6 years ago
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Isn't She Lovely?
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| Cheese! |
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| Spending time with Mom Mom & Pop |
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| Silly girl face |
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| Grace waving to say "hi" |
Friday, September 17, 2010
With Love & Appreciation for Mommy Cheryl and Daddy Gary
As many of you know Grace was in foster care for the first four months of her life. I know many people think of the "foster care" term in a negative light, however, Grace had the most incredible foster parents we lovingly call Mommy Cheryl and Daddy Gary.
First let me give you a little background on Mommy Cheryl and Daddy Gary. They are a wonderful Christian couple who love the Lord and it is very evident. Gary and Cheryl have three adopted children themselves Becca, Jason and Debbie. Becca and Jason are in college and Debbie is a high school senior. Gary and Cheryl have been fostering, I believe for 8 - 10 years. They only foster babies from the adoption agency (Family Life Services) we received Grace from. Needless to say they have LOTS of experience and it shows!
Everyone knows how much of a gift Grace is to Eric and I, but she started out as unexpected gift to the Sumner family. In December Gary lost his job where he had been employed for many years. The Sumner kiddos were home for Christmas break and after Christmas they got a call that they would be fostering a baby girl until her forever family could get her. Grace entered the world....December 28 and from what the Sumners have explained to us she was an angel from the beginning. A couple of weeks later, Becca and Jason headed back to college and Grace had the privilege of getting undivided attention from Daddy Gary and Mommy Cheryl. They took her everywhere church (never missed a Sunday, even her first week of life), out to eat, errands, and high school events. Debbie was able to spend alot of time with her and it was evident even at four months they had a special bond. Grace adored Daddy Gary and would always give him big smiles. In just the little time we spent with Gary and Cheryl after our placement ceremony (a day and a night) Mommy Cheryl had the touch to calm Grace and soothe her.
I had many people tell me once we got her home, we received an angel baby. Eric and I never had to endure sleepless nights and we pretty much have a happy camper all the time! I attribute alot of Grace's transition and easy goingness to Mommy Cheryl and Daddy Gary. They will not take credit for it. They say Grace was blessed with a wonderful temperment. It is clear to me they played a big part in it all!
A couple of weeks ago we went home (my folks home) and had the privilege of spending some time with Daddy Gary and Mommy Cheryl. We had dinner at our favorite place, Cracker Barrel. Apparently Grace had been there quite a few times in the first four months of her life. As we were drving to VA I realized we had had Grace for four months the same amount of time the Sumners had Grace. I realized how much love Eric and I have for the precious little one God entrusted to us. It made me realize once again how difficult it must have been for them to put her in our car (April 24) that last time and watch us drive off.
I remember speaking to Cheryl the day she was handing Grace over to us. Cheryl said, "we love and get attached to our babies if we didn't we wouldn't be doing our job." Gary and Cheryl, thank you for being obedient in your call to be foster parents and loving our Hannah Grace as she was one of your own. We will never forget and will continue to visit this incredible family who loved and guarded our little girl until it was God's timing for us to come and make her our own.
We love you!
Eric, Heidi and Grace
P.S. - God provided Daddy Gary a new job soon after Grace came to live us.
First let me give you a little background on Mommy Cheryl and Daddy Gary. They are a wonderful Christian couple who love the Lord and it is very evident. Gary and Cheryl have three adopted children themselves Becca, Jason and Debbie. Becca and Jason are in college and Debbie is a high school senior. Gary and Cheryl have been fostering, I believe for 8 - 10 years. They only foster babies from the adoption agency (Family Life Services) we received Grace from. Needless to say they have LOTS of experience and it shows!
Everyone knows how much of a gift Grace is to Eric and I, but she started out as unexpected gift to the Sumner family. In December Gary lost his job where he had been employed for many years. The Sumner kiddos were home for Christmas break and after Christmas they got a call that they would be fostering a baby girl until her forever family could get her. Grace entered the world....December 28 and from what the Sumners have explained to us she was an angel from the beginning. A couple of weeks later, Becca and Jason headed back to college and Grace had the privilege of getting undivided attention from Daddy Gary and Mommy Cheryl. They took her everywhere church (never missed a Sunday, even her first week of life), out to eat, errands, and high school events. Debbie was able to spend alot of time with her and it was evident even at four months they had a special bond. Grace adored Daddy Gary and would always give him big smiles. In just the little time we spent with Gary and Cheryl after our placement ceremony (a day and a night) Mommy Cheryl had the touch to calm Grace and soothe her.
I had many people tell me once we got her home, we received an angel baby. Eric and I never had to endure sleepless nights and we pretty much have a happy camper all the time! I attribute alot of Grace's transition and easy goingness to Mommy Cheryl and Daddy Gary. They will not take credit for it. They say Grace was blessed with a wonderful temperment. It is clear to me they played a big part in it all!
A couple of weeks ago we went home (my folks home) and had the privilege of spending some time with Daddy Gary and Mommy Cheryl. We had dinner at our favorite place, Cracker Barrel. Apparently Grace had been there quite a few times in the first four months of her life. As we were drving to VA I realized we had had Grace for four months the same amount of time the Sumners had Grace. I realized how much love Eric and I have for the precious little one God entrusted to us. It made me realize once again how difficult it must have been for them to put her in our car (April 24) that last time and watch us drive off.
I remember speaking to Cheryl the day she was handing Grace over to us. Cheryl said, "we love and get attached to our babies if we didn't we wouldn't be doing our job." Gary and Cheryl, thank you for being obedient in your call to be foster parents and loving our Hannah Grace as she was one of your own. We will never forget and will continue to visit this incredible family who loved and guarded our little girl until it was God's timing for us to come and make her our own.
We love you!
Eric, Heidi and Grace
P.S. - God provided Daddy Gary a new job soon after Grace came to live us.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Summer Time Fun
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| Blue eyed beauty! |
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| First time eating cereal |
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| Swimming with the Barnard girls |
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| Posing in the church nursery |
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| Stuffed animal fun! |
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| Date night with daddy |
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Long Overdue Update
I found out recently more people follow our blog than just family and close friends. It is neat to hear about others who are following our blog as a source of encouragement as they endure their own adoption journies. For those of you who do not know we finally made it home after having to wait 3 weeks after our placement day/Gotcha Day - April 23rd. What a glorious day! It will be forever ingrained in our hearts and minds!
Thankfully duing our three week wait we were fortunate to stay with my parents and spend time with my family in VA. Everyone enjoyed their "Grace Time." Grace had a "graceful," incredible adjustment to us. We were so blessed to have a wonderful foster family that showered much love and care on Grace. It was evident that they love Grace like their own children. The foster parents shared that Grace was one of the best foster babies they have had in 10 years! :)
We were able to get our first family photo shoot in Lynchburg by a local photgrapher who did an incredible job! Grace sailed smoothly through an hour of picture taking and was entranced by the cars and trucks driving by.
We have been home almost three weeks. Grace has been an absolute angel. She wakes up happy and carries that beautiful smile all day long! I have absolutely enjoyed every moment that I have had with her during my leave from work.
New adventures - Grace loves her new jogging stroller cruising through the park with mom. Grace loves her new Exersaucer dad put together over the weekend. Yesterday, Grace had her first visit to the pool and she LOVED it and could not get enough. Looks like we have a water baby on our hands. :) Grace started rolling over on her 5 month birthday (5/28). Grace loves watching fish. Looks like we will be taking a trip to the aquarium this summer.
Enjoy the pictures.....we are blessed beyond words by Hannah Grace! We thank the Lord daily for hearing our cry and answering our prayer!
Thankfully duing our three week wait we were fortunate to stay with my parents and spend time with my family in VA. Everyone enjoyed their "Grace Time." Grace had a "graceful," incredible adjustment to us. We were so blessed to have a wonderful foster family that showered much love and care on Grace. It was evident that they love Grace like their own children. The foster parents shared that Grace was one of the best foster babies they have had in 10 years! :)
We were able to get our first family photo shoot in Lynchburg by a local photgrapher who did an incredible job! Grace sailed smoothly through an hour of picture taking and was entranced by the cars and trucks driving by.
We have been home almost three weeks. Grace has been an absolute angel. She wakes up happy and carries that beautiful smile all day long! I have absolutely enjoyed every moment that I have had with her during my leave from work.
New adventures - Grace loves her new jogging stroller cruising through the park with mom. Grace loves her new Exersaucer dad put together over the weekend. Yesterday, Grace had her first visit to the pool and she LOVED it and could not get enough. Looks like we have a water baby on our hands. :) Grace started rolling over on her 5 month birthday (5/28). Grace loves watching fish. Looks like we will be taking a trip to the aquarium this summer.
Enjoy the pictures.....we are blessed beyond words by Hannah Grace! We thank the Lord daily for hearing our cry and answering our prayer!
Sunday, April 18, 2010
She is OURS!
This past Friday, April 16th was a very exciting day for us. Below I have copy/pasted the notes I was putting on Facebook to keep our family and friends updated on the events of the day. We have had a wonderful weekend celebrating answered to prayers - Grace will be apart of our family soon!
Hannah Grace Adoption Update #1
For all Hannah Grace prayer warriors and supports, as many of you know we are waiting for my fingerprint results to come in from the FBI, it is the last piece of the puzzle for our homestudy to adopt Grace. Tomorrow is the BIG court day! I was told by my caseworker they have no reason to believe that tomorrow will not go smooth and Grace can officially become an Evje! :) Please remember Grace's birthmother in your prayers. She will be in court tomorrow and I can not imagine how difficult tomorrow will be for her.
Today I got the phone number to FBI and called. I got to the correct dept and explained our situation that the only thing that really keeping us from our daughter is my fingerprint results. The nice lady on the line starts to give me the run around. I break down and tears and she asks me all the details of the envelope I sent, the tracking #, what day it arrived, my contact info, etc...She said she would do her best. Then 15 minutes later I received another call from that dept from a very sweet lady that said she could not imagine what we are going through right now and that she will go looking for our envelope to expedite these fingerprint results. She gave me her direct line and asked me to call her Monday to get the status and see if she was able to locate and process! Amen! I felt like all those prayers for these fingerprints....God is working....and hopefully this will be complete next week!
Please join us in continuing to pray for our sweet homecoming with Grace. I hope to share great news with everyone tomorrow evening once court is done. Thank you for your kind words, encouragement and prayers.
Hannah Grace Adoption Update #2
My adoption caseworker told me that they have a late afternoon case. She said do not be surprised if I do not hear from her until after 4:30pm. She promised to call as soon as court is over.
GREAT NEWS!! I called FBI again this afternoon and got my friend "Julie." Julie told me they found my envelope and the fingerprints. They have put the fingerprints through to process and she asked me to call back Monday morning for status. Julie said she would overnight the results to the agency once they receive them. Thank you Lord for compassionate FBI employees!
As long as court goes fine today....which I will post again once I hear.....we should get Grace Tuesday or Wednesday. Praise God! Hallelujah!
I have been singing and dancing around the house and I know my dog thinks I am crazy. We are crazy for this little girl that has stolen our hearts and we have not even met her! :)
Hannah Grace Adoption Update #3
Court went as expected. All birthparental rights were terminated. Hannah Grace is our sweet girl the Lord has entrusted to us. As you might imagine I am overwhelmed with emotions right now. I am typing through tears of joy! God is so good! It looks like our placement will be next week based on getting the fingerprint results. We will know better on Monday what day next week will be our placement day!
"For this child I prayed and the Lord has granted me what I asked of Him." - I Samuel 1:27
Hannah Grace Adoption Update #1
For all Hannah Grace prayer warriors and supports, as many of you know we are waiting for my fingerprint results to come in from the FBI, it is the last piece of the puzzle for our homestudy to adopt Grace. Tomorrow is the BIG court day! I was told by my caseworker they have no reason to believe that tomorrow will not go smooth and Grace can officially become an Evje! :) Please remember Grace's birthmother in your prayers. She will be in court tomorrow and I can not imagine how difficult tomorrow will be for her.
Today I got the phone number to FBI and called. I got to the correct dept and explained our situation that the only thing that really keeping us from our daughter is my fingerprint results. The nice lady on the line starts to give me the run around. I break down and tears and she asks me all the details of the envelope I sent, the tracking #, what day it arrived, my contact info, etc...She said she would do her best. Then 15 minutes later I received another call from that dept from a very sweet lady that said she could not imagine what we are going through right now and that she will go looking for our envelope to expedite these fingerprint results. She gave me her direct line and asked me to call her Monday to get the status and see if she was able to locate and process! Amen! I felt like all those prayers for these fingerprints....God is working....and hopefully this will be complete next week!
Please join us in continuing to pray for our sweet homecoming with Grace. I hope to share great news with everyone tomorrow evening once court is done. Thank you for your kind words, encouragement and prayers.
Hannah Grace Adoption Update #2
My adoption caseworker told me that they have a late afternoon case. She said do not be surprised if I do not hear from her until after 4:30pm. She promised to call as soon as court is over.
GREAT NEWS!! I called FBI again this afternoon and got my friend "Julie." Julie told me they found my envelope and the fingerprints. They have put the fingerprints through to process and she asked me to call back Monday morning for status. Julie said she would overnight the results to the agency once they receive them. Thank you Lord for compassionate FBI employees!
As long as court goes fine today....which I will post again once I hear.....we should get Grace Tuesday or Wednesday. Praise God! Hallelujah!
I have been singing and dancing around the house and I know my dog thinks I am crazy. We are crazy for this little girl that has stolen our hearts and we have not even met her! :)
Hannah Grace Adoption Update #3
Court went as expected. All birthparental rights were terminated. Hannah Grace is our sweet girl the Lord has entrusted to us. As you might imagine I am overwhelmed with emotions right now. I am typing through tears of joy! God is so good! It looks like our placement will be next week based on getting the fingerprint results. We will know better on Monday what day next week will be our placement day!
"For this child I prayed and the Lord has granted me what I asked of Him." - I Samuel 1:27
Monday, April 12, 2010
Prayers for Fingerprint Results
Friends and family please join us in praying this week that my fingerprints will get processed at FBI. I had to go our local jail get fingerprints done and then had to send to WV for them to processed. Eric and I did it back in January. Eric's results came back fine. I guess I had a poor fingerprint quality so they made me re-do my fingerprints. I resubmitted my fingerprints to FBI about 2 weeks ago. Our homestudy caseworker has not received the results. She calls FBI fingerprint dept every couple of days and today she got someone on the phone and they have not passed security yet. As you may imagine Eric and I are anxious about these fingerprints getting completed since the court date is this Friday! We appreciate the prayers and remind ourselves that nothing is impossible with God!
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
All Things Bright And Beautiful
Fun Facts about the Hallmark Recordable Books:
Recordable Storybooks from Hallmark feature exclusive voice-capture technology that enables a person to record each page of a book and have it played back over and over as the recipient turns the pages.
The recording will not be lost, even when the batteries need to be replaced.
Hallmark introduced Recordable Storybooks in September 2009.
Consumers have found many creative ways to use Recordable Storybooks, including:
Parents stationed overseas in the military have recorded books for their children waiting for them at home.
Grandparents and other family members who live far away have recorded the books for the children they love as a way to be with them even when they can’t be physically present.
Family members took turns recording each page of a book for a loved one in a nursing home.
Adoptive parents have recorded a storybook for the child they were waiting to adopt in another country so the child would recognize their voices.
An entire family recorded a storybook for an adult child who lived overseas and couldn’t be with them for the holidays.
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