And God Grew a Family....Part 2

My days and nights were turned and 3am Monday morning seemed to be my internal wake up call.  

There is nothing quite like waking up with your beautiful family sleeping soundly around the room.  

I looked at each of their slumbering faces to insure the previous day was not simply a fabulous dream.  

My twelve year olds were awake early and ready for some art projects.

After a fabulous breakfast

we went into town,

 visited Aaron's school,

and went to a fabulous Filipino restaurant!!

I truly cannot say enough good things about Aaron's orphanage!!
Every moment we spent with them allowed us to see their hearts for the children they serve
and their love of Christ!!

Monday afternoon they gave us the privilege of sharing our journey to Aaron with the staff!
You see, they give of themselves daily for these wonderful children, and then hand them into the arms of their forever family.
Rarely are they able to hear all the adoptive family went through before arriving there.
And in our case, all the obstacles that God used to show himself strong!!

We were able to share the love that God grew in our hearts for Aaron.
And tried to express our thankfulness for all they have done in raising Aaron
to be the young man he is today!!!

Our kids took a play break as we prepared for a very special shopping trip.

There were a few things that we had been praying much about before traveling to Aaron. 

1.  That God would prepare Aaron's heart for our arrival...Check!

2.  That our entire family could travel to get Aaron.  This has been a three year process and our girls have been through all the ups and downs with us on this journey.  It was so very important that they be with us when we welcomed Aaron into our family!!  I will not share all the details here...but in the 11th hour, God provided exactly what we needed, at the exact time we needed it to book our flights...Check!!!

3.  We wanted so very much to be able to bless the orphanage with supplies while we were there!!  We were able to collect some generous donation of vitamins, dental items, soaps, lotions, etc.  But my heart longed to somehow do more.  Two days before we were to travel, God did the miraculous once again!!        He provided a sum of money that would allow us to stock the orphanage shelves for several months!!!  

God didn't need us to bless the orphanage.  He knows what they need and will provide.  

But HE blessed us, by allowing us to be a part of HIS blessing to them!!  

How very humbling it is when God allows us to be HIS hands and feet!  

Ready to get our shopping groove on!!

It is difficult to see as we had carts EVERYWHERE...

But a few hours later...

and with many hard workers...

We were able to fill nine carts of food, diapers, formula, laundry detergent...

And then...we were able to buy volleyball net with ball, and basketball net with ball!!!!

The next day there was the purchase of 6 bags of rice and 2 large propane tanks for cooking!!

Please understand that this had nothing to do with us....

and everything to do with HIM!!!  

I do not share this to toot our horn and say look at what we did.  

The fabulous thing about our entire journey is that

WE HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO DO ANY OF IT WITHOUT GOD'S GRACIOUS INTERVENTION!!!!

All praise, all glory, and all honor goes to Christ alone!!!

And God Grew a Family...Part 1

Let me just sit here and shout for a few minutes!!!!

Ok, I may be able to go on now:) 

God is sooo very faithful and I have spent so many nights (up from Jet Lag) 

overwhelmed with thankfulness for all that HE has done in our lives!!!!

I failed at keeping ya'll informed with updates and for that I am truly sorry. 

I am sure you can forgive me when you see that I was preoccupied with 

the handsome addition to our family!!! 

Yep, I have been guilty of just staring at him at times:) 

In awe that God has brought this sweet boy to us as only HE can!!!

I know you are anxious for photos, so I mix my tale with those:)

We left for our 24 hour journey on January 18th!

I am so proud of our children who handled the LONG flights with grace!!

(it does help that there are unlimited movies on international flights)

We landed in Manila at 10:30pm Saturday their time and got through immigration around midnight.

We were so very blessed to be able to go directly to Aaron's orphanage 

and arrived there around 2am Sunday morning.  

We were given a beautiful room to stay in 

and the exciting news that we could see Aaron in just a few hours....at 7am.

Of course this Mama DID NOT SLEEP!!!

This was my first glimpse of my sweet boy in person and I could not wait to get my arms around him!!!

  We took a few photos, had breakfast, and were blessed to visit Aaron's church that morning!!!!

(I wanted so very much to be able to attend church with Aaron and his orphanage family!!!

God granted us that special blessing just because He can!!)

After church we went to Aaron's favorite pizza place.

(can you see the beautiful volcanos behind them??)

Later we went to a pool and got our splash on!!

We played

And just enjoyed time as a family!!!

(can you see that one of us was dry....

the water was freezing and I was so not going in there!

someone had to take some photos...right???)

Sunday evening was by far one of my favorite memories from Aaron's wonderful orphanage!!!

When we returned from the pool we found children and staff out in the play yard.  

Everyone was playing and laughing.  Some played backyard style volleyball, some jumped on a trampoline, and others ran playing tag.  

We were welcomed into their family and played with the children until our hearts were full!!  

We could not miss the love and joy in the atmosphere!!

We played hard and laughed much!!!

Later we relaxed with a movie before bed.

I wish I had words to express the overflowing love that we have for our son!!  

I wish I could adequately express to the world that wether from your womb or through the gift of adoption...God puts the lonely in families and creates a love and bond that cannot be replaced by anything this world has to offer. 

I wish I could explain just how my much I adore each of our children...even if some have been with us longer than others...and some I have never held as an infant.  

Maybe if my words cannot express it...the sparkle in our eyes will tell the tale!!

TWO WEEKS!!!!!!!

My heart is overflowing with thanksgiving and excitement!!

We are just  2 WEEKS away from travel to the Philippines!!!!

How do you put emotions into words when you have been waiting so very long, 

when God has walked you through EVERY SINGLE up and down,

when you are soon to wrap you arms around your "baby boy"??

How do you begin to express your joy over your family of 4... becoming a family of 5??

How can I adequately express my mama's heart when my son tells me  

"I love you mommy, I am ready to come home" over Skype??

How can I express my gratitude to the many that have walked this journey with us...

praying, encouraging, rejoicing, and crying with us??

How do I begin to thank my heavenly father for putting adoption on our hearts, 

and leading us to the son HE hand picked for our family??  

All I can say is...

GOD

IS

TRUELY

AWESOME!!

Oh Christmas Tree

I love everything about Christmas!!

I love celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior,

I love singing Christmas carols,

I love decorating,

I love baking,

and I love the bustle of shopping.  

Yep, as far as I am concerned, it is indeed 

"The Most Wonderful Time Of the Year"!!

On Saturday December 1st we set out to find a tree.

In years past that equaled going to a tree farm, selecting just the right one, hubby using his mean sawing skills with girls giggling and dancing about, and dragging the tree through the snow to measure, pay, and transport it home.

(Christmas 2005)

Since living in the south...we have had to adapt this tradition quite a bit:)

Our first year in NC...
There was no snow:)
 We called around to find a farm that told us we could cut our own,
drove over an hour to said farm, was even handed a saw by mrs. tree farmer...
just to gaze out over a field of charlie brown trees that didn't even reach Kylee's waist:(

So we walked back to the entrance of the farm and picked a precut tree off the lot
(2009)

 From that time on we started a new tradition...
going to the farmer's market to pick out a tree.

THIS YEAR, 2012, we were off to the market again:)

As soon as we entered the first lot my hubby pointed one out...A GINORMOUS ONE!!

Of course it took the girls no time at all to fall in love with that one!!

But I asked them to humor me and see if there was a smaller/cheaper tree that we might find.

We looked the lot over and came back to this one.
Mr. Tree Farmer gave us a good discount so this big boy came home with us!!

It took hubby and a kind neighbor to get the tree into the house.

We started with a small step ladder and then decided it was time to bring in the big guns!!

You really cannot spend much time around this clan before the sillies start coming out!

Our oldest decided that since the tree was so big...

EVERY ornament needed to be placed on the tree this year!!

And then...as God's perfect timing would have it...we were able to face time with Aaron so he could share in our festive night!!

Showing Aaron the penguin stocking he picked out for him!
(yes, I tried to talk our family into changing tradition
 for beautiful stockings with names monogrammed on them...
they were not having it.)

Thank you Lord...we are overwhelmed by the countless blessings
YOU shower on us each and every day!!!

...for this is God's will for me

There is nothing better than basking in the presence of God!

There are times when I am crying out to my father God about a particular situation.  

And in those moment I find peace for my soul.

But my favorite times are when I am overwhelmed with thankfulness...
thankfulness for who HE is,
what HE has done,
 that HE loves me,
 and the intentions of HIS heart for me are steadfast and forever!!

This Wednesday night, at our House of Prayer, our worship pastor spoke briefly on ThanksLIVING.  

Basically we all put on our thankful hats for the Thanksgiving season.  

And then somewhere between the Christmas crazies and new year resolutions gone bad...

we lose that thankful heart.  

There are numerous references in the bible that clearly state 

that we are to be thankful in all circumstances.  

I may have had a beautiful typed list of said verses that I misplaced following the service.

I will blame it on the 3 hours sleep I had the night before:)  

A verse we all love to miss use is

...all things work together for the good of those who love God...

We love to think that if we love God he will take all our bad circumstances 

and change them to good.  

But that is not what Romans 8:28 speaks of.

It means that God will take the good and the bad situations and use each of those to grow us and mold us for our good.    

There was another verse that struck a cord with me.  

1 Thessalonians 5:18 says...

Give thanks in all circumstances,

for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.  

In the past I had read the verse to say that God's will is for us to give thanks.  

When I looked at it this week...

I realized that where we are right now in our adoption journey...is God's will for us.  

I know that seems like common sense.  Of course it is God's will for us.  We have been praying for God to bring us the right child, we have be walking in faith, and trust God to open and close doors.  

But the timeline...and the so called "delays" that don't make sense...they are God's will for us RIGHT NOW in this leg of the journey.

In this season, God is asking us to rejoice for others who are traveling to their treasures.

HE is asking us to be thankful for our timeline.

He is asking us to give thanks for when it hurts and when it is all smooth sailing.

So today, I am choosing a thankful heart!

I am thankful for my partner, my lover, and best friend!!

I am thankful for my beautiful girls that have a heart for Jesus!!

I am thankful that this sweet boy knows he has a family and that we are coming for him soon!!

Today I am thankful that THIS is God's will for ME~

God's Timing

If you have already walked or are in the process of walking the adoption road, 

you are very familiar with the waiting game.  

Many good things in life require waiting.  

But there is something so very raw when it comes to waiting for children.  

Some have experienced loss of a child and/or infertility.  

Some have experienced being matched only to have the adoption fall through.  

And sometimes it is just the raw feeling of lost time.  

(the feeling of urgency to get your loved treasure into a loving family 

and not have them spend another day in an institution or foster home.)

Whatever the circumstances....waiting for children is just plain hard!

I cannot tell you how many times I have been told, "Oh dear, you are pregnant!" 

(meaning you are adopting)

And all I want to do, with my sweetest smile in place, is say, "Yes, I have been pregnant for almost three years now... I am ready for the 'pregnancy' to be over!!"
A gal can take just so such false labor and muscle ache:)

But the truth remains.  God's timing is perfect!  

I have been guilty of saying that we are "experiencing delays" throughout this journey.  

It was gently brought to my attention again this week that there are no DELAYS in God's plan.

My timeline has been changed, disrupted, and delayed.

BUT God's timeline is still running strong and will arrive right on time!!

We have been praying and believing for our sweet boy to be home by Christmas.

We serve an amazing God that has Aaron's (and our) best interest at heart.

NOTHING is impossible with God and HE is more than able to grant us the desire of our heart!

The only thing remaining for Aaron to come home is a medical and visa appointment.
But we have learned throughout this journey that the timing is NOT in our hands.

I keep saying that we are so very close that I can taste the Lumpia (Filipino spring rolls).

No matter the day or hour of our travel...We know that our heavenly Father has it all orchestrated for HIS plan and purpose.

And Then She Was Twelve

When did it happen?  

This gorgeous little pumpkin,

seen here on her forever family day (when her adoption was finalized) in 2006... 

 turned 12 years old!!

As much as I would love to keep her young, 

she is determined to grow up and blossom into a beautiful young lady!!

(she doesn't wear glasses...they are purely for the fashion factor)

Because I have been sick she told me that I could simply make a box cake this year.  

I said, "Bite your tongue sweet girl...

no sickness is going to convince me not to make you a homemade cake!"

I was relieved that she was not looking for a cake boss knock off this year:)  

She settled for a simple red velvet with cream cheese frosting.  

And there were sparklers and horses for an additional flare!

Happy Birthday baby girl!!  

May you draw closer to your heavenly father with each passing year!!