Come, Thou long expected Jesus

Born to set Thy people free

From our sins and fears release us

Let us find our rest in Thee

Israel's strength and consolation

Hope of all the earth Thou art

Dear desire of every nation

Joy of every longing heart!

la birthday pics

when the birthday boy wants 

authentic fish & chips...

while one waits for said fish & chips

Ali showed up downtown to

surprise her favorite brother!

a wise old sage reflecting

on 12 years of life

and there was great air soft rejoicing in the land

twelve

he went right ahead...

he did it...

he turned 12 today.

where have the years gone?!

happy, happy, happy birthday to our

sweet

handsome

sensitive

funny

smart

dependable

compassionate

tough

loving

brave

witty

Spirit-filled

Quinn

we thank Father today for the gift of YOU,

& pray His richest blessings and  

loving hand over you today.

we love you Quinn Samuel!!!!!

4 years!

can't believe it's been 4 years

  since we met our baby girl!

this calls for some

Yang-Yang crispy beef

dry fried green beans

oyster chicken & bok choy

and the guest of honor!

HAPPY GOTCHA DAY Gracie Shu!!!

no packing required...

our family is going on a mission trip this summer.

all 6 of us.
even the pets.

no luggage, no travel shots, no motion sickness bags.

in fact, we're not leaving home...

see this sweet face?

  

we have the honor of hosting this little

guy from China for 6 weeks

through an amazing organization
called New Horizons for Children.

over 70 orphaned boys & girls will
be coming to stay in Christian homes in
 the US from July 9 -Aug. 16.


some of the main goals...

"to learn about God, experience His love & realize they
have a Father Who loves them"
"to provide an educational/cultural experience"
"to show them unconditional love & acceptance"
"to introduce adoptable children to families &
hopefully find their forever family"
hmmmm....more on that later :)

this has been no small undertaking in many ways.
we don't take this lightly, & we are beyond excited!

would you pray for us?!
financially, emotionally, and most importantly,
that Father's love would be overflowing in our home.

"a thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy.
I came so they can have real and eternal life,
more and better life than they ever dreamed of."
John 10:10

beach week pics!

Personalize your own free photo slideshow

beach

rock star

greetings from

Edisto Island!

last day 'o school

another school year has literally flown by.

Ali will be a college sophomore.

*impossible*

Erin will be a junior in high school.

*in denial*

Quinn will be a 6th grader.

middle school.

home schooled no more.

leaving his mommy.

breaking said mommy's heart.

*wrong*

Gracie will be in K5.

home schooled.

with her mommy.

not allowed to grow up so quickly.

*sigh*

here they are before selecting their

"last day gift"...

boatloads of candy from Cracker Barrel 

for our beach trip tomorrow!!

"the Lord has done great things for us,

and we are filled with joy!"

Psalm 126:3

supporting a friend and showing off my baby

how cute is this face? 

and how cute is that dress?!

that precious little model is showing off some 

of my friend's sweet dresses.

you can find her Etsy site

HERE 

you know you need to stock

up on some sassy summer dresses!!

be looking for my Etsy site soon...

I need someplace to promote the

autographed pictures of my charming daughter

as well as my soon-to-be-best-selling

autobiography,

Humble Mom, Famous Daughter

How to Make Millions off Your  

Child Graciously

hehehe

Mother's Day!

Hello bloggy friends! This is Ali here, hacking on to the blog so that I can brag on Mommy-dearest, because if any of you know her like I do, you know how amazing humble she is. She always calls out the gold in others, so now it is her turn to be brag on her!

My mom is simply the most fabulous mom in the world! Seriously, you have to be someone amazingly special in order to parent 4 hoodlums as graciously and lovingly as she does. A lot of people akin motherhood to a job, but my mom never acts like this is her job. My mom always acts like it is her privilege and joy to take care of all us! (Even my dad, who is the biggest child of us all! ;) )

Rachel Elizabeth Woodard, you are a one-of a kind daughter of the King! He elevates you to such high places in the Kingdom because of how low you place yourself here on earth. You deserve so much more than you even imagine! You are so loved! May Abba bless you this year with peace and provision beyond all understanding!

To end this post, I want to bless my hip mama with an old Irish blessing that I feel like really embodies what Abba has got in store for her this year!

May love and laughter light your days,

and warm your heart and home.

May good and faithful friends be yours,

wherever you may roam.

May peace and plenty bless your world

with joy that long endures.

May all life's passing seasons

bring the best to you and yours

And so, in closing, HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO THE BEST MOM IN THE WORLD!

Love, Ali & Erin & Quinn & Gracie

50 years

last weekend we traveled to NC to celebrate

Brian's parent's 50th wedding anniversary.

we  feel so blessed to both have parents 

who have reached this milestone!

this one couldn't wait to wear her party dress!

 8 hrs + 1 sore wrist = my little contribution to the food table

 helping uncle Stephen

cousins

 the eldest and the baby

my sis-in-law & her beautiful cake!

  

the newest grandbaby

I just love my brother-in-law

Susan - the party planner extraordinaire!!

 our beautiful girls!

 cousins

we love you Mom & Dad!

look forward to your 75th!!!