Monday, November 8, 2010
Thursday, October 14, 2010
One Less
A friend on facebook shared this and I just had to pass it on. The words shared in this interview could have been my own (although I could not have spoke them so beautifully or put them to song), but they could also have belonged to many of the people we've met along the adoption road. It is sweet evidence that the love of the Father for the orphan is present and unified in His people. Praise Jesus!
http://vimeo.com/15064039
http://vimeo.com/15064039
Monday, September 20, 2010
Catching Up with some pictures from the 2010 Sublette County Fair.
Clancy did a great job handling "Tank" and made a good bit to put in his college fund! Thanks Big J's and Grandma and Grandpa Rogers!
Emma and Mini-Moo won Grand Champion Heifer!
Emma and Mini-Moo won Grand Champion Heifer!
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
They are coming HOME!!!
Last Friday morning we got another much anticipated call (I'm not sure my heart can take anymore of those :) Our Ethiopian sweeties are coming home! We will be leaving August 15th for an appointment with the US Embassy in Addis Ababa ET on the 18th! This time we are taking the kids with and can hardly wait to see all four of our children together, what a joyful day that will be! After Embassy we will spend a few days in Addis and then return home as a family of 6, Wahooo!! In the mean time we are BUSY, packing and preparing the house for our new additions and it's fair week...AAAGH! Clancy is taking a steer and Emma a heifer this year, we will post pics of that after fair.
Thank you Lord that through all the crazy changes our family is experiencing You remain the same! Psalm 102:27 But you remain the same and your years will never end
As always we treasure your continued prayer support through this big leg of our journey!
Enjoy these new pics, they are SO cute! I can't wait to kiss those cheeks again!
Thank you Lord that through all the crazy changes our family is experiencing You remain the same! Psalm 102:27 But you remain the same and your years will never end
As always we treasure your continued prayer support through this big leg of our journey!
Enjoy these new pics, they are SO cute! I can't wait to kiss those cheeks again!
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Saturday, July 3, 2010
My Rainbow
I am relieved to say that tomorrow morning we are heading to Ethiopia. There is a pile of bags and suitcases in the middle of my kitchen for proof. It has been a long and short week all at the same time, but we are all packed and ready to go meet our sweet children. Thank you so much for all your prayers they have held us up during this trying week and I trust will carry us through this journey to Africa.
God has been so faithful to show himself to us this week. Sweetly reminding us that this is all in His plan and HE is in it. After a particularly trying day this week the Lord spoke to me in a beautiful rainbow. I am pretty sure He put it there just for me ;) reminding me of the beauty that is in His promise. We are rejoicing with our heavenly father this week as we are reminded of His promise in John 14:18 "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you."
We appreciate all your prayers and support, they are a priceless gift as we continue on this journey to our children. If you would like to know what specific prayer needs we have go to the blog archive on the right of this page and click on the post from June 27th.
We will try to update this blog from Ethiopia but cannot be certain it will work. We are looking forward to telling you all about the new additions to the Rogers family when we get home!
Oh and for Clancy and Emma, we miss you already and can't wait to see you, have fun with Grandma and Grandpa, love you!
Grace and Peace and lots of love to you all!
God has been so faithful to show himself to us this week. Sweetly reminding us that this is all in His plan and HE is in it. After a particularly trying day this week the Lord spoke to me in a beautiful rainbow. I am pretty sure He put it there just for me ;) reminding me of the beauty that is in His promise. We are rejoicing with our heavenly father this week as we are reminded of His promise in John 14:18 "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you."
We appreciate all your prayers and support, they are a priceless gift as we continue on this journey to our children. If you would like to know what specific prayer needs we have go to the blog archive on the right of this page and click on the post from June 27th.
We will try to update this blog from Ethiopia but cannot be certain it will work. We are looking forward to telling you all about the new additions to the Rogers family when we get home!
Oh and for Clancy and Emma, we miss you already and can't wait to see you, have fun with Grandma and Grandpa, love you!
Grace and Peace and lots of love to you all!
Thursday, July 1, 2010
15 years ago God gave me you!
James-
Fifteen years ago today we were getting ready to start our lives together. Actually at this exact moment I think you might have been fishing and I was probably getting my nails done. Never the less, we were planning a life together. On that day my head and heart were filled with dreams of what our lives were going to be like together. I never could have imagined what amazing blessings the Lord had in store for us!
In some ways I can't believe it's been 15 years and in other ways it feel like we have always been together. God has been SO good to us. I know we often joke that E-harmony never would have matched us but one thing is for sure GOD did! God knew exactly what I needed so HE gave me you, you are a gift from heaven and I don't ever want to forget that.
Walking beside you through this life has been an adventure and a privilege. You are an amazing man! I look at you and see strength, humility and passion. As I have told you before I have no doubt that you will accomplish whatever you set your mind to. I have seen you set your mind to things above and grow in leaps and bounds in the grace and knowledge of our Lord. You are a man who is passionately following Christ and God has poured His provision and protection over our family through you. Thank You Jesus!
As I think of how we are blessed to celebrate our 15 year anniversary in Ethiopia, I can't help but see that it is no accident. God knew all along where He was taking us, He has been preparing us for this day since we first put those rings on each others fingers. We have been through many wonderful adventures together and celebrated our anniversaries in many different ways but I believe this will be one of the best! I have been dreaming about serving the Lord along side you for over 15 years now, and while I know we have been blessed to serve in many ways this is my favorite! I am so excited to travel to Ethiopia with you, to pour the love the Father has lavished on us into the lives of His orphans together. God gave me you to walk beside on the streets of Ethiopia, He gave me you to embrace our children for the first time with and you to spend a lifetime loving and raising our 4 beautiful children with! I am amazed at the Goodness of our God and I will spend the rest of my life in passionate pursuit of you, my precious gift from above!
I recently heard the song on the video above and my mind instantly filled with thoughts of you, I truly am so grateful that God gave me you!
Happy 15th Anniversary, I love you!!!
Fifteen years ago today we were getting ready to start our lives together. Actually at this exact moment I think you might have been fishing and I was probably getting my nails done. Never the less, we were planning a life together. On that day my head and heart were filled with dreams of what our lives were going to be like together. I never could have imagined what amazing blessings the Lord had in store for us!
In some ways I can't believe it's been 15 years and in other ways it feel like we have always been together. God has been SO good to us. I know we often joke that E-harmony never would have matched us but one thing is for sure GOD did! God knew exactly what I needed so HE gave me you, you are a gift from heaven and I don't ever want to forget that.
Walking beside you through this life has been an adventure and a privilege. You are an amazing man! I look at you and see strength, humility and passion. As I have told you before I have no doubt that you will accomplish whatever you set your mind to. I have seen you set your mind to things above and grow in leaps and bounds in the grace and knowledge of our Lord. You are a man who is passionately following Christ and God has poured His provision and protection over our family through you. Thank You Jesus!
As I think of how we are blessed to celebrate our 15 year anniversary in Ethiopia, I can't help but see that it is no accident. God knew all along where He was taking us, He has been preparing us for this day since we first put those rings on each others fingers. We have been through many wonderful adventures together and celebrated our anniversaries in many different ways but I believe this will be one of the best! I have been dreaming about serving the Lord along side you for over 15 years now, and while I know we have been blessed to serve in many ways this is my favorite! I am so excited to travel to Ethiopia with you, to pour the love the Father has lavished on us into the lives of His orphans together. God gave me you to walk beside on the streets of Ethiopia, He gave me you to embrace our children for the first time with and you to spend a lifetime loving and raising our 4 beautiful children with! I am amazed at the Goodness of our God and I will spend the rest of my life in passionate pursuit of you, my precious gift from above!
I recently heard the song on the video above and my mind instantly filled with thoughts of you, I truly am so grateful that God gave me you!
Happy 15th Anniversary, I love you!!!
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Next Week Ethiopia!
What a crazy week we have had. The kids and I were in Casper all week while Clancy attended Key camp. On Tuesday I went to the Library to check my email on one of there computers. I discovered we had received an email from our program director at AWAA and she was letting us know that our children's birth certificates were obtained and all of our paperwork had been submitted to court the previous week! I was so excited that I started crying in the middle of the Natrona County Library, I'm pretty sure the people there thought I was a flake. At the end of the email it stated that we should be hearing on a court date in the next one to two weeks for sometime early to mid July.
Fast forward a couple days to Friday afternoon. We were still in Casper and I noticed that I had missed a call and received a voicemail on my cell phone. I checked the message not really expecting anything exciting and heard the travel coordinator from AWAA on the other end explaining she had some exciting news for our family could I please call her. AAAAGH! I quickly dialed and tried to calmly ask for her only to find out she was unavailable at the moment, I left a message and hung up. Then I called James to tell him, I think we are getting a call for a court date, only he had already spoken to AWAA and had all the wonderful details!
So here's the deal... We "tentatively" have a court date for July 8th! Lord willing a judge in Ethiopia will confirm that date tomorrow and our travel plans will be made official. We are supposed to be in Addis Ababa Ethiopia by the 4th or 5th July, NEXT WEEK! AAAAAAGH! There is so much to do and think about so we are on a roller coaster ride of emotions around our house.
I am including a list of prayer needs we are currently asking for, we truly treasure your prayers through this wonderful, challenging, exciting, scary and God filled leg of our journey!
PRAISE GOD that He is the father to the fatherless.
PRAISE GOD for giving us a July court date!
Our Prayer Needs:
•That the Lord would hide us from the roaming eyes of the enemy and protect us from all evil.
•Our court date of July 8th would be confirmed and we would be able to obtain flights and get to Ethiopia no later than July 5th
•Financial provision for travel and in country expenses.
•For strength and grace to accomplish all that is needed to go to Africa in less than a week.
•That we would have extra time in the word and prayer so we might walk in the strength of the Spirit and honor the Lord through this leg of our adoption journey. We would be filled with the joy of the Lord!
•Travel mercies and safety.
•Health for all 6 of the Rogers.
•That we would all be free from anxiety and filled with peace that passes all understanding.
•The Lords blessing on our “Meetcha Day” that He would create a connection and bond between us and ****** and *******.
•Clancy and Emma would have health and safety while we are away and the Lord would use the time to further prepare their hearts for new siblings. Strength and health for Charles and Cyd as they care for them.
•Unity and clarity of thought for James and Andrea.
•JULY 8th at court all necessary people and paperwork would be present, the Lord would give us words to say and favor in the eyes of the judge. That we would pass court and legally adopt ****** and *******!
•That we would be able to meet our children’s birth family, for mercy and blessing in their life.
•For strength and faith in the Lord as we leave ****** and ******* and return home. That the Lord would use the separation to create a desire in them to be united with us and that He would comfort us during this difficult time.
•Our hearts would be open to the Lords leading and we would shine as a light for Him in Ethiopia.
THANK YOU LORD JESUS FOR INTERCEDING IN PRAYER FOR US AS OUR GREAT HIGH PRIEST!
Fast forward a couple days to Friday afternoon. We were still in Casper and I noticed that I had missed a call and received a voicemail on my cell phone. I checked the message not really expecting anything exciting and heard the travel coordinator from AWAA on the other end explaining she had some exciting news for our family could I please call her. AAAAGH! I quickly dialed and tried to calmly ask for her only to find out she was unavailable at the moment, I left a message and hung up. Then I called James to tell him, I think we are getting a call for a court date, only he had already spoken to AWAA and had all the wonderful details!
So here's the deal... We "tentatively" have a court date for July 8th! Lord willing a judge in Ethiopia will confirm that date tomorrow and our travel plans will be made official. We are supposed to be in Addis Ababa Ethiopia by the 4th or 5th July, NEXT WEEK! AAAAAAGH! There is so much to do and think about so we are on a roller coaster ride of emotions around our house.
I am including a list of prayer needs we are currently asking for, we truly treasure your prayers through this wonderful, challenging, exciting, scary and God filled leg of our journey!
PRAISE GOD that He is the father to the fatherless.
PRAISE GOD for giving us a July court date!
Our Prayer Needs:
•That the Lord would hide us from the roaming eyes of the enemy and protect us from all evil.
•Our court date of July 8th would be confirmed and we would be able to obtain flights and get to Ethiopia no later than July 5th
•Financial provision for travel and in country expenses.
•For strength and grace to accomplish all that is needed to go to Africa in less than a week.
•That we would have extra time in the word and prayer so we might walk in the strength of the Spirit and honor the Lord through this leg of our adoption journey. We would be filled with the joy of the Lord!
•Travel mercies and safety.
•Health for all 6 of the Rogers.
•That we would all be free from anxiety and filled with peace that passes all understanding.
•The Lords blessing on our “Meetcha Day” that He would create a connection and bond between us and ****** and *******.
•Clancy and Emma would have health and safety while we are away and the Lord would use the time to further prepare their hearts for new siblings. Strength and health for Charles and Cyd as they care for them.
•Unity and clarity of thought for James and Andrea.
•JULY 8th at court all necessary people and paperwork would be present, the Lord would give us words to say and favor in the eyes of the judge. That we would pass court and legally adopt ****** and *******!
•That we would be able to meet our children’s birth family, for mercy and blessing in their life.
•For strength and faith in the Lord as we leave ****** and ******* and return home. That the Lord would use the separation to create a desire in them to be united with us and that He would comfort us during this difficult time.
•Our hearts would be open to the Lords leading and we would shine as a light for Him in Ethiopia.
THANK YOU LORD JESUS FOR INTERCEDING IN PRAYER FOR US AS OUR GREAT HIGH PRIEST!
Thursday, May 20, 2010
REFERRAL!!!! We know who they are!!!!
We are so blessed to announce that last Thursday, May 13 at 2:40p.m we got what is known in the adoption world as "THE CALL". I was just heading out the door to go pick kids up from school and James was fencing out in the middle of No Where, which equals no cell signal...aaagh! Our family coordinator said we could wait until I reached him if I would like, but I knew that would mean another day so I sent him a quick text hoping it would reach him... knowing I couldn't wait. I also had to give mom a quick call and ask her to go get the kids at school. It was a crazy 60 seconds or so. As I returned to my conversation with our coordinator I heard those 5 words we had been waiting 7 months to hear, "This is your referral call!" My heart just about lept from my chest! I listened intently as she described a precious brother and sister from Ethiopia in need of a home and family, tears began streaming down my face and my heart filled with praise to the Lord. The moment I heard their sweet names I knew they were the children God had been preparing us for. As we wrapped up our conversation she told me she was sending all their referral documents complete with pictures in an email right away and that I could call with any questions, then we hung up.
The moment we hung up I fell to my knees and began thanking and praising the Lord. As I have said before, this adoption is His and I am in awe of the love He has lavished on our family through it! We are immensely humbled that He would entrust His precious children to us. Praise His Beautiful Name!
After a while I was able to pick myself up off the floor although my heart continued to feel like it was going to leap from my chest. I tried to call James leaving him an emotionally charged message that he probably couldn't even understand, followed by several more texts that looked something like this... Referral, Call Me ASAP!!! I considered trying to go and find him and contemplated what I should do about that information on my computer, should I look without him, I certainly wanted to. After a couple of frantic phone calls with family I decided to take a deep breath sit down and look at those sweet pictures.
Oh I wish I could share them with you, they are adorable, the perfect fit for the Rogers family. The same feeling I had when I first looked on the faces of Clancy and Emma after they were born, absolute love at first sight!
Later I drove to town to pick up the kids at moms, as I was driving I got a phone call from James. He had gotten my text and was racing home, the cell signal wasn't good so we agreed I would get the kids and meet him at the office. Once there we surprised Clancy and Emma with the news and pulled up the pictures on my email. There was a few seconds of silence as we all stared at those sweet faces, in that moment our family was changed forever.
We have officially accepted the referral for these precious kidos which means that our adoption agency will now begin working on a court date for us. This court appointment will happen in Addis Ababa Ethiopia most likely sometime in the next 6 weeks for which James and I will travel over meet and officially adopt 4 year old******* and almost 5 year old******. After we pass court we will be permitted to share more information with you all and look forward to that day! After court the children will remain in the AWAA transitional home and we will return to the U.S. to wait for a period of 6-12 weeks for an appointment with the embassy. We will then return to Addis for our embassy appointment and get to pick up our babes and bring them home!
Please continue to pray for the Rogers in America and those in Africa as we wait on the Lord to unite us.
THANK YOU LORD FOR THIS JOYFUL DAY!
The moment we hung up I fell to my knees and began thanking and praising the Lord. As I have said before, this adoption is His and I am in awe of the love He has lavished on our family through it! We are immensely humbled that He would entrust His precious children to us. Praise His Beautiful Name!
After a while I was able to pick myself up off the floor although my heart continued to feel like it was going to leap from my chest. I tried to call James leaving him an emotionally charged message that he probably couldn't even understand, followed by several more texts that looked something like this... Referral, Call Me ASAP!!! I considered trying to go and find him and contemplated what I should do about that information on my computer, should I look without him, I certainly wanted to. After a couple of frantic phone calls with family I decided to take a deep breath sit down and look at those sweet pictures.
Oh I wish I could share them with you, they are adorable, the perfect fit for the Rogers family. The same feeling I had when I first looked on the faces of Clancy and Emma after they were born, absolute love at first sight!
Later I drove to town to pick up the kids at moms, as I was driving I got a phone call from James. He had gotten my text and was racing home, the cell signal wasn't good so we agreed I would get the kids and meet him at the office. Once there we surprised Clancy and Emma with the news and pulled up the pictures on my email. There was a few seconds of silence as we all stared at those sweet faces, in that moment our family was changed forever.
We have officially accepted the referral for these precious kidos which means that our adoption agency will now begin working on a court date for us. This court appointment will happen in Addis Ababa Ethiopia most likely sometime in the next 6 weeks for which James and I will travel over meet and officially adopt 4 year old******* and almost 5 year old******. After we pass court we will be permitted to share more information with you all and look forward to that day! After court the children will remain in the AWAA transitional home and we will return to the U.S. to wait for a period of 6-12 weeks for an appointment with the embassy. We will then return to Addis for our embassy appointment and get to pick up our babes and bring them home!
Please continue to pray for the Rogers in America and those in Africa as we wait on the Lord to unite us.
THANK YOU LORD FOR THIS JOYFUL DAY!
Thursday, May 13, 2010
When Life Gets Hard
When life gets hard it is easy to feel we are alone in our struggles. All of us are facing a battle of some sort, it may be physical or financial, even mental or emotional. Whatever painful thoughts come to mind when you are alone in the quiet bring life to the battle you are facing. I say this because my heart is heavy with life and I know yours may be as well. If you are like me your mind races with what you can do to "fix" the problem or change your circumstances. The Lord spoke to me this morning and strengthened me for another day, I pray you too are encouraged by what He said... "The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still."Exodus 14:14
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Waiting...
Today marks 3months since we have been on deck, meaning next in line to recieve a referral for our children. Almost 7 months since our dossier was sent to Ethiopia, and still no word. I am suprised that we have not heard anything yet, but God is not. He will bring our children to us according to His perfect will and timing. I find comfort in His word, knowing the Lord has much to say about waiting on Him.
Psalm 27:14
Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.
Psalm 33:20
We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield.
Psalm 38:15
I wait for you, O LORD; you will answer, O Lord my God.
Isaiah 30:18
Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!
Isaiah 40:31
But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.
I came across this article from the Denver post and am so encouraged to see that God is at work in the lives of orphans, how blessed we are to be a part of what the Lord is doing! Please read this and consider how you might take an active role in meeting the needs of the orphaned.
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_14516591#ixzz0hJg6Rwm6
Psalm 27:14
Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.
Psalm 33:20
We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield.
Psalm 38:15
I wait for you, O LORD; you will answer, O Lord my God.
Isaiah 30:18
Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!
Isaiah 40:31
But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.
I came across this article from the Denver post and am so encouraged to see that God is at work in the lives of orphans, how blessed we are to be a part of what the Lord is doing! Please read this and consider how you might take an active role in meeting the needs of the orphaned.
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_14516591#ixzz0hJg6Rwm6
Monday, April 12, 2010
Photo Update!
Emma couldn't stand it any longer, it was time to go for a ride!
We had a great time celebrating the resurrection of our Savior!
What does God say about adoption?
Learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow. Isaiah 1:17
I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. John 14:18
But you, O God, do see trouble and grief; you consider it to take it in hand. The victim commits himself to you; you are the helper of the fatherless. Psalm 10:14b
Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to be children of God. John 1:12
For as many as are lead by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear; but you received the Spirit of Adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father”. The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. Romans 8:14-16
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. James 1:27
Lord when did we see You hungry and feed You or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick or in prison and come to You? And the King will answer and say to them “Assuredly I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren you did it to me.” Matthew 27:35-40
For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11
I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. John 14:18
But you, O God, do see trouble and grief; you consider it to take it in hand. The victim commits himself to you; you are the helper of the fatherless. Psalm 10:14b
Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to be children of God. John 1:12
For as many as are lead by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear; but you received the Spirit of Adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father”. The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. Romans 8:14-16
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. James 1:27
Lord when did we see You hungry and feed You or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick or in prison and come to You? And the King will answer and say to them “Assuredly I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren you did it to me.” Matthew 27:35-40
For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Seashells and Holly
Hello again! December sure did fly by. We were blessed to travel to Texas to visit my parents for Christmas and had a wonderful time celebrating with them. Our time there was packed full of food and fun. It seems like every time we go we try to do everything and eat everything in Rockport and the surrounding areas. Our time there went something like the following...
DAY 1 Picked up in San Antonio by my folks, treated to "the best bar-b-Que in Texas" at the original Rudy's. Good food, interesting atmosphere, I expected a restaurant, was surprised to see a gas station with a smoke pit and some picnic tables. This was followed by a rousing 3 round game of laser tag where we discovered why the pack of teenagers we played with wore black. We stepped into the "briefing room" to discover they couldn't be seen under the black lights, meanwhile we were all glowing like Fourth of July fireworks. Needless to say- we lost, but had fun doing it.
DAY 2 Fishing for the boys out on the bay, they caught lots of sheep's head and a few other varieties as well. Girls went to the city "Corpus Christi" shopping, grandma bought Emma a new Christmas dress.
DAY 3 Christmas Eve The girls were treated to pedicures. That evening we went to Candlelight service at the church, followed by our traditional finger food dinner, Gram pa read the Christmas story out of Luke and we opened gifts.
DAY4 Christmas Day We went to the National Sea Shore and found more cool sea shells than we could count, among them more than 30 sand dollars! Walking along the sea shore and seeing all of the beautiful and interesting things the Lord has made for us to enjoy was humbling. The God who made and possess all of that, humbly came to us more than 2000 years ago, to live in flesh so He could sacrifice Himself on our behalf that we might have a relationship with Him. Oh, how He loves us!
DAY 5 Time to re-group. A much needed day of R&R, hung out at home.
DAY 6 Sunday - We went to church with my parents and were encouraged to worship with other believers who we had never met, some who have been praying for us on our adoption journey. After church we went to lunch and headed out into the gulf on dad's boat. We spent some time fishing for sheep's head and caught a few, what a strange fish! There were some dolphins that swam close to the boat, maybe because we were chasing them, but hey it was fun. At one point we noticed a bunch of birds and dolphins on a feeding frenzy and decided to take a closer look. Only we got a little too close and hit a mud bank that resulted in James cartwheeling off the boat into the water. Needless to say he was the only one who swam in ocean this trip! That afternoon we celebrated Emma's birthday with an ice cream cake, she is growing up so fast, can't believe she's 8 already!
DAY7 Our last day in Rockport we went to the Aransas wildlife refuge where we were sure to see lots of coastal wildlife, and we did! Deer, alligators, wild pigs, all kinds of birds, whooping cranes, and even a tame-wild armadillo. James and Clancy ended up petting it, that was weird and unexpected.
DAY 8 We began our long trip home. Mom and dad took us to San Antonio to catch our flight home. We had intended to go to the zoo, but the cold rainy weather didn't cooperate. So we spent some time on the River Walk and went to the IMAX. Afterwards we said our goodbyes, and mom and dad dropped us at the hotel and headed home. We couldn't help but think about our next trip to Texas, Lord willing we will have grown from 426!
DAY 1 Picked up in San Antonio by my folks, treated to "the best bar-b-Que in Texas" at the original Rudy's. Good food, interesting atmosphere, I expected a restaurant, was surprised to see a gas station with a smoke pit and some picnic tables. This was followed by a rousing 3 round game of laser tag where we discovered why the pack of teenagers we played with wore black. We stepped into the "briefing room" to discover they couldn't be seen under the black lights, meanwhile we were all glowing like Fourth of July fireworks. Needless to say- we lost, but had fun doing it.
DAY 2 Fishing for the boys out on the bay, they caught lots of sheep's head and a few other varieties as well. Girls went to the city "Corpus Christi" shopping, grandma bought Emma a new Christmas dress.
DAY 3 Christmas Eve The girls were treated to pedicures. That evening we went to Candlelight service at the church, followed by our traditional finger food dinner, Gram pa read the Christmas story out of Luke and we opened gifts.
DAY4 Christmas Day We went to the National Sea Shore and found more cool sea shells than we could count, among them more than 30 sand dollars! Walking along the sea shore and seeing all of the beautiful and interesting things the Lord has made for us to enjoy was humbling. The God who made and possess all of that, humbly came to us more than 2000 years ago, to live in flesh so He could sacrifice Himself on our behalf that we might have a relationship with Him. Oh, how He loves us!
DAY 5 Time to re-group. A much needed day of R&R, hung out at home.
DAY 6 Sunday - We went to church with my parents and were encouraged to worship with other believers who we had never met, some who have been praying for us on our adoption journey. After church we went to lunch and headed out into the gulf on dad's boat. We spent some time fishing for sheep's head and caught a few, what a strange fish! There were some dolphins that swam close to the boat, maybe because we were chasing them, but hey it was fun. At one point we noticed a bunch of birds and dolphins on a feeding frenzy and decided to take a closer look. Only we got a little too close and hit a mud bank that resulted in James cartwheeling off the boat into the water. Needless to say he was the only one who swam in ocean this trip! That afternoon we celebrated Emma's birthday with an ice cream cake, she is growing up so fast, can't believe she's 8 already!
DAY7 Our last day in Rockport we went to the Aransas wildlife refuge where we were sure to see lots of coastal wildlife, and we did! Deer, alligators, wild pigs, all kinds of birds, whooping cranes, and even a tame-wild armadillo. James and Clancy ended up petting it, that was weird and unexpected.
DAY 8 We began our long trip home. Mom and dad took us to San Antonio to catch our flight home. We had intended to go to the zoo, but the cold rainy weather didn't cooperate. So we spent some time on the River Walk and went to the IMAX. Afterwards we said our goodbyes, and mom and dad dropped us at the hotel and headed home. We couldn't help but think about our next trip to Texas, Lord willing we will have grown from 426!
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