There's no place like home!

We made it home!!!! Sorry for the delay in posts. We appreciate all those that have emailed us and called us to make sure we were okay.

We arrived home on Thursday, August 26th and were greeted by a wonderful welcoming committee. We are so thankful for all of you that helped us pray our Titus home. It was very moving and had I not been so tired I would have cried outright. I think Kevin and I both fought back tears though. Thank you all for the very warm and loving welcome home!!! It was emotional just to be home, but to be welcomed by dear family and friends made it the best homecoming! We loved having the chance to introduce Titus to so many of you and we look forward to introducing him to many more of you as well.

One of our greatest joys this week was to take Titus to church Sunday morning. I teared up when I added Titus' name on the attendance card. Praise the Lord, our baby boy is home!

We are busy settling into life as a family of three. I have so much to share about our trip to Taiwan. Hopefully this week I will be able to share more about our journey.
It was definitely the journey of a lifetime!

Every good and perfect gift comes from above. James 1:17a

Six Months

Titus, today you turn 6 months old. That’s one half of one whole year, which is kind of a big deal, don’t you think? Today is a bittersweet day, it is the day that we leave the country of your birth and also the day that you will become a citizen of the United States. Since the beginning of our journey to you our prayer has been that we would be able to hold you on or before your six month birthday. God is good and answered our prayers.

Some fun facts about you:

• You weigh approximately 12 pounds
• You wear 3-6 month clothes
• Your favorite song is Jesus Loves Me
• You are trying hard to crawl, but for now you are satisfied with a combination of an army crawl and a scoot
• Your first tooth came in on August 17th and your second tooth came through the gum on August 21st
• You would rather sing, talk or play than eat

The Day

Our gotcha moment

First family photo
Feeding Titus for the first time

August 21st was anything but ordinary. Prior to today, August 21st, has been just another day on the calendar. However, August 21st, will never be anything but extraordinary again. Much like December 15, April 26, October 14, February 25, all are special dates within the circle of this family. Dates that have changed our lives for the better. We were on an emotional roller coaster that morning as we contemplated what was about to take place. The plane ride felt like an eternity, but with each minute, hour, and mile that passed we knew we were getting closer to our baby boy. We were thrilled to finally meet our Titus.

We arrived to THOGL at midnight. Titus was sleeping and we received what we call our preview. We could barely see his face. It was so hard to not pick him up out of his crib and love on him. We'd been waiting sooo long for that moment. However, with much self control we went to bed attempting to sleep and dream about what tomorow would be like. Needless to say, neither of us really slept and at 6 o'clock we finally got out of bed to finally meet our son.

Titus is such a handsome little guy, very content, and loves to play. Feeding times are always an adventure as he is not interested in food and would rather someone play, sing or talk to him. Even though he isn't feeling 100% , he is quite the trooper and rarely cries. We are enjoying the time here in this foreign, faraway land that is nothing like home. It's been a joy to get to know the Skiles, the volunteers, and the older children at the home. They have all been gracious, kind, and loving toward us.

Our request is that you specifically for Titus. Please pray that the God who knit him together will comfort him. That somehow beyond fear and cultural divide the peace that can only come from Him will surround and comfort him as he journeys to a foreign and faraway land that will soon be home.

Tour of Titus' Room

Things are getting exciting at our house, and the fun has just begun! We've had a lot of fun preparing Titus' room and it's definitely given this mama something to thing about and keep busy while waiting.

A little hanging on his door.

The library table was mine growing up and before that it was mother's. I love seeing it in my son's room and look forward to him using it a little later in life.

I can't wait to fill the frames with some pictures of Taiwan. Hopefully, we will be able to get some beautiful pictures to fill these frames. The chest of drawers belonged to Kevin's parents when they lived in the States. I love pieces of furniture that have stories and that once belonged to other family members.

Oh What a Feeling!

It is less than twenty four hours before we leave for the airport. Twenty four hours before we leave to go to the country where we will meet our son. Our son, our little boy, our Titus Andrew, the one we've waited so long for. Pinch us, is this real? Are we really leaving finally to become a family? That little boy who has been a dream for so long. The little boy we finally got to put a face to four months ago. The little baby boy that stole our hearts almost four months ago. The little boy who we've been talking to in pictures around our house is finally going to be in our arms-UNREAL!!! Oh what a feeling!!

There are so many emotions we both feel right now. Kevin and I will look at each other and just smile a goofy smile, and giggle, and a deep breath is taken-are we really here?-YES WE ARE!!!

We are excited, ecstatic, nervous, happy, overjoyed, in disbelief, thankful, grateful. We are filled with love, anticipation, a little anxiety, hope, and love...oh so much love!! Love for this little boy who we've only looked at in pictures. Who knew your heart could grow so much? We can't wait to hold our little boy, and shower him with all our love.


Dear Titus

It is the day before we are coming to get you. The day before we will leave to set foot in the country of your birth. You were born in our hearts a long time ago, and now you will be in our arms. God made a place for you there, a place in our hearts, a place in our lives, it has been His will that we become a family. We are your Mommy & Daddy, your loving and dedicated parents. We will always be here to love and comfort you, to help and support you. To show you the way, with hugs and kisses, to hold your hand tightly as you navigate this new world. We are so happy to finally have you in our lives. We will now become a family...finally...forever!!

Little Titus, we are coming to get you, to hold you tightly, and love you forever. Mommy & Daddy can't wait to hold you in their arms. We can't wait to look in those big dark brown eyes for real, and hear your voice. No more wondering, no more just pictures to look at, you will be in our arms so soon, and we will never let go.

Our hearts are bursting right now, we can't wait to begin this next part of our journey together as a family!

Soon, so soon. We love you Titus Andrew!!!

Abundant Blessings

"The Lord bless you for showing this kindness... May the Lord now show you kindness and faithfulness, and I too will show you the same favor because you have done this." 2 Samuel 2:5-6

There are no words to say how incredibly blessed we feel by the kindness that has been shown to us since starting this journey. I think of Titus and how he came into this world with such a rough start- and yet now how so many people have stepped forward to show him he has great value. Yesterday was just another example of how God's people have lavished us.

We have been looking at strollers for months on end, but kept hesitating for one reason or another. Finally, I decided this weekend to check out Criagslist and just see if someone had a Chicco stroller for sale. It was a long shot, but it never hurts to check. To my surprise, I found an ad for the exact model we'd been eying for $50 in practically mint condition. This stroller had been taken care of and from the pictures it looked meticulous. I had a good feeling about it and sent an email to the seller asking if it was still available. The ad had been up a week so I was shocked when we received a response that it was still available. We set up a time and went to this sweet couples' home and purchased the stroller. We were elated and blown away that God once again met our desires with exactly what we wanted. Perseverance and patience definitely paid off.

However, the story doesn't end there... While we were looking at the stroller we chit chatted for about 5 minutes and they found out that we were adopting a little boy from Taiwan. We found out they are fellow believers and have two beautiful babies with #3 on the way. We happily paid them and thanked them for the stroller. As we are loading the stroller into the trunk we felt so filled with joy that God answered our prayers by once again blessing us and stretching our money. As we were pulling away from the curb, the husband came running out of the house, we stopped thinking we must of forgotten something. We rolled down the window and he told us they couldn't accept our money and they wanted to give us the stroller. We were blown away and found ourselves once again completely out of comfort zone! We argued with him and told him that it is very generous but they have three babies and to us $50 was a steal. He wouldn't accept it. Kevin asked if he'd take $25 and at least take his wife out on a date. No dice. We tried. We were blown away once again by God's perfect provision even down to the the exact model of stroller that we desired in perfect condition.

We are thanking God for the Morris family and their selfless and kind generosity. We are praying that God pours heaps of blessings on them. "I thank my God every time I remember you. " Philippians 1:3

We have had a few of these encounters over the course of our journey to Titus and each and every time we are awed at God and how he rains blessings down on us and takes us out of our comfort zone. We pray that God would open our eyes to needs that we can meet for others---use us Lord to share your love.

Good News!!!!

We just received word from Ted that our first adoption civil paperwork arrived. God is good!!!!! We are rejoicing in this news and praising Him. Ted also stated that they should be contacting us in a couple of weeks about dates to travel. I keep reading Ted's email over and over again and it still feels very surreal. We are so close to finally holding our baby boy!

Immigration Approval

We got it, we got it!!! Today in our mailbox was a letter from The Department of Homeland Security saying that we are approved to bring our baby home. "It has been determined that you are able to furnish proper care to an orphan(s) as defined in Section 101 (B)(1)(F) of the Immigration and Nationality Act."

Now we just hope and pray that the National Visa Center will forward our approval to AIT (American Institute in Taiwan) quickly and without delay. This folks, will complete our stateside paperwork. Hallelujah!!!!!!!!

Happy August!

We love the first of the month. One, it means another month closer to holding our little boy. Two, it means we get an update and a new picture. With each picture and update we get another glimpse of who Titus is and how he is growing and developing. We are so thankful for these updates and the wonderful care he is receiving.

Some of the highlights this month include:

• Titus is 5 months old and is still wearing a 0-3 month clothes
  
• Titus loves kisses
• He laughs, smiles and sticks out his tongue whenever you kiss him
• Titus is usually happy to play on a blanket on the floor
• He can roll over
  
• He can hold his head up
  
• He is pretty flexible
  
• Titus prefers to lay on his tummy and observe what is going on around him
• He is a happy baby
• He is expressive
  
• Titus likes to lay side ways in his crib with his feet sticking out between the bars

Blessings and Glad Anticipation

I am blessed to be doing life with my best friend. I don't thank God enough for one of the biggest blessings in my life. Kevin is so loving, and patient and helps keep life in perspective through this crazy process.

Last night, Kevin called Taiwan to check on how our court date went. He spoke to Anna, who said the court hearing went well. Thank you, Lord! Titus' birth mother did appear in court and waived her rights. However, the judge still issued a waiting period. Which means we will have a 1-3 week wait until we receive our first decree. We are praying that Titus' birth mother will receive the documents in the mail without a glitch and will sign and return them ASAP. We can only hope and pray! We're expectantly waiting for the Lord to unite our family soon.

As I reading in Jesus Calling this morning I was reassured. Reassurance always comes at the times that I need it most:

Be willing to follow where I lead. Follow me wholeheartedly, with glad anticipation quickening your pace. Though you don't know what lies ahead, I know; and that is enough! Some of My richest blessings are just around the bend: out of sight, but you must walk by faith-not by sight. This doesn't mean closing your eyes to what is around you. It means subordinating the visible world to the invisible Shepherd. Sometimes I lead you up a high mountain with only My hand to support you. The higher you climb, the more spectacular the view becomes.

Also, as for our I600A (immigration approval), we turned in our paperwork on May 18th had our finger printing appointment June 22nd and we still haven't received our approval. I was starting to get very worried. Boy, am I glad I got worried! I called the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services to check on our approval to do what they label "bringing an orphan into the U.S." We MUST have this approval to bring Titus into the US. On Monday, I was told by a receptionist that it could be another 4-8 weeks before we received approval. Obviously, I was upset, so every day this week, twice a day I called and left a message for the officer assigned to our case. I guess I annoyed her enough and she finally returned my phone call yesterday. :) She said she just ran both of our prints and everything looked good. She is going to run another scan on Friday morning and we should have approval in the mail next week. Praise the Lord!!!!!!!!

This process is definitely a crazy ride, but I already feel the abundance of blessing that has been brought to our family as a result. I can't imagine what it will be like when the sweet little bundle of blessing is finally ours for the taking, loving and keeping!

Father, thank you for your abundant blessings throughout our adoption process so far. Thank you for the community that you have surrounded us with that is so eager to be a part of loving Titus home right along with us. We thank you for the amazing care our little guy is receiving as he is without us and we without him. We know you are doing a mighty work in and through this process and we pray that you will continue to use us, as willing vessels doing our best to glorify you every step of the way.