Adoption Blessings

Hello friends,

I can't thank you enough for sharing in our excitement about Allie coming home. Our whole family - from the boys to all the grandparents - are thrilled and we are anticipating Allie's arrival with so much joy. The boys are counting down the days (5 to go) and every conversation begins with, "When Allie comes home, we will . . ." They are so funny and can't wait to be big brothers. One thing for sure . . . Allie is going to be looked after well with her 3 brothers around. And of course we know one very amazing angel watching over her, too. This child will be smothered with LOVE!

We made our reservations. Unfortunately the boys will miss the entire first week of school because we couldn't find a flight out of here on Tuesday. So we are leaving Monday, August 20th and will arrive home Friday, August 24th. We look forward to this trip with nervous anticipation . . . and will be so glad when we are on the flight home with Allie on our lap!

I have to send out a BIG thank-you to Sarah! She is the mom of Sophie - who was also adopted from Guatemala - and she is the one who led us to our adoption agency and Allie! Needless to say she is very special to us! She has also been a wealth of information and advice and has helped us through each stage of this adoption. God definitely placed her in our life at just the right time and we are so grateful for all of her help.

I am still on my emotional roller coaster . . . so very excited yet nervous. And no doubt this will be another bittersweet time in our life. Our family has changed so much over the past year - but Donnie and I both agree that it is so much better to have our family increase than decrease. Please pray for all of us as we become a family of 6 once again. And pray for the foster and birth mother - as our hearts are forever bonded with this precious baby! And pray that God wraps Allie in His love and comfort as she transitions to our family. We understand that this might be hard on her at first - and we will do all we can to comfort her and let her know that she is loved.

Adoption is when a child grew in its mommy's heart instead of her tummy.
~Author Unknown

Children are a gift from God and adoption is such a blessing. I truly think adoption is a calling - and I'm so thankful that God put this calling in our hearts. It humbles us greatly to know that God is trusting us with this child to raise and love and we promise to do that just as we have done with our 4 boys. And throughout this adoption process I have often thought of how we are ALL adopted as well - by our Father in Heaven. He loves each of us more than we could ever imagine.

Ending with a scripture . . .

"God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding."
Ephesians 1:5-8

The nursery is just about done and I will share pictures of that soon. It turned out just the way I wanted . . . I love it! But for now - here are a few pictures from my baby shower. I am so thankful for each special, precious gift! There was a whole lotta PINK going on . . .

Nancy (my dad's wife), me, my mom and my mother-in-law. My friend, Rhonda (who hosted the shower) and I
My dad is from West Virginia so he is a huge WVU fan and he bought the baby lots of WVU outfits! We all have tickets to the WVU/USF game on Sept. 28th so now the baby will be well-dressed for the game! :)
But Donnie and I both graduated from USF - so it should be an interesting game! Donnie said that Allie will wear the WVU outfit - but a USF bib, socks and hat . . .
she will be so confused! :)

Thanking God for adopting us,