Sunday Snapshot - What Could I Say...

but thank you.

Ya see, I am not what you would call an avid gardener.

I did not inherit my Momma's green thumb and in fact, I would go so far as to say that my thumb is rather brown!

Heh!

So, when we moved into this house, I was excited about the beautiful Irises that the builder had planted in the yard.

Not excited enough, however to actually take care of them so after a while, they just stopped blooming.

Sigh...

However, every year, one or two determined, stubborn Irises would pop their pretty blue heads up as if to say, 

"It's ok, we understand.  You are a very busy person."

or possibly...

"You will not defeat me!"

Yeah, so, this year, there was only one lone survivor who was, in the end, too enticing for sweet Em.

My precious one just had to pick that flower for her Momma and while I hated to see this tenacious flower get picked...

What could I say?!

To read more Sunday Snapshots go to Stefanie's wonderful blog, here,

3 Little Letters...

That mean so much!!!!

LOA

Yep, we got LOA for Lucy!!

It was exactly one year ago this past Friday that with great excitement and peace, we sent off our LOI for this sweet girl, our sweet girl....

and now, after a very long but very purposeful year....

we finally have

Now we are waiting on our sweet MAGGIE to get caught up which shouldn't be too long!

Yep, you read that right - we have a name!

Fufu will now be Margaret Strobel...

or Maggie....

or Maggie Fu if she is in trouble!

*grin*

Both Margaret and Strobel are family names and when we looked at her sweet smile and called her Maggie, it just felt right! 

Thank you Lord! 

Lucy and Maggie won't be waiting much longer and I am thinking that we might need a bigger fridge...

not for all the food but for all the pretty pictures we are going to have from our newest additions!

Password is victoria3

Victoria 3 from Lifeline Children's Services on Vimeo.

I can't wait to hang their creations on the fridge where their "waiting to come home" pictures used to be!

Sunday Snapshot - BFF's

Evie (on the right) was our Lucy's sweet friend at the CP hospital where they were cared for... until Evie was adopted home by her wonderful forever family back in January.

 

 

The above picture was taken by another traveling family who so wonderfully offered to check on both girls for us and for Evie's family.  When they tried to talk to Evie, she ran to Lucy for comfort.

Aw!!!!!

Fast forward to yesterday...

 This picture captures the moment when Evie saw the picture (on the left) of Lucy for the first time!

 

The best part...

 

Evie's beautiful family lives only about 4 hours away and when we move...

2 hours!

God is so good!

Praying Lucy home - in Your time, Lord!

Thank you sweet Sharon for making that incredible picture that just made my day!

To read more wonderful Sunday Snapshots, go to Stefanie's amazing blog here

Happy Birthday For Real

Longing to have you home...

but trusting in the Lord's time to bring you home.

We had a little celebration in your honor...

 
as we did for our sweet Lizzie when she was waiting....

and rejoiced in the fact that this will be your last birthday without us!

I admit though, it was tough on Monday, knowing that Lucy would have been home for this birthday if not for our unemployment but He has grown me to a place of contentment in His timing and that is an invaluable blessing.

There's the money shot!  A long awaited for smile!

These precious pics above are from the birthday fruit party that we sent to our sweet girl but the video below is from the cake party that she had about a week ago.

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
www.onetruemedia.com

Hoping we can combine the cake and the fruit into just one party next year!

or maybe not - hehe!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEET LUCY!

Sunday Snapshot - True Love

The picture of contentment...

so hard to think that he was just one day away from being killed in that shelter.

Happiness is a warm puppy. ~Charles M. Schulz

Even though you are aptly named (sigh), we are so glad you made it sweet Chewy

To read more Sunday Snapshots go here to Stefanie's wonderful blog,

God is in the Details

and He sure was when it came to Little Miss FuFu...

a name, that I have given her until we can decide on her new name which might happen by the time she goes to college!

Anyway, the Lord sure did know how this had to go.

He knew that Hubby had to be the one.

He knew that I (the big bad advocate), had to be the one to struggle.

Yep, you heard (ok read) that right!

Annie, the advocate, the one whose heart breaks every time a child ages out, heck every time I even read a file and see a precious face, was the one who had fear and doubt!

Can ya believe it...

cause we sure couldn't!

We walked around for days in a "Freaky Friday" sort of daze!

You see when the Lord moved Hubby's heart for a second child, for FuFu, He neglected to tell me!

Ha!

 

It was not my plan either!

 

When I sent Hubby Jean's AWESOME POST, I was not really asking for a second child.

 

I was perfectly happy bringing Lucy home and working and home schooling Caleb and taking care of my family and....

 

 going back for a boy within the year!

Ha!

I think the Lord enjoys us both and our little plans!

Hehe!

So, anywho, when Hubby came home that night in tears after reading wonderful Jean's amazing post, telling me that the Lord was asking us to bring more than just Lucy home...

I was not jumping up and down for joy as you might expect.

I asked for time to pray - so - I - did - for 2 weeks!

The Lord knew just what I needed and provided ample opportunity for me to really pray and be prayed over and little by little He began to reveal and then remove the fear in my heart.

I realized that I was fearful that if I took on too much, I would not be able to work as I had been working and I LOVE what I am doing.

I LOVE working for Lifeline, for these precious children and for Him in such an amazing way and I did not want to let that go.

In that 2 weeks, however, He showed me just as He showed me with Lucy that He will equip us and that I needed to let go of that fear and just trust Him and He showed me in the best way possible...

through Hubby's unwavering faith and certainty that this was indeed His plan - not ours but His.

 

I mean how could I ignore the fact that my dear Hubby was walking around giggling and joyful and giddy and that his "we are done" words were now replaced by the words, "whatever Lord"!

It was a powerful 2 weeks y'all!

Yep, He knew it had to happen this way.  He knew that Hubby and I had to go through what we went through.  It was the only way.

So, we said YES LORD!

FuFu was easy!

I had advocated for 3 months for this precious child when she was on Lifeline's list as "Victoria".

 

 

It broke my heart when she went back to the shared list, unmatched. 

I mean all of FuFu's videos show a child just full of joy!

 

 

Who could not take one look at that smile and just melt!

How?  Why?

So, I advocated even more when she went back and still she waited - and now...

I know why.

I had even placed her picture on Lucy's side of the fridge cause there just wasn't any room on the other side, the "I gotta find you a home cause I can't bring them all home" side.

Yep FuFu was easy!

She is 9 years old and has CP too!  It just affects her differently than it does Lucy.

She is little like Lucy but not quite as little and just full of smiles and the timing is such that adding FuFu will not slow down our journey to Lucy at all!

 

He is in the details!

We don't know a whole lot more other than she likes animals, singing, drawing, playing house, watching tv, is completely adorable and...

 

she wants a family, with parents and siblings.

Perfect match and she is now one less...

I have no illusions that bringing home two 9 year olds with CP will be a piece of cake but I no longer have fear and I trust that the Lord will equip us - for them - and now...

I can peacefully join Hubby in the giggles and the giddiness and the JOY... 

 

and wouldn't ya know it, as soon as we got PA, I'm talking the day after, we were told that we had been awarded a grant, a grant that we were not supposed to hear back from until the end of the month!

Yep, details!

I will leave you with one of my favorite videos of our precious FuFu.

Watch all the way to the end and I dare you not to smile!

Hehe!

Details Coming - I Promise

Thank you so much to all who replied to Hubby's post and our wonderful news!!!

He has not stopped giggling - seriously!

I know we promised details and they are coming but...

after a full weekend of travel and house hunting...

 

I am to pooped to post!

 

So...

 

details will come very soon!

 

For now, I will leave you with another sweet picture of our sweet little FuFu...

 

 

and yes, here we go again on the name game!  

 

YIKES!

OUR NEWS - as told by my Hubby!!!!

Hello followers of my darling wife’s blog, I’m Hubby and I am guest writing this post.

I wanted to share with you a story that happened to me recently that has made a huge impact on our family’s life and it all started down at our community dock.

On the weekends, I generally head down to this awesome spot for some quite time with a couple of our dogs. I try to go down to the dock almost every night that I am home, as it gives me a connection to the sea that I, for many reasons, deeply cherish. 

I am usually the only one there, allowing me to have some quite time to reflect on the past week, listen to some talk radio and chat with God. I can spend hours there reveling in His glory and the beauty of what He has created.

On the evening in question, Annie sent me an amazing blog post written by a friend of hers.

I get these a lot!

I have to be honest and state that I don’t always read them...

BUT THIS NIGHT I DID.

This post changed the way I look at so many aspects of my life.

I won’t retell her story, as you can read it all here at There is No Place Like Home, but I will tell you that I cried like a baby as I read it!

I used to be an emotional rock, but my darling wife and all these kids did something to me, so I now generally cry during diaper commercials.

This particular blog post talked about how the kids in this large family dealt and felt about having so many kids to share mom and dad’s time. How it was OK that mom and dad couldn’t spend every waking moment with them individually and how ANY time with mom and dad was a blessing.

 I had been pretty convinced that our family would be done growing when Lucy finally comes home. My plan said that we now filled Annie’s Suburban to capacity and that was that - done. With my new job and the prospect of getting out from under our "unemployment" debt, I had even been considering that in a few years, maybe, I could even get a new (to me anyway) car.

I think I must make God laugh a lot.

I think my plans must give Him a good chuckle at any rate.

That night, He, in no uncertain terms, opened my heart up way past where I thought it could ever go.

He showed me that not only were we not done with Lucy, but that on this very trip, we were going to be bring “FuFu” home as well!!

That is right, you heard (ok, read) it here first.

We are bringing two daughters home this summer.

I’m going to stop my story here and let Annie fill you in on the details of “FuFu”.

I just wanted to share a little of the wonder that I feel at having been blessed and touched in such a direct manner by the Lord.

Look for Him in the ordinary moments of your life....

He is there, and just as soon as you are certain of your plan, He’ll let you know that we follow His lead.

Love and Blessings,

Hubby

Details to follow! 

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope - Jeremiah 29:11

 

 

For we live by faith, not by sight - 2 Corinthians 5:7 

 

 

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us - Ephesians 3:20 

MORE TO COME....

BLOSSOM!!!

Those of you who have been "with me" for a long time, will remember precious Blossom. 

 

 

 This amazing child has severe CP and blesses all who know her. 

 

 

 I advocated for this child for a very long time, until her very special Momma Pam found her! I will never ever forget the very first email I got from sweet Pam and how the Lord's hand was just ALL OVER this adoption! You can go here to read the whole story.

 

Pam waited a VERY long time for Blossom's (who is now Annabelle) file to get updated and re-submitted and she never lost faith that one day, she would be holding her precious child! 

 

Well, NOW is that time and Pam IS holding her Annabelle...

 

 

and I am praising the Lord for this amazing child who is already moving hearts and for this incredibly faithful Momma who was so sure of what the Lord was calling her to do and never faltered in her faith! Tears are flowing all over again as I write this! 

 

Thank you Heavenly Father for "setting the lonely in families"!  

 

AMEN!

Happy Birthday????

Well, according to our sweet girl's file, her birthday is not until mid April...

however, the hospital celebrated just a bit early....

like a couple of weeks ago...

I am SO not complaining, a bit confused but NOT complaining...

she is not crying in any of the pics - not smiling yet but so not crying and...

THEY BOUGHT HER A CAKE AND CELEBRATED HER BIRTHDAY!

WOW!

Yep, I so know this look!  I am certain she is thinking, "Now where is that family of mine!  Late as usual!!!"

Now, we are going to send her a fruit party for her birthday in about 8 days, as we were told they don't get fruit very often and we want to help our sweet child celebrate too, so...

maybe the fruit will elicit a smile or maybe....

Lucy just needs her Momma!