Minnesota bound!!

Christmas shopping almost done, finals almost over and suitcases almost packed. I cannot wait to climb in the car with our family and head north. I am not even dreading the 17 hour drive as it means I can do nothing but sit, read, sleep and talk with Mark and the kids and NO HOMEWORK!!. There is about 10 inches of snow at my mom and dads, the ice house is out on the lake and winter fun awaits us!! It would be great to have a big snowfall when we get there but nothing that would interfer with my brothers and their families making it home. I am so looking forward to time away. It has been a hectic week but a successful one as we were final able to get to Dallas and re-new our fingerprinting and get the kids passports ordered. We also received our visa's to travel to China.
Since it is Thursday I should say I am so thankful that I am able to head home and spend a much needed break with my family. I cannot wait!!!!

Thankful Thursday

Thursday mornings my womens community group meets. Due to a break in our study we decided to get together and share our favorite song and scripture while doing some scrapbooking. One of the ladies shared this beautiful song (in Spanish which made it even more beautiful). My thanks today goes solely to my Lord.

With What Can We Repay Love So Immense?
...that You gave Your life for this sinner.
In exchange, receive this humble offering.
the humble offering, Lord Jesus Christ, of my heart.
And when the night extends her coat,
my eyes, in tears, will take notice of You.
As I lift my eyes and will look at the stars,
I know that alone with them, Loving Father, You watch over me.
I can't repay you with gold or silver
The great sacrifice that you made for me.
It's not possible to repay You for such great love,
Receive this song mixed with my tears and my heart.

A reality check....

As I have mentioned I work at our local Pregnancy Care Center. In the 9 years of volunteering there I have never seen what I did today or for that matter in my 40 years. We had a sweet couple come in with their 6 day old baby boy. Their son was born with a bilateral cleft lip/cleft palate, just like Hudson's. As I held this beautiful newborn I was so overwhelmed with the thought of Xiao's parents and the immensity of what they were faced with when he was born. It also gave me a real live glimpse of what Hudson looked like at birth. Because Hudson's lip has been repaired I will never know the severity of his cleft lip except in a few pictures.
Because of the area Xiao is from it is likely his birth parents did not have the financial or medical resources to even know how to begin to deal with his cl/cp.
It was a very bitter sweet moment for me. I felt an immediate connection with this little guy and am so grateful that the Lord gave me a moment to identify with Xiao's birth parents and the reality of what they faced.

Kailee Elizabeth

Kailee is 10 going on 16, our little fashion diva. Aside from shopping her other past time is gymnastics. She is on a team and is a little worried she will miss a meet while we are in China. We are confident she won't care once we are there...

After we received our referral for Hudson, Kailee let me know she was glad she would still be our 'baby girl'. She can't wait to be a big sister.

(This picture was taken by Madalyn during one of thier "modeling shoots"....entertaining themselves last summer.)

Madalyn Anne

Madalyn is our typical peace keeping, middle child. The more, the merrier where she is concerned and she is everybody's best friend. She has had to overcome a lot with a severe ankle break a couple years ago and an ever present auditory processing disorder. We prayed often for her to learn to persevere. When she went to school last year (after being homeschooled) her teacher told us on her first report card that she was the hardest working student she had ever had and she always persevered!!! We are very proud of the beautiful young lady she is turning into and she will be an excellent big sister...again.

Jordan Trey

It is hard to believe that Jordan will be 16 in June. He is maturing into a very responsible young man and we can't wait to watch him be a big brother to Hudson.

He loves sports with his first love being soccer. In November his soccer team won the state championship for TAPPS. This was a huge deal as it was his school's first year to have a varsity soccer team. All those practices in 100 degree TX heat paid off!!!

With Jordan's sensitive, serious side and his goofy, fun-loving side there is never a dull moment!!