Introducing---HUDSON DEAN!!!!!!!!

Hudson Dean
8lbs. 5oz.
21 inches

Now here is the absolute best part of this...Today is Matt's birthday!!!! Only God could bless him with the miracle of a son for his birthday!!!! We are absolutely in LOVE!!!! He is such a happy baby...doesn't fuss at all. He loves to eat, and we love to snuggle him and give him his bottle! :)

Love you all!

Oh You Guys---I LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!

I am sorry that I haven't been able to update this. It has been the craziest, most intense couple of days ever!

Things are going great! I am trying to get some photos uploaded now. I will post all of the little guy's stats with some photos. It just isn't nearly as much fun reading a name and baby stats without seeing him...so now you HAVE TO WAIT SOME MORE! I got really, really good at it...now I will give you a brief taste of how intense the waiting is! (I love you though!)

WE GOT THE CALL!!!!!!!! WILL YOU HELP US!!!!!!

WOWZERS! We got THE CALL ! We got THE CALL ! We got THE CALL !It has been a crazy day of waiting to see what the final outcome was going to be. I am beyond excited to tell you that our tickets are booked, suitcases packed, video camera charged because....we are going to meet our SON!!!!! He was born Sunday, December 16!!!!! We will have a BABY BOY in our arms!!!!! Thank you, Jesus! This was a situation that we never saw coming...but God has been working on it from the very beginning. We celebrated Christmas with the girls tonight and gave them an extra special present at the end of the night by telling them our news. They were so excited some started crying...which made me cry too! ;)

We need you to please pray that all of the details will fall into place. Please pray for us while we are apart from each other. It is exciting, but it will be hard to be apart for that long. Please pray for our bonding and attaching with him.

From the very beginning, we have fully believed that the Lord would supply all of the money needed for our adoption. So now here we are...the time has come now when we need all of the money. Will you please consider donating to our adoption fund? We fully believe that the Lord calls some to open their homes to care for the fatherless, and He calls some to come along side them and help them financially. If you feel the Lord leading you to help support our adoption, please contact us at familyofjoy@yahoo.com . If you wish to donate and would like to receive a tax deduction receipt...please email us and we will give you the details of where the money can be donated. We need to come up with the money in the next 48 hours, so please pray and ask the Lord about helping us bring him home.


I am just so incredibly in awe of how miraculously the Lord's hand has been guiding us. I am so humbled to be on this journey with Him. The faith that the Lord has given me to keep pressing on, is something that I can not even explain. Just know that my heart is full of adoration to be right here where the Lord has us!!!!

Strangeness...

Today was a strange day for me. The girls made this little plan that they wanted to go Christmas shopping for each other. They split themselves up one group with each parent, and had their stores all picked out. This is the first time they have had money at Christmas to spend...thanks to all of your orders. (Which by the way...if you are still desiring to place an order ,please do so quickly!) Anyway...it was so fun to shop with the girls and to listen to their excited plans about what they wanted to get the one they had "chosen". Somehow they had a name exchange without Matt and I, but don't worry they included us.

As we walked through the mall, there were times that I was overcome with deep emotion. There is such a deep longing to know who the Lord has for us to adopt. I walked past a huge display of personalized Christmas ornaments...and thought I was just about to cry. It was the strangest thing, because I don't even collect ornaments! I really don't know why seeing those had such an effect on me...but they did. Maybe it was the Baby's 1st Christmas thing...I really don't know. We passed by a purse kiosk...and there were the most adorable diaper bags. I felt this longing once again to know what was going to happen next on this journey. It has been awhile since I packed a diaper bag. Now I admit...I do carry a big bag with me at all times, but it doesn't have diapers or bottles or cheerio snacks inside. I can't describe the emotions that were within me. I don't know if there was sadness for the ones that haven't been placed with us, or just a deep, deep longing to know and hold the one the Lord has chosen for us. I am so glad the girls were there to quickly distract me out of any sort of emotional break-down. I think it was the fact that I was having so much fun with them, yet it felt like there is such a huge piece of our family missing. Even though we have no idea who God has chosen for us to adopt....We don't know if it will be one, or two, or even three. We don't know if it will be a boy or a girl. We don't know if it will be a newborn or a toddler, or even a preschooler. It makes no difference...whoever He has they are still missing from our family. Our family is not complete without them. God has shown us there is someone else out there that belongs in this family...we just don't know who yet.

The emotions of the adoption journey hit at strange times. I try to stay busy, and not let it consume me. I do not worry about how this is going to end up, because I rest in God's Sovereignty. I have said it over and over again...but that is the only place to be on this journey. I do not want to control the outcome...I just want to wait in expectation for Him to reveal the "surprise" to us. Of course I am filled with wonder, I day-dream, I am constantly praying...but I am not fretting or worrying. Sometimes the emotions are strange and I don't know what to even do with them. They come and they go. They wash over me and leave me just as quickly. I guess today was just one of those days...I just really am missing our chosen child. That is the best way to describe it...I miss him/her!

Oh Yeah, Baby...It's Quiz Time...

What Your Latte Says About You

You are easygoing and pretty simple to please. You don't put up a fuss... ever. You can be quite silly at times, but you know when to buckle down and be serious. You have a good deal of energy, but you pace yourself. You never burn out too fast. You're addicted to caffeine. There's no denying it. You are responsible, mature, and truly an adult. You're occasionally playful, but you find it hard to be carefree. You are exotic and cosmopolitan, but you are never a show off.

What Does Your Latte Say About You?

Pictures of Sophia Ann!!!!

This is for all of you out there with baby-fever! What is it about our hearts and pics of newborn babies!?! Aren't her cheeks absolutely adorable!?! Heather was finally able to hold Sophia today and nurse her. She seems to be doing well. Sophia will need to stay in the NICU for 10 days...so please pray for Heather. She is not looking forward to leaving the hospital to go home without her. Heth, we'll just keep on praying!

Someday you will all see pictures of our own precious baby. Please keep praying that the Lord works out His will. We don't know what He has in store for us, but we continue to wait with expectation...trusting Him!

Welcome to our world Sophia Ann!!!!

My friend Heather gave birth to their baby girl this morning at 8:14am.

Sophia Ann
6 lbs. 2 oz.
19 3/4 inches

Sophia is in the NICU receiving some oxygen and IV antibiotic. They say she is doing really well. She had great coloring at birth. They will monitor her in the NICU just to make sure she is gaining the strength she needs. Heather did a great job, but is now in pain from the surgery. Please pray for both of them today! And praise Jesus, that He answered our prayers by giving little Sophia the extra weight she needs. What an amazing answer to our specific prayers! (when they did the ultrasound on her a couple days ago, they thought she was only about 4 1/2 lbs.--I am glad our God delights in answering our specific prayers!!!!)

Heth, I am so proud of you!!!!!! You did it...you beat me!!!!!! ;)