Family Pictures

We had family pictures made on Saturday by our wonderful friend and fellow adoptive mom, Alison Bynum. For those of you that have followed this blog from the beginning, you'll remember Alison as Norah's mom! I have to say that I just LOVE all the pics and I am having a hard time deciding on which ones are my faves! Check them out at www.alisonbynum.com and let me know what you think! THANKS Alison for putting up with the wild Freeman crew and ME says she can't wait to play with Norah!

Mary Elizabeth 10/21

THANKS to Uncle Josh for taking these amazing pics...

This made me laugh out loud

Thanks to Chris S. for sending it to me:

So, they had a little going away party for the gal in their office and they called Walmart to order the cake. This is what they wanted on the cake:
"Best Wishes Suzanne" and underneath that write "We will miss you".

This is what they got:

Pray for Tom McMinn

I realize that many of you don't know this man, but please take a moment and pray for him as you read this.

Tom's wife, Stephanie, passed away on September 1st after a LONG fight with breast cancer. She is so greatly missed by everyone that knew her, but mostly by her husband Tom and daughter Molly. I won't even to pretend to understand what the last 7 weeks have been like for them without Stephanie.

Today we found out that Tom's oldest brother was killed in a car accident yesterday in NC where they live. He is also Tom's pastor. I know the whole church and family is hurting so much and yet, I found it refreshing to read Tom's words on his blog tonight.

"My aim in life is not to live long enough to see all of my loved ones near and dear to me die. But at this rate, I feel like I'm being picked on. Well, take two seconds to pity me if necessary, I know that my options are just as they were when Stephanie passed seven weeks and one day ago. I will remain resolved in my faith and pray God will use me."

Sweet Tom, you are already being used so much. Your faith is amazing and should be an example to all of us who think we have it tough. Our prayers are with you tonight.

Perfectly stated

I have been horrible the last few weeks about checking email so I spent a few minutes this morning trying to get a few read. In my inbox, I found this email from a consignor and friend who adopted a little girl from China. Even though our situation was a little different, the feelings are the same. I couldn't wait to share it with you.

P.S. I will try to get this sucker updated tonight :)

Today is Emma Grace's birthday. Such a special day for me. It was 3 years ago on October 17 that we announced to our church family that we had decided to adopt from China. At that time, we had no information on her. Basically, all we knew was that we would be getting a daughter from China within the next year. We asked our church family to keep our journey in their prayers and to also keep Emma Grace in their prayers. We wanted her to be safe, healthy, be loved and very well taken care of by her caretakers.

Imagine our joy when we got our referral and saw her birth date...October 18!! One day after we announced it to the church. She had prayers going up for her before she was even born....actually with the time difference...when we announced it...it was actually 10:00 am on October 18 in China. Our paperwork shows that she was born around 10:30. Isn't is amazing how God works?? I love it!!

Anyway, fast forward 3 years and we have the most beautiful, loving, caring, intelligent child (of course...I am not biased).

She has filled our lives with so much joy, happiness and laughter. The love that she has brought to our home is overwhelming. I am amazed every day at the wonderful gift that God has granted to Jason and I.

Along with the joy that we have on this day...I can't help but have a little bit of sadness. I have so many thoughts of her birthmother today. Oh, what I would give to meet her, know her, hug her and thank her for the wonderful sacrifice she made. I know that somewhere in Jiangxi, China is a wonderful loving woman who is hurting today. I imagine she wonders about her little girl...where she is, how she is doing, what she looks like. I know she wonders these things b/c it wasn't so long ago that I would stand on my back porch at night, looking at the moon and wondering the same things. Knowing that somewhere on the other side of the world was a baby that I had not yet seen or held, but that I already loved so much with every fiber of my being.

Today, I hug my child and I lavish so much love and attention on her, but tonight when I lay down to rest from the activity of the day, I will think of her Mu-Qing (moo-ching)(birthmother). I will shed tears for her and pray for her, as I do daily. I pray that God will give her peace about her decision and that somehow she knows that Emma Grace is taken care of and very much loved and adored. I give thanks also to God for her....because without her, I would not be a mother to God's wonderful gift....my daughter, Emma Grace.

Cousins and Friends

How lucky are these girls to have each other! I had always hoped that my sister Alison and I would have children that were close in age. We never dreamed the girls would be 2 weeks apart! Maggie was born July 24 and Mary Elizabeth on August 7. Check out the size difference!


P.S. The beautiful quilt they are laying on was made by Mary Elizabeth's interim family. THANKS to Betty and her amazing family!

Sunday

Mary Elizabeth did really well sleeping on Saturday night especially considering there were no beeps from machines like in the NICU and she was in a new place. She eats every four hours so she typically eats around midnight and again at 4 am. We have her in a travel crib in our room for a little while at least. When we left the NICU on Saturday night she weighed 4 lbs. 8 ozs. It's amazing that she came into this world on August 7th only weighing 1 lb. 4.3 ozs and has already gained so much weight but trust me when I say...she is still SO TINY!

Anyway, the kids and I stayed home while Jonathan went to church. My parents were driving home from Florida and they were the first to arrive. They were so excited and I loved when I told them we were coming home on Saturday, my mom burst into tears in a department store in Florida and my dad said, "Now that I KNOW she is coming home, I can get excited and NOW I AM EXCITED!" Keep in mind that they drove home after being in Florida for 2 days!

When they walked in the door and saw her, they couldn't believe how tiny she was. They both couldn't wait to hold her.

Soon after mom and dad got here, Angie, Robert and Alexandra arrived to see her. Alexandra was fascinated and Angie was so excited to see her, especially in her new preemie outfit she had gotten her. THANKS ANG!

Because she was so premature, the doctors only want Mary Elizabeth being held for short periods of time right after she eats. They want her to spend most of her time sleeping so that she will continue to grow and not get over stimulated. Everyone left and we spent some time just being quiet.

Then, Aunt Janie and Uncle Dickie (my dad's brother) called and wanted to come by. We hadn't told hardly anyone that we were home so we just figured that my mom and dad had called them. When they came in, they were both shocked to see Mary Elizabeth! They had no idea she was home...they were just coming by to drop off a gift. Their reaction was priceless. Aunt Janie just kept saying "Oh! Oh!" with a shocked look on her face. She couldn't wait to hold her and again, they were shocked at how tiny she is. Then Uncle Dickie held her and did the most amazing thing...he started crying. Janie said she had never seen him react that way, but he said he was just so happy for her and so excited that she would be raised in a Christian home. Of course, it made me cry! It was just so sweet.

We were so anxious to see Alison, Josh and Maggie who were traveling home from Indiana. They arrived soon after Dickie and Janie arrived and again, it was awesome for them to meet Mary Elizabeth.