Happy Thanksgiving!

We have so much to be thankful this year. As we gather this Thanksgiving Day, I can't help but thank God for my beautiful family. Little did I know how blessed I would be. I also thank God that we were able to save Ben, Libby our Abby from an unknown and likely unloved future.

It is National Adoption Month and I can't help but think there are still so many orphans out there. And they still weigh on my heart. We have taken God's direction to care for orphans very seriously here in our home. We doubt we are finished and pray for God's guidance. We want to minister to the orphans of this world, in whatever way God has planned for us.

If God has laid adoption on your heart, I urge and encourage you to pray and start down that path. It is an amazing blessing to be an adoptive parent. It has it's challenges, but the rewards are wonderful. For proof, I am typing this after a VERY difficult evening of misbehavior and lots of crying and hitting. But I know it's still worth it all.

For fun, I thought I would post a few "before" and "after" pictures. The pictures on the left are referral photos and the picture on the right are from recent family pictures.

Benjamin

Ben is our busy boy. He was bouncing when we first met him, and he hasn't slowed down. He has brought more joy to our lives than I thought possible. Just tonight, when he discovered I was making pumpkin pie, he did a little dance and said, "look Mama, happy feet!"

Abigail

She was crying in her picture and cried at our first meeting, second meeting, and most of the way home. But now she spends most of her time giggling, singing, talking and only some crying.

Liberty - our little beauty. She was so happy to have a Mama and Papa visit her. She loved the attention and loved the affection... and she still does. She wants to be held, hugged, kissed, and loved. She just wants to be part of a family.