Another Teen

We are now parents of not one but two teenagers in our family. I am trepidaciously looking forward to the teenage years. Both my teens are growing into amazing young men who want to serve the Lord and who love helping others. They show respect and obedience to us and to everyone they meet. Dare I say it...They seem "easy" at this point (Of course, G has only been a teen for a day, but he did survive those hideous preteen years and for that matter we did too.).

Garrett at 2yrs old

Garrett at 13 years old

This weekend Garrett ...aka.G-man (since he won't let me call him G-baby anymore)... celebrated his exciting milestone by playing paintball with a bunch of the guys. The gloomy, rainy day broke away to some sunshine, and the guys were able to play some rousing games which were made all the better by the added mud! Then it was home to eat tacos,burritos and birthday cake. I had a houseful of preteen and teenage boys...and yes, I am so glad that I learned a long time ago how to cook for large crowds. They consumed some large amounts of food!
Today, the official day of Garrett's birth. We celebrated with church this morning, sharing lunch with church friends and then he selected his choice of restaurant for dinner tonight. We topped it off with a visit to the frozen yogurt place which was his dessert of choice. It was a perfect way to celebrate with G-man his special day.
Happy Birthday to our Garrett! You came into this world in an amazingly rushed way (born 2 1/2 mths early). You were a fighter and grew strong against all odds. Funny, you remain a fighter... a fighter for what you see is fair and just, a fighter for the weak and needy, a fighter for Jesus. I am in awe of the young man that God is molding you to be... a man sure of his steps, a man with great ambition, and a man with a wonderful, caring, tender heart. Your dad and I love you and look forward to watching you continue to grow in your life journey. We know that God is going to use you for amazing things!
Happy 13th Birthday!!

Remembering 6 years ago...

Our First Full Day with Mia, April 2006

Brother Love...these two share an amazing bond , April 2006

Easter Sunday (our first day back home), April 2006

Daddy and His Princess, 2012

Smiley Girl, 2012

Wow, Has it really been 6 years?! I remember so vividly the massive amounts of paperwork and the extremely painful WAIT for our precious baby girl. Words cannot express how hard of a wait that it is really, but I equate it to something like this...                                                                                                   Imagine that you have been pregnant for not 9mths, but in most cases for a year or longer, then you give birth (in the adoption world we get a referrral that includes a picture of your precious child). Now, wait...you cannot have your child that you birthed , not yet...you have to wait (this time having seen your child's face). You have to wait at least another 3 months (in some cases longer) before you can bring your precious treasure home. The minute you see that beautiful child's picture, the Wait, no matter how short or long, becomes excrutiatingly painful!! Your heart yearns for this child!
... and then the day arrives! The day that your child will join your family, the day that you can touch, hold and love that treasure is upon you. Your emotions are like a roller coaster of feeelings. You are filled with joy, excitement and love... actually you can't describe what it is really like. I can only say that it is the closest I have ever come to knowing intensely, deeply, and without question the love that Jesus has for us! My precious Mia was placed in my arms, and the world around us ceased to exist. We were thrilled to have our precious little girl in our family. I was overwhelmed with emotion, and she and I spent the next few hours crying, she because of grief and fear at our "strangeness", and I because of love and thankfulness... A Baby Girl!
And now we are HERE...
... fast forward, 6 YEARS... Mia's Chinese name is "Le" (Le le as she was called). "Le" means joy and happiness. We can tell you that she was appropriately named. She has filled this house with JOY. Not that our boys didn't and don't bring us joy,but Mia brought an amazing new JOY. She brought giggles, girly things and amazing smiles. She brought lots of sillness and a lot of princess attitude.She was and is one of the happiest children I have ever known. She loves life and loves her family!
Wow! God blessed us with a precious treasure, and we could only have imagined the journey that He would have in store for us over these past 6 years!
Mia started it all...
Happy Forever Family Day, our Precious Mia!