Our Blessed CHRISTmas!

Here are a few pictures from a very blessed CHRISTmas!

Buddy was very thankful for the new flash that he could use when going to the barn!
It is awesome see what he was content with!Little Man got his Tractor Supply toys! He was so EXCITED!
It was a wagon holdup (what we found funny about this was that there was an Army in the middle of it!).

Baby Girl is growing up SO FAST!
Isn't she GORGEOUS?!

Noel and her Florida winter clothes!
She is so happy!

Hope got a J.Crew sweater!
Our little fashion bug!

Mama has been needing a coat, but, as you all know, she would NEVER buy one for herself!
So, Daddy asked Hope to find one online and she did!
I think in this picture she is saying,
"YOU DIDN'T?!?!?"

The Lord blessed us with a lot of sister time!
Baby Girl and Noel are very close!
Their relationship is so sweet!

The Friday after CHRISTmas, Noel and Darell had super with our AWESOME aunt and uncle!
They are such a blessing!

I don't know what I would do without Hope!

CHRISTmas dinner!
Thank you Mama for always cooking so selflessly for us all!
You are the most wonderful mother that anyone could EVER ask for!

And next year we will have two beautiful faces around the table!
Little Jesse is so cute!It seems as though Jubilee is going to fulfill the meaning of her name!

I hope that you all had a very blessed CHRISTmas and that the celebration of our Savior's birth will not end when what we American's call, "The CHRISTmas Season" ends. May we keep this season in our hearts all year and never forget nor take for granted what our Lord has done for us!

Thank you,
Lord for all that you have blessed us with!
One blessing is immeasurable and you have given us countless blessings!
Thank you again and again!
Amen.

God Bless,
Joy.

“There are two things I know. That I am a great sinner, and Christ is a great Savior”. Amazing Grace

Thoughts From a Thankful Heart That Runneth Over...

The Lord has blessed our family with many friends. Some we hear from and see often but some we see only on occasion and might receive a CHRISTmas card from. Today, some treasured CHRISTmas cards landed in our mail box. Yes, they were late but why should we call them late? I have always wondered why when Christ gets here we STOP celebrating? He is here! Why not celebrate even more? Any way, back to the CHRISTmas card. The one I would like to talk about was from a friend we haven't seen in quite a while. They are a wonderful, godly couple. They waited very long before they met each other and now are very happy together! You can see Christ in them when they smile it seems! They are wonderful people, but have had a hard year. They have no children of their own and long to be parents. They would be such wonderful parents. They were then called and told that there might be chance they would be able to adopt a newborn. They were oh so very excited! But, they then received word that they would not be receiving the baby. When I read this in their letter it broke my heart. Why God has done tis, I do not know. But what I do know is this, that the very same thing could of happened to us. We could of been told "no", your family is to big, any number of things could of been told to us. But the Lord said, YES! They are yours! How I wish this couple could of been told yes, but after I read what had happened to them, it showed me something. What they have experienced in being told 'No, you cannot adopt this child," is like what Christ is told all the time! He wants to adopt each and everyone of us into His Kingdom, but countless times He is told, "No! I do not want you to adopt me!" I have no idea how it would be to be told no, adopting in our world when you just pay with money that you have had to work for, but to be told no when you have paid the price with your son's life! I cannot imagine either situation, for the Lord has granted our adoption of these two little ones and no will ever be able to imagine the agony that God goes through every time He is told no!

In closing, I want to thank the Lord for allowing our family the privilege to adopt these little ones and thank Him for even wanting to adopt me! I cannot imagine after going through all that Christ went through and want to save me! A great sinner!

Thank you Father,
For allowing me to become a part of your family!
May I be a light for your kingdom.
May I be able to help raise these two little treasures that you have allowed us the privilege to adopt!
May they be two more brought up to worship and honor you!
Amen!

God Bless,
Joy.
“There are two things I know. That I am a great sinner, and Christ is a great Savior”. Amazing Grace

Two things...

“There are two things I know. That I am a great sinner, and Christ is a great Savior”.
Amazing Grace

Thank You Father,
For sending your Son as the Savior of the world!
May we never take the gift that you have given to us for granted!

More Pictures of the Little Ones!

Thank you Lord for bring us this far in the process of bringing them home!Julius!

Jubilee!

Now I just can't wait to hold them, sing to them, play them, read them stories and tell them how much I love them and how much Jesus loves them!

I just had to put these on here!

Aren't they precious!We all agree that we could just eat 'em with a spoon!

Isn't she gorgeous?
(we were all amazed at how perfect their teeth are)

As David tells us in Psalm 10:14,

"Thou art the helper of the fatherless."

I am so thankful that the Lord has chose us to help these two no longer fatherless treasures!

God Bless,
Joy.

May we never take anything for granted!

This is forward that I got and wanted to share with you.

Your cell phone is in your pocket.
He clutches the cross hanging on his chain next to his dog tags.

You talk trash about your 'buddies' that aren't with you.
He knows he may not see some of his buddies again.

You walk down the beach, staring at all the pretty dolphins.
He patrols the streets, searching for insurgents and terrorists.

You complain about how hot it is
He wears his heavy gear, not daring to take off his helmet to wipe his brow.
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You go out to lunch, and complain because the restaurant got your order wrong.
He doesn't get to eat today.

Your maid makes your bed and washes your clothes.
He wears the same things for weeks, but makes sure his weapons are clean.

You go to the mall and get your hair redone.
He doesn't have time to brush his teeth today.

You're angry because your class ran 5 minutes over.
He's told he will be held over an ext ra 2 months.

You call your cousins and set a date for a get together.
He waits for the mail to see if there is a letter from home.

You hug and kiss your parents, like you do everyday.
He holds his letter close and smells his love's perfume.

You roll your eyes as a baby cries.
He gets a letter with pictures of his new child, and wonders if they'll ever meet.

You criticize your government, and say that war never solves anything.
He sees the innocent tortured and killed by their own people and remembers why he is fighting.

You hear the jokes about the war, and make fun of men like him.
He hears the gunfire, bombs and screams of the wounded.

You see only what the media wants you to see.
He sees the broken bodies lying around hi m.

You are asked to go to the store by your parents. You don't.
He ;does exactly what he is told even if it puts his life in danger.

You stay at home and watch TV.
He takes whatever time he is given to call, write home, sleep, and eat.

You crawl into your soft bed, with down pillows, and get comfortable.
He tries to sleep but gets woken by mortars and helicopter s all night long.



REMEMBER our Troops, and do not forget them LATER
Lest we forget.






Please pray with me for all our Marines, Solders, Airmen, Sailors and Guards! May we never forget them and the price that they have paid so that we may do whatever we are doing!

As I look at these pictures I am reminded of a story that Our great grandpa told us. He was in Coast Guard for twenty-one years. He served during WWII. He was in the Battle of Leyte Gulf and many more. He was in the deck of the ship and a Japanese plan flow so low that Grandpa could see his face. To this day, at ninety two years old, he remembers what this mans face looks like. Then, the Japanese fighter pilate dropped a missile. Right then Grandpa thought, "I'll never see Jeanette (his wife) and my two boys again." And only by a miracle of the Lord was granpa and all his men saved! A wave came up and knocked the missile off course! If you don't call that a miracle I don't what you would call it!

Please pray that God would protect these young men and women as he did Grandpa!

God Bless,
Joy.

Do you realize that we as Americans could have saved the world four and a half times in one year?

May we all forget about the ways of the world and do as Christ did! GIVE!

God Bless,
Joy.

My new little sister and brother!

Our God is an awesome God,
He reigns from heaven above!

Most of you have probably already seen it on Mama's blog but I had to post something about our God sent awesome news!
We are now approved by the Ghana court!!!! PRAISE THE LORD FROM WHOM ALL BLESSINGS FLOW!!!!

The Saturday after Mama's birthday it was around 1am and we were all up talking because the next day, Darell was going to have to leave. Well, Mama had told us good night about an hour before and then she comes into the glass porch SMILING!! I had Marigrace's laptop and she asks if she could have it. We were all very CURIOUS! Well, she then read the email and we were all just SO OVERJOYED! Earlier that day, I think around lunch time I began to think of a Christmas song about a family adopting a little girl from China. I then began to think of a song for our adoption. As me and Mama were talking about it, she said I could very well of been writing that song when our little one's were IN COURT. Here it is,

Six thousand, one hundred and sixty miles away.

I hear the rooster crowin' and the squirrels talkin'
as I sit here thinkin' my mind starts wanderin'
Six thousand, one hundred sixty miles away
There on a play ground swingin' away
Two little ones play
Orphans to some, treasures to another
How my mama longs to be their mother!

Chorus:
Oh, how I wish to bring ya'll home!
To be my brother and sister, no more to roam!
I want to bring ya'll home so we can play
and all your hunger will go away.

It seems like there is no way to make it doable
But we all know that with God, all things are possible.
So much to do and so many places to go.
It seems like we'll never get done with it all.
But as we give our signatures, God continues to give us His, too!
Six thousand, one hundred, and sixty miles away
While kids laugh and say boo
I sit here and think

Chorus

As I look through the mail and answer the phone
and go through my life here at home,
I can't wait for you to be home with me
And before I know it, you will be!

Oh, what a miracle it is that you're home!
You are my brother and sister, no more to roam!
Together all day long we can swing and play
and all your hunger has gone away!
You are no longer six thousand, one hundred and sixty miles away.
Thank you, Lord, for bringing them home to stay.

As I look our two little ones I am overjoyed, then I look at all the other treasures there. They look so sad and discouraged but why not? If you have even considered adopting I hope that you pray about that decision and if it is what God has for you to do, I hope and pray that you do not hesitate. I also hope and pray that you will consider the precious treasures at Eban House in Accra, Ghana.

God Bless,
Joy.