Favorite Photo Friday: Summer in March!

We are loving these 75 degree days in March!!!
It's not normally this warm until mid-June.
And March is always a tough month, at the end of a bitter cold winter.
What a gift that has been. Will, Ben and Grace even splashed around
in the pond today! I took these pictures yesterday evening.

For more Friday Favorites visit Lisa at:

One Year!!

It was one year ago today that our daughter was placed in our arms forever.
I think it was probably both the best and worst day of her little life to this point.
What a JOYful, long anticipated day for our family.
What a terrifying shock for Grace.

We celebrate Grace's life today, but we mourn her losses.
Until you are touched personally by adoption, you don't realize
the grief that is intermingled with the great joy.
The intense loss and the huge gain that happen at the same instant.
We are forever grateful that Grace's birth mom chose to give her life.
Abortion is, sadly, very much on the rise in China.
We are forever saddened that she will never know anything about us
and Grace will never know anything about her.
We HATE that she was abandoned.
We are beyond grateful that she was placed somewhere she would be found.
She was given EXCELLENT medical care.
And lived in a poor orphanage where they really CARE for the children,
thanks to the fact they have a Half the Sky Program.
And God perfectly orchestrated the events that allowed us to be the ones to get her file.
We gained a daughter, Grace gained a FAMILY
but she lost a familiar culture, language, and the comfort of being part of the majority.
We can't describe the privilege it's been to watch
as the Great Physician heals our little girl.
We are humbled and in awe of His GRACE.
We love that she smiles almost all the time now.
She smiles so big her eyes completely disappear!
She laughs often, and it comes from way down deep in her soul.
She sleeps peacefully in her own bed, most nights.
We are humbled by the endless amount of unconditional love that Sam, Joe, Will and Ben have for their sister. It's been a year and she still has a hard time with them sometimes. But she does LOVE them, and is slowly coming around.
We are SO THANKFUL to have Grace in our family.
She completed us, and has added so much fun, laughter, sunshine, cuddles, and PINK
to our home.

If not us then who?

I am feeling, for the first time in many years, that God has closed the door on us adopting again, at least for now. However I am feeling an urgency to help the orphan - or to help children not to become orphaned in the first place - more than ever before. It has really hit me like I ton of bricks. Please take a minute to read this blog:

http://www.nogreaterjoymom.com/2012/02/if-not-usthen-who.html

The pictures on here are very disturbing. But I ask you to look at them anyway. These precious children were created in God's image, and this is happening right NOW. My children are so fortunate, how can I turn my back on these little ones? I for one cannot be complacent any longer. I am praying that God will show me what our family should do. I would love it if others would join me.

Upward Basketball 2012

This was our second year participating in Upward Basketball at Flushing Community Church of the Nazarene. I am not sure how other churches do Upward, but I have LOVED everything about this program. After the awful experience we had coaching baseball two years ago, Upward has help make kids sports fun again for our family. Paul volunteered to be Joe's assistant coach and was recruited :) to be Will and Ben's assistant coach as well. Upward provides the competition kids need, but in such a positive environment. Every kid plays, and the coaches really teach the kids the game. Every game begins with prayer, and they have devotions for the players and crowd at half time. The coaches spend the last few minutes of practice talking to their team and players are rewarded for playing well and exhibiting Christlike behavior. The fans cheer for everybody, and there is no yelling at the kids from the sideline. I wish all kids' sports could be so encouraging and fun. We absolutely loved it. Here are some shots of our boys. I love how each picture captures their personalities.


Sam: Determined and strong-willed

Joe: Focused and accurate

Will: Thoughtful and trying hard

Ben: Fun and full of life (here he is on offense, but guarding his man, with a big smile. lol)

Favorite Photo Friday: Kim's Family

I love going to visit my friend Kim. Our kids play so hard, and so well together. I always leave feeling encouraged, and inspired to be a better mom and a more committed Christian. Her kids were great and let my practice photography on them, since mine are quite tired of it. Unfortunately, didn't get to many of all the kids together or Kim and I....Next time! Click on the pictures to see them enlarged.

I Heart Faces: Beautiful Black and White

About a month ago, my wonderful husband bought me a DSLR camera. I knew nothing about photography, or even how to use my camera. My friend Amy, who traveled to China with us, takes absolutely beautiful pictures. She recommended an online photography class taught by Lisa, who blogs at www.thelongroadtochina.com. Lisa is not only an amazing photographer, but also a great teacher. I have learned SO much. Plus, a portion of the fees she collects goes to help Half the Sky, an organization that is near and dear to our hearts. I am a total amateur, but I can't tell you how fun this has been for me, I've always loved to take pictures, and now I'm learning how to beautifully capture these moments with my kiddos. It's also given me a hobby of my own, something I haven't had many years. I've taken over 5,000 pictures in the last month, and deleted them majority. :) Several of the photography blogs I follow have weekly challenges or competitions. I decided to try some of them for fun, and to challenge me. Not to mention, that this will give me incentive to blog again, and my mom and dad will get to enjoy photos of their grand kids more frequently.

This challenge is for I Heart Faces, and is called, "Beautiful Black and White." I love this picture of Grace, she brought this special dress downstairs to wear - she loves to dress up. Paul's grandmother made this dress for his niece about 12 years ago, and now Grace has it. It's a beautiful dress. She's also wearing both of our pearls from China, along with a few other treasures she pulled out of my jewelry box, another one of her favorite past times. I can't believe it was one year ago today that Paul and I boarded a plane to China to meet our beautiful daughter. She is such a joy.

To see more beautiful black and white pictures you can visit I Heart Faces.

Photography Class