Hey

I could not think of a title for this post because I am so behind with updates. Samuel is changing everyday and he now repeats EVERYTHING you say. He refers to himself as Samel which we love. He walks around saying, "Samel do it." Justin and I laugh every night about the things he says and does. We have been trying to talk to him about his baby sister and he says, "No baby sister." :) We should have an interesting time with him when Annalee finally arives. I am almost 29 weeks pregnant and the summer is already hot! Everything is going great so far and we are praying for a healthy baby and delivery. I still cannot type under each picture so I am going to summarize what we were doing in the following pictures. Justin and I took Samuel is a festival here in Danville a couple of weeks ago. We did not think Samuel would ride any rides but we decided to buy him a couple of tickets and just try. He LOVED them. We had so much fun. We took him to Greensboro the other day because our power was out and Samuel had his first taste of Krispy Kreme. As you can see he was one happy little boy. He kept asking for more. He loves sweets just like his daddy. The picture of our car packed was from last weekend when we tried to go camping at Smith Mountain Lake. We had a great day and grilled out with some friends but then Samuel started running a fever and we packed everything up and left at 12:30 a.m. Justin and I decided we will try camping again in maybe 3 years :).

We had a small gender reveal party last night for our families. We missed Stan, Leslie, Creighton and Finley. For some reason I cannot comment under each picture. Robin made an amazing cake and baby boy and girl cookies. We grilled out and the weather was perfect! All of the children went on an Easter egg hunt and Samuel found the surprise egg (not planned) Everyone opened their eggs and Robin was helping Samuel so she found the little piece of paper that announced our news. The last picture is me at 20 weeks. (For my Aunt Billie :) ) I cannot believe we are half way there! Justin and I feel so blessed to have Samuel with us and Annalee on the way.

It's A.............

GIRL!!!!!!!
We cannot wait to meet....
ANNALEE ELIZABETH
more details to come we are celebrating :)

New Song

Kyle Preskitt sang this song at church Sunday morning and it has become my new favorite. I was hoping I could go buy the CD but Kyle found the song on You Tube. Search for Jeremiah Yocum and "Didn't I walk on the Water" The words reminded me of all God has done for me. He has run to my rescue so many times. I am glad I am serving such a wonderful Savior. Don't get me wrong, it does feel good to be on the other side of infertility but I would not trade the trial(s) for anything. God has taught me that He is still working miracles in 2011. Justin and I have been through many other things and God has always come through for us right on time. He is the same yesterday, today and forever! The song is very long. Here are some of the words.

Now she's talking to her Father
In a house that was once a home
She said my bills are coming due Lord and six days is not that long
She hears a voice so still and low He said I've moved like that before
And I'll do this little thing
Oh, and I'll give you so much more.

But He said I walked on the water
I calmed the raging sea
I spoke to the wind, it hushed and I gave you peace
Didn't I run to your rescue
Didn't I hear you when you called
I walked right beside you just so you wouldn't fall
Didn't I leave all of heaven just to die for your sin
I searched until I found you and I would do it all again

He said do you remember where I've brought you from
Just take a look behind you at how far you've come
And every time you asked Me didn't I deliver you
So why would you be thinking that I wouldn't see you through.

Still Here

I know it has been FOREVER since I have posted and several people have asked me why. Honestly, I have been too exhausted to think about blogging and one time when I tried I had some problems with my camera connection. Anyway, we are still here :). Samuel was 18 months old Tuesday and I cannot believe how much he is changing everyday. He has been very sick for the past couple of weeks with a double ear infection. We are going to see an ENT at Duke on Monday so please say a prayer. The pictures are of Samuel's first bowling experience at his friend, Trace, second birthday party. We had so much fun watching them bowl and Samuel LOVED rolling the balls. He would push the ball and then suck his thumb while the ball was making it to the pins :). The last picture is on Valentine's Day and his sweater says "Love Stinks" (Not true but he was too cute)





I went back to the Dr. yesterday and we were able to hear the heartbeat. They said the heartbeat was strong (165) and that everything seemed to be going great. (Thanks for all of your prayers) We will find out what we are having April 11th and to say we are excited would be a huge understatement! What is your guess boy or girl?

Update

Yesterday was my 11 week appointment and ultrasound. The Dr. said the baby looked absolutely perfect! Praise God! We were able to watch the baby for almost 30 minutes because he/she was so active that they were unable to get measurements at first. Justin and I were AMAZED to say the least. They got a great picture of the baby's foot which is less than a centimeter long :) Honestly, I am still in shock! We are so thankful for this tiny new life. Samuel's birth mother has been close to my heart lately as I have thought about all the feelings/emotions that she must have experienced. Samuel's life is so AMAZING to us too. Thank you so much for praying for us and please don't stop. We praise and honor the GIVER OF LIFE!

A Perfect Plan of Redemption

I decided to participate in Kelly's Korner SUYL adoption stories so if you already know our story you might want to skip this post. :)



Justin and I were blessed to adopt Samuel through Bethany Christian Services in September 2009. In June 2009 we were officially placed on the waiting list and had been told that we could wait up to two years for a child. In only three short months we received the call that would change our lives forever. Samuel was 3 days old when we received the call and he was placed in our arms by a loving foster mother when he was 10 days old.
Something I would like to share in this post are the words that were spoken to us at a Bethany training session by a social worker. She explained that adoption is not God's perfect plan; however, adoption is a perfect plan of redemption. She went on to say that only God could take the fears of a unplanned pregnancy, an innocent child, and all the pain and heartache felt by an infertile couple and create a beautiful story. I knew that God had called us to adopt but I had many fears. When she said these words my heart began to understand adoption fully. I can say that because of one special birth mother, a precious baby boy, and our willingness to answer God's call our family has experienced this perfect plan of redemption. Samuel has brought more joy and love to our home than I ever dreamed. God healed our broken hearts, Samuel is being loved unconditionally, and we will always remember his birth mother along with our prayer for her “May the road rise up to meet you, may the wind be ever at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face and the rain fall softly on your fields. And until we meet again, May God hold you in the hollow of his hand.”


Our story is throughout the blog so if you would like to read more details you can look through older post.