Court in the city... the homeless and what God teaches us...

Hello windy city... and that is what it was... WINDY, RAINY, AND COLD on the day we headed downtown to have our petition to adopt Kaliyah heard in court... 

When I finally put two and two together that our court date downtown would fall on the Thursday before Easter, I was so excited.  Back in Tulsa, we had made snack bags, written up Easter notes and taken them to some of the homeless in the city...

On the few occasions that we have made it downtown here,  there are always many needy people on the main streets.  So the kids and I got to working on Easter bags, getting the snacks together, and making a list of downtown churches that folks might be able to walk to on Easter.

My heart got to praying for those we might meet out on the streets of downtown... 

We packed up the crew, plus a couple of friends and headed for down town... in the POURING RAIN!  

The whole way downtown, I was praying that the storm would lift... We obviously had Kaliyah, since it was her special day... and the others little ones, Hope, Levi, and Isaiah... It wasn't going to be easy hustling through the city on a day like that with the little guys... 

We drove down Michigan Ave wondering if we would even see any new friends... But there they were in the pouring rain sitting outside.  We decided it was best to leave the little ones in the car with Greg while these 4 kids below ran down Michigan Ave with me.

 SNACK BAGS AND LOTS OF LOVE IN HAND!!! 

This picture above was right before a HUGE gust of wind and rain literally almost knocked us over and did bend up 2 of our "cheap, garage sale" umbrellas!

These 4 were TROOPERS!  Not a one batted an eye to walk right up to our new homeless friends and talk with them... Not to mention in the freezing rain...

Since working in Uganda with usually kids in the slums, my heart has been burdened for the people right in our own back yard who are hurting and in need... If I can fly across the ocean to help... I really need to be willing to do it right here as well.

One of my main reasons for blogging is to document our regular life for our kids and myself... If you ask the kids, I can't remember what we did yesterday let alone a year ago... And I can tell you that my hearts desire isn't at all to get a pat on the back.

Mainly, I want these sweet people to honestly know deep down inside that despite the tough circumstances  they might be in, that God truly does love them.... deeply... with an everlasting love... That no matter what they have done, or I have done... that Jesus forgives it all!

And as usual, God shows up and does so much more than what we were thinking might happen.  I am always amazed by the people we meet and what they share and teach me... It was beautiful...

We met Doris, Palmer and her husband of 32 years, Jeff, Roosevelt, John, and many more... 

In our bags we also put a note from me explaining about how in our time of deepest sorrow and need the Lord reached out to be with us, comfort us, and to heal our hearts. 

After hearing some of their stories, I know many of them could relate to loss for sure... 

Oh the sweet conversations we had... Honestly my heart was torn in two and so touched that they would share their stories with us... What an eye opener for the kids, and me, to see the trouble and trial that these sweet friends go through daily... And yet so many of them had great attitudes despite all that they are going through.

Our sweet new friend and sister in Christ, Palmer, has diabetes, is in a wheelchair, just lost her mother... and  has an unstoppable faith that she said she will NEVER let go!  Talk about inspiring... 

We met Jeff who had lost both his wife and son about 10 years ago... 

We met a gentleman who is still 70 miles from home, but had a made it all the way here from Austin, Texas.  The kids noticed the bible sitting next to him.  

We met an Iraqi war Veteran who is suffering from PTSD...  He has served on 3 tours of duty... He Fought for our freedom and there he sits homeless, freezing, unappreciated, and totally  humiliated... I am so glad we were able to thank him for his service...

(Even Isaiah got in on drawing pictures for our cards)

We met new friends whom I already know we will see again in Heaven... 

And new friends that I could tell didn't share our same faith as us...

How very sad that makes me... 

But let me tell you this... 

Not a single person turned us down when we asked if we could pray for them... 

And it didn't matter if we have a home and they don't... Or if we know where our next meal is coming from and they don't... we prayed together on that freezing cold day... 

 

And honestly, if any of them were being dishonest about their circumstances... that is between them and the Lord... It is not my place to stand in judgment... If our Savior would have died for just Roosevelt, Doris, Palmer, or me... It is His job to do the work in their hearts and lives... And I am praying He will do just that... I know He did mine on that chilly day... 

After walking to pass out our bags, we hit family court on the 17th floor of the courthouse to officially petition the court for custody of Kaliyah... FOREVER!!! 

Craziest thing ever... The judge that presided over our case that day, who wasn't the normal Thursday judge, actually has children that live in our same city...

She has a grandson who did his eagle scout project here in the picnic area on campus where we live...

Her kids are members of our church... Out of all the people in this HUGE city, we get a judge who practically knows us already... wild!

They were so sweet, after the court discussion she allowed all of the kids to pick out their own stufffed animal.  Illinois is different in how the court proceedings go... Here, this is the only court date we will go to with Kaliyah... We won't even go for the finalization of her adoption...  Because this was it, we knew we wanted all the kids to be a part of it... (Louis was the only one who wasn't able to make it:(

 And this judge did not disappoint... 

She asked us all questions (even the kids and our company),

And she let each child pick out a beanie baby and sucker.... 

She was very kind... 

She made it memorable... and I love that... 

As we left the court house... The sun was actually shining for the first time all day!  We are praising God that everything is in place to make Kaliyah a Hintz forever.

Sweet smiles...

And... This little gem is smiling... And she lights up the room!

She has stolen our hearts... 

We love her so much and are so thankful for her precious life... Seriously, I am totally in awe of God's miraculous work he has done through adoption again in our family.  What an honor to watch his workings unfold!! And what a joy to watch this precious pumpkin grow... She is amazing! 

Between lots of sickness, work, school conferences, company, and life... We haven't had too much time to post...

Our hearts are a bit tired ... But so thankful and full!!!  Seriously, Could she be any cuter??

Her first few days...

The crew welcoming baby Kaliyah home from the hospital in Arizona... They were TOTALLY enamored with her right from the start...

Sisters...  I am so thankful to have this picture...

Jojo is like a little baby whisperer... seriously so good with her... 

Hopie, our very busy little girl, shone when she held her! And she still is such a big helper!

Caleb enjoying some snuggles before we opened gifts on Christmas Day!  (These were all taken before her birth mom changed her mind that day... everybody was falling in love already... it took like 1.5 seconds!:)

Totally Isaiah... in the midst of crazy circumstances this is what you get... A little bit of Zay Crazy!!

Kaliyah Joy... Christmas Day... 2 days old!

 Sweet Baby Girl!  Looking back at these pics makes me realize how light her skin was at birth... She has already changed so much!  What a treasure every moment with her is...

Enjoying baby Kaliyah...

Louis and Emma with Kaliyah 2 days old:)

Mom and Anna enjoying snuggles with this little sweetie...

She loves Jojo so much... and he is so good with her:)

She is just the sweetest, softest, most wonderful Christmas gift ever!!!

I have gotten behind on blogging since we got home 2 1/2 weeks ago...

That was mostly due to the fact that I came home to the crew sharing a stomach bug, literally days after we were clear of that one, almost everyone got a really bad respiratory bug... Dad and mom included.  

I think we are all on the mend and praising God for that! Thankfully Kaliyah is the only one who didn't get either bug!  I still am in shock!  I think the sanitizing and donated breast milk have had a lot to do with her staying healthy!  So grateful!

We are enjoying every second with her... She is a really easy baby and is so sweet!

Adopt together...

Hey friends... we have been so incredibly blessed and really blown away by each and every one of our adoptions...

And the journey to sweet Kaliyah has been no different.  I feel like I need to pinch myself everyday... She is actually ours... forever a part of our family! She is such an amazing gift...

When we first started talking about adopting again, this time in Illinois... The paperwork, cost, wait, and process were a little overwhelming and daunting...

But after much prayer we thought, "Let's open that door and see if that is God's will for us..."
And here we sit staring at the answer to SO MANY PRAYERS!!!   

I can't even tell you, how precious it is to be staring it in the face... the answer to all of those prayers!!! 

Our sweet friends that housed us in AZ from day 1 to day 36:) (still can't believe it took that long:)  created this adopt together page for us...

We are so grateful for you being along on this journey with us... but especially for your prayers and encouragement along the way...
MUCH LOVE to you all!

https://www.adopttogether.org/hintzfamily

What family...

Who would welcome your family with open arms night after night for well over a month...
What teenagers would give up their beds and bedrooms for almost 5 weeks...
Who would share their home with your family of ten and could literally make it feel like home...
What wife would cook day after day for a crew of 19 without complaint...
What family would turn their holidays upside down to allow a birth mom, her older child, and your      whole crew share in a one of a kind Christmas Eve and Day...

What family would cry and pray with you as your longed for adoption fell apart right before Christmas dinner...

What family would put up with sharing their beds, bathroom, bikes, Lego's, etc. for an unlimited unknown amount of time...
What family would cart you all over town picking up medical records, carting around your birth mom...
What family would put up a newborns cries in the middle of the night...
What family would love you and your crew like family...

This family... that is who...

Seriously, before we came many asked where we would be staying out here...

When I mentioned that we were staying with friends, almost every single person asked for how long we would stay with them.  Even ahead of time I knew that I would probably need to stay on longer than the rest of the family and I made it clear that when the time came that we had stayed long enough that I was more than willing to get a hotel if need be... They assured me... No way!!! 

Not one of us ever dreamt that we would be here for 5 weeks.  Not one of us dreamt that our paperwork would take this long to clear all three states... 

But even more importantly...Not one of us probably thought that being together for this long would go soooooo incredibly smoothly... 

They so joyfully shared their home with all of us, except Greg, for 2 weeks.  And again so sacrificially allowed Anna, Jojo, Kaliyah and me to stay for 3 more weeks.  

And to be honest as much as I want to get back to my home and the rest of my family... I honestly am sad... It has been such a special time...

We have all said it has TOTALLY been a GOD thing...

Seriously, after 5 weeks of being together... the kids did not have one disagreement with one another... They have had a blast and have enjoyed every bit of their time together... It has been so sweet to watch them together... 

After 5 weeks of sharing the kitchen, meals, bathrooms, laundry rooms, my dear friend Kimmey Sue and I have not gotten tired of one another.  It has been a total joy... It has been such a special time... While I longed for our paper work to get done more quickly... being here in their home with their 7 beautiful children was a absolutely a delight.  It has been fun and such a gift to actually spend so much time with them.  

I know having others in your home, especially for an indefinite amount of time can't be the easiest... But not once did she and her husband Bruce or the kids make me or the kids feel like a Burden,  like they were tired of us, or like we should be gone any sooner than we will be... 

We have laughed that our time together sweating in the African sun on missions trips wiping snotty nosed kids and holding orphans with soaked through diapers prepared us for this extended time together... we have lived with each other... 

And so we leave late tomorrow night to get back to life as it should be for both of our families... 

But we leave with somewhat sad hearts, but especially extremely grateful hearts... 

Grateful for great friends...

Grateful for God totally paving the way for the last 5 weeks to be such a special time...

Grateful for God working behind the scenes to use these friends as a special part of our journey to Kaliyah... 

Longing...

Tomorrow will be a month that we have been here in Arizona staying with friends...
In just a few days it will be 5 weeks since I have left my home...

We have been blessed while we have been here to be able to worship on Sundays at a great church, preaching right now from the book of Judges (I remember that being a previous favorite sermon series at our church before we left for the seminary)  This has been no different.... so good!

This past Sunday I was over come...
Over come with emotion over so many things...

This past week I think I knew of 4 people close to me that were experiencing the death of loved ones... My heart was breaking for these people who were experiencing great loss...

A friend of mine finding out about the death of her grand baby... a baby her daughter delivered today still... (my heart breaking for this sweet mama who is just embarking on a grief journey I know all too well)

My Oklahoma mother, my kids Oklahoma grandma, who was a lifeline to me in my days of grief after Samuel died... I will never forget going to her home for the first time in Oklahoma, I had heard of her, but never had met her... She is one of the most hospitable people I have ever met... She welcomed me with open arms and that first night told me of her daughter that had passed away years before just a few months after her daughter's own wedding... (A bond was immediately formed and greatly strengthened over the months that passed) I remember helping her move out of that house, and how carefully her daughters beautiful wedding dress was still packaged up...
Just last week she lost another daughter... Burying more than one child... a grief so hard to bear... I can hardly imagine... my heart hurts for her...

Stories of lives that seemed to be cut short... yet lives that God knew the exact number of days even before time began...

My sweet precious Samuel... not long after his spirit left the warmth of my womb and went right to his Heavenly home... the first face he ever saw was the face of His heavenly father...

Oh dear Elisha, one of the gems at The Gem Foundation in Africa... A smile that just lit up the room... He knew how loved and precious he was... He passed away just a few days after celebrating the wedding of the orphanage founder while she was on her honeymoon... Sweet Elisha with the broken body... now made perfectly whole... no more wheelchair needed in Heaven for this beautiful boy...

My sweet niece Ella and her Grandpa... my sister in Love's dad who in one short week will be gone for a whole year... He too had been paralyzed the last few years of his life... I can just picture him running and jumping around Heaven... I know how hard those anniversary days can be... 

As we were worshiping on Sunday... singing...

Jesus Paid it all, 

All to HIM I owe,

Sin had left a crimson stain, 

He washed it white as snow.

O Praise the one who paid my debt, 

And raised this life up from the dead...

Immediately my heart was filled with an undeniable longing for Heaven... I must admit, of course my longing for Heaven has increased greatly since Samuel died... But on Sunday it was literally at my fingertips... I was filled with a literal ache for my heavenly home... 

This life is filled with so many beautiful things... yet so much trouble, stress, loss... and at times great sorrow... We hurt big because we love BIG!  

I was once again at a loss for the amazing work of Jesus on the cross for me... a miserable sinner... 

I do...

I owe it all to HIM...

My sin, your sin, my kids sin, my husbands sin... all leaving a terrible crimson, blood red stain...

Yet, He washes us white as snow... His red blood shed to make us white as snow... he removes those sins as far as the east is from the west... 

And then... He makes Heaven possible... for you and me one day... 

Already for my son Samuel... for Elisha ... for Deena's 2 daughters, for Katy's dad, for that precious little baby boy born still just tonight... 

They are already there in glory... Right now... With perfect bodies... experiencing the fullness of the Lord... right before their very eyes... 

Oh the hope of heaven... I can not tell you the peace and joy it brings to my heart... When I look around and see the hurt, and as I hurt with people... my heart cries... how much longer Lord?  Come now Jesus... Come quickly...

And then I am reminded simply that He knows the perfect time... I can fully trust in His goodness amidst all the hard things to know He already knows when that time will be and in the mean time...

He is stronger... 

He wants to carry those burdens... 

He wants us to lay them down...

He wants us to fully embrace this life...

He wants us to live in light of eternity...

What a gift it is... a free gift... one that won't ever get old for me...

 I owe Him big time, yet it is debt I could never repay... 

Couldn't ever come close to repaying... 

And he doesn't even want us to try... 

Day by day...

UPDATE as of 1:30 mountain time today...

I am on my way to the medical records office in Phoenix for full medicals requested by Alabama... The Adoption agency director is REALLY going to bat for us to get Alabama to push it through today and then AZ to push it through possibly today... With the upcoming holiday this would be a HUGE  BLESSING... We are so grateful to her!   This is going to take a miracle since it has taken us this long to not even get through the first state yet... But God's knows and He is in control... :)

Original post:

As the days tick by... Some of us here in AZ awaiting the clearance of our interstate adoption paperwork to clear and some of us waiting 1800 miles away in IL., there are  lots of things happening for the 7 of the Hintzes back at home in Chilly Illinois...

Dad Getting little guys and hopie ready for school each day... 

High school boys taking care of preschool boys after school (They are such great brothers!)...

Snowy walks to church... 

Facetiming with mom, Anna, Jojo, and Kaliyah...

And on our end in sunny Arizona there is a lot happening for the 4 of us:)

Day trips to Sedona to catch a glimpse of God's beautiful creation... (The friends we are staying with had a job 20 minutes from Sedona, so we tagged along)
Long walks with toddlers...
School work with Anna and Jojo (YAY... Science is mostly completed for the year... all of our book science is done... now just observations and projects!!!)

Lots of snuggle time with precious baby Kaliyah:)

Sweet get together with precious friends...

We are so thankful that even though we left our house 3 1/2 weeks ago and have been separated for a lot of that time... God is blessing us all with sweet times and lots of memories being made!  

So here is the ICPC status... 

Basically tomorrow starts day 1... Yep, you read that right DAY 1!!! Even though we are post relinquishment by 17 days, it is still day 1... 

 God willing our packet will be sitting on the ICPC Alabama desk tomorrow sometime.  God willing she will pass it through maybe tomorrow or shortly there after...  We have found Alabama to be not so easy to get through... We had new affidavits that needed to be written up, signed and notarized, that will go from the Alabama lawyer (who knew we would need an Alabama lawyer????) and be in ICPC  possession tomorrow morning! 

With the ways things have gone there are any number of things that could happen.  There was even one mention of a family that had to take the baby back to the state of the birth mother before they could clear that state.  OH GOODNESS, Please pray she is gracious, (that she won't make us do that and) that she will find all the paperwork needed right in front of her, and that she will pass us through that state asap.  

Then we need to clear Arizona... We are HOPING  by Friday... 

Then we need to clear Illinois...  God willing that happens by next Wednesday... This is all BEST case scenario... :)

As always we know that it could happen that we are cleared mid next week... 

AND then again, it very well might not happen...

 Please continue to pray that God moves any mountains in the way... Pray for safety and protection of Greg and the kids back home and then for us here...  And pray for patience that we all can just take it all in stride...

WE KNOW THAT NONE OF THIS TAKES  THE LORD BY SURPRISE... He knows the exact time that we will get clearance.   It will all be in HIS perfect timing:) 

Thankful...

 Kaliyah is giving the thumbs up even though we are still pretty much "stuck" in AZ for paperwork to clear...

The sad part is it has to clear 3 states and it just went to the first today... We have had rights terminated for 10 days and we are still at step one... 

It has to clear Alabama, then Arizona, then Illinois, before we can come home. And it looks like it because it had to clear a third state and there was a little glitch in that process, it may cost a bit more... Erggggg.... We are praying that the Lawyer in Alabama is gracious to us... 

I have an out of town friend coming to my town to see the baby and I in Chicago next week Wednesday!!! Please pray that our paperwork starts to move really quickly so that we don't have to change flights and make different plans.. 

Our friends have been so good to keep us all here so long... 2 weeks 2 days and counting... They have been a literal Godsend, displacing their own kids from rooms and beds so that I could stay with the baby.  Anna and Jojo stayed as well so that we could be working on school and not falling behind at all.  

God knows exactly the time that we are supposed to go back home to IL... So we are trusting in His great plans for our family! 

 We would love for you to pray that God miraculously would pass our paperwork through the officer of that state so that we can start getting this thing moving forward each day:)  

UPDATE AS OF 2:00 PM TODAY:

Alabama called and wants our birth mom to go in and meet with a social worker to go over history and make sure everything was done right... then God willing they will work through the paperwork.  

That means having to get a homeless gal, who doesn't own a car, down to some government office for a meeting... in a timely manner... because all is on hold until this meeting happens.  

 I feel horrible for her... This should be a time of healing for her (maybe even a fresh start), not a time to rehash all the details of a very difficult situation in her life. I sort of have a bad feeling about it... Our birth mom  is being great and is willing to do anything to help get us on the road home with Kaliyah...  My prayer is that it happens quickly, that they can meet with her in a timely manner and more importantly that she has peace in her heart through it all.  

Kaliyah's Birthday

The day started off early... real early...
Our 4 am induction got moved back... literally at 3:30 after we all were up they called to tell her to wait a bit to come in that there had been an emergency at the hospital... that was reassuring....

We grabbed McDonald's and literally got to the hospital by 4:30...

Our birth mom had been 4 cm dilated and 80% effaced for over 3 weeks... we assumed it wouldn't be a long labor...

We checked in and monitored the baby for a few hours... She wasn't quite as reactive to the contractions as they would have liked so they did an ultrasound to check the fluid level...

AWESOME!!! We got to see baby girl moving on the screen... and a beautiful strong heart beating, which was awesome!

 That was such a treat for us since we hadn't been able to be at any ultrasounds during her pregnancy  due to being in two different states.

The day was dragging on and all I could keep praying was that God would allow Greg to still be there for the birth... Originally the induction was planned for the 21st, leaving plenty of time for Greg to get back for Christmas eve services.  But with an induction on the 23rd, he now had a plane ticket set to leave at 2am on the 24th... we were sort of running out of time...

Bit by bit we got the induction process going by starting pitocin, getting an epidural, and then they finally around 4 in the afternoon, with the birth mom still at a 4 + cm, broke her water... We had been waiting for this ALL day... and within a half hour she was complete and ready to push...

We waited for the doctor, and then with our caseworker on one side, and me on the other holding her leg during pushes, and Greg just off to the side we watched this beautiful little pumpkin enter the world.

What an amazing gift from our Birth mom to us... being able to see her enter the world... watching her take her first breath... and listening to her first cry... Something we were not at all sure would happen... But I am praising God for the gracious heart of our birth mom to include us in these very special moments... Something we will treasure and remember forever!  

Kaliyah Joy just a few minutes old... Apgar scores of 7 and 9:)

What a big girl... bigger than we all expected... and a beautiful head of hair!!

Daddy holding his third daughter for the first time... Just before jetting off to Illinois for Christmas Eve services... Little did we know that his flight back out would be canceled and his time with Kaliyah would be so short... But we were praising God in the end it went quick so that he was still around for her birth!

Her first bow...

My very first picture with my new daughter!  Doesn't it kind of look like she is looking at me?  She is an absolute treasure!!!

We are absolutely so thankful for this sweet baby girl!  What an amazing and wonderful day her birthday was! We are in love!!!

She is God's little girl first... part 2

Back to the Christmas day story about our sweet little girl...

So knowing that our birth mom had pretty much changed her mind and decided that she was going to parent Kaliyah, she had gone back into the bedroom to pack up her things. She was now deciding if she was going to take Kaliyah with her or if she would put her into cradle care (kind of like foster care) for the night... 

I knew my kids were going to be so sad to see the baby leave...  They were growing more and more attached by the minute...  My heart was hurting for them too... The stress in the house was high and seriously most of us had been crying at one point or another... It was rough... Yet ALL A PART OF GODS DIVINE PLAN...

I can't tell you the undeniable need I had to go share my heart with her... As I said yesterday (go back and read part one of this story if you haven't had a chance yet:) my intent was not at all to try to convince her to place the baby for adoption... But rather to express to her how much we were hurting for her, how much we loved her, her older daughter, and Kaliyah... 

So there I stood in the hallway before knocking... literally just praying that God would fill my mouth with the words she needed to hear... Not mine, but his words... I knew before going in that in no way did I want to add to the burden and turmoil she was feeling, but rather express my love to her... I felt like she really needed to know she was loved, was worthy of love, and that she had ours... I knew that I was walking into that room with the prayers of many behind me... (Mind you all of this was going on with Greg all the way across the country being updated by the boys through text and calls...)

I walked in and could immediately see she had been crying... This poor girl...  In a nut shell I told her that I knew Kaliyah was God's little girl, that I knew that she didn't in any way belong to me or our family.  I told her how sorry I was for all that she was going through and feeling... That I was so sorry for how she was hurting... I told her how much we loved all of them and really wanted the very best for Kaliyah, and them, whatever that was.  Of course at this point we were both in tears... 

I just knew in my heart if the tables were turned that this would be an impossible decision for me to make... Pretty much as soon as I expressed my heart to her... She looked right at me and said, "I'm going to go ahead with my adoption plan."  

It was almost like I didn't hear it... Seriously, I couldn't believe what I was hearing... In my mind I was thinking... What???? 25 minutes ago you were in a totally different place in your thoughts... I wanted to reassure her that I really wanted her to be at peace with this... That I was in no way coming in to try to convince her of anything... I wanted her to know deep in her heart on her own, that she was making the right decision for them all... She said it again, "I'm gonna go ahead and let you have her."  

Unbeknownst to anyone, when she had gone back to the bedroom she called her brother who previously had not said one positive thing in regards to the adoption.  In fact he had been totally against it and had not been treating her kindly since hearing of her plan... (Why did she call him since he was totally against the adoption??  Why did she call him when he had said and shared with others many hurtful things about her?? Maybe she just wanted someone to support her in keeping the baby... I am not really sure... But he did just the opposite...)  

Right away he told her... "You are doing the right thing... There is NOTHING for her here.  Really there isn't anything for you here."  It was as basic and truthful as that... 

When you are with out a home, job, or many of the daily things we totally take for granted... And really no one in your family is in a different position to provide any help to you, your 9 year old, and especially not to a newborn.  When they haven't in the past been able to help you... I think she just knew...

She had called on the person who had been totally against the adoption from the start, who was now totally in favor of her placing the baby... I was totally dumbfounded and overjoyed and yet heartbroken still for her. I cried and hugged her... 

And then just like that... She asked what was for dinner... I literally laughed out loud when she asked that... It seemed so out of the blue... But when someone has spent a part of their life not knowing where the next meal might come from it makes perfect sense... 

And for the rest of our time with her that night, and this past Sunday and Monday she was like a new person... You could see that she was feeling way more at peace... The Holy Spirit had given her comfort.   That was one of my deepest desires was that she would feel a peace and that she would be confident in her decision.  

When I walked out of that room and into the kitchen all eyes were just waiting trying to read from my face what had happened in that room... I told them what happened and that we best be trying to get dinner on the table... 

I look at this this beautiful little girl... and I am amazed... 

Amazed that God can move mountains when he wants to...

Amazed by the power of prayer to bring peace and comfort to hearts needing it...

Amazed that  He can use the exact people we would never expect Him to use to accomplish his plans... 

Amazed that He has bonded these two families in such a special and unique way...

Amazed by this tiny miracle that we get to share our lives with now... 

Amazed that God so faithfully and graciously walked with us through the stress of that day and even more so...

Amazed that He carried our sweet birth mom to a place where she could out her deep deep love for this sweet girl, make a decision that she knew was best for Kaliyah... (in fact since she has been home she has texted and told me how thankful she is that Kaliyah is loved and isn't having to live through what she is right now...)  so sad... it breaks my heart for her... 

Would you please pray for her in the days ahead when she comes to mind... I know she misses Kaliyah, Pray that she and her daughter find a safe place to stay, that God would provide work for her, and most of all that she would know deep in her heart how much she is loved by us and even so much more so... Loved by GOD! 

Thanks for journeying with us...