Father's Day

father :

1. n. the foundation for the family, one who

originates, guards and provides.

a leader, source of strength, inspiration and will.

 This is one of my favorite pictures of Eric and the kids to date! It has been such a blessing to step back and watch Eric as a daddy to these four blessings.  Each of them has their own unique and special relationship with their dad.  I love that he makes it a priority to date each of his kids and build a relationship with them. Each of them have stretched and grown Eric in new ways as he has been on a journey as a father.

I still remember the anticipation and excitement in the hospital room as I was in labor. I remember watching Eric fall head over heals in love with his little girl the minute she was born. Alexa gave Eric the gift of being a daddy for the first time. She will always hold that special place in his heart.

  Emma came along rather quickly and Eric quickly embraced being a daddy to two little girls. He loved every minute of having these two girls wrapped around his finger. Emma came with a little spunk her her little blonde pony tails and I loved watching Eric guide her spirit with out breaking it. I loved the gentle, nurturing and protective side that his two little girls brought out in him. There are many nights he could be found on the couch cuddled with his two girls.

 

Shane then followed not long after. Building a business, being a husband and dad to 3 little ones 3 and under was no small task. Eric jumped in to being a dad to 3 with both feet. There were times it was hard and he would be the first to admit that but I love the way he would rise to the challenge and continue to strive to put into each of his little blessings even when he was at the end of himself. He made a point to graciously take the three almost nightly the first months after Shane was born and kick me out of the house for a little bit of mommy time. He because a smart daddy and knew if mommy was refreshed and happy the rest of the house seemed to follow suit! 

 I loved watching Eric grow as a daddy when he had his first son. There is something about a dad and his girls but something pretty special about a father and his son. Our house turned from night time cuddle time to night time wrestle time. I am not sure how to totally explain the difference ... it is more a physical, active love I see between these two. The way that Shane looks up to his dad is pretty special.

  

  When we journeyed to Max I saw Eric's heart change and grown one more time as a dad. It was amazing to watch Eric with Max those first few hours and days. There was an instant bond and Eric was head over heals in love with his little boy. He instantly felt that God had handpicked Max to be his son. After walking through his orphanage and his finding spot their was an emotion of protectiveness and love that I saw in Eric's eyes. Max forever changed his daddy's heart! 

  Once again I see Eric's heart opening and growing in new ways as he became a daddy for the 5th time this year. What better gift for Father's Day than new pictures of his baby girl. I can't wait to see little Ellie wrap her daddy around her fingers. I can't wait to see how God stretches and grows Eric as a daddy on our journey to our sweet girl

 The kids had so much fun filling out special questions about their dad.  I wanted to document some of their answers. 

Shane thought Eric was 100 pounds and 55 inches tall.  His favorite things to do with his dad are golfing and cuddling.  What he loves most about his dad is when he hugs and kisses him.  Emma thinks her daddy is smart because he knows 100,000 x 100,000. She loves that he tells her stories and wrestles with her.  She loves her daddy because he loves her.  Alexa said Eric's favorite food is sour worms.  She said he works hard at home and work.  Alexa is happy when Daddy comes home from a long trip. She loves her daddy because he is my dad. 

We are blessed with an amazing dad. We celebrated him on Father's Day!

My Heart Is Bursting ... An Update On Ellie

 I couldn't believe it when I saw an email from our agency that said UPDATE.  We had asked for new pictures and asked some questions about our little Ellie but were shocked that it came so soon.  I opened the email to see this picture .....

Oh my goodness we are in love with this little girl already.  It seems crazy that we could fall head over heals in love with a little girl an ocean away that we have never met but that is what has happened.

She is our daughter and China telling us we can come get her can not come fast enough.

I have studied her pictures from top to bottom.  Look at that cute little nose and those sweet little lips ...

and those tiny little curled toes are just too precious.

Her cheeks are full and she looks healthy and yet those tiny little legs, ankles and feet remind me so much of Max's feet and legs when we got him.  No strength or muscle tone.  She looks like such a little peanut.

This is what we found out about Ellie today:

We asked for updated measurements and they said she is 70.5 cm tall, she weighs 8.5kg which is about 18 lbs and her foot length is 10.5cm.  We know we take the measurements with a grain of salt ... not sure she is looking like an 18 lbs little girl. She has 1 tooth.

We asked how her health has been, if her VSD seems to affect her health, if she sweats easily or has blue fingers or mouth.  The orphanage said Ellie was very weak when she came to them but under their good care, her health has been greatly improved.  They said she sweats easily but doesn't get tired. She hasn't had blueness in her fingertips or mouth so far.

We asked for another Echo to see if there were any changes in the hole in her heart.  The told us that the hospital is far away and would be very hard to make an appointment there so too hard to arrange the exam for Ellie.

We asked the caretakers to describe her development and personality.  The said she can sit alone well and stand holding on to furniture.  She can move around when sitting in the baby walker. She has started to babble. She gets along well with the other children and likes colorful toys.

We asked if she had ever been in foster care and if she had a nickname.  The said she had never been in foster care and they call her Na Na.

Little Ellie has wiggled her way into all of our hearts already.  We continue to stand in awe that God has given us this precious little girl to be our daughter. 

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I 

know that full well. 

Psalm 139:14

Seeing God's Creation With New Eyes

I just wrapped up an 8 week photography class with the very talented photographer and teacher Lisa from The Long Road To China.  The class was entitled "Push Past Your Comfort Zone."  Push is exactly what Lisa did.  She pushed me from being a Auto girl to being a complete Manual girl in a pervious class and then pushed me even further than I could have imagined.  Lisa pours 110% into her classes. She has an amazing gift.

I feel very blessed to have learned from Lisa but also to have connected with some amazing women. There were women with amazing talent and beautiful hearts in my class.  Many women in my class have adopted from China and have been so amazing and supportive on our final push of paperwork and then celebrated with us on our referral of our precious Ellie.

 The thing I love most about this new passion I have for photography and capturing life from behind my lens is the new eyes I have.  I have new eyes for God's creation.  There is so much beauty all around me that I take for granted and walk by daily.

They are lines ...

 textures ...

 heights ....

 

color ....

 amazing details ....

beauty all around me.

There are so many little details about my kids that I love capturing.  There are freckles, eyes, fingers, toes, expressions and emotions ... beauty in every ounce of them.  God's handprints all over them ... created in His image yet unique in their own way.

I feel blessed to have new eyes and a new passion for seeing and capturing the details of God's creation all around me.

I can't wait to keep learning, practicing and seeing God's beauty around me with new eyes through my lens. 

...the heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands.

Psalm 19:1

Dance Recital Time

The girls have loved dance again this year.  In the past they have been in different classes so this year they thought it was pretty fun to be in the same class.  The often were practicing their routine and dancing around the house or the yard.

They were very excited for the big Recital.  They always have a few nervous jitters being on stage but love anticipating the big day.  There is always a buzz in the air backstage as everyone is getting ready.  

 

When everyone is ready they all wait patiently for the big event. They play games, watch movies, color, read books or just chat with their dance friends. 

The grammy's snuck backstage for hugs before the girls were on stage.

My brown eyed girl! 

Miss Emma blue eyes! 

Their personalities shine through when they dance.  Alexa is a very serious dancer and Emma just can't wipe that smile off her face!

They had a wonderful teacher this year and learned so much!

I am not sure if dance is something they will continue but they have loved their experience and we will continue to support them and let them grown and blossom in the opportunities they have in front of them. 

I love watching their feet move beneath their skirts.

The joy in their faces say it all ...  sisters .....

 but also best friends! 

An Outing With Fred

I am playing catch up on my blog a bit! A couple weeks ago I took Max out for a photo shoot for my photography class with Lisa from Long Road To China.  Our assignment was do do a posed and/or lifestyle shoot.  If you have met Max you know that this little bundle of energy is nearly impossible to pose and have him stay in that spot for more than a second which makes it nearly impossible to take a posed shot of him unless there is a distraction life food or something.  We were geared up to give it a try though.

A couple months ago when we were moving we came across Fred. Fred is Eric's childhood teddy bear.  Max took to Fred instantly and started calling him Teddy.  I thought it would be fun to take Max and Teddy/Fred out for a little photo shoot!

Max was bit bothered by his dirty feet after we were settled. He kept picking them up and looking at them.

He started by playing with Teddy ....

and in no time Teddy was doing flips!

It was then of course snack time, actually snack time seemed to be frequent with the hopes of trying to keep Max is one place.

Then it was time to read Teddy some books!

I love everything this picture represents.

Just a little break to take it all in!

This little man of ours has so much personality and we daily see it oozing out of him!

I love the way those big brown eyes speak!

What a great outing withTeddy and Max!

I am linking up to Sunday Snapshots today! Head over there to see more snapshots!
I used my Canon 60D and my 50 mm lensMy ISO was 100 and f stop and shutter were all over the place! 

Telling The Kids

The kids have been so excited about adopting a little sister from China.  We have talked and prayed about her a lot. The kids knew we could find out anytime who there sister was and we were praying it was some time this summer.  On Tuesday after we got the call it was a whirlwind.  Eric's mom had flown in from Africa, where she does mission work.  We were all sitting around the table and Emma said, "Grammy, we could find out who our sister is anytime.  We might even find out this summer while you are here!" Shane interjected, "And we will get to see her picture too!" Little did they know they had a sister already and in no time they would see her face for the first time.

Eric is heading to India for business this week.  He pulled up the map of India on his computer and they talked about what he was going to be doing and the orphanages he was going to visit while he was there. He then showed the kids where China was and they found where Max was born but then Eric said, "And this is where your new sister is from!" Their expressions were priceless as they saw their sister for the first time. Complete joy and love in all those little eyes!

Max kept looking at Eric saying, "Baby, baby!"  I am pretty sure he has no clue how this little baby his going to rock his world!

There were a ton of questions asked as they poured over her picture.  They wanted teachers emailed and   pictures printed so they could show their new sister to their friends.  Their eyes and hearts have been opened through our journey to Max.  It has been so fun for us to sit back and watch their little hearts fill up for love for their little sister.  When Shane tells people about his sister he also asks people to pray for her!

Introducing Our Daughter ...

It is with great joy and thanksgiving that we introduce you to our daughter.  

Gan An Na was born on October 20, 2011 she is just 7 months old. 

She is waiting for us at the Jianxin Social Welfare Institute in the Jiangxi Province

We have named her Ellie An Na.

We stand in awe of God's perfect plan for our family. We have watched the evidence of his hand every step of this journey. He has orchestrated every step of this process in such an amazing way that we sit back and give him all the glory! God is good! 

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.
Ephesians 3:20

When our feet hit the ground we will share more about our little girl and how clearly we have seen his hand at work.