Praise God from whom all blessings flow....

Today was such a special day for us as a family. We had the opportunity to stand before the church family and dedicate Kynzie to the Lord.  To us, raising our children could NOT be done without the loving support of some of our strongest supporters within the church.  We were so blessed to be able to have all 4 of Kynzie's great grandmas there, some of our aunts, Nick's mom and two of Nick's nephews and grandpa Chuck.  After the dedication we went to the Barn Restuarant and just enjoyed a very yummy homecookin' meal and time with our family together.  Kynzie brings so much to our lives and we love her more than anything.  Our children all hold a very dear and special place in our lives. 
We followed that by an awesome family bike ride where we met at the park and the girls had fun playing together.  Lots of laughter and giggles, as always at the park.  We couldnt thank the Lord anymore for the blessings He has given us and the gifts of HIS children, entrusting us to be their earthly guidance to raise them in the way they should go.  We truly have to be the luckiest people ever to be blessed with such an incrediable gift and feel so very honored to have the priveledge to be the parents of such wonderful children.   They are our everything!! 
Tonight while laying here in bed, Nicholas and I prayed together.  Many nights, we just take turns praying aloud together and then we say our own silent prayer individually, but we both felt led to pray together aloud, instead of it just being one or the other.  Thanking Him for all our blessings and then asking Him to be with us through all the trials of parenthood and in our adoption journey.  In this journey our hearts are in so many places.  We both feel 100% in knowing God is calling us on this adventure. We both are honored to be where we are and we both are a tad bit overwhelmed by all the paperwork, the tasks that need to be accomplished, and the heartache that is involved.  Our entire family longs to be completed.  We long to know what's going to happen and where we are going to be.  Ashalyn talks daily about her brother and sister.  She begs to go see them.  She asks when we will go on an airplane to meet them.  She wants to know all the little details.  And everyday she makes something.  The most recent being a family picture.  She drew, Nicholas and I, Kynzie and herself...along with 3 other children.  I asked her who they were and she says, I don't know them mommy but they are my brother and sister.  I want them to come play with me and Kynzie.  So she knows and I really feel she understands.  And honestly, I know God is calling her to the place of being a big sister to these children.  She asks us throughout the day to pray for them, without us saying a word.  She goes up to Kynzie and in her mom voice talking to a little baby, tells Kynzie everything she knows about them and how we will have to go pick them up and bring them home to our house.  We're just all so anxious and excited for this journey of a lifetime.  We are so anxious to grow our hearts and our family, as well as an unexplainable love for these children that share nothing with us genetically, other than that pure and whole place in our hearts. 
I'll be honest, just tonight we talked about the numbers again financially...and it scares us...it scares the crap out of us.  "What if we are unable to come by these kinds of numbers?"  "What if our family is denied the grants?" and "What if we get that call tomorrow morning and we cannot come up with the next $1000 payment?"  So many what ifs, but we pray...we pray for God to show us a way and to calm everyone of our fears.  We ask that you join us in these prayers, because it is scary.  It's scary to have the unsure when talking about such large amounts of money.  We pray for opportunities to be able to save the funds we need.  Excuse me with this scenario, but it's not like the moment you find out you are expecting biologically and you can go to your physician and turn it into insurance and see what portion of these incrediable opportunity they will cover.  A OB will not deny you services because you dont have the moeny to cover at that exact moment you go into labor.  But it's scary knowing that if we dont have those funds readily available we could lose the precious chance to get to know a beautiful baby girl or handsome little boy.  So that's my prayer request tonight, that God provides us with a sense of comfort in knowing that He will take care of us, He will provide us with the opportunities when the need arises, and that we are equipped with the faith needed for the mountains to move and doors to be opened.  Our journey is only in it's beginning.  Our family life is still at the early stages and there is so so SO many things for us to be thankful for.  Our blessings are beyond numbers and we truly are grateful for every opportunity to be with each of our children, in our presence and in our hearts.  We pray for each of our children, the ones here in our home with us, our ones in Heaven, our ones clear across the world and across the states, and every other child we are not able to adopt but who are waiting for their forever love and family!  It's been a very special day with some very special people!  GOD IS GOOD...ALL THE TIME!