wake up call.

in december i went to an orphanage and posted about it here.


i was broken. i was absolutely devastated. and my life was forever changed. i received a very loud wake up call. 

see, the moment i walked in to that little room in the orphanage i spotted a baby across the room between two other babies and something inside of me jumped. something inside of me knew. i knew this little girl had to come out. i knew i could not leave her. and sweet amanda agreed and later praised my persistence for this little girl. 


i picked her up. kissed her head and whispered a promise. that i would never let her see that orphanage again. a promise i kept. 

we rode home from the orphanage. the entire time i take in this tiny, tiny baby's sweetness. and debate a name. so much is in a name. and i knew what her name would be. i plan. i love to plan. and i have already planned my children's names. and my very favorite is going to be a little girl from china whose name will be liliana. as soon as i thought of it i knew that was her name. liliana means innocence and beauty. how fitting. 

anyways, we got back to starfish. bathed and weighed liliana and gave her her first full bottle. took some priceless pictures and cherished that little bit of time i got to spend with her. i looked forward to watching her grow through pictures and one day seeing her and loving her again. she was dubbed mine. i was head over heels. 

then this week. my world went in to a spiral. i found out my liliana had passed away. i sobbed. and sobbed. and sobbed a little more. my heart is broken. broken for the little girl who will never have a family. broken because i will never get to hold her again on this side of heaven. call me crazy, really please do. cause i am. i act like this is my child, but to me she was. 


my sweet liliana is with jesus and she is perfect. her death did not go unnoticed. she is not forgotten. she has been cried for. she is loved. and she is so missed. my sweet liliana is different from 163 million other orphans in this world. many who died today. many will die tomorrow. do you mourn for them like those who mourn for liliana?

we need a wake up call. we need to realize that there are babies dying. there are babies who go completely unnoticed. we have to make a difference. we have to wake up. we owe these children that much. God doesn't call us or kindly ask us to care for the orphans...He 
COMMANDS it. 


you were so loved and will be so missed, sweet liliana.


For everything comes from Him; everything exists by His power and is intended for His glory. To Him be glory evermore. -Romans 11:36



sunday snapshot

remembering.

today my sweet great grandfather went to be with Jesus. it was completely unexpected on our part and sadly we did not get to say goodbye.

it's a rotten feeling, that's for sure.
please pray for hearts. all are broken and very sad at the loss, as they should be.

please pray for everyone in the coming days as we come to terms and prepare.

this is my Papa and I. 

especially for my mama, nana and papa. it is extra hard for them.
we are supposed to have a service later this week, but plans have not been made yet.
thanks y'all.
xoxo-

great things are coming

amazing things are on the horizon around here.

possible plane rides.

possible life changing experiences. {none of which involve another adoption or child...i know, bummer}

all God. oh so God. {and a little dreaming}

did I mention I was excited?

'cause i am.

more soon.

in the meantime, happy 3 month gotcha to our darling girl. we love you so.

xoxo- happy sunday! 

sweetness

Adam is truly the sweetest kid ever. He's gonna kill me for this post, too. That's okay his future wife will thank me one day :) he is going to be the BEST Daddy one day and I cannot wait to see him. He loves Ainsley and he is so so good with her. I adore these pictures. He's awesome.
Love you bro!

cuteness and cupcakes

this week has been a whirl wind.
going. going. going. going.
so, this weekend we decided to take a nice step back, break or whatever.
and do what we needed to do most, breathe.

today was spent at home. trying on clothes, hanging out with my favorite princesses, and making cupcakes.
anna grace spent her morning on pinterest* {i swear she isn't 5..} and saw rainbow cupcakes..she just HAD to make them.

the icing was actually lime green, not yellow:) 

so off we went to the store to find 'rainbow' cupcakes.  we had to make our own rainbow cupcakes..it was an experience! but it was fun for her {and me!} and it was just another little bonus of being a big sister :)

Aren't they cute?! I just couldn't go without toppers and all ;) 

miss ainsley also got some new clothes this weekend that we got to try on and model...my oh my is she cute! i personally cannot get over her sweet chubby-ness! how sweet it is!!

sorry for my lack of pictures and interesting information...bad iphone quality shall do for now. off to play with sweet friends! happy sunday!

sunday snapshot

our miracle girl

i usually do not share this information, but i feel it is a must with Ainsley. I can't keep quiet about all God has done. Just can't.
when we said 'yes' to Ainsley we knew that it would be a long road with a lot of unknowns. We were totally comfortable with it. God gave us peace that surpassed all understanding. He held us and encouraged us and when the rest of the world said 'no' He said 'yes'

Ainsley was ours. Long before we knew her, she was ours.

When we arrived in China and met Ainsley we realized why God had sped our process along so quickly. No one else's had gone nearly as fast..why were we so lucky? We quickly found out when the sweet Nanny handed us a tiny 12lb baby girl trembling in fear. She was in desperate need of us. We were in desperate need for her. She needed love, care, and a family. All of which we could and would provide.

We loved our girl those two weeks in China and it was amazing to see how she changed day by day. She went from not moving, making any noise, or showing any emotion to crying at the slightest need {or simply wanting to be held}, wanting me or her mama all the time, crawling everywhere and loving life. She is a miracle.
Once home, we visited many different doctors and they all said the same thing, the thing we knew all along, 'She is perfect'.

Ainsley has been home for 2 months exactly. In those two months she has gained 13lbs {her new nickname is Chubby Bunny..hehe}, took her first steps, and began to make words! {which is HUGE for a CL/CP child}

She is truly our little miracle. We could not be more thankful to the One who so beautifully orchestrated our family and put Ainsley in it.

If you are standing on the edge of a boat, step right on out. Walking on the water takes FAITH, but you can't walk on the water unless you get out of the boat. If God is with you, trust me, you may be in for the best and biggest blessings of your life. I know we are.

Happy Sunday, Y'all!