First Fathers Day

This year was Mark's first Fathers Day. Me and baby girl gave Daddy a new watch and lots of hugs & kisses. Let's keep spending time together sweetie. We love you and Happy First Fathers Day .

How does your garden grow...

My roses may be suffering in this summer heat but my little girl is blossoming beautifully...





Some plant seeds, some water... but God makes it grow...

Readoption Day....

It's been almost one year since we first saw Reese's picture for the first time.

Today we readopted her in our state and became officially a family of three. She will now have an American birth certificate. Yeah...

She did so good, super good while mommy & daddy had to answer a few questions and get sworn in by the judge.

Reese was born in our heart many years ago.... And it's been awesome this past year getting to know the real little girl God created and placed in our hearts. We're official now baby girl..... and you know what it's a great thing.

Graduation Day....

I've had my first school graduation. Granted it was only graduating out of the 2 year old class at Reese's daycare but it was still a first for me.I know it's not too exciting for some but it was awesome for us. To watch my little girl, my daughter of almost one year, stand on a stage with her classmates and stare out at a huge crowd of strangers and then dance and clap and not cry or run was something I'll never forget. ( I just wish I hadnt forgot my camera... oh well....)

I have to tell you there was this one priceless moment when they sang " We Fall Down" and she stood at just the right moment and raised her little arms and swayed while singing "and we cry Holy, Holy, Holy," and then knelt with her hands together to pray when they got to " we fall down and lay our crowns ". I just couldnt hold back the tears from my eyes.

I could just image God looking down from heaven and smiling at his little creation and thinking... job well done.

Thank you Lord so much for this little gift....my baby girl Reese. And thank you Lord for putting me and Mark on the path to our daughter. The path wasn't always straight but the finish line sure did come with a huge reward...she's some prize.... Happy Graduation Day baby girl.

1st Mother's Day ...

This past weekend was such a wonderful weekend. Just relaxing with my husband and my daughter. A dream come true for this once broken heart. I lost my mom three years ago and still miss her each day.( If you are still blessed to have your mother, please love her and tell her how special she is each chance you can.) And it's been nine years since we lost our son Noah and then two years after that we lost our baby Erin or Aaron.

I can honestly say their have been many sad Mother's days for me in the last nine years. Some harder than others, but God is ever faithful and this Mother's Day was the best. Thank you Lord....to be Lola Reese's mother is the greatest honor I can think of. She's such an awesome little girl and I'm her mother. How awesome is that?

Hunting those eggs......

Our first Easter as a family of three was incredible. We had such a great weekend and the weather was beautiful down here in Georgia. God is so good.

Reese looked so beautiful in her Easter dress. Of course, I am a little biased. I'm so glad she still lets me dress her up. I have a feeling that isnt going to last much longer. Her favorite word to me is "no" and she's starting to tell me what she wants to wear. Well, I will just enjoy dressing her up while it lasts.

She got to go to three egg hunts and by the time Easter was over, I think she finally got the hang of finding eggs or at least she loved the treats inside them. My prayer is someday soon she will understand the real meaning of Easter and joy of living with Jesus inside her heart.

One year ago today.....

I can hardly believe, one year ago today on a Monday morning we sent in our electronic Letter of Acceptance for our daughter, Lola Reese.

It still seems pretty amazing to me how the Lord worked it all out.......we received a call from our adoption agency on the previous Friday, March 27th, for a referral of a little 3 yr old boy with a repaired cleft lip & palate. He was a cutie. After both Mark & myself prayed and reviewed his file, we then accepted his referral. The rest of the day is kind of a blur but I spent it working and praying to the Lord, if this is our son Lord work everything out, but if it isnt give us the strength to continue on and please find this little boy his forever family.

I didnt know until Mark got home from work that evening that the little boy I thought was going to be my son had already been selected by another family. My prayers had been answered but not exactly how I had envisioned.

Friday nights are always our date night and we went with heavy hearts but hearts knowing our God is in control. On the way to dinner, we saw the biggest most beautiful rainbow I've ever seen. It seemed like it ended directly into the very road we were driving on and we were going to drive right through it. I knew my God had sent us a little sign of love and hope. It was so comforting and amazing; we still talk about that night and that rainbow.

The next day, Saturday, we both got up early and I sat down at the dining room table and opened my computer. Those of you who know me know I dont normally do that. But for some reason I just felt like reading some emails and that was when the phone rang. It was our adoption agengy again. They had another referral for us to review if we were interested. Interested........ you betcha. I immediately told Mark and asked him to come and let's pray before the file uploaded. Then there she was..... our daughter. We knew with a peace that only God can give that the face staring back at us was our daughter. The daughter God had promised us and we accepted her referral before we even hung up the phone with our agency. In a matter of probably 10 minutes our lives were forever changed and blessed beyond measure...