Metal Mouth

Before anyone fusses at me for making fun of Bryan, know that he wanted me to call this "Brace Face".

Bryan reached a milestone in life today. He got braces. I think he looks older already.
The fun will be deciding which colors to use every time. He went with red and green for the inaugural day. Here are some pics.

He's so handsome, isn't he?

See the red and green?

In case you couldn't see it before!

Surely I am not old enough to have a son this grown~

How Deep the Father's Love for Us...

How deep the Father's love for us,
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure

How great the pain of searing loss,
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the chosen One,
Bring many sons to glory

Behold the Man upon a cross,
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed I hear my mocking voice,
Call out among the scoffers

It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished

I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection

Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom

We sang this song in church on Sunday, and it has resonated with me since then. I was overwhelmed as I sang these words at the sacrifice that God made... for me! But the one thought that echoes over and over in my mind is that this is how God has worked out my adoption. I am adopted too. Did you hear that? I am adopted by the Father of the Universe, the Creator of all that is and is to come, the Alpha and Omega. He's my Abba, my Daddy. He has adopted me into his family.

Scripture says that "In love, He predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will" (Ephesians 1:5) And it was the sacrifice of Jesus that made this possible.

Our adoption journey to bring Ellie home has taught me so much about what God has done for me. His love is deep- so much deeper than I can imagine or dream of. I am so thankful that my family is also adopted. We have a personal relationship with Christ that gives us hope and assurance and security. Oh, how I pray that one day Ellie is adopted again... this time to His eternal family. THAT will be a day of celebration!

Progress

Jeff got the chair rail done for Ellie's room last week. It's precious.. exactly what I had imagined (thanks, hon, for all the work you put into it!). I love it. So, as promised... here are the pics. I still need something to go on the wall above her bed, and we will still add a bookshelf in there, but overall, it's just about finished!

Her name Ellie means "shining light" or "noble". Her Ethiopian name means "Blessed". We are blessed by her, for sure!

Bryan helped with the "special effects". Not bad, huh?? I love it!

This is still my favorite part of the room... "Such a big miracle in such a little girl". She has no idea how true that is!

The picture on her dresser is of her and her best friend in Ethiopia. So sweet....

The pillows make the bed! And I still love that lamp!

That chair rail sets things off, doesn't it??

This rocker was mine when I was a little girl! I love that Ellie will get to use it now.

We still have not heard about a court date yet. So, we wait and then wait some more. We still trust that God's timing is perfect. We did get a new video of her opening the package that we sent to her recently. That was amazing to see! She has pictures of us now, and the nannies at her orphanage will be telling her every day that we are her new momma, daddy, and brother. WOW!! DID YOU HEAR THAT?

WE are her FAMILY!
And that's really what this is all about....

Ellie, we love you. We're ready to have you home with us forever.

dé⋅jà vu

Ever have that feeling that you've done something before or been somewhere before? I have that today.

And I'm right.

I have done this before. EXACTLY 1 year ago today, in fact.

I have pneumonia... again. I knew I had had it last year around this time too. Jeff was in Guatemala at the time, and Mom came to help me out. I looked at my old blog entries only to find that I was diagnosed on March 10th, 2008.

I'm thinking that next year when March rolls around, I'm moving into a bubble for a while.