Random screams of excitement

Not a day goes by that Shayley and Reece don't talk about their new brother and sister, it's pretty darn cute. Sometimes Shayley will randomly let out a joyful scream and it's usually followed by her saying "Mommy, I'm soooo excited!". And Reece has been thinking about his little brother too. For example, the other day we were shopping and he went over and picked up a spiderman coloring book and asked "can we buy this for Jonathon"? So sweet. Lately we've also been making preparations for our little ones who will be coming home this summer, yeah!! That means, I'm basically getting our 1100 sq.ft (can you say small?) house ready for 2 more little bodies and THAT in itself has been, umm, fun? It is amazing however to realize how many things you can really just live without (including toys, clothes, stuffed animals, magazines you've never read, more toys...). I will have to admit that on more than one occasion I have had to sneak stuff out of my kids rooms and hide it in the trash or the give-away sack - please, can anyone else relate?!? My kids are not dumb... they're starting to dig through the trashes to see what I've tossed, I'm not kidding. On a more happy note, it was fun to see the crib go up again, and Reece likes to jump in it and pretend he's the baby. Shayley has also written Santa a note that is taped to her door that reads, and I quote, "Dear Santa, may you please (on Christmas) get Addy the A*G doll for my sister, a girl we adopted. But please don't tell her. Love, Shayley." A*G for those of you wondering means American Girl, c'mon get with the program ok. Could that not be more precious? It's only May and she's writing a letter to Santa!! Well, I think my point has been proven. My kids are well into the excitement of bringing home their new brother and sister. I have to say that it is refreshing for me to be around their enthusiasm as most days I'm caught up with the adoption 'process' of checking on where my birth certificate is or calling the dr. to schedule more vaccinations, ouch. Thank you kiddos for the sweet daily reminders of why we're doing all of this, keep up those screams of joy!!

Wooo Hooo - They're Officially Our kids!!!!

We received the most wonderful news from our agency today that Constance Emily & Jonathon went to court and rec'd a final adoption decree, they are officially OUR CHILDREN!!! We are overcome with JOY and are basking in God's Greatness ;-) Words really don't express how grateful we are to YOU for your continued prayers and encouragement in this adventure. Keep 'em coming! We will be traveling to Ghana in the next 4-6 weeks (yikes) so there's much to be done as you can only imagine. We'll keep ya updated here on our blog. Here is a pic above of our new precious children, ah it feels so good to say that!!

Hello Love

The lyrics below are from Chris Tomlin's song LOVE. There are many reasons I LOVE this song... well, first off it's Chris Tomlin and he's just plain talented, the African choir singing with him, the strength in his lyrics speak volumes to me. LOVE can be a very complicated thing, wouldn't you agree? When we think of LOVE maybe we think of hearts, kisses, warm fuzzy stuff. We tell our kids that we discipline them b/c we LOVE them. But LOVE the way Christ LOVED us is something I find difficult to wrap my mind around. He LOVES us despite our ugliness, our selfishness, our greed. He LOVES us enough to let us choose whether we will follow Him or take our own road in life. He LOVED us so much that He gave His life for us, does LOVE get much better than that? So here are the lyrics and every time you get to the word LOVE you might substitute His name, afterall, He is the ultimate example of what LOVE really is. The music widget is on the right column for your listening pleasure ;-)

When our hope is hard to find
And our faith is in decline
We need a cause to stand behind – love
We all want the way it feels
Time it comes and time it steals
What remains, what is real – love
There is love, there is forgiveness
There is love in times of need
When life is cold there is a promise
You will never go without
There is love
It heals the sick, comforts the weak
Breaks the proud, raises the meekIn this life no guarantees
But there is love
Love is the answer
Love will find a way
When we love one another
It's a brighter day
O-kwa-ga-la-kweKu-singa-byoo-na
Bwe-twa-ga-la-na-o-lu-na-ku-lu-suu-fu

Walking by Faith

So I'm in this really awesome bible study for women right now and we're studying Faith, Extraordinary Faith, to be exact. Love it, life-changing and so encouraging especially at this time in my life. So while my sweet Reece slumbers (yes, he is actually taking a nap because he wants to, and yes you read that right, lucky me!!)... I have to share this particular section that we read this week in the book we're studying by Sheila Walsh (Extraordinary Faith). She writes 'What does it mean to walk by faith? It means doing the things that I know are good and true, whether I feel like it or not. It means setting my face and heart toward heaven just as Jesus did. I believe that it means that we study how Jesus lived, how He loved, and follow His example. When we find ourselves in a difficult place, we do what He did: we turn to our Father'. She goes on to write 'Faith is believing that no matter how things appear on the surface, God is in control, and He asks us to trust based on who He is, not on what we see'. Wow. I love that, trust Him based on who He is not on what we see, period, end-of-story, the whole kit and kaboodle. If it were only that easy all of the time right? But when I do, I recognize the fingerprints of God my Father all over my life. Amazing. So as I check the mailbox every day for that approval from US immigration and as I wait on news about our court date I have to remind myself, God is in control and I will continue to draw strength from Him (Isaiah 40:31).

What do you get when you cross a Math book with a sweaty little jogger?

A Mathlete!! So, while we wait for news on the adoption front I thought I'd share about a recent event that Shayley and Reece just participated in at their school, Ascension Lutheran. The annual jog-a-thon! The theme this year was Be A Mathlete... they're raising funds for math books. They both did a GREAT job while mom, dad, and Grami cheered them on from the sidelines, snapping photos and taking video. Shayley did 30 laps walking and running (equal to about 2.5 miles!) and Mr.Reece skipped and danced his laps with his buddy Andrew most of the way. At the end we all enjoyed some Jamba Juice smoothies, aaaahhhh. Enjoy the pics!

We Have a Court Date!

Our agency has informed us that in the next few weeks we will have a court date, this is GREAT news (big smiley face). Our adoption agency will have their coordinator in Ghana represent us for the proceeding. This is actually when the adoption is officially completed and Emily Constance and Jonathon will become our children!! Once the adoption decree is issued we will travel to Ghana, so stay tuned and keep praying, thank you!