A weekend of celebration

Wow! What a weekend!

I am writing a blog post because there is just too much to say in a short facebook post! This weekend was one of great joy for me! This was a weekend of celebrating some very important people that God has placed in my life! I am so overwhelmed with joy as I dwell on the goodness of my Lord through my family.

On Saturday, I celebrated my 5th wedding anniversary to a loving, kindhearted, faithful, hardworking man! While the past 5 years have been NO fairy tale, I would not and could not imagine walking through this life with anyone else by my side!  Now, I get the great joy of watching Phillip walk in the role of "daddy"! . These past 3 months have been so fun as we figure this whole parenting thing out together! So again, Happy 5th Anniversary, my love! You will always be "the one"!

...then came Sunday and Mother's Day- a day that was always celebrated for others- until now. Oh, the joy it brought me to hear "you're a mother!"or "Happy Mother's Day, Colleen!" and all I could do was lift my hands and say "Thank you Jesus for making me a mother!" All I wanted to do was hold my sweet baby all day and Praise God for the work that He had done in bringing her into my world!

 Not only did I get to celebrate being a mom this year, but Phillip and I are still blessed to have young, healthy mothers who are constantly a part of our lives! Thank you Lord for our Mothers who we love and Cherish!!

Mom, me and Addie

mother-in-love Kim & Addie

 

 

 So, as you can see, I have a lot to be thankful for and my heart is absolutely full with love for these and many others that I call my family! I definitely understand the expression "my heart could just explode"! As I think of how much I love these people, I can't help but think of the love my Lord Jesus has for me. If an imperfect, self-centered, self-seeking, created person such as I, can love this much, how much more does a Perfect, Self-less, self-denying, creator love me? I just can't even fathom it because I don't deserve that kind of love, yet, He continually gives it to me! oh, how this weekend has caused me to hit my knees in gratitude for what The Lord has given me! Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. James 1:17

One final thought, If anyone is reading this and you are not yet a mother or find that Mother's Day brings sadness and pain. God sees you! He hears you when you call out to Him. Have hope and "cast your cares on Him for He cares for you" (1Peter5:7). I was there. I know that longing for motherhood and if it weren't for The Lord working in my life and His irresistible grace, I would still be there!
 

Unexpected timing

I have been trying to sit down and write a blog post about this past month for several days now. Each time I thought about writing, I just did not know where to begin. I guess I was still processing and adjusting to all that has been going on. As most of you already know, we had some BIG news to share. Here is a little bit of what has been on my mind as of late...

In September of 2014, Phillip and I made a phone call that would change our lives as we knew it. After heavy discussion and prayer, we decided to take a leap of faith and pursue adoption; 16 months later, this is God's answer to those prayers.

                                                         Adeline Marie      born 2/16/16

First and foremost, I want to publicly and unashamedly give ALL the glory and praise to the one true God for this little life! He orchestrated every detail of this adoption journey and looking back, I can see that more clearly than I ever could before!

Now, I know there are some of you out there that would say to me..."Colleen, that's great and all, but I just don't believe in God". I would say to you, let me tell you the story of Adeline and how she came to be in our family. Let me share the details with you (it's too much to do here). Let me share with you how the timing was unbelievably perfect and how her sweet birth mother had the strength and courage to do what she did. Let me tell you what was said, and events that took place. Let me tell you about her name. There is no other explanation but GOD!!

I have been an emotional wreck for a couple of weeks now (and no, not because I am a female). I have experienced the goodness and faithfulness of God these past months and not just in receiving this baby, but in the lessons learned along the way. Having to trust, having to be patient, having to be without fear and worry are hard things to overcome. Did I do that perfectly? No, but by God's grace He gave me the ability to do each of those when I needed to, which in turn, only enhanced my worship of Him! His presence was felt and known by both Phillip and myself. We even saw glimpses of His work through interaction with Adeline's birth parents. I often found myself saying "this just doesn't happen naturally". What I mean by that is conversations that we had were inexplicable to the natural, sinful man.

 I also fell more in love with my husband over the past month! He is absolutely the man I need to walk this life with! It's difficult to describe how much of a blessing He was to me during the trying time we had at the end of this journey. All the emotion, traveling, lack of sleep and new responsibilities wore me down and I ended up getting sick the day we brought her home with us. Phillip stepped up and took on 90% of daily life that first week so I could rest. He stayed up for late feedings, ran errands, made sure we were fed and had everything we needed. He was and is my rock. I am eternally grateful for this man!! We spent 9 days in Nevada by ourselves before bringing Adeline home to Georgia. We only had each other. That was one of the toughest weeks of our life, but also one of great joy at the same time! God used that time to bring us closer together as a couple and as a family!

                                                               our very first family picture

 As I wrap up this blog post with my sweet little daughter wrapped to my chest, I want to share one final thought with you all. Many people told me that adoption is beautiful in that it represents the gospel. It is a tangible picture of how God adopts undeserving, sinful and selfish people into His family; Adoption is that and I know first hand the love I immediately felt for this child when she was placed into my arms. I get a glimpse of the love my Jesus has for me as His child and a member of His family. What I did not expect is the love that I have for her birth parents, especially Adeline's birth mother. Despite what choices she makes, or how she lives her life, I have been given an undeniable love and heart for her! I have been given another glimpse of how God could love an undeserving and selfish sinner such as I, despite how many times I fall and fail! What an awesome God we have!!

If you are interested to hear the details of Adeline's story, I'd love to grab coffee and fill you in on the tiny details that point back to the amazing God I serve!

If you are interested in Adoption, come talk to us. We can help point you in the direction to get started. And do not let finances be your excuse... Let me be cliche for a sec- If there is a will, there is a way!!

Thank you for following and reading my blog and a big thank you to all of our family, friends and supporters who have walked this with us! What a testimony to God's goodness it has been.

Was adoption easy? heck no! Was it worth it? absolutely!

With a grateful heart,

Colleen