the difference a year can make

This weekend marks a very important anniversary in the life of our family. It was exactly this time last year that Sean and I learned the value and power found in releasing your children into God's hands. Last year over Columbus Day weekend, Sean and I kept the boys for the weekend while their foster parents got a weekend away. We had just received our foster license and we were expecting the boys to be placed with us within a month. Their bio-parents were set to go to trial in November and an adoption placement would've happened in December. We had a great time that weekend beginning to bond with the boys. Looking back on it all, I know that God used that weekend to prepare us for the long journey ahead. Two days after they left our house that weekend, there was a hearing and the attorney for the bio-parents requested a six-month extension and it was granted. I can't put into words the disappointment that we felt. We were so confused, hurting and sometimes fearful of the unknown, and deep down we knew that we were beginning to love those boys as our own and the thought of not having them was too much. Our hearts were feeling loss in ways that were new and so deep. I can remember just crying as Sean prayed for us and the boys. It was over the next few months that God revealed Himself to us in such real ways. His Word came alive to us in new and exciting ways. We were reminded of so many of His promises. We were also reminded in the need and importance of our relationship with each other. We realized that even if the boys become "ours", they will never truly belong to us. They our God's first and foremost. He created them and knows every inch of their mind and spirits. He loves them more than we ever could and it's an honor and privilege to be chosen to raise them and bring them up in Him. Our calling as their parents is one that we knew we could not take lightly. So from about February we began praying differently and claiming the promises of His Word. As the story goes, the rest is history! These precious little boys are ours! My heart has been praising my great God all weekend! He is a big God who can and DOES do great things!

These pictures were taken this time last year. They were so cute!

This was yesterday! They thought they were so funny. I have to admit...it was pretty funny!