"I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me - the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace." Acts 20:24

To Tell of His Grace

Thursday, February 28, 2013

ONE WEEK From Today!!!!!

Exactly one week from today we head to China ;)
We are so ready to get there and love on her!!!





We have started to pack a bit more and we have been connected with our travel group...so fun to meet some of the people that we will be getting to know while we are there.

We continue to pray for Kaylee Grace's heart - especially now as her 2 friends from her orphanage have both gone to be with their families. We keep wondering what she must be thinking with being the only one of the three left. We are praying that Jesus will just prepare her sweet heart and that His peace will cover and keep her!

Other prayer requests:

For Jesus to continue to be gracious to us and keep all of us healthy (Kaylee too)!
For deep and restful sleep so we are rested and energized before we travel
Safe and smooth flights
For Kaylee to feel safe when placed in our arms
For us as a family to work well as a team as we prepare to travel and as we travel - to get along and choose kindness and love :)

Thank You Jesus!!!


Monday, February 25, 2013

Birthdays and Softball

We had our last full weekend for a while :)  Life is starting to slow down as we prepare to head to China but over the weekend we had a softball tournament and a Birthday party for Nana and Auntie Julie!


We had an all day softball tournament this weekend...it was fun to go out and cheer our girl on- she did GREAT!!!
Go Cubs!!!
Nana and Auntie Julie's Bday party (we sure missed having the Bakers...they were at a tennis tournament out of town).



Claire loves to sit in her Nana's lap!!! When she's not with her we just hear, "Nana! Nana!" over and over until she gets to be with her :)

She's doing a great job with working on her smiles for the camera...Kols has his down too!

Cheeeeeeeese!!!
She wanted to do a picture with each kid :)

How CUTE is this shirt that The Shabablians got for sweet Kaylee!!??!! Can't wait for her to wear it ;)

Brodie is leading each of the boys in an one-on-one Bible Study and I am leading Sis - we LOVE our time in God's Word!!! His Word is LIFE and it leads and guides us in the right way to go :)  We're so thankful to have God's Word to read!!!


Friday, February 22, 2013

It's OFFICIAL!!!

We are heading to CHINA! We got our CA (consulate appointment) on Tuesday and we will leave March 7th  on a red-eye to Hong Kong, stay one night there and then travel by train to Guangzhou - we will stay here the whole time :)  We will rest a bit on Sunday and then get Kaylee Grace on Monday, March 11!!! We will have her medical appointment, a few other adoption appointments and then have our consulate appointment on March 19 (this is the last appointment that we will have in China and it pretty much finalizes our adoption). We will fly home the next day to SF airport, spend a night there and drive home on March 21st!

We are starting to GET READY!!!

Washing her clothes and packing them ;)
We are so blessed that my sister was able to pass down some of Claire's clothes (she is a year younger than Kaylee but in a size 3T already!)  So she passed down all the 12-18 month clothes that we will need :)  And Nana made a trip to Target and Babies R Us for us to get a few more clothes and toys that we will take with us :)  

Getting everything set out and ready to pack ;)

Somehow all this will need to fit into our suitcases ... along with some clothes ;)





Prayer ~ Jesus, since You are our Rock and our Fortress, for the sake of Your Name lead and guide us!

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Kaylee Grace's Room...


We worked really hard on Kaylee's room on Monday since it was a holiday and we can finally say that we are officially ready for her!!!




Kaylee's crib and name


Kaylee's name

Play area with kitchen :)





We are counting down the days until she comes! 14 days until we leave!!!!

14 days till China...17 till we get to hold her!!!

Prayer ~ O Lord Jesus Christ our Savior,  may You "dwell in Kaylee's heart through faith and may she, being rooted and established in love,  be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height of Your love and to know Your love which surpasses knowledge; that she may be filled with all the fullness of You God."(Eph. 3:17-19)  May "no weapon formed against our family prosper and every tongue which rises against us in judgment may You, God, condemn." (Is. 54:17). Jesus, You are with us and You will keep us in all the places that we go. You will bring us into the land You have called us to and You will not leave us. We choose to set You always before us and because You are at our right hand, we will  not be moved! You are our Rock and our Fortress and our Deliverer; our God and our Strength, in Whom we will put our trust! You are our High Tower - we will call upon You, O Lord, who is worthy to be praised and we shall be saved from our enemies. You are our hiding place and You send Your angels to encamp, defend and protect us because by Your mercy we fear and honor You. By the grace of Your Salvation may we be set up on high! Thank You Jesus for Your Protection and Your abundant love that covers and fills! 

Genesis 28:15  ~ “And, behold, I am with you, and will keep you in all places where you go, and will bring you again into this land; for I will not leave you, until I have done that which I have spoken to you about.”
Psalms 16:8 I ~ “I have set the Lord always before me: because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.”
Psalms 18:2,3 ~ “The Lord is my rock, and my fortress and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in Whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from my enemies.”
Psalms 32:7 ~ “You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall compass me about with songs of deliverance.”
Psalms 34:7-9 ~ "The angel of the Lord encamps round about them that fear Him and delivers them. Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him. Fear the Lord, you His saints, for those who fear Him lack nothing." 

Psalms 34:17-19 ~ "The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; He delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit."

Psalms 46:1,2 ~ “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the middle of the sea.”

Psalms 91:1,2, 10,11,12 ~ “He that dwells in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God in Him will I trust. There shall no evil befall you, neither shall any plague come near your dwelling. For He shall give his angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways."

Psalms 69:29b ~ “Let your salvation, 0 God, set me up on high.”


Wednesday, February 20, 2013

I love my Valentine ;)

Brodie and I got away over the weekend for a belated Valentine's Date and our last weekend away with just the two of us for a while...we had a wonderful time relaxing and catching up...we took a picnic down to the lake, went on a long walk and went out to a nice dinner. Always so great to get away where we can have quality time with each other and the Lord!


Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Love for Kaylee Grace

On Sunday a few of my girlfriends had a prayer luncheon to pray over me, our family and Kaylee Grace...it was the BEST of all gifts! What a blessing to have friends who have prayed for almost 2 years for our sweet Kaylee and who will continue praying all the way through!!!


Here we are on our way there with Auntie Julie and Nana :)

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Our Community Group

Our Community Group had a shower for Kaylee Grace the other night - we had so much fun! We played a couple of really fun games, hung out and got to chat a bit and best of all they prayed over our family before we leave - every detail was covered in prayer! We are so blessed!!
One of the best parts was that our kids got to participate in the games and opening of presents ;) Kols is trying to beat Mrs. Jenna in drinking a bottle filled with punch ;)

This was a relay game - boys against girls...

Boys won!

Keeg is eating apple sauce (without a spoon!)

Sis decided to use the spoon - but I am not sure if she swallowed ;) Can you tell they are a bit competitive???

The kids opened the gifts for us ;)

We had a wonderful evening!

And they got us some really sweet, much needed essentials for Kaylee Grace!

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Early Release at School

We LOVE early release day at school! Every Wednesday the kids get out at 1:45 and we usually have friends over...but lately Miss Claire has been stopping by for a visit here and there! 

First they played in the playroom/Kaylee's room and then went out to the slide :)

Claire can climb up with help and always brushes her hands off after touching the dirty wood ;)

They went over and over and even tried the swing a time or two

Next we made homemade lemonade ;)  Our neighbor has a huge lemon tree that hangs over our fence so our kids picked a bunch of them and asked if we could make lemonade for our Bible Study that night. 

They didn't actually follow a recipe - they just added water, lemons, sugar and a bit of honey

Even Claire learned to squeeze the lemons ;)



The final product
Finally it was time for everyone to try it...I don't think it turned out quite like they were thinking it would ;)
But they kept tasting it anyway...

And even added more sugar and honey to try and sweeten it a bit more...

Still not the best lemonade ;)

None-the-less, Claire wanted to try it also...

This was her first time having any type of lemonade at all

And even thought it was sour, she liked it and kept wanting "mo... mo" 

Then she decided I needed to try it ;)

Notice her really making sure I get a good taste of it ;)

Pretty sour! Now Claire wants Sissy to try some more!

Then Daddy got home and they boys handed him a glass

I think at first he thought it was going to be good ;)

Quickly realizing that it was a little more sour than he was expecting

But still trying to be nice and thanking the boys for his refreshing glass of lemonade!
Once Brod got home Keeg wanted to head out and drive the go-cart

He took me for a spin ;) It was m first time riding in it since the body got put on it ;)