Happy Fall!!

I love my family!! I have such good boys!!! I am truly blessed!!! This time next year Olivia Grace will be with us!!

New Pics of Olivia!!! (Favorite Photo Friday)

This is her with her birthday cake!!

She's Standing! (The orphanage director said she fell recently and scraped her cheek learning to walk)

She's so beautiful!

 Love it!!

Thank you Lord for all of your blessings!!

PS. Can't stop listening to the song "So Far to Find You" from Casting Crowns!! Check it out!!

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!!

Dear Olivia Grace,

Today is your very first birthday.  Today has been a harder day for me.  I have been kind of feeling sorry for myself lately.  I want you here with us!! I am not a very patient person.. But I realize that God's timing is perfect.  It's not what I want but what HE wants.. But I am human.. I have realized lately that I am missing lots of your "firsts".  However, a sweet lady reminded me that when your birthday comes around again... You WILL be with your family FOREVER...This will be your last birthday without us.  We will experience so many more of your "firsts" together.

This morning Jackson ran down the stairs and began singing Happy Birthday to You... He was so excited.. Benjamin is pretty much like, "Are we not going to get her today?  Today's her birthday Mama... Call China and tell them we are coming to get her."  Trying to explain why we can't come get you yet to a 3 year old is hard.

Today at work, one of my friends and coworker brought a cake that said, "Happy Birthday Olivia Grace." It meant so much to me.  I am surrounded by such great people.  I hope you enjoyed your present and your cake we sent to you.. I pray someone at the orphanage held you extra close today and whispered to you that your family is coming soon.

You are always on my mind and I pray for you many times each day.  We love you so very much and wish you a Happy Birthday!!

Love,

Your Mama

Until Forever

Until Forever by Tom Fisher

This morning in China a mother cries
She'll never forget her daughter's eyes
Her heart is broken and filled with pain
The tears run down like the falling rain.
She has no choice but to leave her there
The cost of keeping is too much to bear
She hopes her daughter will one day know
True love can be found in letting go.

This morning in China a baby cries
Hungry and scared as tears fill her eyes
Her mother has left herin this public place
Another lost daughter of the Chinese race.
Someone passing by has heard her soft moan
She's soon quickly taken to a foster home
It's there she'll reside in the care of another
Until she's adopted by a brand new mother.

That very same moment, in the U.S.A.
A woman cries as she starts to pray
Her heart is heavy but filled with much love
She prays for a daughter she thinks the world of.
"Dear Jesus I ask that your arms would be
Wrapped tightly around the one picked for me
Guard her in China 'till I make my way
And then in my arms forever she'll stay."

Tom Fisher

 

We love you Olivia Grace!!

 

Your Forever Family

Introducing our daughter, Olivia Grace...

Here she is....                      This was her referral Picture!!

And here she was a couple of weeks ago...


The only word I can think of is LOVE!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Decision-Part 2

I want to fast forward to this past August 30.  I received a text message from a friend of mine.  She saw a little girl on the rainbow kids website and thought of us.  She was one of the few people who knew we had been praying about adopting.  Her exact words were "is this your little girl?"  To be honest, I just about dropped the phone.  Chris was out of town and I didn't know what to do.  I could not wait until I got home to look at her face.  When I did see her face, I felt a huge tug toward her.  I thought, "huh oh."  I asked for her file the next day to review it.  Keep in mind Chris would not be home for another two days.  When he did get home, I told him I needed to show him something.  That night we talked and prayed for about 4-5 hours and decided to proceed with the adoption.  We felt God was moving in a mighty powerful way and we would follow him wherever he would lead.  The next day I emailed the agency and they responded, "I am sorry but her file was "locked" by another agency.  We were beyond devastated.  They told us we needed to wait 72 hours to see if her file became available again.  On the following Monday, we received an email stating, "Congratulations" that they had locked her file.. The very next day I received another email stating that for some reason a "hold" instead of a "lock" was placed on her file. Her file was on a shared list between many adoption agencies.  To say I was upset would have been an understatment.  The adoption agency asked if we wanted them to find another child for us or if we wanted to wait to see if she would become available again.  We said without hesitation we wanted to see if her file would become available again.  For some reason we just knew this beautiful little girl was our little girl.  Exactly 72 hours later her file, the little girl we prayed over and asked God for his guidance became available and she was officially "locked" for us.  PRAISE THE LORD! 

Sunday Snapshot

This is Sunday at Mawmaw's House!!! We love to eat some good ole Southern food at Mawmaws... But what we really love is being together!!! This is a picture of my two sons, Elisha, my nephew, and my awesome cousin, Hillary.  Just cant express how much I love Sundays!!









<center><a href="http://nihaoyall.com/" target="self"><img alt="Sunday Snapshot" src="http://i56.tinypic.com/jpvipj.jpg" /></a></center>

The Decision-Part 1

About a year and half ago, I went and stayed with one of my best friends who had just recently given birth to twin girls.  That night I rocked one little girl on my lap and and had another one in my arms. As I looked into their beautiful eyes, I prayed Lord do you want me to get pregnant again?  I wondered if I could go through all of that again (I had terrible pregnancies)?  That night I thought, maybe I should just get pregnant again.  The very next day I went and did an IEP meeting for another speech therapist at another school who was out with surgery.  I had never met the student or his family. As we began the meeting, the mom asked if I cared if her children came in the room during the meeting.  I said sure. The next thing I knew I was surrounded by 5 children she had adopted from China.  I thought, Ok God, is that a slap you in the face kind of sign?  I went home and talked to my husband.  I told him that I think God wants us to adopt a child from China.  I wish you could of seen his face.  Let's just say he wasn't initially as on board as I was.  We decided that night we would just continue to pray for his guidance.  We were so very thankful for our two boys.  HE had blessed us beyond belief.  We were just so scared at this point and wanted to be sure that this was what HE really wanted for our lives.  I believe looking back he began planting this seed at the Awakening and he continued to water and grow this love and need to help the orphans of the world throughout the next three years.

“We witness a miracle every time a child enters into life.  But those who make their journey home across time and miles, growing within the hearts of those who wait to love them, are carried on the wings of destiny and placed among us by God’s very own hands.”  Anonymous

The Call

I am beginning this blog to help document this CRAZY journey of adoption.  I guess I need to start at the beginning.  About three years ago we had an old fashioned tent revival at our church.  We called it The Awakening.  The speaker there had adopted from China and spoke about his adoption.  I felt a tug on my heart as I watched the pictures of the baby girls in China.  So instead we sponsored a child!! Then we began to pray about adoption and asked God to lead us in the direction he would have us go.. Everyone who knows me, knows I want a little girl.  But I didn't want to do this because I wanted a little girl but I wanted to follow God's path for our lives.  I want this blog to be something our little girl can look at as the years go by and know that she may not have been born under my heart but she was definately born in it!!!!!!!!!!!  We love you Olivia Grace!!!

(More to Come Later)          This is a picture of my boys!!!

Jackson and Benjamin 2011 Beach Trip