Redemption-Our Adoption Story: June 2014

A little over a month ago I blogged about a matching grant through Lifesong for Orphans. With it being a busy time of the year for us and Mary Clair's first birthday just around the corner, we settled for just doing a blog and emailing a few people instead of writing 100 letters and such. Well, I have to admit, I was wondering if we'd be able to raise the $2,000 by the deadline. There was about a week left and I checked our account only to see that there was $0 in our account. So my natural reaction was to worry that we wouldn't get it all by the date...
But boy was I wrong!
As always, in God's timing and because He is faithful, the amount was raised! In fact, we exceeded the amount! So our total, including the matching $2,000, comes out to be $5,387.97!!!
We are blown away and so grateful for all the help that you, our friends and family, have been in making this adoption possible. And I'm hoping you are just as generous with your prayers and will be just as supportive emotionally and spiritually on the flip side once our child is home. God is so good to us. Thank you all and thank you Lord!

In other news, we were able to get away over the weekend for a fun day at Panther Creek! It does my soul good to get in the woods and be with the ones I love the most! Asher was a champ and hiked the whole time (except the 25 yards I carried him after he tripped over a rock and hurt himself). He came home with a bag of "treasures" (to which Jake says, "You are your mother's child." To which I say, "Who doesn't love some rocks and pinecones?!?") Mary Clair could not get enough of the creek and thought that she was old enough to forge the polar waters on her own. We attempted a nap in the hammock but she was too busy watching Asher and Jake walk through the creek longing to be playing with them. And as predicted, she feel asleep about 100 feet from our van on our way out.
I'm thankful for nature and I'm thankful for my family!

(Be warned...I was only going to pick a few pictures...but I couldn't help myself! There are just so many good ones to share. And this is why the world should be thankful I have a dumb phone and don't do instagram...)