Wonder, Hope & Dreams!

"A new baby is like the beginning of all things - wonder, hope, a dream of possibilities."
~ Eda J. Le Shan



Hello friends,

We are still over the moon with excitement here in our house! And I still have my moments where I just start shaking with excitement and the tears just start flowing and I just fall to my knees in thanks. It is an indescribable feeling to know that Allie is finally coming home . . . a mixture of complete joy, excitement, nervousness, thankfulness and the bittersweetness of knowing that Jacob is not here physically to join in the celebrations. But to know that our dream of adopting is finally becoming a reality is just an overwhelmingly, amazing feeling.

The shock of receiving the OUT OF PGN call is slowly sinking in and we are hitting the panic mode in preparing for Allie's arrival. My heart had been so guarded during this whole process that I had not bought one thing for the baby! So as you can imagine - yesterday was a HUGE shopping day at my house. Can I just tell you what a thrill it was to buy PINK?? And to buy DRESSES?? And to buy BABY CLOTHES?? It was absolutely delightful! And the boys are so funny - because they came with me and are so into shopping for Allie. They each picked an outfit for her, too, and had me laughing hysterically with their discussions of girl clothes. It doubles the joy in my heart to see them so excited as well. So please humor me for a moment as I share some pictures from our shopping day . .

Just a few of the outfits for Allie. And a big thanks to Grandmom who bought most of them!
These are the outfits the boys picked out for Allie. They were so excited to get them.

And my mom ordered this bathing suit - I just love it - definitely one of my favorites!

We have much to do to prepare our home for a baby, so we will be busy for the next couple of weeks as we plan a nursery, baby-proof the house and prepare to travel to Guatemala! My head is already spinning with so much to do and I have a feeling I'm going to hit my stressed zone - but please don't think for a minute I am complaining . . . this is the BEST kind of stressed and I am thrilled to death to finally be getting things ready so we can bring Allie home.

We are going to take the boys with us on the pick-up-trip to Guatemala. Everyone has their passports and they are so excited. It should be a great adventure for all of us. Of course the grandparents are coming along, too. And we are thrilled that our family will be with us to meet Allie for the first time - what a wonderful moment that will be. She is already loved so much by all of us. We hope to bring Allie home next month - but we could still run into minor delays that could push her homecoming into September. But the important thing is that Allie is coming home soon!

Thank you so much for sharing our excitement. Good news is always better when you have someone to share it with - and I was so excited to share it with all of you. I am so honored that you continue to journey through life with us. What an adventure it has been - full of the highest highs and the lowest lows - yet you are always right here by our side - laughing and crying with us and cheering us on. You have blessed us greatly! Thanks, too, for taking the time to leave a comment. It is always exciting to find a new comment - to know that someone is out there and I'm not just "talking" to myself! :)

"Friendships multiply JOYS and divide GRIEF. "
Thomas Fuller

Thank you, my friends, for multiplying our joys and dividing our grief! And I ask that you please continue your prayers for Allie. My prayers have shifted this week as I think about her homecoming. I am praying persistently for her foster mother who has taken care of Allie for the past 5 months. How amazing this woman is . . . and I pray that God fills her heart with peace when the time comes to give Allie to us. I am also thinking of Allie's birth mother as she must sign off on the baby for the 4th and final time this week. Can you imagine what a selfless act of love it must be for her to give up her child in the hopes of it having a better life? I am forever thankful to her for giving us such a beautiful gift in Allie. And I am praying without ceasing for Allie . . . that this adjustment into our family is easy on her. That she knows me as her mother and Donnie as her father - that she knows she is loved. I pray that she is happy - and that she won't mind 3 eager boys in her face all the time! :) Please join me in praying during this final stage of the adoption. So many hearts are touched and together the birth mother, foster mother and I are bonded through this child. Pray for all of us as it is definitely an emotional time for everyone.

In spite of all the excitement around here - we did have have a fun week! The boys and I have been learning about Guatemala and I have showed them pics of the volcano there. So we decided to make a volcano this week - although it was a big letdown because the guys thought it was going to EXPLODE and all it did was fizz. But it was fun to make - and if anyone knows how to make a good exploding volcano - leave a comment and let me know how! Here are the boys making our volcano . .

Then we went to Busch Gardens today. I had promised the boys we would go before getting the OUT call - otherwise I probably would have gone shopping again today. :) But we had a great time and I'm so glad we went. I am treasuring these days with just my boys - as I know it will come to an end all too soon when school starts.

I'll update again when I find a free moment - or when I get too stressed to function and need to take a "writing break." :)

Ending with a scripture . . . a little longer than usual, but it really hits home with me tonight in so many ways. It reminds me of adoption and Allie. It reminds me of Jacob because I think of him as Allie's angel. It reminds me that God loves ALL of us more than we could ever imagine!

"At that time the disciples came to Jesus. They asked him, "Who is the most important person in the kingdom of heaven?" Jesus called a little child over to him. He had the child stand among them. Jesus said, "What I'm about to tell you is true. You need to change and become like little children. If you don't, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Anyone who becomes as free of pride as this child is the most important in the kingdom of heaven. "Anyone who welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. "See that you don't look down on one of these little ones. Here is what I tell you. Their angels in heaven can go at any time to see my Father who is in heaven. "What do you think? Suppose a man owns 100 sheep and one of them wanders away. Won't he leave the 99 sheep on the hills? Won't he go and look for the one that wandered off? What I'm about to tell you is true. If he finds that sheep, he is happier about the one than about the 99 that didn't wander off. It is the same with your Father in heaven. He does not want any of these little ones to be lost."
Matthew 18:1-5,10-14

Reaching for that child-like faith,