Morning Sun

Beau enjoyed soaking in the morning sun and cool air in his dinosaur pjs!

Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed,

for his compassions never fail.

They are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness.

I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion;

therefore I will wait for him. "

Lamentations 3:22-24

Three Generations

Three generations checking out the swing at Costco....

Social Security Office

Beau and his Mimi (a.k.a Raleigh's mom)

Beau and Me

A few days ago, Beau's birth certificate arrived in the mail! This was the last document we needed in order to be able to apply for a social security card.

Today we headed to our local social security office and we had a GREAT experience! Yippee Jesus! The office opened at 8:30 and we arrived at approximately 9:00. We packed tons of snacks and activities for Beau, just in case we were there for several hours.

Guess how long the process took? Really, take a guess...6 minutes!!! I'm not even kidding!!!

As soon as we arrived we took a ticket and sat down. There were lots of people already waiting, but our ticket number was called as soon as we sat down!

We went to our assigned window and I explained that I was applying for a social security card for my son. I gave her Beau's birth certificate, his passport, and our adoption decree. I also gave her my driver's license for my id. After a few minutes, she gave me a paper to verify that she had typed all of Beau's information correctly. It was all correct! She printed us a receipt and we were done! I couldn't believe it!

I brought TONS of extra paperwork, just in case they asked to see any additional documentation, but the process was easy and painless! She said we should expect to get Beau's card in the mail within 10 days.

Of all the times we had to work with a government office during the adoption process, this was by far the easiest!

Weekend Rewind

Over the weekend, we celebrated Raleigh's birthday! Unfortunately I did not take many pictures! oops! I've got to do better about that! It was a fun day of celebrating!

We started the day with a yummy cream cheese danish for breakfast! Beau thought it was delicious!

Raleigh is lucky to share his birthday with Beau's friend Charlie. Charlie celebrated his 3rd birthday at the fire station! How fun!!

Here is a picture that Raleigh took on his phone of Beau, Lily, and Charlie on the fire truck! The kids had so much fun looking at the fire trucks! Happy 3rd Birthday Charlie!

Later that evening, we went to dinner to celebrate Raleigh's birthday! We had a great meal with Raleigh's parents and our sister-in-law Stacey. Happy Birthday Raleigh!

P.S. Below is a picture of Lily, Charlie and Beau taken in October. I think Beau is doing much better with his photo shoots! ;)

Happy Referral Day

Saturday the 18th marked one year since our referral day! I still remember that day like it was yesterday and I can't believe it has already been a year!

We had been waiting all week to hear whether or not the waiting child committee selected us as Beau's parents. We knew it was happening that week, but we were not told which day. Well, Monday through Thursday passed without any news, so we knew Friday was the big day. I had the day off of work last year because it was President's Day weekend. I stayed home all morning, but my nerves were starting to get to me so I decided to go to the mall. I was in the Lucky store buying Raleigh a pair of jeans at approximately 3:00 when my phone rang. It was the director of our agency's Atlanta office and our social worker. They told me that we had a son! It was such amazing news! I was so excited and I was crying in the middle of the mall! Ha! Ha! Random people came up to me to make sure I was ok and the clerk from the Lucky store brought me some tissues. It was amazing and I immediately called Raleigh. He was in a meeting, but he stepped out to take my call since he knew we were expecting the big news!

I loved Beau from the first moment I saw his picture on February 4th. I loved him on February 18th when we became his parents. And now he has been home almost 7 months and I love him even more.

It makes me think of the song "I Thought I Loved You Then" by Brad Paisley:

Now you're my whole life now you're my whole world
I just can't believe the way I feel about you girl (Beau)
Like a river meets the sea
Stronger than it's ever been
We've come so far since that day
And I thought I loved you then.

Last year we spent our referral night in Nashville and we were in Nashville this year as well!

Beau had fun playing at Nana and Pipi's house Saturday morning!

He even learned how to say nana!

Saturday night we went to a Belmont University basketball game.

Aren't my mom and dad cute?!

My cousin Sarah (above) is a cheerleader at Belmont and it was her birthday!

Here are some of the cousins: Sarah, Kaitlin, me and Erica

Beau did really well at the game! Here he is looking at the pep band! Our seats were right across from the band and he really liked watching them!

Here is my cousin Kaitlin and her boyfriend Kevin. I didn't get a picture of Erica's husband Matt, but he was there too!

It was a wonderful way to spend Beau's referral anniversary! We stayed through half-time of the men's basketball game and then we headed back to my parents house because Beau was getting really tired. He fell sound asleep, which was a huge blessing! We've always had a bit of trouble figuring out the best sleeping arrangement for Beau when we are away from home, but I think we figured it out.

We brought an air mattress with us and put it on the floor of the guest bedroom. You see, at home Beau sleeps on a twin mattress on the floor of his nursery. So, the twin air mattress creates a space that is really similar to what he is accustomed to. It looks like we will be traveling with an air mattress for a while!

When we woke up Sunday morning, it was snowing!! So pretty! It was a wonderful weekend in Nashville! It would have only been better if we could have stayed longer!

Happy Referral Anniversary Beau! We love you!

Who Me?

Mmm! These look yummy!

Mine all mine!

He diligently put each and every one on his little chair.

This takes focus!

Hmm, maybe if I hide the bag, mom won't notice the candy is missing.

Uh oh, I'm leaving a trail of evidence.

She caught me!

That was hard work! Time to relax and taste the mashed potatoes!

To the men in my life

Happy Valentine's Day to the men in my life!

Happy Valentine's Day to my dad, the first man in my life. My dad is the one that taught me how I should be treated. My dad always treats my mom and I like princesses. Here we are at the beach, probably in the late 80s. We are looking forward to another beach trip this summer!

Happy Valentine's Day Raleigh! I love you more today than the day I married you! Thank you for being my biggest fan! You are a wonderful husband and a fantastic dad to Beau!

Happy Valentine's Day to Beau, my treasure! Beau has filled my heart with more love than I ever thought possible. He is such a little rascal and I love his quirkiness. Raleigh and I pray everyday that the Lord would capture his heart at a very early age. I'm so thankful that he will grow up seeing how well Raleigh treats me, so that he will know how to treat his wife one day.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Pinterest Meals

Have you made any yummy dishes from Pinterest? Here are a few things I have tried!

Baked Tortellini

Zucchini Boats with Tomatoes and Basil

Roasted Parmesan Green Beans

Taco Cupcakes

Lemon Garlic Spaghetti

One year ago today

One year ago today, we saw Beau's face for the first time!

The picture above was attached to an email from our social worker on February 4, 2011. There were also 3 other babies mentioned on the email. The email was sent to all of the families in the South Korea program.

From the moment I saw his chubby cheeks, I knew something was special about him. I immediately called Raleigh and asked if we could request his file. Raleigh agreed and we had the file by that evening.

More to come...

Happy Birthday to Jason!

Today is a very special day for a very special little boy. A little boy, “Jason”, is turning 5 today! Happy Birthday Jason!!

Jason lives in South Korea and is waiting on his forever family to find him. I first saw Jason’s sweet face over a year ago on a waiting child photolisting. From the moment I saw him, he captured my heart. I have no doubt that one day he is going to be a precious son to a forever family.

I pray for this sweet little treasure every day and every day I pray that the Lord would reveal to his parents that he is their son! While he is waiting on his family to find him, I have no doubt that the Lord is covering him in love. God cares for the fatherless.

Sometimes, one of the biggest challenges for adoptive families is the cost of adoption. The awesome news is that God’s math is higher. God’s math doesn’t always “work out” on paper. But in the words of the sweet 147 Moms, God funds what he favors! And what’s the cool part? Sometimes God uses ME and YOU to help families finance adoption. If God hasn’t called you to adoption at this time, maybe he is calling you to help families raise funds to bring home their treasure.

In honor of Jason’s birthday, let’s help build up the funds for his adoption!

Jason has a page on Reece’s Rainbow that can be found HERE.

In honor of Jason’s 5th birthday, please consider donating to his adoption fund.

As of the time of this post, Jason has $3635.00 in his fund. Wouldn’t it be awesome if we could get it up to $5,000 in honor of his birthday?? That means we would need to raise $1365.00.

Could you donate $10? Or maybe $25 or $50 or even more?

Ok…let’s do this! Go here and donate! (You might have to create a login to Reece’s Rainbow to donate, but PLEASE don’t let that deter you from donating. It only takes a minute to create a login!)

Fun at the Playground

If the dirt and sand on his clothes were any indication, I'd say Beau had a good time!!

Funny story: While we were at the playground, 2 boys that seemed to be about 7 years old were having a disagreement about the rules of hide and go seek. Finally, one of the boys said, "I'm calling my lawyer." Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! I guess he had heard that before at home! Too funny!