I will not be moved

Wow- you never know when you're going to have to actually "practice what you preach!" Up until 3pm today, it was just a regular day. Big kids to school, Joshua to Mother's Morning Out, me to work...then pick Joshua up @ 2 & head home. He felt feverish when I picked him up so I took his temp when we got home. 102.4 Gave Advil. 30 minutes later, 101.4. Feeling confident that I had things under control, I began cleaning up the kitchen from the morning race. (Does anyone else clean up breakfast @ 3pm? You'd think I could get that done before leaving, but more often than not, the mess awaits my afternoon arrival.) Around 3pm, Joshua begins to have a seizure. I laid him on his left side & began timing the dreadful occurrence. After 1 minute, I called 911. I was home alone with him & decided I needed someone else with me if this didn't stop. Thankfully, after the longest 4 1/2 minutes of my life, he stopped. Still not a pretty site. No longer seizing, but not my sweet baby Joshua. Long story short, it was another febrile seizure. MD determined cause to be viral therefore nothing to do, but control the fever with Tylenol & Motrin.
The irony of this situation is that earlier in the day I had a conversation with a friend regarding the pressures on kids/teenagers today. We discussed the importance of instilling a strong spiritual foundation for our kids & how we could teach them perspective. Somewhere in this conversation, I heard myself say something to the affect of "I will not live in fear. I refuse to live my life fearful of the future." (Little did I know, I had a pretty scary incident coming up in my very near future.) During those 4 1/2 minutes (that might as well have been 4 1/2 hours), God reminded me of what had come out of my mouth just 3 hours earlier. I immediately chose not to fear (not really my nature if you don't know me very well). It sounds weird, but I felt a strong peace in my den with that sweet baby. I don't typically handle situations where I have absolutely NO CONTROL very well. This was different. I didn't feel like I needed to have control. God did. I didn't feel the need to freak out - God had my baby. I can honestly say I do not fear. Bad things happen...I feel surrounded by cancer & other disease but God has it all. My stress will not change that. I need to just let GOD be GOD & do his thing!
God continues to use this child to strengthen my faith & I am so thankful. So thankful He called Scott & I to adopt, so thankful He chose this little boy for our family, so thankful I was with him when the seizure took place, so thankful it didn't happen when he was with a new babysitter the afternoon before, so thankful Autumn was able to get my older children & take care of them after school, so thankful for my precious husband who was there as quickly as possible, so thankful that Joshua is okay, so thankful for 3 beautiful, healthy children, so thankful that MY GOD is continuing to reveal himself to me in such a real & personal way.

Christmas 2010/Jan 2011

Great Start for the New Year!

Waking up to a White Christmas was amazing! The kids were so excited & Joshua joined right in. I'll post pics from Christmas soon. Joshua continues to fall right into place with our family. It seems like we have had him so much longer than just 7 months! He is all over the place now & into EVERYTHING! He loves books & balls. He is talking more & more everyday. His new favorite word is "NO!" We can hardly get a question out of our mouth without him answering "No". I have a feeling he is going to be super spoiled. Being so cute & being the youngest pretty much makes it a given. He continues to eat well & sleep through the night (for the most part). He is such a blessing to our family & a constant visual reminder of how God has adopted us. It will never cease to amaze me how I can love this child like I do. Watching my older children love him & help care for him has been beautiful to watch. It's such a sweet reminder of how our Heavenly Father loves & cares for us! God continues to use this experience to increase my faith & draw me closer to him. I ask for prayer for my sister in law, Susan Blankenship, who is on a mission trip in Africa for the next 10 days. I know God will use her in amazing ways as he increases her faith & pulls her close. Read about her experience at http://www.susanblankenship.blogspot.com/.
God Bless!

Best Christmas Present EVER!

We did it! We are truly at the end of this chapter! It could not have gone smoother! We stood before the judge, told our story, and introduced Joshua. The judge reviewed our paperwork and signed the decree! We came home with 2 copies of the decree of adoption. We should receive his birth certificate in a couple of weeks, then we can file for a social security number.
We met another family at the courthouse this morning. Keith & Holly McAfee were there with Claire, their little girl from South Korea. She became a part of their family in June 2010 also. They live in Hixson so we plan to get together soon!!
Thank you all so much for all your prayers! I can't tell you how much we appreciate your support!!

It's Official!

Finalization is Finally Here!

We have a court date!! This Friday, Dec 17th @ 8:30am, Joshua will officially, legally, be a member of our family! Finalization occurs after he has been with us 6 months. Thursday, Dec. 16 will mark 6 months so we couldn't be happier with the given date!
We have finished all 3 post placement home visits & he has adjusted very well. He is walking all over the place! He is signing well to communicate & speaking new words every day! We are very excited about a super special Christmas this year! It's hard to believe that Christmas 2008 we told the children & our family about our decision to adopt, then recieved approval for Joshua Christmas 2009. Now, Christmas 2010, we wrap up this initial part of a lifetime decision. Paperwork may be coming to a close, but we are really just getting started. It's quite an adventure, but I can't wait to see what else God has in store for my family!

Beach Trip 2010