More Pictures from Phoenix

The first picture is a home someone made out of 3 grain bins???? My question is WHY?? I guess, if we ever quit farming, we can turn all of ours into condos.
We went to the park yesterday here are some pictures of Mark & his sister Gayle.

Hello from Arizona

We are in Phoenix. It was 80 degrees when we arrived. Just wanted to send you some pictures of our day. Ellie likes the pool (too cold to get into) and the dogs, and of course, her cousins Siera and Amanda! Tomorrow, we are off to California.

New Toy

Guess what!! I finally got my own digital camera. Now I don't have to wait until Anessa comes home to put pictures up.

California Here We Come!

This is a picture of my China friend Karen, and her daughter Maddie. She is from California. We met Karen and her husband Mike last March in Beijing, and then spent a week with them in Hefei, adopting our daughters. Karen and I had a hard time saying "goodbye" to each other last April, and have become close friends through emails, over the last year.

Well Mark thought we needed a little getaway, so Ellie, Mark, and I are headed to California next week, to visit the Phillips family. We will also make a stop in Phoenix, to visit Mark's sister and family, who we have not seen for over a year.

It will be a short trip, but I can't wait to see Karen again and watch the girls together. It is a true blessing, the way God hooks up families through these adoptions. I have been blessed by Karen's friendship, over the year. Hopefully, it will be warmer there!

Something to Think About

This is a statisic I read the other day on a blog. If 7% of Christians adopted
1 child, there would be no orphans in the world.

This is a picture of Eric. He is a 4 year old, special needs child, who is currently waiting to be adopted from AHH, our agency.

I am not trying to be preachy. I would be the first one to tell you that adoption is not for everyone, and to quote my good blogging friend Kristy "It's not all ladybugs and red threads". But........this statistic floored me when I read it. It has given me a new perspective, and thought about what I think our Heavenly Father wants us to do.

Also, I have added a link to Kristy's blog. Kristy and her husband Mark will be leaving next week, to pick up their own Ellie Grace (cool coincidences huh). Please pray for them as they travel, and as they work to bond with Ellie. She is a little older than my Ellie, and has a couple special needs.

Referral Day, 1 year ago

What a difference a year makes! This was the very first picture I saw of Ellie, last year at this time. My first thought out loud to Mark was "Oh honey, they gave us a boy". Beyond that, I really didn't feel much at first for this unknown little mystery face. I didn't even share this picture a year ago with you, because I guess I didn't like it that well, and it didn't look like all the other "cute" referral pictures everyone else got. I didn't feel those warm fuzzies, that everyone else seems to speak about the first time they see their daughter's photo. I knew she was God's pick for our family, but I wasn't exactly sure what I thought or felt for her.

Praise God, that I can tell you now, one year later, I love that little face. She was exactly the right pick for us, and now I know the person, inside that little body. She has blossomed into a beautiful, feisty, strong-willed little 2 year old, who I love more and more each day!