A week with the only great, great . . . an overview in pictures.

 

Well, we have had a fantastic week.  My grandmother's twin sister, my great aunt, and my kids only great-great remaining, came up for a visit and we have had much fun!  As you can tell, Bethany is getting so much bigger and she loves for her brothers to hold her. 

 

There was reading every night.  Both reading by the great-great and reading by the big boy!

  

There was a trip to the zoo, but sadly the camera battery was dead, so there are no pics of that fabulous event.  However, we spent the next day at a huge botanical gardens, Powell Gardens, where we saw all kinds of plants.  In this pic we were at the top of a silo, looking down on the vegetable gardens planted in the shape of a quilt pattern.  Two things this amazing woman knows a lot about- vegetable gardens and quilts.  :)

 

Samuel just being cute with his daddy.

 

And running through fountains.  What could be more fun?

All this to say, I have many thoughts about the times with my great aunt.  She is a precious one from the Lord, and we both have times of sadness as the memories of Gigi are so close.  I haven't the time tonight to process it all through, but I will say this much.  I am incredibly grateful to the Lord for placing ones in my life who are testimonies of His love and this woman is no different.  She has lived many years, and some of the most recent have been hard.  And yet, she is content in her spirit, patient in her heart, and kindness wells up from within.  I am blessed getting to know her better and look forward to every moment the future may hold. 

the Second Born has a lot to say today. . . .

Quote #1:

When talking about the fact that he couldn't have a large frozen strawberry because he couldn't bite it, he said, "I bet God could bite it. And Moses too. I bet Moses could bite it." 

Qoute #2:

When talking about how he wanted to go back to the pyramids, he first said he wanted to take Baby Chief, NaeNae, Papa, and Erin.  When he remembered that they had all already been (except his baby sister of course), "We need to take Gigi when she comes back.  I think she would like them."

And it's only 10:15 in the morning.  How I love my mornings with my sweet Second in Command.

 

Shreveport Shout Out!

 

So this is just a really cute baby, but when we went outside for the garage sale this past Friday morning it was in the 50's.  Beautiful, but created a need for some fall fashions.  As I looked at my sweet one I realized that we were all kinds of grateful to our friends down south.  The yellow night gown was worn by one Anna Grace, the hat came from her AMAZING Mama, Candace, and the really warm and soft blanket came from our dear friend,  Mama Barbara Chaney!  How we love all of the Chaney/Dent clan in LA!  Love you guys--

Another Moment for Gigi. . . . and NaeNae too.

So, last time we went to AR my mom and I went to the basement of her house and she pulled out this fantastic box.  It had baby clothes in it that belonged to her and my brother, sister, and I.  It was amazing!  SO, since she has been harrassing me (in a positive way) for updated pics of Baby Chief, I thought we would have a photo shoot today in a shirt that once belonged to her NaeNae.  And let me tell you something people, this little shirt had to be ironed!  That's a committment from me . . . but the baby Chief was as cute today as her Grandmother was those years ago.  And I was just as proud of my baby as her mother had been of her.

 

Here's another, just for fun.

For those of you who understand. . . .

I got the new insurance cards today!!!!  For those of you who rememeber, we had a couple months there where the cards for baby chief said "Baby Girl R."  It made my heart sad to see them every time.  We went to court, still don't have the right birth certificate, but faxed the court documents to the right people and they came in the mail!  I would put a picture up if it didn't have all that private info on it, but just use your imaginations. . . .

cards just for Baby Chief.  With her REAL name on it.  Amen and amen.

2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 

Psalm 139: 13-16
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.

Gigi and the things she loved. . .

Well, today I had one of those moments. You know, when you are going along, everything is fine, and all of the sudden you see something and the memories are so full, and life is so dear that tears begin to fall. Today, we saw a butterfly on the front window. Benjamin thought it would be a great idea to get the magnifying glass that came from Gigi's house. (He has been wanting one for some time, so when I was going through the garage sale stuff and found one, I gave it to him.) They both (the butterfly and Benjamin) sat there for probably 5 minutes looking at each other.

I was reminded of my Gigi. She LOVED to look at all the things outside our home, from the flowers to the deer to the birds to the bugs. She would notice things outside and point them out to the boys. They would walk around outside together and notice things in nature and she would tell them about it. She would tell them about what kind of tree it was, and what kind of bugs there were. It was precious to me and to them. She would have loved watching Benjamin explore using something that came from her. Know she had played a role in the growth of his mind and heart. I learned many things from my grandmother, but today I am remembering her love for nature and her love for her Savior that shone forth when she loved my children. Thank you Jesus for such time with such a woman. Hope you guys are having a blast!

Finalization and the changing of a name. . .

Our biggest excitement this month was finalizing the  adoption!  It was an incredible day.   There was a judge,
 two lawyers (one for the birth father since his rights had to be terminated) and one for us, our family, my mother, sister and great aunt, and a couple of precious ones from the agency, Hannah's Dream.  How I longed for my grandmother to be there too, but that's another thought for another day.  It was amazing.  The judge entered, and we all stood, just like you see on TV.  They had some lawyer talking, and then the judge looked straight at me and said.  "Do you understand what is happening here?  Do you want to adopt this child as one of your own?"  I answered yes.  He then asked, "Do you understand that this is not like marriage?  There is no option for divorce?  Once this is finished it is final??  Do you still want to proceed??"  A somber and excited, "Yes."  He looked at Daddy Chief and asked if he agreed.  All the sudden, with authority and strength, he said,
     "It is further ordered, adjudged, and decreed that  the adoption of Baby Girl R., a minor child, by Daddy Chief and Mama Chief, husband and wife, be and is hereby granted; that said child is hereby adopted as the child of said petitioners and that the name of the child is hereby changed to Baby Chief."  (let the reader understand)
     And it was finished.  He signed, the lawyers signed, we took some pictures and we walked out 10 minutes after we had started with a new, precious, completely legal addition to our family.  It was ALMOST comparable to leaving the hospital for the first time with my biological ones.  You know that feeling?  Like, is that really it?  They are just letting me leave with this amazing, incredible, fragile, and yet beautiful thing that has consumed my heart??
     I have been pondering and praying for a while now over what that judge said.  You see, I have two different insurance cards that call our daughter Baby Girl R.  That was her legal and official name before we went to court.  Literally.  Baby Girl.  I had no say in what she was named at birth.  I had to wait.
     I was reminded of all the amazing verses in the Word referencing our name and waiting.  Revelation 2:17 says, “To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it,”  I was reminded of Romans 8 where it says, "Not only so, but we ourselves groan inwardly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies."  I am reminded that our adoption is finalized when Jesus comes back, gives us new BODIES and NAMES.  I am reminded that Jesus is not coming back yet because he loves all people, and longs for as many as possible to turn to him.  The end of Revalation also says, "Behold, I am coming soon!”  You see, our hope is not in today.  Our hope is not in who we are now, or “who” we were born, or anything else about us in our lives now.  Our hope is in His return.  When the family is reunited, when we get to be legally and completely His because the rights of this world are officially terminated.  And when we get our new names. 

Some people don't really understand why we got on this adoption train.  It's not complicated, it's not even all that radical.  It's definitely not because we have anything that anyone else doesn't have.  It's simply because we get to see God in a whol new light.  We get to know Him better because we love this little one.  And I, for one, am grateful.  I wouldn't change it for the world. 

What do you do when it rains?

You get on your blue, car raincoat.  (You can't see the cool cars, but they are on the inside).

Be sure not to forget your snow boots.  It may get cold outside, AND they keep you dry.

AND YOU PLAY!!!  

(I couldn't get that pic due to a really cute little girl screaming at me for her mid-morning snack.)

See??

Just because. . .

Just for fun, . .

This is hilarious, by one friend of mine.  Those of us transplanted out of the south don't realize what we had until it was gone. . . .

"How I Know You're Not A Southerner"