"I Have To Believe"

Lyrics to the music I have on today.  :o)

Rita Springer - I Have To Belive Lyrics

 

I have to believe that He sees my darkness
I have to believe that He knows my pain
I have to lift up my hands to worship
Worship His name

I have to declare that He is my refuge
I have to deny that I am alone
I have to lift up my eyes to the mountains 
It’s where my help comes from

He said that He’s forever faithful
He said that He’s forever true
He said that He can move mountains
And if He can move mountains
He can move my mountain
He can move Your mountain too

I have to stand tall when the wind blows me over
I have to stand strong when I’m weak and afraid
I have to grab hold, hold of the garments
Garments of praise

I have to sing praise when the hour is midnight
He unlocks these chains that bind up my soul
My sin and my shame, He has forgiven, and made me whole

I have to believe...

Too Funny!

Don't forget to mute my music...scroll down to the bottom of page. :o)

I love Karleigh Mei! :o)

February Dreaming

I'm dreaming again of my darling Karleigh Mei.  I have dreamed of her for YEARS now and it's crazy to think that this time I'm dreaming of a little girl that probably has already been born.  I think about and pray for her sweet mother all the time.  How I know she loves this beautiful and perfect child that God created for the two of us.  How her heart must have broken when she knew she had to give her up.  I know that she has done this because she loves her oh-so-much.  I pray that the Lord wraps His arms around Karleigh Mei's mother and comforts her.  Both of us have this one thing in common right this very moment...we both ache to hold our darling daughter. This somehow, makes my ache for her seem more bearable.  I know what is to come.  May the ache in her heart be lifted with an indescribable peace that all will be well for her little one.  I pray that the Lord will reveal himself to her and she accepts all that He has done for her and for Our Karleigh Mei.  Thank you Lord, in advance, for all that you have done and are going to do in Karleigh Mei's life.  sigh.  Amen.

Pictures of Gannon

Here are the promised pictures of Gannon.  He's always moving, so I had to ask him to be still to take the last picture.  :o)

Showing off his skills.....

This one was too great NOT to post.  :o)

This is the one I had to ask him to be still for me to take his picture.  Isn't he cute?  Love his dimples.  :o)

Gannon is looking forward to being a big brother to a little sister.  Karleigh Mei is going to love him!

Basketball Pictures...

Gannon on the court...

Garrison on the court....

Random Pictures...

So I have totally become a boring blogger.  I'm going to try and be better about posting pictures of our lives as we wait for Karleigh Mei.

This is a picture of Garrison.  He looks like this most of the day.  Sitting at his desk doing his schoolwork (he's homeschooled).  He's such a great guy.  Karleigh Mei is going to love him!  (Can't get that silly line underneath to go away....it's bothering me.....).

This is my pretty Lexie.  She has this pretty smile on her face almost 24/7.  Isn't she beautiful!? She has a heart of gold too.  She can't wait to get her hands on Karleigh Mei.

I'll be sure to get some pics of Gannon today.  :o)

Happy Chinese New Year!!

Rodeo and TobyMac!

                                             TobyMac and the Diverse City band

We had not been to the rodeo in a couple of years and we were thinking about possibly going this year.  But then I heard that one night the entertainment after the rodeo would be TobyMac and Jeremy Camp!  It was a done deal.  Karl and I have enjoyed TobyMac (of DC Talk) for years, but our boys, ages 11 and 12, had recently "discovered" him and his CD's are the top requested to be played by my boys.  It was quite a different "rodeo experience" ("boomin' out the stereo system!"), but we had so much fun!  It was also the first year for our rodeo to have "Christian Youth" night.  Very cool, huh?  The only down-side is that we were all very sleepy this morning.  :o)

We Won a CD! :o)

Yes! We won something!  :o)  We entered a contest through K-LOVE radio--"Next Great Love Song".  Every day this week K-LOVE is selecting "Love Stories" each hour to be put into the grand prize drawing this Friday.  The "Grand Prize" is for Matthew West to write a love song based on a love story and perform it on K-LOVE on Valentine's Day.  Pretty cool huh!?  It was fun listening to Jon and Sherry Rivers read "Our Story" on-air (we MISSED their call to us!). That was prize enough for us!  But we did win Matthew West's new CD:

                                              

Fun huh?!!  Would be super fun to win that song!

Oh...I might add....for those who are looking for a great song to put on their video's about their adoption journeys....there is an AWESOME song on this new CD called "Safe and Sound". 

More SN referrals!

Wow!  I just got an email from my agency that said this:

The Special Needs Team would like to announce that the CCAA has posted new shared referrals! This shared system allows multiple agencies to view these children in hope of finding families for them. The challenging aspect to this system is that America  World cannot guarantee a child's availability as multiple agencies have access to these referrals.  Because of this, we are working quickly to contact individual families whose special needs application matches with some of the special needs and age ranges of these referrals.

I don't really know what exactly it means for us....I just know that we are once again, sigh, getting closer to Karleigh Mei!  Be praying for all of the families that get a call!!

The Harrells Referral!

                                                 

Go over and congratulate The Harrells!!  They got "the call" yesterday and picture of their blessing today.  Isn't she BEAUTIFUL!!??? I'm so happy and excited for them!!  Congrats Elissa!!

Nathan, Tricia, and Gwyneth

I have been completely moved by an incredible young man and his love for his wife and newborn baby.  I found his blog and thought I'd share a bit about him.  His profile says this about himself:

I love my God, my wife, my daughter, my family, my friends, my church and my dog (sometimes in that order). I am celebrating the miraculous birth of our first child. I live 1/2 mile from the Atlantic Ocean, in the community I grew up in. I serve as leader of worship and creative arts in the church I grew up in. I'm married to the woman I grew up dreaming about. I live for the God I'm still growing in. All said, I've got a good life. My name is Nathan. My wife, Tricia has Cystic Fibrosis (CF) and had been preparing for a double lung transplant until we discovered we were pregnant.

Tricia is the most incredible person I've ever met. She keeps me humble and
in love.
Gwyneth is our beautiful, new, baby girl, born 15+ weeks early.
Tricia is on her way back onto the transplant list, and Gwyneth is on her way out of the NICU and into our hearts.
This is our story from my perspective...

Be sure to watch (click here----->) this most precious video that he posted.  Please be lifting up Nathan, Tricia, and little Gwyneth in prayer!

Psalm 139: 1-16

"O LORD, you have searched me 

       and you know me.

  You know when I sit and when I rise; 
       you perceive my thoughts from afar.

   You discern my going out and my lying down; 
       you are familiar with all my ways.

   Before a word is on my tongue 
       you know it completely, O LORD.

   You hem me in—behind and before; 
       you have laid your hand upon me.

   Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, 
       too lofty for me to attain.

   Where can I go from your Spirit? 
       Where can I flee from your presence?

    If I go up to the heavens, you are there; 
       if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

    If I rise on the wings of the dawn, 
       if I settle on the far side of the sea,

    even there your hand will guide me, 
       your right hand will hold me fast.

    If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me 
       and the light become night around me,"

    even the darkness will not be dark to you; 
       the night will shine like the day, 
       for darkness is as light to you.

    For you created my inmost being; 
       you knit me together in my mother's womb.

    I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; 
       your works are wonderful, 
       I know that full well.

   My frame was not hidden from you 
       when I was made in the secret place. 
       When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

    your eyes saw my unformed body. 
       All the days ordained for me 
       were written in your book 
       before one of them came to be."

Sweet Father...thank you for your word.  Thank you for knitting together my precious little Karleigh Mei so perfectly and wonderfully.  Thank you for keeping your hand on her.  Only in you do I find the most perfect comfort and peace!