Had to share....

I wanted to update everyone, the client that I have been asking you to pray for FINALLY received their precious baby boy!! This client has become a very close friend. We have been so blessed to work with them, and to walk through this very emotional journey with them. Emily and Daniel have been working with us since last year!!! In the past 5 1/2 months, they have matched 5 times. They are the only client that we have had that has a failed match, and they had it happen 5 times! UGH!!!! On the 3rd BM they were matched with, they actually got to pick up their precious baby and care for him for 9 days, but then the BM changed her mind, and they had to give him back. We have seen them in one of the hardest moments of their lives, and it was amazing to watch their faith get them through it! We met them in person for the very first time, minutes after they returned baby Jeremiah to his BM. I am still in awe of their strength!! I can't imagine going through everything they have been through! Their faith has been unwavering, and such a testimony to Emory and I!!! So glad that the Lord allowed us to meet, and for us to walk through this with them!

The Lord answered their prayers yesterday afternoon. They picked up their precious baby boy...

OLIVER EMMANUEL

Born Feb. 21, 2010

8 lbs 5 oz

19 3/4 inches long

He is absolutely beautiful!!! Please continue to pray for them as they adjust to being a family of 3....PLease continue to pray for their BM, Emily and Daniel's greatest joy, is this precious BM's greatest sorrow!! Pray that the Lord used Emily and Daniel in a way that would continue to minister to her!!! Also, please pray for them everyday for the next 30 days....in their state, they can finalize their adoption on the 31st day, I know after losing Jeremiah, Emily won't breathe easy until that day! Pray that she can enjoy every moment between now and then, and that the Lord would continue to protect them and this precious new addition!!!

PRAISING THE LORD....

We had a FABULOUS weekend. It was sunny and 65 degrees both today and yesterday. We started our day out at the Honda dealership, we test drove the Honda Odyssey. WE LOVED IT!!! So, we are definitely going to be getting one, hopefully this week. We are just trying to find the best deal for our trade, and the best price on the new one!! Who knew I would get so excited about a mini-van? With 5 kids, it is just time!!! They are super nice, though!!

Anyway, next we headed over to the zoo!! I LOVE THE ZOO!! My mom was making fun of me today at church, she says I drag my kids to the zoo, because it is my fave thing, not theirs. Whatever the reason, WE LOVED IT!! It was perfect weather for it. We got to see lots of interesting things...such as, birds eating mice, buzzards eating baby chicks....UGH!!! Seriously, must you feed baby chicks to a buzzard in front of innocent children. It was horrible, these birds were shredding these poor baby chicks. Despite being there during feeding time, we had a great time. The kids had a blast.

Emmy's first zoo trip

Panda Power

Birdie with a mouse.

Aren't they cute?

Still Cute!!

Today was clean out the garage day, make room for the new car day! :) I love to see my hubby get all excited about buying me a new car, so much so, that he cleaned out the entire garage and basement!! YAY!!! It is spotless!! I love him!!! The kids played outside for hours, and had a blast. Our neighbor Devin came down with her 2 kiddos and they all played so well together. I definitely have SPRING FEVER!!!! Ready to see all my neighbors more often, and watch all the kiddos play together!!

THE VERY LAST THING...THE MOST EXCITING THING: Another FAC baby was born tonight. This is a very special baby!! A baby that we have prayed for, for a long time. One of our sweet clients will be meeting their precious baby boy very soon, and I am so excited. I will post pics as soon as we have them. This is such a PRAISE....GOD has truly answered lots of prayers, and perfected so many details...from travel to finances to timing of the baby's birth...EVERYTHING!!! GOD IS SO GOOD!!! Just wanted to share my excitement for this very dear friend!!!! Praising the LORD for the friendships that I have built through FAC! Love these couples!!!

I will keep you updated on the van and the newest FAC baby!! Hopefully, will have more info on both WED!!! Also, please keep baby Emmy in your prayers, we will be making our first visit to the Aflac Center tomorrow. We will meet with a team of hematologists, nurses and social workers that will be her team!! So excited to meet them, and to be educated. Pray that I ask the right questions, and that Emmy gets a good check up tomorrow!!! Thanks, everyone!!!

We are home....

PRAISE THE LORD...

WE ARE HOME.....

We were discharged this afternoon. Unfortunately, we came home to some legal news on the adoption...UGH!!!! I am so ready for a decision to made. It looks as if the adoption process is going to be much more complicated than originally planned. We are so ready to have a definitive answer. It looks as if we will have to petition the judge in Kansas to start a new adoption petition. Which means we may have to hunt down the birth mom, and have her resign to us...that could get ugly...I hope not...Please pray that the Lord will continue to remove road blocks, that He will soften the BM's heart about resigning, and that Kansas and Georgia will work well together, allowing us to do everything that we need to do in the comfort of our own home. Emmy is not in good enough health to travel back and forth from GA to KS, and back!! Please pray that ICPC will see that, pray that they will put Emmy first in all this!!! Thank you for your continued support and prayers. We appreciate every prayer!! Thanks!!

SWINGING AT HOME....PRAISE THE LORD!!!!

Such a Praise...

So....we have received the labs back from our pediatrician...Miss Emmy does not have Maple Syrup Urine Disease or any other genetic problems, other than her sickle cell anemia. What a PRAISE...What a miracle...her labs came back abnormal 3 different times, and then on the 4th extensive tests they were NORMAL....God is so good...HE IS THE GREAT PHYSICIAN, and I believe that He heard our prayers, and granted our requests. What a MIGHTY GOD we serve....

So, as most of you know, Emmy Faith does have Sickle Cell Anemia...we have been waiting on the labs to come back to determine the type, those also came back this week. She has SS, which is the most severe kind, sickle cell is wierd though, even the "milder" form can be severe...it depends on the child how severe the disease will be...AGAIN,we are presenting our requests to the GREAT PHYSICIAN, asking that HE will keep her healthy, allow her sickle cell to be mild. Miss Emmy has a one of a kind adoption story, and I truly believe that God has HUGE plans for her. I cannot wait to see the works that He will do in and through her. Her adoption story has already touched so many.

Miss Emmy was admitted to Scottish Rite on Sunday night. She started running a very low grade fever, it was 100.4 on the nose. Mothers of newborns will know, that they urge you to take your child in to the Dr. or ER for anything 100.4 or over. So, I made the call to our Dr.'s office, and of course, they wanted us to take her in. As soon as you mention fever and sickle cell together, you are in a room with a DR and nurses waiting on you. WE were back and they were already putting in an IV before I had time to set my stuff down. The Dr. thought she looked great, but wanted to consult with the on-call hematologist. He said because she is a sickle cell patient, they would more than likely admit her. Of course, they did. Here we sit on Tuesday waiting to be discharged...she is doing great, she was never really sick, it was just a precaution. This is kind of what we have been told to expect with a child with sickle cell, we are learning the ropes, and trying to educate ourselves. We have met the majority of Emmy's sickle cell team, and they are fantastic....LOVE THEM!!! It is never fun to be in the hospital, but this has been a great stay, due to her conditions she always be admitted to the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorder floor...the rooms are very big adn spacious, and the nurses are FANTASTIC...it is so hard to be on the floor with all these children that are battling cancer, but then again, it is a great reminder to pray for these children and their families, and to praise the LORD that my kiddos are pretty healthy in comparison!!!

Anyway, I will keep you updated on Emmy's health, and I will educate you on Sickle Cell as I learn more about it, never hurts to know more about something.

We are love with our precious new daughter, and we are so thankful that the LORD chose us, Emory, Courtney, Mina, Aidan, Michel and Carr to be her family.

Emmy...

How cute is she? She is growing so fast. I just ordered our birth announcements, hopefully, they will be in this week, and I can have them out as soon as winter break is over this week! We have big plans this week!! We have zoo passes, so if it warms up to at least 50 degrees we'd like to take a trip to the zoo, and then Friday after visitation with the boys BM, we will head to the aquarium. The kids are soooo excited!!! I am excited to have them all home for a week, I love having time to do fun stuff with them.

I am hoping for some news about Emmy's testing as well as the legal stuff this week. We are hoping that we can finally START the adoption process. Right now she is kind of loan, we are basically glorified babysitters until GA ICPC gives their stamp of approval. Please pray that they do so, and that they do it QUICK!!!!! ALso, continue to pray for Emmy's health!! I will update as soon as we have information!! Thank you for your prayers, and for keeping up with our family!!!

Update on Emmy...

I guess it really isn't that much of an update, but I wanted to let you know how things are going. We talked to an attorney in Kansas, we are hoping that Georgia ICPC will reinstate their original approval for Emmy to be adopted by a Georgia family, if they do, everything on the legal side will pan out as planned. What a blessing that will be. If not, I am not 100% sure what will happen, they want us to take Emmy back to Kansas, while we wait to become ICPC approved. That is ludicrous. This is a medically fragile child at this point, and it does not make any sense to transport her from one state to another just because GA ICPC got their feelings hurt. So, we are continuing to pray that the Lord will remove the obstacles, and that everything will pan out just as planned. We should have details on Monday, PLEASE pray for the legals to work out as planned!!

As far as the medical stuff goes, we still don't know. WE went to Scottish Rite on Thursday to have more blood work done. We are hoping to have those results sometime next week. We are headed to our pediatricians office on Monday to have a couple of more tests run, as well as, have Miss Emmy looked at, I think she may have a touch of reflux. So, I will let you know as soon as we know details. Please keep praying. The things that they are testing her for are very, very scary...praying that each tests comes back PERFECT! Please join is in praying for Emmy Faith!!!

Prayer, Please....

Today was NOT a GREAT day! We had a very emotional afternoon...Not ready to share all the details, but we are asking for prayer for our family. Specifically for baby Emmy. Please pray for her, she has a lot going on right now, we are still working out all the legals to get Miss Emmy, while she is in our physical possession, she is not ours just yet. We were planning to make that legal transition on Monday, but there is now a kink, please pray that the Lord would continue to remove obstacles. We believe that HE has hand-picked Miss Emmy to be a part of our family, and we know that He is bigger than all of these road blocks. In addition to our legal issues, we now have some very serious medical concerns. Miss Emmy had some abnormalities on her PKU, so they have repeated it several times, each time it has continued to be abnormal, so tomorrow we will go for further testing, and soon see a geneticist to discuss the findings. Please pray for a miracle, pray that these tests are wrong, pray that if they are right, that the LORD would heal her. I know this is not a surprise to HIM, I know that HE is bigger than this, and I am asking the GREAT PHYSICIAN to heal my precious baby girl!!! Please pray for Baby Emmy!!! Thank you!!