5 years ago today.....Happy Adoption Day Joshua, Sarah, and Elizabeth!

 Time sure flies!!!  I can't believe that it was 5 years ago (yesterday) we walked into court and said YES to be the forever family for Joshua, Sarah, and Elizabeth!!  It was a lonnnggggg 3 year road of many ups, downs, and when I thought my head was spinning out of control to be honest. 

 Seeing my sweeties happy and a part of our family brings me great joy!  I love them so very much and would go through the uncertainties all over again in a heartbeat! 

 Because now I know.....but we didn't always know that is for sure! 

 We didn't know that this young man who is devastatingly handsome, loves to read, play with legos, has a great imagination, is protective of his family, loves his siblings, is a Jesus follower, who ripped right through daddy's new flowers with a bike off our front porch that first day he came to our home, would even be with us today.  BUT HE IS AND WE LOVE HIM TO BITS AND PIECES!!

 And this young lady- full of  life, almost 9, can charm everyone with her fun and crazy ways, who loves to entertain others, loves to sing her heart out, loves to dress up and dance, is happy to give others a hug when they are down- just at that moment you feel sad, who when she first arrived in our home was sleeping.....awwww.......

We soon learned of her big personality and how much she loved testing everything, but that smile!  That smile and her loving ways melted us! 

 She has so much JOY in those eyes of hers.......

 I love seeing her grow in beauty and her love for the Lord! 

 Elizabeth was our "surprise package" as she came to us in the middle of the night- literally!  I will never forget Joshua and Sarah's BIG EYES & JOYFUL VOICES- "MOMMY!!  DADDY!!!!!  SHE IS HERE!!!!!!"   It was better than Christmas Day when she came to our home.  They LOVED having their sister with them.  That day is etched in my mind forever. 

 These 2 are inseparable!   They do pretty much everything together! 

 Elizabeth......our little bundle of energy.....she is crazy, has a song in her heart and out it flows, she has a true joy in her life as she zips around like a butterfly, she is beautiful, loves Jesus, loves to dance, and loves to snuggle and cuddle! 

 She has a loving heart, and we love seeing her as she grows into a young lady. 

 Back then.....
when they first came into our lives.....
we didn't know.......
we didn't know........
we thought it would be for a while........
TODAY we know! 
We know they 3 years of pain, joy, heartache, and love is here to stay, but then we didn't know.......

 I praise God for their birth family, and I know the road was hard for them as well.........

 I also know that the pain caused when families can't stay together is hard on everyone- the birth families and the foster parents.........all stuck in situations that can be tricky, difficult, and undeniably crazy. 

 Today though we celebrate the fact that God allowed us to foster our children!  To love them when they needed us.  We also celebrate the fact that we were in the right place at the right time with open hearts to say......we can be their forever family as well.......when we were needed.  That is a hard thing to do.  Many don't answer the call because - let's face it.....you don't get any appreciation from the world, or the social workers- we had some that were pretty rude to us, or the judge- we have had them yell at us and say all kinds of nasty things to us too, we even had volunteers that said we had no business being foster parents- because we had the wrong skin color. 

So why did we do it then?  It was for the children!  It was for God!  If it was for ourselves or to please others- DO NOT BOTHER!!!  You won't get far...you probably won't even make it through the classes. 

 There were times I thought my life was falling apart at the seems- ok millions of times!  Things NEVER go as planned- ever.  God knows though, and HE alone brought us through.  I am more than thankful that HE DID!  That we were able to keep our eyes on HIM! 

 And it was worth every tear, every time we were told you are crazy, every time the plan changed again, every time we had a social worker, judge, or CASA worker that was rude to us.......because WE LOVE OUR CHILDREN!!!!!

 This was Joshua's dessert for the day!!  Cinnamon cloud- cool whip, pudding, and cinnamon graham crackers. 

 It was too thin to set a candle in it- so of course he pretended to blow out the candle- :)  LOVE THIS HANDSOME BOY!

 Sarah's choice.....lemon meringue pie!  YUMMY!!!!! 

 **Yes by dinner we were in our PJ's again, because the kids decided to go swimming even though it was a bit chilly outside!

And Elizabeth had cheesecake!  All 3 were excellent choices!!!!!!!!!!!!  Yes we definitely have a lot of dessert on March 19th every year!!!  ;)  HEY, THIS IS A DAY WORTH CELEBRATING!!!

Happy 5th Adoption Day- Joshua, Sarah, and Elizabeth!!!!