Our surprise girl!

It is almost impossible for me to believe that our precious Jubilee is ONE years old today! Our sweet surprise girl...I don't know that I every shared the amazing God story behind her arrival. I know most of you know that we were not in the process of adopting when we got 'the call' about our sweet girl....the call that flipped our house upside down in the most beautiful, incredible way imaginable!!  The call that told us about a precious birthmama who desperately wanted to place her baby for adoption...the precious baby that was due in TWO weeks!

Rewind about 4 months...hmmmm...maybe even a little farther back...Solomon had just come home from China Sept. 2011 and was doing incredible...he was 4 and seriously adjusting as if he had already lived with us his entire life...he clung to us as his family and has never looked back. Hubby and I were honestly amazed at how well he was bonding and felt if the Lord ever called us to adopt again, we would adopt older...we had peace about being done with the newborn phase...we were getting older...our kids were getting older..our 3 youngest were all 4.5 years old...it made complete, logical sense to be 'done' with the baby phase.

Fast forward to 4 months before we got 'the call'. My sister-in-law had just delivered their 8th baby and as I held my precious newborn niece, I was overwhelmed with emotions. Hubby looked at me and asked what was wrong?  I vividly remember telling him, "No matter how bad I want this...I could never have this again..." He looked at me so confused...I was confused...I was truly content with never having a newborn babe in my arms again...so I thought!!  I told him, "God has closed our womb (which I was and still TOTALLY fine with...happy actually because we wouldn't have our babes if He hadn't and THAT is an unbearable thought)...."  these words still resound ever-so loudly in my head, "We have 6 children...there is NO WAY a birthmother would ever choose us to adopt her baby...it just makes me sad to realize and accept that we won't have a baby every again."  I remember hubby telling me, "If the Lord wants us to have a baby, He will give us a baby...He is beyond capable."

Then the Lord smiled and I can only imagine Him to say, "My precious daughter, you have no idea what awaits you....."

The Call....we were in the movies when my husband's phone rang and caller id said, 'Nightlight Christian Adoptions'....Paul looked at me and said, "Why are they calling my phone??"  I grabbed that phone and ran out of the theater....I knew it had to be important if they were calling him.  My precious friend and social worker, Kelly, was on the other line...the first words out of her mouth were, "Are you sitting down?" Those were the same words she said when we were fostering Sarah and she told us that her bmom wanted us to adopt her :)  She started to share about a situation that she felt we would be a good match for and wondered if we were at all open...oh and btw...the baby was due in 2 weeks ;)  I sat there shaking, crying...in complete shock. I remember asking Kelly, "Does she know we have 6 children?" And she said, "Yes...this is her 7th baby and she's one of 12...she is totally okay with that...she just wants her baby in a solid Christian home!!"

2 weeks later our sweet baby girl literally came flying into this world and has forever changed our lives!!

She has brought a such a deep joy to our family!! Oh beautiful baby girl, we love you so much! The miracle you are is such an incredible reminder that God's plan for our lives is GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to our little beach girl :)

(to think we are going to be blessed with another baby shortly is beyond our comprehension of God's amazing blessings on our family...we can't wait! I almost can hear a HUGE belly laugh from my Lord when I told Paul about 'the 2nd call' ;)