian Stansfill; Always
http://youtu.be/hN7L3m9jIcc
Mandi Mapes; This Love
*Could not find on Youtube, but search ITunes, it's GREAT!!!
Chris Tomlin; Whom Shall I Fear
http://youtu.be/qOkImV2cJDg
Switchfoot; This is Home
http://youtu.be/5JAqLGSd2ac
Paul Baloche; Our God Saves
http://youtu.be/9vXnef1jxDI
Gungor; Beautiful Things
http://youtu.be/oyPBtExE4W0
Mumford and Sons; I Will Wait
http://youtu.be/rGKfrgqWcv0
Audio Adrenaline; Kings and Queens
http://youtu.be/U64bongHqYU
Kristian Stansfill; Always
http://youtu.be/hN7L3m9jIcc
Mandi Mapes; This Love
*Could not find on Youtube, but search ITunes, it's GREAT!!!
Chris Tomlin; Whom Shall I Fear
http://youtu.be/qOkImV2cJDg
Switchfoot; This is Home
http://youtu.be/5JAqLGSd2ac
Paul Baloche; Our God Saves
http://youtu.be/9vXnef1jxDI
Gungor; Beautiful Things
http://youtu.be/oyPBtExE4W0
Mumford and Sons; I Will Wait
http://youtu.be/rGKfrgqWcv0
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
February Update
I am a lousy blogger!! We got our wait list number on Feb 1st and I am just now posting it....
38!!!
Four precious ones were matched with their forever families :) We only moves up three spots because a family that already had a referral lost that referral so they had to go back on the list. This is no doubt difficult for them, but they had a wonderful perspective that can only be God given. The child's birth mother changed her mind so that little one will be going back home. After waiting for so long and then finally getting "the call" you would think there would be a mountain of disappointment, however the family is praising God today that a family that didn't have to be broken was not. That is Jesus my friends.
Adoption is less about "getting" a child, and much more about meeting a need that the Bible calls us to meet. I don't mean to take the humanness out of the equation, but I just mean in my heart I wish there was no need for adoption. I WANT Grayson, but it hurts my heart that his sweet life has to start with so much pain and brokenness. This is the world we live in so we have to wait and wait and champion the cause of the orphan. The most vulnerable group in the world is the most innocent. So, I will do my best to wait well and pray for the other waiting families, the children, the birth parents, the government, and anybody else God puts on my heart.
This is my jam right now and it makes me cry but in a happy/excited/sad kind of way. watch it. Listen. Trust me, it's good. I don't know this family but it was the best version of this song going so enjoy. I'm not saying it will make you want to adopt a child, but if it does you can thank me later :)
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1scU5hv6azs&feature=related
38!!!
Four precious ones were matched with their forever families :) We only moves up three spots because a family that already had a referral lost that referral so they had to go back on the list. This is no doubt difficult for them, but they had a wonderful perspective that can only be God given. The child's birth mother changed her mind so that little one will be going back home. After waiting for so long and then finally getting "the call" you would think there would be a mountain of disappointment, however the family is praising God today that a family that didn't have to be broken was not. That is Jesus my friends.
Adoption is less about "getting" a child, and much more about meeting a need that the Bible calls us to meet. I don't mean to take the humanness out of the equation, but I just mean in my heart I wish there was no need for adoption. I WANT Grayson, but it hurts my heart that his sweet life has to start with so much pain and brokenness. This is the world we live in so we have to wait and wait and champion the cause of the orphan. The most vulnerable group in the world is the most innocent. So, I will do my best to wait well and pray for the other waiting families, the children, the birth parents, the government, and anybody else God puts on my heart.
This is my jam right now and it makes me cry but in a happy/excited/sad kind of way. watch it. Listen. Trust me, it's good. I don't know this family but it was the best version of this song going so enjoy. I'm not saying it will make you want to adopt a child, but if it does you can thank me later :)
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1scU5hv6azs&feature=related
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Camy's 4th Birthday Party
Since we have been in such a transition I wasn't really sure what to do for Camy's birthday. Thankfully, we were coming home for New Year's Eve weekend and it worked out perfectly to meet up and celebrate with a few friends. We went to Kazoing and the kiddos played and played. They ran around and wore themselves out and it was just a great day. Camy got to play with Sawyer, Hallie, Silas, Bella, Presley, and of course Hadley and Will. It was such a sweet time with all of our dear friends. Having her birthday so close to the holidays worked out really well this year. I think it did all of our hearts good to see everyone!
Josh and Hadley about to go down the big slide
Silas and Kelly's turn!
Will at the top of the mountain!
The birthday girl, hard at play
Boo Boo : )
Best Friends!!
Hello Kitty Cupcakes for my 4 Year Old
Beautiful Bella
Presley and Hadley
Happy Girl
Silas and Kelly
Silly Sawyer!
Daddy with our worn out little girl
What a sweet little man!
Karate chopping the obsticle course
My pride and joy!
Happy girl!
Mom and her sweetie
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Christmas and New Year's Eve in Kentucky
We had a great time at my old Kentucky home over New Year's weekend. We stayed at my dad's house so we got to spend lots of time with him, Chucky, and Will. The kids love each other so much and it was so good for them to get to play for a few days straight. We celebrated Christmas and Camy's birthday at my mom's house one of the nights we were home. She made tons of food, as usual, and the kids had so much stuff we BARELY got it all back to St. Louis! My mom is the ultimate shopper. She picks things up as she goes and finds so many good deals. She always made Christmas really special for us growing up and nothing has changed since she became a grandma. Her and my dad went in together and spoiled the kiddos rotten. For New Year's Eve everyone headed over to dad's to of course eat some more and ring in 2013. Uncle Jim stopped by for a little while so we got to catch up with him. Camy LOVES her Uncle Jim so she spent a good 15 or 20 minutes snuggled up in his lap just chit chatting away. My mom brought crafts for the kids and fake mustaches that were supposed to be for the kids. We had fun sticking them on and taking lots of goofy pictures. Hadley didn't make it to midnight and Josh almost didn't make it either! He went in to put her to bed and didn't come out! I went in to check on him and he was snoring right along with her. He did come out to play games and give me a smooch at midnight. Camy and Will stayed up the whole time and probably could have stayed up later, but the old folks were ready to crash. It was a sweet time visiting with my family and loving on my nephew. I'm so thankful for each and every one of them!!
The first night at my dad's the kiddos had to have a slumber party and watch the Lorax
Christmas at Mamaw's! More toys than any kid should have!
Hadley being the doctor
Best Buddies
Dad and Chris
Loving on Daddy
Hadley loving on Papaw!
The three amigos
Mamaw making noise makers with the kids for New Year's Eve
Too much fun with stick-on mustaches!
Katie workin that mustache
Camy being an Angry Bird
Josh about to pick Katie's nose
Friday, January 4, 2013
An Adoption Blessing
I have so much to blog about, Christmas, New Year's, and Camy's 4th birthday, but I have another story to tell tonight. When we got home from Kentucky this past Tuesday and started going through the mail we got a letter from an unfamiliar address. Inside the letter was a Christmas card featuring the cutest little baby girl, a letter, and a $100 bill. As I started to read the letter, my children were going crazy after being in the car for four and half hours, the dog was running everywhere and Josh was unloading the car. Everything seemed to fade as I looked at the words written to us from people we have never even met.
This precious family had gotten our names from a friend at church, as a family in the process of adopting. In 2011 they lost three sweet babies through miscarriage. I can't imagine the heartache and grief and questions they must have had. During that time they found peace in knowing their babies were with the Lord and he was their "forever family". The comfort they found in this truth led them to think about children that are orphaned on earth. Back when they began their journey to have a family they attended some adoption classes and learned a lot about adoption and the cost associated. As a way to remember their children's lives were here and were a blessing they decided to support three families and help give three children forever families here on earth. God is so big, he turned 3 into 7, so this precious family blessed us AND six other families!!
This is a 100% God story. God is sovereign and only He knows why he chose to call those babies home. I can't pretend to understand this, but I do know they are in the very best place there is or ever will be. However, I am sure that He has done a mighty work in this family through their losses and the gift they were able to give us (and six other families), was just the tip of the iceberg in His plan for them. To me the most amazing thing about this story is the strength He gave this family. They lost three children in one year. You are allowed to be depressed and grieve for these children. No one expects you to think of others. Your heart is broken. But the words written in this letter are not words of crushed people, they are words of those who "Are more than conquerors in Christ Jesus." They KNOW where their kids are. They are so confident in their God, it made them think of other children who don't have a "forever family" and call themselves blessed. If that is not the Holy Spirit I don't know what is. What a testimony of faith. What an encouragement and blessing to us. In this time of transition for us it has been easy to get discouraged, frustrated, and anxious for what our future holds and when our child will be in our arms. What a gift from the Lord to start January 1, 2013 with this example of faith and demonstration of His love. We are humbled and undeserving, but oh so thankful.
This precious family had gotten our names from a friend at church, as a family in the process of adopting. In 2011 they lost three sweet babies through miscarriage. I can't imagine the heartache and grief and questions they must have had. During that time they found peace in knowing their babies were with the Lord and he was their "forever family". The comfort they found in this truth led them to think about children that are orphaned on earth. Back when they began their journey to have a family they attended some adoption classes and learned a lot about adoption and the cost associated. As a way to remember their children's lives were here and were a blessing they decided to support three families and help give three children forever families here on earth. God is so big, he turned 3 into 7, so this precious family blessed us AND six other families!!
This is a 100% God story. God is sovereign and only He knows why he chose to call those babies home. I can't pretend to understand this, but I do know they are in the very best place there is or ever will be. However, I am sure that He has done a mighty work in this family through their losses and the gift they were able to give us (and six other families), was just the tip of the iceberg in His plan for them. To me the most amazing thing about this story is the strength He gave this family. They lost three children in one year. You are allowed to be depressed and grieve for these children. No one expects you to think of others. Your heart is broken. But the words written in this letter are not words of crushed people, they are words of those who "Are more than conquerors in Christ Jesus." They KNOW where their kids are. They are so confident in their God, it made them think of other children who don't have a "forever family" and call themselves blessed. If that is not the Holy Spirit I don't know what is. What a testimony of faith. What an encouragement and blessing to us. In this time of transition for us it has been easy to get discouraged, frustrated, and anxious for what our future holds and when our child will be in our arms. What a gift from the Lord to start January 1, 2013 with this example of faith and demonstration of His love. We are humbled and undeserving, but oh so thankful.
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
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