Forever Family Day ~ 2 Years!!!

Two years ago today we got to hold our sweet Kaylee Grace for the first time!

I'll never forget how excited we were to finally have her in our arms!

And how sad/confused she must have been

 SO thankful that Jesus caused her to snuggle into her Mama's arms right from the get-go! This was SUCH a blessing in helping her bond!!!

Leaving the only life she knew up until that point

 And beginning a life of LOVE!!!

And JOY and LAUGHTER :)))

 She struggled SO much her first year and a half home

 But little by little she learned to love

 Many surgeries early on

 SO thankful for awesome, super-star big brothers and sister who made even the hardest of days FUN for her :)))))

 She learned to swim

 Re-Adoption Day

 First Christmas

 First time to the ocean

 First haircut

 First time to the snow

 Dedicated to Jesus for all her life

Oh Sweet Girl we are BLESSED by YOU!!!

Getting glasses...if only we could get her to wear them!

Her sweet cousin and dear friend, Anna :)))  

 Girl time!

 Another sweet cousin and playmate...Claire :)

 Friends!

Learning to eat (a HUGE hurdle that we still work on everyday!!)

Disneyland

Look how you've grown.....BEAUTIFUL inside and out! 

Forever Family

Kaylee Grace, it is a JOY watching Jesus grow strong in you!! He has made you for a purpose...He created you so perfectly and we are so thankful that He has allowed us the privilege of being your forever family to LOVE you forever! What a blessing to see you learn what LOVE is and learn to both receive love and give love :)))  Through you we have truly learned how to love as Jesus loves. We love because He first loved us! May you fall head over heals in LOVE with our Savior and may the Joy of the Lord be your strength all of your days! We love you "1 million much"!!!!

Our Weekend Away

Brodie and I went away for a night for the FIRST time since Kaylee Grace came home almost 2 years ago! We headed over to the coast and enjoyed some beautiful coastal weather :)

It was so nice to get to have quality time and pour into our relationship! 

The kids all stayed at my parents house (per Kaylee's request) and of course had a great time! Nana spoils them all and apparently cooks the best eggs ever cause our kids are still talking about them ;). Papa has every electronic gadget available which adds to the fun they have there :))

Our big kids are SUPERSTAR helpers with Kaylee. She did well overall....Sissy said they had a hard time getting her to eat and sleep... But once she was asleep she slept all night (this was so gracious of Jesus to help her sleep all night because she still struggles so much at night and I was worried about Sis missing so much sleep). Kaylee was excited that she made it all night at Nana & Papas and was brave...but I could tell it was hard on her having us away for a night because these last couple days she has struggled and been angry with us...but this afternoon she seemed to feel much better and back to herself a bit ;)

She even asked me to take a picture of her smile :))) LOVE that smile!!

At bedtime she mentioned missing her China mommy :(. I could tell she was thinking about her a lot because she also asked me what her name was...we of course have no idea. But it breaks my heart that she has to deal with that pain and sadness! I know prayer is the BEST thing we can do for her as Jesus is the ONLY ONE who can truly understand her pain and sadness...not only that, but He can bring JOY and PURPOSE out of her pain~ and that is exactly what I'm praying for Him to do!!

So as a family we all laid hands on her and prayed...she had a smile on her face the whole time ;). Then we did a "FAMILY!" group hug where we all squeeze each other and yell "FAMILYYYY!!!" 

It's hard because I'm so thankful Jesus gave her to us....she is so a part of us and I can't imagine even 1 second of life without her ~ but my heart breaks for WHY He needed to give her to us. It's a good reminder for me to be even more sensitive and understanding. 

We celebrated Chinese New Year last week by going out to dinner....of course our daughter from China is the only one in our family who goes to a chinese restaurant and orders a Grilled Cheese sandwich! The waiter (who was also chinese) looked at us like "what have you done to this girl??!!"

They of course don't have grilled cheese there, so she ate the turkey sandwich I brought and even a few bites of chicken fried rice :)))

But she does drink lots of lemonade ;)

Awards at School

Big kids had awards at school the last couple of weeks....we are so proud of them for working so hard :)))

Kolson, Kaylee Grace and Kolson's friend Miekhel

Keegan and supportive sister Kaylee :)

Sissy :)

Spring sports are starting at school... Keeg is doing volleyball, Kols will do track and Sis is starting back up with tennis :)

Looking forward to a great spring! We're praying big time that we will get some more rain before it gets too nice! We sure need it! 

2015~ "For the Word of the LORD is right and true; He is faithful in all He does."

Because the Word of the LORD is right and true,
this is my prayer for our family in 2015....

Dear Jesus, may we be a family who is strong in You and may Your Word live in us! May we delight in Your Word and may we meditate on it day and night. May we keep Your Word always on our lips. Your Word says, "How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to Your Word. I seek You with all my heart; do not let me stray from Your commands. I have hidden Your Word in my heart that I might not sin against You." Psalm 119: 9-11 May we keep our ways pure by living according to Your Word. May we seek You with all our hearts. By Your Grace, do not let us stray from your commands. Help us to hide Your Word deep in our hearts this year,
that we might not sin against You.

Yesterday Kaylee and I were racing down the hall and I told her, "Kaylee, you can run so fast! Jesus gave you strong and fast legs!" Since I lost the race she told me, "Jesus gave you slow legs!" We laughed :)  At bedtime she was almost asleep and was rubbing my arms as she does every night to fall asleep and she said,
"Mommy... Jesus gave you good arms."  :)))

Such a sweet, thoughtful girl ;)

Happy Birthday Jesus!

Kaylee has been singing this song a lot while she plays with the nativity set....such a joy to hear her beginning to understand what Christmas is all about!

The big kids each had a Christmas Party this week ~ just some friends over to have fun, be silly, read the Christmas story together and be prayed over :)  Such a great time at each party!

Sissy and her friends (and Kaylee) :)

 Sis is so sweet to always include her little sister ~ she even got to be part of the gift exchange ;)

 Keegan's Party ~

 Kolson's Party~

The boys were also very kind to include the girls in their party....after a Christmas message, we did some "Cookie-ditching" where we made cookies and dropped them off at friends' doorsteps, rang the doorbell and then they all ran back to the cars so no one would know who the cookie deliverers were ;)
Then off to frozen yogurt ;)

Kaylee Grace loves her new room!

It won't be long before baby sister comes home and shares that bed next to her! (With bed rails of course!) One of Brodie's client's wife painted that picture above Kaylee ~ the girls' room was the perfect place to put it!

We are looking forward to celebrating the birth of our Savior with our church family tomorrow night and our family next week :)

Merry Christmas ~ may the love of Jesus, our Lord and King, cover you this Christmas season and all through the year

Family Pictures :))) ~some of them ;)

Finally have my computer back and all hooked up ;) We moved a couple of weeks ago and haven't had computer access....so I have LOTS to share but for now I'll just share a few of our newest pics from Stacy Marini Photography ;)

LOVE having new family pictures that grasp Kaylee's JOY and smile :))

Happy 14th Birthday Sissy!!!

Fourteen awesome years with this sweet girl!
She is growing up so fast...BEAUTIFUL inside and out!!!

Sissy, you are a JOY to do life with :)  I'm so thankful that Jesus entrusted us with your sweet life! You are an AMAZING young woman of God ~ Jesus is strong in you and He SHINES through you and pours out of you to those around you. I love your heart for Him and for His people. I love what a sensitive heart He has given you for those in need. I can only imagine the plans He has for you to be His Hands and Feet and change the world! Keep pressing on in Him!!

On our way to a special birthday dinner ~ just the girls since the boys are gone ;)

A few of your sweet friends joined us for dinner :)

Super fun night!

Lots of silliness and laughing :)

So proud of you!! You love your baby sister so well ~ she is BLESSED beyond measure to have you (and so am I!!). Always by her side helping her, always being silly and playing with her....I love to watch you joyfully and selflessly give of yourself ~
I see Jesus in you!
And your new siblings from Haiti have no idea how great they will have it when they get home and have you and the boys and Kaylee all here to love on them :)
We love you, Babe!!! Happy Happy Birthday :))))

Cutest Minnie Ever ;)

We had family and friends over for some super-fun trick-or-treating ;)  Kaylee doesn't remember trick-or-treating last year...so this was kind of like her first time. Same with cousin Claire...although Claire had more fun passing out the candy back at our house with the boys than she did doing the actual trick-or-treating

 Cutest Minnie Ever!!

 Cousin Anna is the BEST!!

LOVE that Sissy and cousin Rachel dressed up and trick-or-treated with the younger girls ;)  The "big" boys stayed home to pass out candy and had a BLAST!!

We are known in the neighborhood for handing out BIG candy bars that say, "Jesus loves you BIG!"...kids get super excited  when they are handed a large candy bar...and our kids have fun shinning Jesus' Light on an otherwise dark night ;)

Round 2 :)

Kaylee has had 2 eye surgeries since she's been home but before her 1st surgery we tried glasses to strengthen her right eye. She wanted no part of that first pair of glasses! 

After her 2nd eye surgery her vision improved a bit :). Since she needed a new prescription we decided to let her pick out her glasses....and today we got to go and pick them up

She likes them because they look like Sissy's :)

ADORABLE!! 

She wore them for the first half of our drive home....then she decided she'd take a little break ;). I told her we'd wear them for a while after nap ~ hopefully she will start to notice that they help her to see and want to wear them :)))

SPEAK UP Fresno ~ Show Hope Event Recap

About 2 1/2 years ago Brodie and I attended our first CAFO Orphan Summit....we were in the waiting phase of our adoption with Kaylee Grace- had no idea who she was yet- but knew that God was stirring our hearts to something MORE. We were being called to do more through this time of waiting. So....we went to the Summit. Our lives were forever changed! 

 God spoke so clearly to Brodie using Proverbs 31:8 "Speak up for those who cannot speak up for themselves, for the rights of all those who are destitute." Brodie knew then and there that he would spend the rest of his life SPEAKING UP for orphans, the fatherless, the least, in one way or another.

Shortly after Orphan Summit, Speak Up Fresno was birthed....a city-wide event to draw our local community churches together to SPEAK UP for the vulnerable children in our community and worldwide. We strive to bring awareness and encourage the church to stand in the gap for these children. We believe that as Christ's Hands and Feet, we are all called to do SOMETHING to help orphans in their distress (James 1:27).

We hosted some AWESOME kids from His Little Feet International Orphan Choir and our lives were beautifully wrecked ;)  

Our kids have been ALL-IN from that moment on....this is truly when we saw Jesus birth a heart for the orphan in each of their hearts! It was then that we knew in our hearts that we would most likely not just adopt one ...our kids began BEGGING us to adopt the girls we hosted, they began to pray for us to adopt from another country after China....their eyes were opened ~ and they will never be the same...praise Jesus!!

Btw, we have the DVD from His Little Feet's performance from this year and Kaylee watches it OVER and OVER in the car (being in the car is still hard/scary for her...HLF helps us drive from one place to another in PEACE!....and we all get to sing praises to Jesus as we drive ;). She thinks that when she is "bigger" she will travel and sing with HLF....right now that is her ultimate dream ;)

Gracia and Mahader....sweet girls who changed our lives! May the Lord continually bless you, sweet girls!

We just had our 3rd annual Speak Up Fresno and we partnered with Show Hope and had "A Night For the Orphan"....what an awesome night it was! God graciously opened doors for Steven Curtis and Mary Beth Chapman to be our hosts for the evening...hearts were touched and lives were changed for ALL eternity! Glory to Jesus!!

***Don't you love Kolson's SERVANT shirt? Our kids designed them (Isaiah 6:8 is verse beneath) to raise money for their plane tickets for our upcoming Haiti trip to visit their new siblings!
Want one? CLICK HERE to order!

We just came home from a Safe Families meeting at church and as I looked across the room of BRAVE people stepping out of their neat and comfortable lives (and even saw those who have some REALLY TOUGH life situations stepping up!), I was so in AWE of God and His Heart for the least.

I saw our church becoming a gloriously beautiful masterpiece....

people who are saying YES to being a safe place for a child to live for a short time,

people saying YES to pulling up another chair at their dinner table for a child in need,

people saying YES to seeing God's Glory in a whole new way.

And I felt as if (by His Grace) we are only seeing the tip of the iceberg....

Because once these couples and families step out and others see, "hey, they did that Safe Families thing ~ and not only did they make it through, they're stronger for it", and once they hear these families testify that they saw God's Glory in AMAZING ways, then others will say YES, and more families will say YES  to adoption....and step by step we will look a lot more like Jesus :)  LOVE how He is gracious and patient to make us more like Him and not leave us as we are! It is His kindness that leads us to repentance (Romans 2:4)   :)))