9 months home!

It has been 9 months since we have been home and I cannot tell you how blessed we have been!!! Here's the sad thing...for many families, it just doesn't turn out so good. For many, there are physical, emotional, mental, behavioral issues that must be dealt with for months or years to come. The great thing is that God is sufficient to supply all of our needs according to His riches in glory! We may come across issues later on, but for now, we are just loving our son. Our God is unconditional. We must also be unconditional. We must have an attitude of "Come what may, we will remain faithful, to our God and to each other".
Have these past 9 months been easy peasy??? NO. But, God has walked us through each moment and His Glory is shining! We are in awe of His blessings and His provisions. We are in awe of His faithfulness and His compassion. We are in awe of His power and His might. We are in awe of His never ending love!
So what of Isaiah, our African Prince? He is thriving! Already he has gained 9 pounds and has grown 8 inches in these past 9 months!!! WOW is right!!!
Here are some recent photos for your viewing pleasure...

Handsome eh???
He is right at home as if he had always been with us. Only God could do that!
Sometimes I sit and wonder why God chose us to adopt. I am not worthy of this calling. Honestly. If the orphan and the widow are at the heart of God, and His Word says they are, why would He chose such a sinner such as I? I know His Grace more fully as I contemplate His Will. I feel honored to be chosen. I feel overwhelmingly blessed to be called according to this purpose! Thank You Jesus!!!

Wow! It has been a while since I wrote last, so I figured it was time for an update...
We have been in a whirlwind for the past few months!

For fall, Isaiah experienced his first festival...Pony rides and Cotton Candy! He loved it!!!

For Thanksgiving, we traveled all the way (12 hours) to Louisiana to visit my dear grandfather. As some of you know, my grandmother passed away this fall and it was a very sad time for us all... we will miss Mimi so much! We visited her in the hospital in July, so we weren't able to make it to the funeral so soon afterwards, but we decided that the next best thing was to visit my grandfather just before Thanksgiving... we had a great time with him and with my Uncle Pat and Aunt Lori. They were very sweet and hospitable.

We then left and headed to Alabama (7 hours) to visit Greg's family for Thanksgiving. We had a good time visiting with his mother and his brother's family.

We then headed back home (5 hours) and I must say that the kids did FANTASTIC on each leg of the trip! They didn't whine or complain or fuss at each other.. :)

Next was our Ladies Night event that I was busy with hostessing duties.

My dad just turned 70 and my brother and his family came to visit. We had a great visit with them.

And now we are knocking on the door of Christmas day, and Isaiah has enjoyed it all! He may not understand it, but it hasn't really effected him as is sometimes the case. We have been taking in each moment and enjoying each other. We will introduce him to the baby in the manger and he will learn to say Jesus. This is such an exciting time, yet is seems to be flying by at rocket speed...Not sure I am ready to celebrate His first Christmas with us...it is going too fast! I want to take in every moment and breath in the sweet smell of togetherness...

Isaiah is still growing so much. And, he is counting now! He loves to sit and count to 10.

Phillip is 24, he is becoming a fine man.
Hannah is 13, but she is so grown.
Lizzy is 8, but boy has she changed.
Joshua is 5, but wow! it seems like yesterday he was 2.
Isaiah is 2, but he should still be 1 because we missed so much..

Yet, with each year, they make us feel more and more blessed and thankful to be their parents.
We take in each moment and live each moment with faith.
We are blessed indeed.

                                           Isaiah and Joshua working on their computers...

                                                              Fall festival fun...

                                                            Trip to see Papa Keen

                                                             Flowers for Mimi's grave

                                                               Papa Keen and daddy

                                                                        Saying cheese...

                                                         The look that I learned in Congo...

                                                                     My new look... :)

Starting to settle down...

It's almost October and finally, things are beginning to settle down for us. We have some sort of normalcy and we are loving it! Isaiah is doing awesome! He is at 24 pounds (from 18) and he has gone from 27 inches to 33 inches tall in just 5 months! He is a seriously growing boy! Not only is he growing in size, but in his knowledge. He is so smart! And funny! He is quite the character! We are all in love! Isaiah fits in our family like a glove! He loves going to home school each day with his siblings and he loves to repeat things that we say. Here are some photos of him for your viewing pleasure.

HAPPY 2ND BIRTHDAY TO OUR SWEET CONGOLESE PRINCE, ISAIAH!!!

HAPPY  2nd BIRTHDAY TO OUR PRECIOUS CONGOLESE PRINCE, ISAIAH!!! We are so proud of you! What a blessing you are to us!!! We would do it all over again; You are SO Worth it!!! WE LOVE YOU!!!

Isaiah did not even want to try the Chocolate cupcake, but...

He Loved the Egg Custard Pie!!!!

Mom and Dad at Isaiah's party...

 Isaiah wouldn't let go of his new car toy, so Nana and Papa had to hold him up with it!

  Isaiah pushing Mater around on his new car toy!!!

Isaiah Micah Simmons!!!

Well, it's official! Isaiah's name is legal! His re-adoption/re-finalization is completed and final as of June 25th! His legal name is Isaiah Micah Simmons!!!! YAY!!! Also, along with that, he is now officially a US Citizen!!!  Wooohoooooo!!!!! Hallelujah!!!! We are awaiting his new Florida Birth Certificate so that we can apply for his Social Security Card and then submit his number for the adoption tax credit. Please pray that he will be approved to receive the refund of $13,000 back from the $32K that it took to adopt. We have a loan that can be reduced a good bit by that $13K. Here are some recent pictures of Isaiah. He is growing and changing and happy! Thank you all for your sweet prayers and support!

Staying Dry?

Where's the fun in that???
Yes, we are preparing for Tropical Storm Debby to make her arrival over the next few days, but why do people keep saying, "Make sure you stay dry", or "Try to stay inside"? We have wind and rain, but right now, no lightening, no tornadoes, no damage...this is the best time to get wet! To play in the rain like a kid and enjoy ourselves. This is the time to allow ourselves to get wet in the rain and have fun with the kids! Stay dry? No thank you. Rain is fun. And it is God's provision for our dry ground and dirty air.
What fun the kids had in the rain today!!!!

On the mends...

So, Isaiah is doing well. He is staying strong at 22 pounds. He is parasite free and ringworm free. He is a happy baby boy! He will be 22 months old on the 13th. Wow. Hard to believe he has been  home for 8 weeks!
He is loving playing with his brother Joshua! His main thing right now is to push the umbrella stroller around the house...all the time! Haha... He is so funny. He is learning to eat new things every day. Some he loves and some will take much time... :)  We took him to Jacksonville for biometrics at the Immigration office. This will allow him to get his green card, which will give him temporary alien status. We are in the process of re-adopting him in Florida. This will make his new name, Isaiah Micah Simmons, final. His final hearing is on June 25th. We will then have his new birth certificate and he will become a US Citizen soon after, so we will no longer need his green card. YAY!!! Things are rolling along nicely... Here are a few photos of Isaiah...