Redirect: a Modern Day Miracle

Please visit my friend Allison's family blog

and rejoice with us!

They passed court a day early.

Only One explanation for that

given the circumstances surrounding adoption in Ethiopia right now.

Our God is Good all the time. All the time our God is Good!

Blessed be His name!

Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
Worship the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
Know that the LORD is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations. 

Psalm 100

Road Trip: Birmingham

A few weeks ago (yes, I'm that behind), Addie, the little girls, and I went to Birmingham to visit our sweet friend's the Lewis'. Long, long, long overdue visit!

There's something about this family that when you leave them you feel a bit refueled, encouraged, and always uplifted. They have a way of reminding you that you're loved and valued, that you are doing a good job juggling 3, and that joy comes from being with family and friends!*

(*disclaimer: I am not saying many, many others in our life are not this way as well; but this post is about the Lewis' ;)

It was an absolutely breathtaking day, and the 4 big kids ate lunch outside! Can you see Addie watching Abigail?

The mamas went in and out and mostly chilled inside with the little girls. You see Audrey Kate trying to sit up here? I do believe she was on her 2nd or 3rd outfit by then.

Anne Perry was in our bouncy seat from home, but they both got the treat of playing with a new toy!

If only there were big sisters for borrow. I'd have to have an Abigail visit us on a daily basis. She was so helpful with the little girls and with Addie! You see Addie and Izzy laughing hysterically here at Abigail rolling back and forth?

Well of course Addie had to join in the hilarious fun!

Oh but wait, now all 3 big girls are being silly. I do believe Audrey Kate was amused!

Allison's two younger ones (Jack and Izzy) went down for a nap, so that left Addie and Abigail to watch some videos on the computer and play outside some. It got really quiet though, and then Abigail appeared at the door: Come look what I made for Addie! {Allison and I exchanged looks} And this is what she'd created...

Yes, we did promptly put a stop to the two barefoot girls under the deck playing with the disassembled swing set (nails and all). Considering they weren't supposed to be down there in the first place, they were having quite the time. It was so sweet of Abigail to make Addie a slide though.

That's another reason I love visiting this precious family: what better a role model for Addie to have! I pray she has a heart as sweet as loving and as giving as Abigail's!

And I leave you with these few pictures I took while the big kids were eating. I don't often get a smile on camera and even less often get a smile with eyes...so I kinda fell in love with these!

Thanks for letting us come visit you Lewis'!

Please Pray

Please say a prayer for two of our friends:
1.) My dear friend from high school/college was diagnosed with uterine cancer several weeks ago. She is undergoing chemo every Monday; and even with the challenges of treatment, God is already doing mighty things to heal her body. You can read about it here.

2.) A dear friend from college (who is married to another dear friend from college) fell down their stairs yesterday. After discovering many dislocations and 4 breaks, and then undergoing a very long surgery where they inserted a metal plate and 12 pins, he's got a long recovery ahead of him. You can read about their sweet family here.

We know that "all things work together for good" and that our God gives us nothing that we cannot handle without Him. He is "with us wherever we go!" (Joshua 1:9) and constantly reminds us "not [to] fear...because you are Mine!" (Isaiah 43: 1) Please join us in praying for these precious families!

A Day to Celebrate!

On Tuesday, Addie and I rode to Birmingham with my mom for her oncologist check-up. The good news is, she continues to be cancer free! (reason to celebrate #1) Praise God! Addie loved meeting her surgical oncologist, Dr. Bland; and immediately smiled at him when he walked in the room (which was right after she had just finished wailing for 15 minutes because she was hungry an hour before she usually eats! ...growing?...just out of her element?...testing me? Who knows!)

We always love to see our Birmingham friends, and the Lewis' were all well, for the first time in maybe 3 months...whew! (reason to celebrate #2). It's amazing what tubes, an inordinate number of antibiotic rounds, and complete quarantine can do! Poor Josh and Allison. So...we got to meet them all for lunch!

Addie (almost 4 months) and Izzy (closer to 6 months)
(we've decided the are approximately 10 weeks apart in age!)
(Can you believe they both have Grey's Anatomy name...but neither Allison nor I have EVER watched that show :)
As Allison said, the last time we visited, Addie looked like an infant and Izzy looked like a toddler (a huge difference in size!). But today, it was so obvious that their weight difference is closing fast! I hope they'll get to be buddies as they grow up together!

I love all of Josh and Allison's kids, and Jack is just one of those little boys you can't get enough of! He (unbeknownst to him) had my mom and me in stitches watching him (attempt to) eat his mac-n-cheese with a fork from a bowl sitting on a plate. It was too high up on the table and that fork just wouldn't pick up those mac-n-cheese pieces. He was so determine and so cute!

Addie taking a cat nap. I could still just sit and watch her sleep!

Abigail loves to "be shy"...but the cute thing is that she's the farthest thing from shy! Her mom was trying to get her to tell me what she did yesterday. In this sweet little voice, she told her (and me) she would have to wait to tell me when she wasn't shy anymore. When I asked her when that might be, she told me it wouldn't be until she was a big girl (like her mommy!). She did end up telling me with a few prompts from mom and few guesses from me (before she became a "big girl.") She had gone to her 1st swimming lesson at the gym! Fun times!!!
I asked her if she would take a picture with Allison and me. After she conceded to sit in Allison's lap, she told us she wasn't going to smile (as she smiled saying it)...but her daddy managed to get the cutest smile out of her!
What sweet angels they all are!