In Awe...

We got some great news today.....

SHAOHANNAH'S HOPE GRANT - $4500!!!!

God has provided in HUGE ways this weekend through some other generous gifts given, and we are continuing to be amazed!

The tears have been flowing alot today, the good kind of tears. We are so thankful!

http://www.showhope.org/

Grace....

Today's sermon at church was about the grace of God.  The meaning of grace was given as this:  God's gift to us that we don't deserve.  It's hard for me not to focus on our baby girl, Grace, when I hear about God's grace.  She is definitely a true picture of God's grace in our lives, as we feel that she is a gift to us that we don't deserve.  We are honored to bring this precious one into our family, and experience God's grace through her life, once again, as we have experienced through the blessing of each of our children! 

Another way that God has shown his grace to us, this week, is through provision!  We received a grant from a local fund raising agency, who raises funds once a year for local Christian families, who are adopting children with special needs.  We received $1750 towards our adoption!!!  The funds raised were split between 9 families to help 13 children come home to their forever families!  I must confess, that I have really struggled the past month, trying to figure out where on earth the funding is going to come from.  I have stacks of paper, as I have sat number crunching and trying to figure out how "we" are gonna get this done!  God has provided through EVERY single step of this process, and yet, when I know more money is due, I start to fret and worry, and yet He provides again.  This is a very humbling place to be in, and I'm so grateful to see His hand guiding us, even when I try to take it back and figure it all out on my own.  We have a huge chunk left to go, and I am commited to quit worrying, and allow God to continue to provide for what He has called us to do.  Thank you, Lord Jesus, for continuing to show up, even when I think we can't possibly be blessed again!  We are so undeserving, yet so grateful!

I know many of you have prayed with us, and given, as God has blessed you, and we just want you to know how much it means to us to be surrounded by people who love us, but more importantly love God, and know how very much the Orphan means to God's heart!  Thank you for helping us bring one of the 143 million orphans home to love and care for.  Gracie is soon to be an Orphan NO MORE!!

So if you know me, and you ever tell me that you could never afford international adoption..... be warned!  :o)  There is NO way that we could ever afford to do this on our own, either.  We are commited to what God has called us to do and I will remind you what a great big God we have, who will do more than we can ever ask or imagine! 

We got SNOW today!! Before I could get outside with the camera, the kids had cleared the grass and made an adorable snowman!  We are hoping for more snow tonight and either a 2 hour delay, or maybe, to the kids' delight, a cancelled day of school tomorrow!

I-800 Approval!

We are so stinkin' close.... we got I-800 approval in the mail today, it was approved on November 16th!!!  Once again, another step has gone WAY faster than we were quoted, and we are flying through this process!  Gracie... we are coming!  Just hang on a little bit longer, baby girl!

Next step.... Article 5!  Stay tuned.....

Gotcha Day!

One of the joys of adoption, is that we get to celebrate, every year, the day our babies came home to us!  This day is almost as special to us as their birthday!  It's the day our family was born, and this day, 12 years ago, we became parents for the first time!  I will NEVER forget the anticipation that I was feeling that day!  Brad travelled to LA to pick up Caleb, where he had been escorted to from South Korea by a business man who was travelling.  Brad never got to meet the man who brought Caleb over, as he had a connecting flight and wasn't able to wait for Caleb to go through customs.   When Caleb finally came through and was handed off to Brad, we finally could breathe a sigh of relief!  He was finally "home"!  Only 2 flights left to go for Mommy to finally get to meet my baby boy!  Caleb's homecoming was a GREAT time of celebration, with most of our family being there, and many of our church family, who couldn't wait for us to become parents!  We had a HUGE party at the airport, all waiting at the gate for Caleb and Brad to step off the plane!  I was even allowed to meet them at the door of the plane..... this was all pre 9/11 security.   We love taking the time every year to remember these special days for our family!

Caleb, we are so very proud of you, and are thrilled to see the young man you are becoming!  This past year, we have seen so much growth, and have seen your relationship with the Lord begin to take off.  We are so honored to be called your parents, and pray that you will continue to grow in the Lord and become the man he wants you to be!  We are so very grateful for your life and to God who had a vision for our family, that we never imagined, and that we wouldn't trade for the world!  We are also thankful  for your birthmother, who chose to give you life! 

A little cuteness!

I haven't updated in forever, other than adoption news, which has still been a while ago!  I never shared pictures from our halloween, so I thought I'd share of little cuteness this morning!

We had our beautiful Snow White!

Our referee....

and our army guy carrying a nerf gun!  (Thanks to Ben and Emily bailing us out with a last minute costume for a boy who couldn't decide if he was too old to dress up, or not!)

Can't wait to add one more princess to this mix next year!  I often wonder what she will think of all the craziness that goes on in this house! 

We had a sweet family come to our door with their beautiful Chinese daughter, who was trick-or-treating for the very first time!  She was adorable, and has been home for only a few months!  I love how God brings people into our path who are on the same journey as we are!







30 Days of Giveaways!

If you like giveaways and free stuff (who doesn't???), go check out Stefanie's blog to see how you can win some awesome prizes, just in time for the holidays! Even if you don't enter, go read a little of her blog, and I promise you'll be inspired! She's an amazing mother of 9, with one more on the way!

LOA!!!

Three little letters...... bug HUGE deal!  We are thrilled that we are 8-12 weeks away from bringing our sweet Gracie home!!  We are getting so very close.......