2000+

This week I wrote my 2000th post for Everything Beautiful and thought it a good time to remind myself and maybe others why I write/post every single day~

 The nine people in this photo make my world go round and count me as their memory keeper extraordinaire. Contrary to what some may believe, I do not blog to brag, impress, show off, have something to do, etc. I don't count my comments and decide it's worth by how many followers I have. 

I simply write to remember...

~ to record our most special family moments {even daily boring moments}...

~ for my big girls that aren't with us every single day and miss their siblings,

~ for the littles to look out as a reminder of what family is,

~ for my scrapbook which will be printed into a blog book each year,

~ a way for me to count blessings each and every day,

~ to share our adoption stories so maybe other families will believe it a true blessing and choose to bring home another orphan waiting!!!

To me there is no greater blessing than our children {through birth or adoption} and I choose to celebrate each of them every single day!

Psalm 127: 3-5 

 Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate. 

Maybe you wonder why I only write about the good things and maybe you even think our family/life is perfect. It is not... we have our ups and downs, disappointments, problems, and hurts and they have a profound impact on who we are as a family but not necessarily things to be recorded... we can usually remember the bad stuff without writing it down. It's the day to day stuff that kind of blurs all together as time passes if not recorded. It's our blessings that are to be counted~

 Look around you... I bet you can find 2000+ just like me!

 

James 1:17

Every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father who created all the lights in the heavens. He is always the same and never makes dark shadows by changing. 

Pigtails~

Around the House~

Everywhere I look, everyone is on a project~

 and making messy memories... 

{In one photo Evie mashed her finger~ poor baby!}

A Wonderful Wednesday Around the House! 

SJ~

This girl makes me smile ALL day long!

Clean Up Night~

Scott mentioned to Rosie about helping him clean up some of the tree pieces all over the yard so I decided everyone should help~

 AND help they did!!! SO well that we cleaned every single piece and the yard is back to normal!

 EK kept saying~ this is SO fun!

WP kept saying~ this is REALLY hard work! :)

How to reward such fun and hard work??? 

A night swim of course... Rosie even got in allowing Payne his first 'swim'... up until now he had only played on the side. He LOVED it... Evie not so much! The water is excruciatingly cold!! There is NO way I could stand it.

 

 

God is Powerful~

God woke me up this morning with a spring thunder storm... lightening popping and thunder shaking our house to the core. With every flash and boom, I heard Him saying 'Be still and know I am God!' 

 Scott had gotten up early to head to the barn to work and just as he stepped back into the house for a minute, the biggest boom of all sounded. Scared us both. As he went back out, he smelled smoke and noticed a very tall tree had been struck~

The top lay at the bottom and the middle splintered into pieces ALL through our yard even OVER the big garage into our driveway as well as a long piece floating in the pool. 

It now looks like we have our very own steeple pointing to heaven as if to say... Look UP to the only ONE that deserves our attention! Get your eyes on ME and only ME!

All I could think of when we saw the pieces was how Powerful God is and how small our problems are compared to Him.

SO powerful that HE would get our friends, The Osbornes, home safe and sound right before the storm hit. There was a very big crowd there waiting for them and all is well with their family~

Welcome home sweet Lily Hope!

 O Sovereign Lord! You have made the heavens and earth by Your great power. Nothing is too hard for You!" (Jeremiah 32:17).

 

A Sweet Reunion~

Once upon a time two boys lived @ Shepherd's Field in China together... foster brothers sharing a house, room, and spending pretty much all their life together.

Parts of their story can be found here and here.

A month or so ago, Greyson's mom Kim sent me a text to ask if we lived near Anderson, SC as they were coming to a football Jamboree... YES~ only 30 minutes away. We both squealed that we might be able to see each other during the trip. As time grew near, we decided she and the little kids would stay the night here while Greg and big boys would go to Jamboree. I think our greatest anticipation was to see how the boys reacted to each other... after all, it had been 18 months since we had left with WP. Last night as they came face to face it was as if they were meeting each other for the first time~

But in no time it was like they were right back where they had left off... kind of like subconsciously they still knew each other. It was the sweetest thing to watch and witness!

Today was a day full of playing and more playing~

  Our kids just clicked and got along so well~

 And the friendship between me and Kim is nothing short of God planned. How do you get past losing a child in the adoption process? 

Celebrate the miracle of God's 'BETTER' plan for His orphaned babies and in the midst He blesses us with an amazing friendship.

Today as we were saying our goodbyes, I scooped Greyson into my arms and tears slipped from my eyes... happy tears that he has his forever~

A Forever family and a forever brother!

A sweet reunion!!  

Already looking forward to our next time! 

Awards Day~

Evie, Scott, and I enjoyed Rosie's Awards Day this morning~

 She received the Georgia Merit of Excellence given by the University of Georgia for being in the top five percent of her class for the last three years. 

We couldn't be more proud of you Rosie and know you have a GREAT summer and senior year ahead of you!!!

Pooltime~

Today began what will be a summer of fun with 5 littles~

 Everyone had a ball until Sweet Evie~

Didn't get what she wanted so she had a sweet little fit...

that is until she got what she wanted.

Then she was sweet once again. :)

 

Lily Hope~ {BIG Update}

In my Inbox this morning~
{Hey! Yes we do serve a BIG God! We had our consulate appt this afternoon... Only about an hour notice( fastest I've ever gotten ready!) We completed paperwork and were sworn in. Now to wait for LH's visa. The consulate hopes to have all visas issued tomorrow. However , there are so many adopting families that they may not all be processed tomorrow. We are so grateful to be at this point. However, we must decide on flight plans by noon tomorrow. We still have our original plans as of now but if our visa doesn't come until Saturdsy, then our plans will need to change. Just pray that God gives us clarity in this soon so that we know what to do. To change our flight will be around $1,000.00. God is BIG and He's got this!!!! Love y'all sooooo much! 

No back to the original post...
Wanted to give an update on Melissa, Joey, Lyra Kate, and Lily Hope~

 Melissa says the girls have bonded so well and have fallen in love quickly~

 Lily Hope is happy, feisty, independent, SO loving, and adorable~

 It has been wonderful for them to be in Guangzhou this whole time giving LH lots of time to bond and attach with their family. They have visited lots of places~

 Lyra Kate has loved all the excitement and Lily Hope has stuck close to her new mama~

 They have figured out she LOVES ice cream and McDonald's!

Medical exam went well and LH was glad to be back with her mama once she had the yucky blood draw~

 Just look at all this sister love!

They had a Zoo Day and the girls loved that~

 One of the sweetest things was Melissa celebrating her first Mother's Day with two beautiful children in China~

 Just when things were going so well and almost near their consulate appointment, there was a facilities closing and all appointments were canceled. Word was sent today the consulate will be closed all week, plane tickets have been canceled, and they are not sure when their appointment will be rescheduled. Melissa and Joey are in great spirits and know this is not a surprise to God. He knew and is right there taking care of every detail. 

Here they are on Shamian Island~

 and the Botanical Gardens~

Melissa's words this morning~

"Thank you for your love and constant prayers! We are all comforted in knowing that people all over are praying for our group! When I look at this sweet face, I know that no matter what happens , it has all been worth it!!"

Please join our family in praying for all families affected by this closing and for the consulate workers that have a big job ahead of them to get this all sorted out in a timely manner.

{Isn't our God SO much greater than we realize? Went to bed last night praying for them to accept the situation and allow God to work. Well HE did and they are coming home!!!
TO GOD BE THE GLORY!!!!}