A new year...another journey...

A new year...another journey.... Our family has thoroughly enjoyed bringing in 2012 as a family of 4! Elijah has been an amazing addition to our family and for him we are so incredibly blessed!! Let me give you a brief update on our two amazing children first!

Nicholas.... WOW! Such a talented young man! He started his first gymnastics meet season in November and has absolutely blown us away with his capabilities! This past fall, we walked into his pediatrician's office sharing with him some of Nick's educational difficulties, due to his learning disability and ADHD. The doctor asked to see some of what Nick was working on and asked how his school was helping him. His doctor was absolutely blown away at what Nick was capable of doing, despite his learning disability! The doctor's comment to me, "Mom, you are doing amazing with this young man! I am extremely pleased at how he is doing, because to be honest, your mom and I weren't sure of what he would be capable of doing when he was first placed in her care. Nick is doing things that he wasn't sure he was ever capable of doing academically!" That being said, he went on to say that his teacher is doing an outstanding job with Nick and to keep him in this school as long as possible, since he is progressing so wonderfully. Perhaps behind his peers, but progressing! Great confidence booster for Jon and I...thank you Lord as our hearts were beginning to become heavy with what to do with him. As we continued to discuss Nick, I pulled up some gymnastics pictures of Nick at his first meet! The doctor's comments, "What?! That's Nick? Oh my, Nick! You are amazing!" Again, Nick has beaten all odds and is doing something beyond what was expected of him! When Dr. Raine first met Nick, he was this failure to thrive, undernourished, skin and bones baby, with a severe hip dysplasia, a cataract in his eye, and cleft lip and palate! What!? This child with a cataract in his eye is competing in gymnastics competively?! On top of that, he is competing with kids, numerically his age at 10, but physically and developmentally 4 years ahead of him! You see, Nick's growth hormone deficiency is still very delayed. Therefore, we have a 10 year old boy in the body of a 6 year old (according to his bone scan). He is competing with boys whose bodies are capable of doing more than a 6 year old body is capable of doing, yet still seems to hang with these boys competively! We don't tell Nick this, because we like that he pushes himself to improve and become even more passionate about this sport he loves! I always say this about Nick, but in my heart, I truly believe this....God has something amazing for Nick's life and I cannot wait to see what happens! I love this quirky and spunky little boy so much! Thank you Lord for this challenge of a young boy! Without him, I wouldn't have seen how You can use a small boy to beat all odds and change hearts of many around him!

Elijah.... I can't believe he is 7 months old! He is such a happy little baby! I love spending so much time with him! I continue to look at him in disbelief and joy that this our bundle of joy! Elijah started sitting by himself at about 5 months. He cut two teeth a week apart at about 6 months. He absolutely loves making noises and has learned to be very vocal in our house! Elijah enjoys books so much that he gets so excited when I pull one out to look at and read with him. His favorite book, currently, is Fun Time Baby. Simple, but he loves it! He is eating foods now, which he is a huge fan of. This little one is trying to feed himself, which becomes a big mess, but he loves it! Nicholas is a great big brother to him and Elijah loves to watch Nick play or just sit with him while Nick plays with his legos. Our entire family is still overflowing with joy with our little Elijah! God has been so good to us and for that we are so thankful!!



So what's next? We seem to get the same questions again and again....

1. So are you going to adopt again? A big "absolutely, yes!"

2. When are you going to start the process again? We hope after Elijah turns one, but when God calls us to start the process again...we will follow Him.

3. Are you going to adopt a girl this time? Well, We would love a girl, but we will adopt the child or children God desires for our family.

4. Are you going to keep working next year or stay home? Our desire is for me to stay home next year and we continue to pray God's will and provision to enable me to stay home.

These being answered...we continue to listen to God for his vision for our family and our future. In the meantime, our prayer is that God's heart for adoption will overflow through our family into the hearts of others around us. We have seen this and continue to see this prayer being answered as those around are beginning to capture the heart of the Father!

If you feel you might be interested or have questions about adoption or just want to pray for those who might want to adopt, we can help you get involved. Please ask me how!