A Hero's Welcome Part 2

Last week we were given the opportunity to thank two more American Heroes for their sacrifice and service to us and our country. Not long after we began praying for "Kate's Dad" we added "Anson's Dad" from Hope's class, to our prayers. Jess was also deployed to Iraq and we along with several classes at school and other families committed to pray for him every night. Then we added another dad from Hope's class, "Natalie's Dad" to our prayers, Lance was stationed in Afghanistan.

Jess was due to be home in the Fall and the last time I talked to Kellie she was hoping Lance would be home for the holidays. Then I was at school a few weeks ago and I had just found out that Jess was in San Diego and I looked up and there was Lance!! I cannot tell you the excitement of our prayers that night as we thanked the Lord for bringing home "Kate's Dad, Anson's Dad, and Natalie's Dad". It has been over a year since we began praying for these men and their families and I was as thrilled as the kids!! Of course you know what this means... a party!! (I have decided that I am God's personal party planner!)

This time we invited the whole school since Lance has kids in 4 year old preschool and first grade and all those now second graders had been praying for so long. It was an incredible night that I really can't describe. We had wonderful food and fellowship with almost 100 people!! The goal was to bless those men who have blessed us and I think we accomplished that. I talked to the teachers and the Four year old class said the Pledge of Allegiance, the Kindergarten sang God Bless America, and the 1st and 2nd graders sang My Country Tis of Thee. We watched a short slide show that Lance brought home from Afghanistan with pictures of the children and the harsh landscape of that country and then his sweet daughter shared her vision of helping those in Afghanistan...more on that later. Then we watched one of my favorite songs, "If I die before you wake" and then Shane led us in some worship. My favorite part of the night was when the entire room applauded all three men that we have defended in prayer for so long, Stephen, Jess, and Lance. It was beautiful and perfect and again I feel privileged to be a part of saying thank you!

"If I Die Before You Wake" by Dusty Evans

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGhzOvhDGp0

A Hero's Welcome Part 1

Over a year ago our family committed to praying every night for “Kate’s Dad” aka Captain Stephen B. while he was deployed in Iraq. Every night at bedtime we would lift up our soldiers “especially Kate’s Dad” to the Lord asking for their safety, physically and spiritually. There was not a night that we did not pray…literally. If the kids were tired and I thought a short prayer without the soldiers, children of Uganda, Haiti and Zimbabwe was too much the kids would absolutely not let me say good night until we prayed properly.
I had never met Stephen, but when he came home in May I felt the Lord telling me that I needed to throw him a welcome home party…so I called in the troops and we organized a “Hero's Welcome” from the First grade class and the Teachers at our school. I called my friend the fabulous Chris F. to cater the event and decorated the backyard with red, white, and blue. I talked to Mrs. R about the kids doing a special presentation, (they did a wonderful job) and asked Shane to lead us in a few worship songs. We thanked Stephen and his family for their sacrifice and his service and we praised God for the answer to all of the families of our schools prayers to bring him home safely. It was a beautiful night and I was privileged to be a part of it. It was a small gesture from those that he had served to give up one night to say a simple thank you. Thank you for giving up a year of soccer games, movie nights, his children's birthdays, Thanksgiving Dinner, Christmas Morning, date nights with his wife, and all the little moments that we can take for granted so that we would not miss those precious moments with our own families. Thank you for risking everything you hold dear for a cause bigger yourself. Thank you for being an American Hero.

John 15:13 "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends."

OH JOPPINS!!

This is the face my daughter makes right before she says, "Oh Joppins!" It is a word that she made up months ago and uses it in place of phrases like "Oh gosh" or "Oh man" I wish you could hear her as you are not quite sure if it should be spelled "Oh Choppins" or with a J. It's hilarious and I crack up every time she says it which of course means we hear it even more...Oh Joppins!!!

Seriously

Can you even believe these pics? My friend Cherrie of Tucker Bleu Photography had Kruse, Hope and I practice poses for her at the park today and lucky me I get these out of it!!

The Last Time...

The last time I was in Washington D.C. the Twin Towers were still standing, the Pentagon had no memorial, the Shanksville countryside had not yet been the burial for some of the first heroes of a war that our country did not seek out.

The last time I went to Arlington Cemetery there was not a section dedicated to the lives lost in Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring Freedom. The last time I walked through the thousands of white headstones I did not see a fresh mound of dirt with the wreaths of a recent funeral still standing and parents saying a final farewell to their child. The last time I was their I did not hear a mother tell her son to go find Daddy and give him a kiss and look up to see a 4 year old boy kissing one of these white tombstones.

The last time I was in Arlington Jen and Shane weren't married, they hadn't even met. They hadn't fallen in love via email and phone calls while he was deployed in Afghanistan. They hadn't gotten engaged and then married on the beautiful Kona coast. He hadn't been deployed two months after their fairy tale wedding to Iraq. The last time I was in Arlington there was no headstone that said Captain Shane T. Adcock, May 24, 1979 - October 11, 2006. The last time I was there I did not kneel down before a headstone and promise that I would never forget his sacrifice, that I would tell my children of his bravery, that I would continue to pray for his wife, that I would relish the freedom he fought for.

In loving memory of Captain Shane T. Adcock, we will never forget...


October 12, 2007
Shane,It's been a year since you went to your home in heaven above,
Yet not one day since you left has the world not felt your love.
Your love for your country, family, and friends, but most importantly God,
For the path you chose on which you gave your life on the land you trod.
To say that you made a difference just doesn't seem enough,
So let me tell you how you changed the path of one of us.
When I see a soldier now I always say a prayer,
That God will keep him safe from harm and let him know we care.
When I see the beauty that surrounds me everyday,
I stop and thank God for the blessings that He has sent my way.
When I look at my three sons and the freedom that they share,
I am humbled by the sacrifice of soldiers to keep freedom there.
These soldiers don't even know my sons yet they fight for their right to be free,
How special these brave young heroes are that they give so unselfishly.
Soldiers who, just like you, knew it from the start,
That they were destined to be soldiers because of their compassionate hearts.
Shane, I promise to always remember the sacrifice that you gave,
The countless lives for our country and for God that you sought to save,
I'll remember what you told my Daddy when he said, "Shane, keep your head down low,"
You said, "Uncle Tommy, I'm not worried because if I die then I know where I'll go."
So Shane as you're exploring Heaven way up there,
Could you give Granddaddy and Grandma Barnes a hug and let them know I care?
And until we meet again in that Celestial sky,
I will watch for rainbows and know that you're close by.
Love,Helen

(Taken from Legacy.com Guest Book)

I Love Kids...

I had the privilege of speaking in chapel last week at the kid's school. I shared about Hope's adoption and how God has adopted all of us into His forever family. Following chapel many kids have come home to their parents and said, "did you know Hope was adopted"? I love it! They are truly colorblind.

Finding Hope in Haiti

"From that moment a child began to grow in our hearts. Just as physical conception is necessary to bring a child into this world, so a conception has to take place in the heart if two people are going to bring a child into their lives through adoption. We didn't have a blood test to prove her existence. I couldn't hold a piece of paper in my hand to verify her reality by the latest ultrasound. But God's promise of a child was as real as any physical pregnancy. A daughter was conceived in our hearts just as surely as if she had been conceived in my own body." - The Strength of Mercy. We knew we had a daughter, we knew she was in Haiti and we knew this was a call that we could not ignore.

The miracles that brought Hope home are too numerous to count and we are constantly reminded of the sovereignty of our God and stand in awe of how He brings His plan to pass. When we began the adoption process Haiti was closed to adoptions as a result of a volatile political climate and questioning the call we almost chose another country. But we were not at peace and we knew that the God of the entire universe is also the God of Haiti and He would open any door if we would trust and obey. And sure enough by the time we were done with our home study we were able to begin the adoption process through Haiti.

We finished the remainder of all classes and paperwork in June and on November 17th, 2004 we received our referral and first picture of Hope at 6 weeks old. From that time on, we thought the finalization of the adoption would take approximately 6 months, but that was not to be. The weeks began to drag to months as we waited for our paperwork to receive approval from the Haitian government. Then in May 2005 we got an email telling us that three of our documents had been lost and we would need to redo them, have them notarized, and FedEx them to Haiti. That was not the news that we were waiting for, but after crying out to God that day I knew that this would eventually be part of the miracle that brought Hope home. Sure enough, a few months later we would learn that our dossier passed up others in line because when the missing documents arrived in Haiti our file was brought to the top of the pile. And we sometimes doubt that God is in the details.

We had so longed to spend her birthday with Hope (September 27th), but again it was not to be. We celebrated her birthday without her with a trip to the zoo and days later received a call that Hope would be ready to travel on October 17th! We were thrilled and so excited to take her with us to California to meet Auntie Jen, Uncle Jer, and the boys for Thanksgiving, but once again God's timing was different than ours. We did go to California, but without Hope. Our prayers became more focused now, Lord please let her be home by Christmas. During this entire time of waiting, God blessed us with notes of encouragement, a Haitian children's book with the word "Hope" written on the side of a tap-tap, songs, scriptures, friends, and most of all His peace. He constantly encouraged us that this was His plan and that He is faithful to complete it. There are seriously too many things to list but one thing was extra special. We had randomly bought 4 tickets to a SCC and Mercy Me Christmas concert with Chris and Toni at the kids school auction. On December 8th we went to the concert and not long into it they began sharing why they chose to do a Christmas concert...to promote Shoahannah's Hope, which is SCC's ministry which helps families with adoption expenses and basically just promoted adoption in general. Then Stephen plays "All I really want for Christmas is a family" while a slide show is playing of orphans in the background. Of course at this point Toni and I are sobbing and I am pretty sure Shane and Chris were fighting back the tears and then our almighty God surrounds us with His love as everyone in the Rose Garden joined in prayer for those families waiting to adopt and for their children waiting to come home. Chris leaned over and said, "Did you ever imagine that tonight this entire auditorium would be praying for you?"

This is the God we serve. He knows the cry of our hearts, how we prayed for Hope for Christmas, how with each day that passed the longing to hold our daughter grew. He blessed us with our complete family on December 20th in the Miami airport. From the moment she was in my arms she was home. Its as if she knew how much I loved her, that she had been held in my heart for 13 months, that I was her momma, and that she would forever be my girl. I have no doubt that Hope was meant to be a part of our family, that before the creation of the earth she was meant to be my daughter. Hope's middle name is an altar, just as with Damaris and Kruse that we may remember His goodness and faithfulness and bless Him there. Her first middle name is Emilia, her birth mother's name. We are so grateful for her sacrifice. She gave up her child out of extreme poverty to have a chance with another family and she is a hero for it. Hope's Hawaiian middle name is Kahea O Akua, called of God. Shane and I were called to adopt Hope, it was an act of obedience. Hope's call is two-fold. She was called out of Haiti, a land dedicated to satan with voodoo as its national religion, whose darkness is both physical and spiritual. And she shares the call that God offers each of us; a call out of the darkness of a life without His glorious light. 1 Peter 2:9 says, "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of the darkness and into His glorious light." Adoption is the example of what our Lord has done for us. He has called us to be His children. Ephesians 1:3-8 says, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will- to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the One He loves. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding."

We are so blessed to have Hope as a part of our forever family and I pray that all of you are a part of our eternal forever family. Jesus gave His life to give you hope and I pray that you accept His extended hand.

Happy Birthday Miss Hopey, I love you and can't imagine life without your smile and your hugs. You make me laugh everyday and I am so glad that you grew in my heart.