Happy Birthday Young Man!!

At the end of December Antonio had his 22nd birthday!

A cookie his massage therapist made for him!

He was one of the children that did not come into our home as an infant.  Our daughter Faith Anne had just passed away and I was filled with grief.  I had a very hard time with it all and spent much of my time escaping on the internet, trying to learn more about special needs children and the diagnosis that Faith Anne  had.  I stumbled upon My Turn Now.  The adoption site for our state, Georgia.  I was blown away that there were children, nation wide, that were wards of the state.  That had no parental rights over them and were just waiting for homes.  I stumbled upon Antonio's page and was very drawn to him.  Below is the picture that was on his waiting list page.

We requested more information about him and learned all about his diagnosis and history.  He had been in care since the day he was born, up for adoption his whole life and no one ever tried to adopt him.  I fully believe that the Lord gave us Antonio to bless our home and also help me navigate the deep sorrow of the death of our daughter.  Antonio is such a wonderful person.  That little five year old brought us a lot of joy from the day we met him.  He was moved to our home and six months later we adopted him and made him our son.  Carolyn and Antonio shared an adoption day.

He fit in seamlessly and was just one of the gang!

He had never left down town Atlanta in his whole life, so experienced a lot of firsts with us.  Like going fishing, to the zoo, museum or going to the ocean.

Or going to Disney.

He absolutely loved being in a large active family.

Loved having his own dad for the first time in his life.

He was and is, just so loved by us all.

 His personality was always positive and upbeat before his Botox overdose, his smile rarely left his face.

He loves me and prays for me and everyone he knows.

He loves to bowl...

and be in the middle of everything going on.

He loved it when we started adopting little ones.  He is the best big brother!

He loves meeting up and going places with extended family!  Like his papa and nana. (Tim's dad below)

God is so good to have blessed us with this child of ours.  Antonio has grown into a fine young man and is one of the kindest and best of men I know.

For his birthday he wanted Aunt "S" to make him a Bob the Builder cake.  She always does such wonderful work.  It made his day.

 Isaiah 41:10  Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

May God in heaven give you health and long life.  May He hold you in His powerful hand keeping you safe and well.  You are a true blessing and we love you dearly!

Love Always and Forever, Dad, mom. Stephen, William, Carolyn, Zeke, Elizabeth, Billy, Timothy, Kinsley and Anna-Kate 

Abundantly Blessed Again!!

Tim and I are overjoyed to share that we have officially adopted baby "A"!!!

Introducing our newest family member...

Anna-Kate!!

She came into our home when she was less than 48 hours old.

God placed her in our home. One of the easiest placements and cases that we have ever experienced.

I learned a new definition of tired but she is so worth it!

We all fell in love with her!

The drugs her bio-mom used while pregnant took there toll on her nervous system for sure.  She pulled her hair out since birth and rocked her body for comfort.  She has had so many anxiety and emotional issues.  She has cried more than any other baby we have ever had in our home, no matter what we have tried and done.  We just have made ourselves available to her, for comfort, thru it all...but... God is doing a work in her and with each passing month, she is having fewer screaming spells and is finding some peace.  

As she becomes more mobile she is becoming happier and less anxious.  She is able to keep busy so the rocking and hair pulling has almost completely stopped.

We were so happy when she had been here a year and celebrated her first birthday!  Aunt "S" made the cake for her special day!

 And these two sisters have become very close over that year!

All of the kids love her so much and have enjoyed her.  We have watched her quickly grow from a newborn to a baby and from a baby to a toddler.  As she grows and can play with all the littles, she has just become one of their gang.

She is a big part of our lives and we love her dearly.

It is our privilege and honor to now call her our daughter.

Tim's mom and a pile of grand kids!

To be entrusted by God to raise Anna-Kate for Him and to His glory.  We are just in awe.

We are watching her blossom and grow up on us.  It is happening so quickly.

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God is so good!

There are no words to express the joy we feel at being chosen to be her parents.  We are beyond blessed and very content in the Lord.

Hebrews 2:13 And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, Behold I and the children which God hath given me.

Blessings,

susan 

 

Happy 15th Birthday Zeke!!

I can not tell you how much happiness this young man brings to our home.  He is a laid back, helpful, kind soul, that is no trouble at all 98% of the time.

I have had a few dreams from the Lord in my life and one was about him coming to join our family.  It was so God lead and ordained, that there was no shadow of doubt, that we were to say yes to bring him into our family.  If you wish to read about the dream, you can here.

He has been such a blessing to our lives and family right from the beginning.

I had the privileged of cutting the hospital band off his little leg.

He had the biggest sparkly eyes and cutest kissable cheeks.

I have enjoyed every moment with him.  His first oatmeal cream pie.

Learning came hard for him.  It takes a lot of repetition but he always does his best with a good attitude.

Zeke and Elizabeth's adoption took place the same day!

He loved being out side playing when he was younger.

I love this picture of him.

Zeke and his second pony Smokey.  He loves animals and really enjoys his pets.

We have been able to take two vacations in the last 13 years.  Fun at the beach!

We travel with the children's lap/companion/therapy dogs when we go away.

He is growing up to quickly.

I can not tell you how honored we feel to have him as our son.

He turned 15 this year! He wanted a Thomas cake and Aunt "S" did a great job as always!

Happy Birthday to our wonderful son!  May God have His hand on you your whole life.  May He lead and guide you always!

Exodus 23:25 And ye shall serve the Lord your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee.

Love Always, Dad, mom, Stephen, Antonio, William, Carolyn, Elizabeth, Billy, Timothy, Kinsley and baby "A"