Why we do what we do...

Happy Gotcha Day Anna Grace

It is hard to believe it has been one year since Anna Grace joined our family. We are so thankful God chose us to be her mama and daddy. Anna is full of energy and life. She has brought laughter into our home and has taught us about the strength of the human spirit. She had a harder start than most people but it did not crush her spirit. Instead, she is a vibrant and loving little girl who manages to charm most everyone she meets. Not a day passes that I don't thank God for leading us to adoption, for protecting her until we could bring her home, and for giving us the privilege of being her parents. Thank you, Father, for setting the lonely in families. Thank you for using a child to teach our family more about your love for us.

In honor of this special day I created a video with highlights from the past year. This is my first attempt at a video like this so it is 4 minutes and 15 seconds long but the video runs for 7 minutes. I have no idea why but if you knew what I went through to get this made, you would understand why I didn't try to fix it. Just hit stop after 4:15. : )

This time last year.....

....it was 10:15AM on Sunday morning in China and we were 5 hours from meeting Anna Grace! I cannot believe it has been a year since that day and at the same time it seems like we have had her forever. What a blessing she is to our family. Something special coming soon....

Snow...continued!

Shawn digging out our sidewalk for the 25th time!

Homemade snow cones --- You can see what Anna Grace thought about them

Anna Grace's first time sledding. She wasn't sure if she liked it or not.

Lauren didn't care much for the snow at the beginning of last week. But we did catch one of her beautiful smiles.

The view down our street. It really was amazing!

Cousin Ryan beside the wall of snow.

Cousin Austin playing with the girls. They thought it was great to have a teenage boy to play with them.

Sarah hitting the bump in the snow that launched them into the air.

Cousin Laura was a champ at sledding

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow---Part 2

Sarah and Anna Grace with cousin, Laura

The snow at the end of the driveway

Our view of the sidewalk from the front porch. Shawn couldn't keep it clear because the snow is coming down so fast.

Sarah and Anna Grace

Shawn digging out a snow fort for his girls. It is big enough for 3 or 4 adults.

Anna Grace is most interested in licking the snow. She cannot even walk in it!

Our neighbors dug out a tunnel and Anna Grace thought that was fun to crawl through.

Connor trying out the snow fort.

Emily and Laura in the snow fort. It is huge!!

The giant snow fort....and the snow continues to fall at a rate of 2-3" per hour!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!!!

Our deck at 5PM

Our deck at 7PM

Our deck at 8:30PM

Our deck at 10:15PM

So, it's snowing here! And that is quite an understatement! I have taken pictures from my backdoor tonight. Each picture was taken at the same spot so you can see how the snow has piled up. And we haven't even gotten to the worst of it. We are supposed to get the heaviest snow from midnight to 6AM. Between those hours we are supposed to get 2-3" of snow EVERY HOUR! Holy Cow! I am from the beach. I LOVE the beach! I don't really like snow all that much. But we've got good food and my cousin is here with her children so we will have a good time. I will post more pics in the morning!

Just an extra for fun!! We had the awesome privilege of having dinner with author, Jan Brett. This is a picture of her reading her newest book to our girls. It was a special night!

YES! WE ARE!!! Hoping to have our letter of approval in April!