WINNER!

Ok . . . I LOVE the Adoptive Families magazine and decided to enter a picture of Jadon into their annual photo contest. They contacted me this past week and told me that my photo was chosen as a runner up in their contest. Anyway, it will be in the November issue of Adoptive Families and online so my little Jadon will be a superstar (as if he wasn't already)! Here is the picture that will be published!

Unsure . . .

We only have a little more information . . . the birth family really wants the baby to go to adoptive parents that do not have any children yet. Even though it is hard to swallow . . . it is completely understandable! However . . . they are still looking at all profiles and may want to meet with several families before they make that decision. We do not know if we have been ruled out at this point. Hopefully we will know more toward the end of the week.

I remember being childless and how hard that was . . . the adoption process is very stressful and difficult to go through however this second time around I at least have a beautiful little face that smiles at me and little arms that hug me to help me get through. My heart hurts for all families that are childless when they only desire to have a baby to call their own.

For now I know our little Holland baby is out there (whether it is this one or not) and I will do my best to be patient until God reveals that to us. We only want the child that is meant to be ours . . . not someone else's little blessing. Thank God that he is in control of this situation and not me!

Please continue to keep this birth family in your prayers . . . it sounds as if they are really struggling to make the right decision for them and my heart aches for them. They need peace and clarity in this time. We will keep you posted as we find more out. Thanks for all of your prayers!

COMING SOON . . . . COLORADO PICS (I only have 1600 to go through) AND JADON'S 5TH BIRTHDAY PICS!

Could this be it?

Here we are in Colorado . . . we got a call last week Wednesday while we were driving to Colorado that our profile was once again being looked at. Once again we ask for prayers for this precious birth mother as she chooses the perfect family for her precious child.

What we know:
- Baby girl due November 17
- Looking at 3 profiles
- Hopefully we will know something this week.

Either way, she needs prayers to prepare her for what she will go through for the next two months. For now we are patiently waiting to hear who she will choose. Right now we are enjoying 4-wheeling, camping, and staying away from bears in the mountains and planning Jadon's 5th birthday party at the campground on Thursday. Thanks for all of your love and prayers through this process. We will keep you posted!

Saying "No" . . . .

I never thought Stephen and I would say "No" to showing our profile for a potential adoption. We were faced with that this week and boy it was hard! We recieved a call on Thursday about a situation where a birthmom was due next Friday with a little boy. The initial exitement of adding another child into our home was short lived as we found out more information.

Unfortunately the situation was extremely complicated at best. Without going into too many private details we prayed and talked all night Thursday night (think I got 3 hours of sleep). With heavy hearts we came to the decision to withdraw our profile as we felt that the situation was one that could affect our families safety.

We feel like God was directing our paths even though our hearts were wanting to say "yes" our mind and soul's were saying "no". We prayed over the situation and came to a point of peace as more information came to light. We have no doubts that we made the right decision in this case but this birthmother, her family and future adoptive parents need a lot of prayers right now. So if you are reading this . . . prayers for them would be great as they desperately need a sense of direction and peace.

For us . . . we travel to Colorado on Tuesday for an incredible vacation! We were lucky enough to win tickets on the Durango/Silverton Narrow guage railroad so we are taking Jadon there for his 5th birthday. After that we will be camping in Ouray for a week to do some 4-wheeling and take in all of God's beauty. We are so fortunate to get to do this with Jadon and he is so looking forward to it.

We know God is protecting our future child and we pray every day for his/her safety and health. We are thankful that God is in control and has a plan and are so at peace with that. We also know that when God closes one door . . . he opens another . . . . and that has been shown in this situation and for that we are excited!

Dolphins and Sand but not Sandy Dolphins . . .

Jadon was so excited to see Dolphins in Florida. He had the opportunity . . . or as Stephen would put it . . . the Dolphin had the ONCE IN A LIFETIME opportunity to shake Jadon's hands. Of course he loved every minute of it! One of these days I will figure out how to post the great video I have of the Dolphins!

Those were the days! Missing Florida!

Jadon's "Uh Oh . . . . I am caught" look after throwing sand.

Jadon and Daddy chatting on the beach.

Looking at boats from our campsite.

Superstar!

Family pic.

Jadon and Daddy sunset walk.

My favorite . . . probably going on a wall somewhere in the house.

Looking for the pirate ship.

I found the pirate ship!

A walk on the beach.

Beach Bums!

The beach was a blast. We had great weather and spent many days playing in the sand, going for walks, and enjoying the beautiful scene. Here are some pics!


Kiddie Pool area . . . . also a GREAT area to go snorkeling!


Family Pic in the clear waters off Shell Island.


Jadon showering off . . . he was hysterical in that water!

Seaweed head!

Loving the sand

Walking the boardwalk to the beach. You will see more of this later!

I think this was his Yoga pose on the beach . . . funny kiddo!

I guess he is practicing his beach look for when he is a teenager :-). Check out those guns!


Building castles on the beach.

The 2 loves of my life!

We are back from Florida!

We had a WONDERFUL time in Florida. The weather was great . . . and I only took about 1000 pictures and 51 videos. We focused on doing things as a family with Jadon that we would not be able to do as easily when the next little one comes along. Jadon had TONS of firsts and over the next few days I will be sharing stories and pics . . . as I said I have about 1000 pictures.

Last year we caught star fish and hermit crabs and kept them in a little aquarium through out the week. It was fun to watch Jadon watch them and we set them free at the end. This time we stuck to just hermit crabs. We caught over 20 of them so we needed a bigger box. At the end of the week we had to set them free and Jadon had a blast tossing them back into the ocean telling them to go have a big birthday party. It was pure greatness! Here are some pictures of our little man and his pets for a week.


Our Hermit Crab Habitat . . . it was Jadon's idea to add the pine cones . . .

Jadon spent alot of time just sitting in his chair playing with his little pets.

Jadon showing us on of his pets.

And that is our crazy Jadon!

Check back tomorrow for some new Florida pics! There are GREAT ones to come!

Florida!

We are heading to Florida this week! We are camping at St. Andrews State Park in Panama City. We camped there last year and loved it so much we booked the same exact camp site. Our site is right on the Grand Lagoon. Last year while cooking out over the fire we saw dolphins jumping right in front of our campsite. Jadon is sooooooo excited to head back to the beach, play in the sand and jump in the waves.

Here are some pics from last year . . . . and yes I will post new ones when we get back!


Sunrise view from our campsite!


I love this pic . . . Daddy and Jadon!


Our family on the beach. . . .

4th of July Parades!

Every year the city of Sachse has a 4th of July parade. The parade route is very close to our house and we love to walk over and watch the parade. We have LOVED taking Jadon to them through the years. Here are some pics . . . .

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009