2011/2012

Last year, at this time and for the next three months, we were DAILY hearing about adoption... DAILY!!! It was as if you had a headache and you asked your kids to stop being so loud but it kept on going to where even though you had your ears covered...you could still hear them screaming!!! Yes, we were BOTH like that parent with our ears covered praying that the voice that we heard wasn't REALLY telling US to adopt!!! HOW COULD WE!?!?!? First, we already had our hands full! We had a wedding coming up to help pay for! We had three of our family members going on international missions trips! We aren't in the best living conditions for a FAMILY!!!! SURELY THAT ONE would do it for dismissing US!!!????

THEN lots of things started melting our hearts to remind us that all of those things were so earthly minded, even selfish, and we should at least check it out. DAILY more and more things happened until one Sunday on March 20th...my life was completely utterly changed! I haven't cried heaving cries like i did in those first days...and for that long...EVER! Constance on Reece's Rainbow rocked my world! Then there was Robert, Josephine, Oscar & Christine & Charity!!! Every day there was a new face that gripped my very broken heart! Every one of these children now either are in a family or are on their way to a family! We have prayed daily on FB for almost THREE HUNDRED children with Down Syndrome to have a family!!!! At least 66 of those children have been brought into families or are being brought into families in the process of being adopted this year!

It was one of the hardest things ever to choose a child...much begging for wisdom and asking for prayer! THEN we had been waiting and waiting for a little girl...since of course that would be what we should do since we knew how to parent a girl...another little boy changed my heart- Danny! He was the boy who melted my heart into knowing that we could definitely say yes to WHATEVER sex God chose for us....his Mom and Dad will be meeting him for the first time in just hours!!! They were the family that went over to our son's country after we were there!!! God is amazing!

We were sent write ups with pictures of the boys that were left that had DS that were needing to be adopted. Landon was being heartily talked about.....and now HE has a family that is coming for him! Ethan was talked about next and as we were about to say yes to him... a little girl came up that was in the age that we were wanting...she looked just like me...she was precious... her name was Joanna....and we even talked about adopting BOTH of them!!! Joanna has a family coming for her!!! We finally decided on Ethan and oh my goodness!

PAPERWORK is all that happened with the adoption next...that and fund raising for the adoption!

THEN our Ally left!!! For FIVE WEEKS!!! She came back a young lady who was different...wanting more to be like Christ and really so unconcerned with the things of the world! I was so proud of her!

THEN our Lizzie married her love...Nate in a beautiful wedding...she was absolutely stunning! It was a very blessed day! The Lord's face shone on them! They glorified the Lord even in their choice of music! Their love for each other and the Lord SHONE on their faces! They BOTH have a heart for the Lord, for each other, for missions, for children and even for adoption!!!

Our Victoria and Catherine GREW so much that many times we were using heating pads, medicine and massage to help them! Victoria is taller than the new couple! Catherine will not be far behind! The two of them have a HUGE heart for adoption! Catherine is the one who has a book full of each child that we have prayed for and Victoria reads MANY of the blogs of the families who are adopting!

Our precious Sophina...is told that she is adorable, cute, special, lovable, loved, and is kissed more than any other baby on earth...we cannot get enough of her white blond hair, beautiful blue eyes, and personality that just melts us! SHE IS LOVED and we still fight over who gets to get her out of her crib! Which actually led to our daughter Ally getting her knee very badly hurt...and still brings her daily pain.

THEN...we had fund raisers for our adoption and those fund raisers paid for our plane tickets!!! We were thrilled! After the night before as we talked on the phone with each other...saying, "well, we obviously will not be going until mid January at the earliest..." to only read the next morning that we were leaving in THREE WEEKS!!!

When we saw our son...he was a perfect match...God had chosen perfectly! We were both so grateful that the Lord led us to Ethan! A precious little boy who is as opposite in colorings as can be to his sister, Sophina!!! They will be beautiful and handsome! He is dark eyed...like his mother-that would be ME- with dark brown hair, again, like his mother! He was cuddly! If you know our family...oh my! Let's just say that we are SO VERY THANKFUL that that prayer was answered with a YES, he will be cuddly! He is ALL BOY!!! Well, my house will be completely changed for that! THINGS do not matter...people DO!!! May i say that again! God gave that to me a few months ago..... THINGS DO NOT MATTER---PEOPLE DO!!!!

I pray that the people in my world will not let that statement go but will chew on that and allow the Lord to work those words into changing their lives...YOUR life!!! YOUR family! I pray that YOU will be bold and ask the Lord to tell YOU what that means for YOUR life THIS YEAR of 2012!!! I pray that the Lord will break YOUR heart for something that will broaden YOUR FAITH, that will NOT DEPEND ON YOU ALONE but ONLY WITH GOD with YOU, and that the Lord will be able to melt that heart and bring down those hands that are covering those ears so you can hear His whisper as He asks YOU to move in FAITH!!!!

I cannot believe that i got to write all of this as it is 8am and again the children are sleeping! I am ALWAYS BLESSED...even on those days when the paperwork doesn't get into the mail when i SO DESPERATELY wanted it to...even on those VERY HARD days of loneliness...even on those hard days of parenting...even on the days when all looks hopeless....i am ALWAYS ALWAYS BLESSED! Connie for the crew... Ethan's family...soon to be joining us in this year of 2012