Starfish

I unfortunately have never had the opportunity to post about our trip to Starfish. 

We went on 12-21-11. It was truly amazing. 

We loved babies, fed babies, saw the amazing work being done, and met Amanda de Lange. We also got the very rare opportunity to visit an orphanage. My heart broke. I realized how precious each and every life is and I was overwhelmed by need. 

the little girl below is the child i insisted on bringing out of the orphanage. I absolutely refused to leave her. Amanda agreed. {thankfully} her name is now Liliana {I got to choose} and she is being taken care of, loved and is treasured at Starfish. this is just one of the many babies.

Amanda was truly Ainsley's life saver in China. She brought all kinds of amazing things to help us 'fatten and healthy' her up. Creams, foods, everything. Her generosity was overwhelming like the rest of that trip.

I don't know if I will ever be able to properly word and describe that day. 

 at the orphanage picking up babies. so emotional.

 Anna Grace and her new best friend Mila :)

the famous Jack!
Nana, Anna Grace, and Mila

 Charlie

 David

Bryant. He is such a sweet heart and was saved just in time. Please pray for Bryant and the other babies that we brought that day. They were all very weak.

I don't think I will ever be able to THANK Amanda enough. She is truly unbelievable. Starfish is unbelievable and those babies are SO loved and they are taken such good care of. 

Please lift Amanda and her Starfish babies up in prayer daily.
A few days ago, Amanda was diagnosed with cancer. I received an email and my heart just broke. Please lift Amanda and her sweet starfish family up.
She is in URGENT need of medical services in the USA or Europe to save her life. Please lift her up and if you know of any one who can provide this care please let us know.
Thank you for the prayers.

leg warmers.

y'all,

it does not get any cuter than this...

if you disagree?

well, you're wrong.
just kidding
but seriously. ZEBRA LEG WARMERS?!

just too much.
i want the outfit she's rocking. seriously.

Happy Sunday. praying for LOA this week. please.please.please.
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Birthday Party

Wow, what a party.
It was beautiful.
so fun.
Aurora came.
Princess Anna Grace had the most fabulous day ever.

More pictures to come...But this was the pre-party shots and I am slack and haven't had time to sort through all 55,000 of them ;)

Happy Sunday!
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nine-eleven.

Today, most everyone in America is remembering the tragedy of 9-11-01. It is a day forever etched in our hearts and minds. It is a sad day. filled with so much pain, sorrow and just pure torment. Thousands of innocent people lost their lives on this day in 2001.

and Here we stand 10 years later.

September 11 will always be a day that everyone in America remembers. For most it is NOT a happy day. For us, it is.

On September 11, 2006 most Americans spent the 5 year anniversary of 9-11 watching the local news, crying, praying...

But all the way across the world on September 11, 2006 a precious baby girl was born in Chongqing China. She was beautiful, healthy, had gorgeous little almond shaped eyes and had a thick head of black hair.

On September 11, 2006 many mourned, including the birth mother of our precious girl. I cannot imagine what she went through giving her sweet baby up. How can any mother take that lightly? They don't. She didn't have a choice. She did what she knew was best for her baby, our baby. To her I will always be grateful, because of the decision of Anna Grace's birth mom we are now the ones holding her when she cries, playing dress up with her, watching her write her name, and seeing how amazing God really is through the eyes of this child. I pray that today her Birth Mom will know and feel that her/our baby is safe, loved, adored, cared for, learning all about the LOVE of Jesus, has siblings that will do anything and everything for her and what a miracle this precious child is to our family. I pray that her birth mother knows how amazing this child is...How smart she is, how beautiful on the inside and out, how wonderfully she has accepted her new brother, her smile, her precious personality, her spunk, her strong will, her love of everything pink, purple, or Princess, her daily blessings to us by just being, the way she rules our house with such grace, how she can say anything and it makes you smile, how she teaches me to be more like Jesus everyday, and overall that this child is loved by everyone that crosses her path.

On September 11, 2006 a little girl entered the World. But September 11, 2006 was just the beginning to this precious little girl's life....As I kissed my 4 year old sister for the last time last night and tucked her into her new big girl bed I thought about how blessed I am that out of all of the people in the world HE chose ME, me!  15 year old Ashton to be the big sister to this Precious Girl {and two other beautiful adopted children}. To be the one that gets to watch her grow up, kiss her every night, Greet her with Hugs and Kisses, Teach her songs, Help her learn about the Love of Jesus, Sing to her, Hold her when she cries, Play tea-party with her, Dress her up, take pictures, Make her a Princess, Look at her beautiful face, teach her all kinds of songs {ahem} and enjoy her sweet little life.

I will be forever thankful to the ONE who went before us and chose Anna Grace to be a part of our family. God had a plan for this little girl's life when she was in the womb HE CHOSE her...He CHOSE ME, HE CHOSE OUR family

and for that, I will be forever grateful.

One Year Old.
LOOK at that BABY.

Two Years Old
That smile. oh goodness.

Three Years Old
she's gorgeous. so gorgeous.

Four Years Old.
My BABY...is growing up. Going to cry now.

{finally} FIVE Years Old
Please, Please tell me it isn't so.

Happy 5th Birthday, Anna Grace.

I love you more than words can describe, the stars in the sky, and to the moon in back {150 times}

xoxo forever,

Sissy

But even before I was born, God CHOSE ME and called me by his marvelous GRACE. -Galations 1:15

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First Day

Well, today was the lovely first day of school
The reason for so few pictures is because the beloved camera died.
Happily I report that everyone had a great day and it was uneventful. Thank the Lord.  

Quick Laugh : this is Anna Grace's checklist--necklace, hair bow, backpack, lip gloss. Yep, I'm ready for school. {How are we going to survive when she is 13?!}

Looking forward to a very blessed and BUSY school year! 

 

Our only question :: 

Is it June yet? 

summer-twenty eleven

Well, our summer is unfortunately coming to a close. What a fabulous summer it has been. From beach trips to California to the Lake to every other little place. Oh, and you know that BIG thing...AINSLEY FAITH!
Summer has been amazing. It has given me some of the best experiences of my life. We are again waiting on another little blessing to add to our family.
I wanted to do one last summer post. School starts on Tuesday, oh so sad. I will be in 10th grade, Adam in 7th, Hayne in 3rd, and Anna Grace and Andrew will be in K-4. So very crazy. This will be AG and Andrew's last "baby year" and they will be in K-5 next year. Oh my!
Here is our summer in pictures.

June 3 we fell in love with Ainsley Ting

Beach with Family and Friends for a week June/July

Anna Grace and I had many FABULOUS photoshoots and she got a FEATHER

Andrew turned FIVE

We celebrated FOUR years with our Princess Anna Grace!

We were DTC for Ainsley on August 8!

We were LID on August 16!

Andrew fell in love with Captain America

Anna Grace got cuter...and more princess-y

I found an awesome smurf shirt....Andrew still LOVES Buzz

This is my friend, Kayla

The Webcam became our new best friend

Summer 2011,
You were fabulous, amazing, lovely, wonderful, and just all around great. BUT all good things must come to an end. I hope you don't take it wrong. We can still be friends. It's not you, it's me.
Until next year,


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