Whew! Now the Wait

RT took his ABA boards in NYC this past week. Whew, is about all we can say. We will not know his results until the end of May, but we are both so thankful to have them done and past us, for now. Hopefully, forever! Thank you Jesus for holding us up with your strength during the past months/years of Rob's training; especially the past 6 months. We truly cannot fully express the love and appreciation that we have for our parents, families, and friends during these trying times. RT has some amazing colleague friends who supported him throughout his studying/mock processes the past few years! It has repeatedly turned us to John 15. One of the strongest images of the Total/Complete Christ and our need/reliance on Him. We have been enjoying time together as a family one again and it's very refreshing and anew. I am more thankful than ever for the soul mate that has been given to me and provided for me. It's also gives me such joy in my heart to see how much the boys relish time and playing with their Daddy.  Thanks to our friends for sharing a light hearted and relaxing weekend with us all, we needed it. Thankful for the day to day...

Love~

Ginny

Birthday X Two

The boys cousins (my sister, Ashlee's kiddos), Austin & Haylee, turned six years old this week and we all enjoyed celebrating their birthday. Yesterday the weather was perfect for a day at the park with lots of friends and family to play and eat cake! They are both so individual, although they are twins. Haylee wanted a Tinkerbell cake (of course, all six year old girls love fairies!) and Austin wanted a baseball cake, because he is a 'Sports Guy'; so I made each of them a special cake with lots of love and a little sugar.  Happy 6th Birthday, Austin & Haylee! We Love You Guys!

Love~

Ginny

  

Life

Saturday was my birthday and it was pretty low key, I truly enjoyed it. The boys and I hit the gym and then met up with some friends (the Pope's-Billy, Suzanne, Julianna, & Maddie) at the zoo. We all love our friendship with their sweet family, we always have lots of fun and are so full of life and encouragement when we part. Billy took some fantastic shots of the boys (Thanks, Billy!). Also, Thank You, to all of our family & friends who sent me birthday wishes. :)

Love~

Ginny

More of our Easter Celebration!

We had so much fun on Easter Sabbath. It's always happy and sad reflecting back on each holiday. What did we learn, experience, discover, enjoy, etc. When will we see them again? One thing that we are continually reminded of is how blessed we are to have such wonderful families, we only wish we were able to spend more time with each of them. We celebrated with our families; with Nana T at FBP's Easter Fling, in Birmingham at my Grandmother's, Aunt Martha & Uncle Charlie's, and Great Grand Ma's. 

Love~

Ginny

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Our Board Countdown: 5 Days......

Well, It seems surreal, but also an eternity. RT left this morning in route to take a final crash mock course and take his final ABA exam in NYC on Monday, April 20, 11:45 a.m. Thank you for each of your prayers, encouragement and help with RT taking his boards and the journey it has been for our entire family. We sincerely request your prayers during the next 5 days and on the morning of his exam. The exam is oral and completely subjective in the minds of the examiners. (Please pray for God's strength and confidence of RT's knowledge to find favor with the board examiners.)

Love~
Ginny

Easter, Come and Gone...

We truly had a wonderful Palm week of Easter celebration and discussion. The boys love the Easter season as much as Christmas, which is especially exciting since they don't receive a bunch of gifts. We hope that they are getting real glimpses of the sacrifice Jesus gave to us all. We hope you had a memorable and fun celebration, too!  It was a very busy and tiring week, but full of many loving memories and lots of FUN! easter Bible stories, cookie decorating, egg boiling and decorating, kindergarten parties, EGG HUNTS (7), and travel to & fro family gatherings..... I'm pooped and the new week is only half way through. 

Each day: I do what I must, enjoy my guys, and the rest can wait until tomorrow...

Love~

Ginny

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We're Coming Nara Josette...

Well,... We had a huge update this week for our adoption direction and timeframe to bring Nara Josette home.  RT and I have been praying and talking a lot the past three months about changing our adoption request from China or Taiwan to China for our daughter with 'minor' special needs (CSN). We have been waiting since December '08 to find out if we would be pre-approved for Taiwanese adoption. In the meantime God began leading our hearts toward CSN. Finally last week and this past weekend, we decided to change our request to CSN. We called our social worker on Monday morning and requested the forms, scheduled another annual physical and DHR forms to update since those expire in May. In talking with her, we should hope to receive our referral packet (picture/history and medical file) in late summer and pray for God's timing, we are hopeful that we may be able to travel by the end of this year in December. Finalizing our official package/dossier to China should take about 2 months. 

Ah,... an important detail. I called JOH on Wednesday to inquire about the status of our pre-approval application for Taiwan. JOH said, "Oh glad you called - we heard from Taiwan on Monday that you were declined for adoption". Honestly, I was relieved and peaceful when I heard the news. The JOH lady said, Are you OK, Are you Mad, Are you there??" She obviously expected a different response. RT and I are both at peace about where we're at in our adoption process and believe so strongly that God sweetly confirmed for us, that we are on the perfect path to our daughter. After all, for almost seven years God has told us that we have a daughter in China. We just need gentle blinders along our path to help keep us on course and follow His crumbs. Thank you for your continued prayers. We ask for Jesus to lead us the Nara Josette, He already knows what special needs she will have and for Him to be preparing our hearts to best love her and help her grow, just as we do the boys. Please pray for God's protection over her, her 'friends' and her caregivers hearts. His orphans are in every country including our own, who deserve our prayers and support. Thank you for your prayers and encouragement on our adoption journey.

Love ~

Ginny

Oh BOY(s)!

It has been an adventurous week around our home. WT, GT, me, and Papa T all fell pray to the awful vomit/... bug. It was the worst experience that I personally recall from any 'bug' I have ever endured. I am pretty sure that everyone feels the same... Thankfully, RT and FT did not get it, truly neither of them are rarely sick - a blessing from above.

Amidst the week, we have enjoyed a lot of play and have truly enjoyed talking more about Easter each day, replaying the events of Jesus last days here and why God sent Jesus to earth and why Jesus gave His life for us. It is a great reminder for me every time we talk about Jesus, when we read the Bible, pray, etc. about how real God is and my/our faith being so simplistic. Faith of children... Thank you Jesus, for your love and ultimate sacrifice for us.

The boys and I baked some Easter egg cookies a couple of days ago and of course, iced and sprinkled them until their fingers were tired. Ah, but not too tired to quickly pick up all the stray sprinkles and gobble them up with a big smile. Yum.  

Love~

Ginny

Make a Smilebox slideshow