SUMMER!

i got my girl {and a couple more} and it's summer time!

No Double Yellow Line

 My sweet friend, Cindy Foote, has just recently released an EXCELLENT EP with ALL adoption related songs! Cindy, and her husband Billy, adopted two darling girls from China and Ethiopia, and are in the process now to bring home a sweet girl from Haiti. 

To get this EP you can wait until June 1 to purchase it on iTunes, but who wants to wait that long when it's available now at her website!!: No Double Yellow Line

She has also put together two video slide shows with her songs! I especially love the last little one at the end of this video (ahem...Karleigh Mei!).

Be sure to quiet my music on the side and turn up the volume. :)

 And I LOVE this song with a slideshow of their precious Gracie! Grab a tissue before you watch!

A Visit

We are on day 12 of our 90 day wait before we are able to submit our adoption paperwork for Annie. I'm sure it will fly by and be here before we know it! We recently had a visit with Annie's birthmom. It was her goodbye visit. I think it was good for all of us and a bit of closure. Seeing her leave was bittersweet. I gave her a note with a prayer that I told her I'd be praying over Annie's life. In the note I asked her to join me in this prayer, not only for Annie, but for herself as well. I honestly can't remember where I found this prayer...I think it was a song...but I thought it fit so perfectly: 

May she grow up to serve Him all of her days. 

May He lead her and guide her in all of her ways. 

May His Hand bless her future with friendships that last. 

May she cherish her youth and not grow up too fast. 

May God grant her peace in the midst of a storm. 

May God give her strength even when she’s forlorn. 

May she answer the door when Jesus comes knocking. 

May wisdom guide when her mouth is talking. 

May discretion protect her and keep her pure. 

May she never stumble or fall for a lure. 

May her heart remain humble to the very end. 

May uprightness and truth be what she defends. 

May the world not ensnare or change who she is. 

May the light that's within her shine like the stars. 

May angels surround her body, spirit, mind. 

May favor and peace be hers to find. 

May rejection and pain never reach her. 

May her spirit grow bold for what she’s called to. 

As she rests in God’s care I will rest, too. Knowing that Jesus is watching over her. 

Amen

We are also feeling like we can add just one more to our family. We have submitted for several little ones, but haven't been matched yet. I don't think I'll ever get the faces of these little ones out of my mind and the reasons why they are in need of a new family. I'm praying for them and that the Lord places them in the perfect family for them, so that they can grow and heal and become everything that He has planned for them to be.

I love this song, by Chris August. It's called 7 X 70 and it talks about how healing forgiveness can be. I think that so many of us have the need for forgiveness and it's healing, but I have to imagine that whoever the Lord has planned for us next will need this healing of forgiveness.  I'm praying even now for her, that she is safe and taken care of and that the Lord is whispering to her that her forever family, is waiting for her. 

Trusting the Lord, again, in His most perfect timing and plan.

Don't forget to quiet my music on the side before watching/listening to this song.

Music Video - Chris August, 7x70 from Randy Peterson of The Distillery on Vimeo.

Wordless Wednesday

{Shamelessly stollen from Tonya. Maybe that's why some are blurry. }

And the winner is....

alright, so i'm the worst give away-er ever. 

i told y'all i'd draw on May 1st for the A Beau Ideal gift card give away. 

ha. ha. ha!

is it really already may 5th?? 

so....the winner is....

VALERIE  

happy early mothers day, valerie! :) 

email us and we'll hook you up with the gift card!

congrats!!! and have fun shopping! 

******

to everybody else...you should still get on over to A Beau Ideal and get your self some headbands, or clippies or brooches!!

%25 of the sales goes to my Uganda trip! 

WOO HOO! 

thanks for the fun y'all!! 

-lexie

p.s. PLEASE scroll down to get some updated info on out annie doll! 

The 90 Day Wait

Today was the BIG court hearing for our Annie girl.

And today we begin the 90 day count down to being able to submit paperwork to adopt this darling girl we love so much. 

Her birthmama relinquished her rights last week. And today her birthdad's rights were terminated. 

The first 30 days the parents have the right to appeal these decisions. And then the following 60 days any other family member can come forward. 

Be. Still. My. Trembling. Heart.

BUT GOD! 

He brought us here, and He'll see us to the end. No matter what is to come. 

Trusting in Him and loving on my Annie girl!

There, go I.

Last week, unbeknownst to us, Annie's birthmom showed up to a review hearing, and relinquished her rights. When I heard this, I had a strange set of emotions. Relief was one. Joy another. Hope that Annie will be ours forever the biggest. But I also felt an immense sadness for this woman. I wish I could share more about this broken woman, but I don't feel I have that right, or that it is even really necessary.

What I can say about her, is that she has lived a broken life. I don't know about her early years, but I do know that about the last 20 years she has made unwise choices. 

But haven't I? 

Oh, if you were to see all of my unwise choices, would you even begin to be able to count them?

Some are choices that everyone can see. Many more are hidden.

I don't deserve the life I have. 

Absolutely and totally the ONLY reason I am living the life that I am was because of a decision I made 24 years ago. I realized what a mess I was making of my life. And the only way I could see a hope and a future in my life, was to GIVE my life to my God. The very one who created me. The very one who was pursuing me in a way that I couldn't deny. The very one who loved me more than I could ever imagine. The very one who proved His love for me by sending His son, Jesus, to die for me. The very one who once I made the decision to love Him and accept that He did die for ME, also sent His Spirit to live IN me. 

So you see. It's not my life I'm living. It's God's. And He can still use me even when I make mistakes. Sometimes especially when I make mistakes. Because I always find myself running back to Him.

But. What if all those years ago, I had not turned toward God? What if I had not allowed Him to come and live inside of me? 

Oh. 

There, but for the GRACE of God, go I.  I see myself in Annie's birthmom's shoes.

But you want to know the real kicker!? The most fabulous thing about my God??!! Is that even if I hadn't made that decision all those long years ago, He still would have loved me just the same. 

Exactly the same.

Oh, He loves Annie's birthmom. And He longs for her to come into His embrace. He won't be able to erase all the bad decisions she has made in her past, but He can still give her a hope and a future! But only if she goes to Him.

Please join with me in praying for her! I have a devotional called, "Jesus Lives" by Sarah Young, that I have bought to give to her. And oh my. I get chills at the thought of her opening up anywhere in this book and reading about how MUCH she is loved!

And...no joke...I just opened the book up and this is part of what I read:

Brokenness

"I am the God of divine reversals. I can glean good out of evil: my master plan brings victory out of apparent defeat. Come to me just as you are---wounded from battle---and expose your wounds to My healing Light. "

I love it! 

My prayer is that she will give God her life, and that some day, here on earth, she may be able to show Annie (when she is an adult) her new life in Christ! How awesome would that be!? 

But for now, we are hoping and praying and believing, that by the end of the summer, our Annie girl will be ours forever and ever!

We love her so!