Friday, April 20, 2012

E.A. {class of 2012}



how will i ever watch friday night football again
with out my favorite quarter back suited up?
i adore this kid. 
he has a contagious smile, beautiful blue eyes, 
and holds a sweet place in my heart. 
you can't help but to love him.
we can't wait to see what his future holds.
WE LOVE YOU!

say hello to my sweet friend....E.A.






his cutie-pie girlfriend, brooklyn. how cute are they? 






.....and with his mama. one of my dearest friends ever. :)






Tuesday, April 17, 2012

a few weeks ago,  i saw something.
something i never want to forget the whole rest of my life.
ever.

i saw two weary warriors, return home from a mission...
a mission to get their new14 year old daughter from china.
the family & their awesome photographers

i saw extended family and friends anxiously waiting,
anticipating the arrival of the newest member of their family.
with signs and shirts, proclaiming how much they love her...
some in mandarin, some in english,  some artistically perfect, 
some with crazy/beautiful colors, 
and stick figures, scribbled by the youngest precious ones.

i saw tears, and laughter, and hope, and nervousness, joy, 
exhaustion, and fear...but more than any thing...
i saw love. 

they don't look alike. 
at first glance, they have nothing in common, 
nothing that would link them together....
but what i know....
the one thing i am sure of, 
they have THE most important thing in common...
the endless, relentless, stubborn, gentle, sacrificial, redeeming love of a father.

yes, their earthly father is pretty awesome, 
but that isn't the one that i am talking about.
i am talking about "THE FATHER"

 the ONE who rescues.
the ONE who saves.
the ONE who provides.
the ONE who pursues.
the ONE who waits for His children to run into HIS arms. 
the ONE who dances with joy over his children.
the ONE who knows his children---long before anyone else ever knows them.
the ONE who, in anguish, and with a broken heart, cries and weeps when a child is wounded.
the ONE who heals with a touch or a spoken word.

the beauty of our FATHER's love 
poured out and demonstrated right in front of my eyes. 
it was almost more than i could bear to take in...
i thought my heart would explode.
i cried and wiped away tears as i stood back and just watched it all.

but my take away from watching this family, this miracle, this love, is this...

the ONE who orchestrated this, who made this happen.

the ONE who created adoption.

the ONE who aches to know HIS children more intimately...

is the ONE who
adopted me into HIS family. 

is the ONE who
sits at the foot of my bed, waiting for me to wake up each morning.

is the ONE who 
makes beauty from ashes.

the ONE who
loves me...broken, crazy, stubborn, sinful, me.

and then...my heart begins to sing...
"Jesus loves me, THIS i know.
for the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to HIM belong.
They are weak but HE is strong.

Yes, JESUS loves me.
Yes, Jesus loves me.
Yes JESUS loves me.
The Bible tells me so."

may those words never again fall flat on my heart.
may they bring joy and life and honor.
may they remind me that EVERYone is LOVED by JESUS.
in my constant weakness, HE is strong.
may this night, this picture of HIS love
be burned in my heart forever.


the "earthly father" has been writing the most beautiful letters about their experience.
and some brutally honest, and hard to see or hear about.
i could never express the story the way the do.
 please when you are done here, follow the links to read and see their experience.

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

courtney {senior 2012}


this girl is a joy. 
i remember that i was a junior in high school 
when she was born (i am very old) and she was so teenie!
her mama sent just the two of us out on a GRAND adventure! 
we explored and ate lunch and chatted the WHOLE day! 
she comes from a long line of ridiculously talented people,
and she certainly didn't miss out on that particular gene.
she is lovely and smart and gifted.

say hello to Courtney!







these cool robots in the back ground were created by her uncle brandon.