So Blessed

Three months ago today we met this sweet face!

Brave girl - my hero!

"Oh taste and see that the LORD is good;"
Psalm 34:8

Eight is Great!

Our baby boy is eight years old today!
Great for him...but Mommy's a little sad!
he's had my heart since day one...
He's talked about this day for weeks, so there will be
great rejoicing and celebration in the Woodard house today.
I feel like he was born, I blinked, and now he's such a big boy.
His middle name is Samuel,
and our prayer has always been that Quinn, like Samuel
in Scripture, will hear and know God's voice with greater
intimacy every passing day.
He is smart, funny, talented,
compassionate and Lego obsessed.
and Mama's boy
Happy birthday Quinn Samuel.
We love you Bubs!

18 Years

Today Brian and I celebrate 18 years of marriage.
Time to pull out the ol' VHS and reminisce -
Family, friends, tons of middle schoolers,
(we worked in the Jr. High youth group @ the time)
and the obligatory Steve Green's
"Household of Faith" being sung.

For better (Mainly Brian)
For worse (Usually me)
For richer (Um....not so much)
and poorer (not compared to the majority of others in the world!)
The birth and salvation experiences of three children
and the adoption of our new little treasure.

Four children
A minivan
A Honda with over 200,000 miles on it
Two cats
A blind 13 yr. old dog
God's overflowing grace and blessing

Wouldn't trade this journey for anything.


Is it just me, or do we look 12?

Check out the ginormous shoulder pads and
glamorous bangles on the sleeves.

I'll go ahead and apologize to any friends or family reading who happen to be in this picture.

Too bad I couldn't enlarge it so you could more greatly appreciate
the "end-of-80's big hairstyles" and the evidence that
my fetish for bangles made it's appearance on the bridesmaid dresses.
Notice the train - I wanted to be Princess Diana.

Happy Saturday

Molly Grace
7.5 lbs
Isn't she a honey?!

My sweet little niece Kylie had her baby girl early this morning. My parents are officially great-grandparents!! OK, I'm feeling a little old...

Reality

I had forgotten what it was like to have a toddler in the house.
For instance, hearing myself say things like...
"Don't shake salt on the kitty!"

Who me?

My new jeans, new shoes, and new wheels

Daddy's girl

Our Little Starfish

Mommy has the best scenery on her morning walk!

Once a man was walking along a beach. The sun was shining and it was a beautiful day. Off in the distance he could see a person going back and forth between the surf's edge and and the beach. Back and forth this person went. As the man approached he could see that there were hundreds of starfish stranded on the sand as the result of the natural action of the tide.

The man was stuck by the the apparent futility of the task. There were far too many starfish. Many of them were sure to perish. As he approached the person continued the task of picking up starfish one by one and throwing them into the surf.

As he came up to the person he said, "You must be crazy. There are thousands of miles of beach covered with starfish. You can't possibly make a difference." The person looked at the man. He then stooped down and pick up one more starfish and threw it back into the ocean. He turned back to the man and said, "It sure made a difference to that one!"

Gracie's Dedication Day

My mom was able to spend a part of her birthday with us at church!

Today was a day that has been tucked away in my heart and mind for 3 1/2 years - the day we were able to dedicate our new daughter. It was an even more special occasion as every staff family at CrossRoads was able to dedicate their new little answers to prayer also! Let me just say that it was one fine looking group of babies -precious! I know it was a joy for Steve to be able to pray over two of his own grandchildren!

God spoke personally to me today and I felt His presence so heavily. On the way to church a scripture was read on the radio that we quoted over and over during our wait.

Psalm 27:13 "I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD."

On the way home the first song that played on the radio was "Mighty to Save". That was kind of our "theme song" for our adoption journey, and I am still overwhelmed by God's goodness to our family in bringing us the most precious gift in little Gracie. Today was simply a public display of our hearts. We've dedicated Gracie Jia Shu to her Creator. We can't wait to watch her grow in beauty and become a woman of strong faith and prayer.

My Savior -
He can move the mountains.
My God is mighty to save!