jesus, veggie tales, and adoption....

In all those long, hard months of praying and waiting for a child, I never imagined that my heart could be as thankful and overflowing with joy as it is now. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about details and how the Lord really cares about BIG and SMALL details...

I remember the day that Kaz and I got the phone call about Annie Rice. When we initially filled out all the paperwork for the adoption, we put down that we wanted a newborn[up to 6 moths old]. That was our max...6 months. We really should have never gotten the phone call about Annie Rice because she was 11 months old. My first thought after hearing that[besides the excitement] was that we were going to miss all of her first...first words, crawling, walking, etc. We were also told that she was developmentally delayed 6-9 months, that there could be signs cerebral palsy, and that they weren’t sure if there was any mental delays. That was what we initially heard and it scared us to no end! We talked to our parents about it and they were so excited but cautious at the same time. We prayed for peace during the decision, and decided that Annie Rice was our child and we loved this little girl no matter the challenges or struggles. 

Thankfully, a lot of the initial reports of her health were not accurate, but she does have delays. A lot of people have been so concerned because of that...BUT for Kaz and I these delays have been a blessing BECAUSE we have gotten to see most of her firsts! I can honestly say that I have never been concerned about where Annie Rice is in relation to other children. She is healthy, happy, and growing and that’s all I’ve been concerned with. I was talking with a friend over the weekend who is starting to go through some of the same challenges with her son...My advice to her was something that I feel like the Lord has really spoken to me about lately....and that’s this. In 20 years, looking back my main concern will not be whether or not Annie Rice walked when other kids did, scored as high on a test as I wanted her too, or was the best on her softball team. My main concern will be did I do everything in my power to tell her about Jesus? Did I show her His love? Did I model a prayerful life in front of her?  I have been reminded of this every single day...

From the first night that we brought her home, she has listened to Praise Baby when she sleeps. I have made the conscious decision to instead of turning on cartoons during the day, to only play Veggie Tales as much as I can. I have been trying to teach her to say Jesus every single day and the day she does say it I will probably cry all day...

To me, this is most important thing. I have been given a task so great and precious of raising a child and I want to do everything in my power to not mess up too much. Every time I look at Annie Rice, I think of how blessed I am, how I don’t deserve this sweet blessing, and how good the Lord is in my life. As she gets older, when she looks at me, I want her to see the good and faithful God that we serve. BECAUSE He is so Good...

Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good; sing praise to his name... Psalm 135:3

smiling so big, she closed her eyes!