Powers, Party of Five

On Saturday, August 20, Hank and I got the shock of a lifetime...we discovered we are expecting our third child on April 22, 2012!  From that very second, we knew that the baby I am carrying was our third child.  We never desired to change directions or deviate from the path we were on to our Emalyn! 

I'll back up a little and give you the full story.  That Saturday was two days before my 30th birthday and I had already received the best gift when we found out we were DTC and would soon be matched with our daughter.  (If it's possible to receive two best gifts, this was definitely my year.)

That day Hank and I had joked about getting pregnant during this process and the idea got into my head.  I started trying to count days and was reminded of two quick bouts with nausea the week before.  With margaritas on the menu for my birthday dinner that night, I decided I should take a quick test, just to settle my mind.  Much to my surprise it was positive...immediately!  When I showed it to Hank, he sat down on the floor, speechless.  Soon after, we both looked at each other and burst into laughter.  Of course, this is how God would write our story!

The next day, I began starting to gather information.  For those of you who know me well, you know I am a doer and a controller, so had to start figuring out time lines, bedrooms, etc.  I emailed our agency and requested a meeting, called my doctor and insisted they squeeze me in on Monday and thus began the planning. 

On Monday my doctor settled my nerves by confirming that I could travel to China through 32 weeks (the end of February), assuming this pregnancy is as "vanilla" (his word) as my pregnancy with Adair. 

On Tuesday, I met with our social workers.  We knew there was a possibility that they would want us to put the adoption on hold just given the potential close arrival of Emalyn and our newborn into our home.  They brought up some valid points for us to think through, asked us to pray over our decision for the next week and let them know where we stood on Sunday.  At that point, they, along with the Director of International Adoption (who was out of town for the week and needed to be a part of the decision), would make a decision.  We knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that we wanted to proceed and we believed with all of our hearts that that was God's command for us, but we took time to pray and seek Him over that week.  It was SO hard to wait, but God used that week to confirm our decision.

That Sunday night, August 28, we sent a long email to our social workers and expressed our desire to proceed, our belief that God was commanding us to proceed and practical reasons why we could make it work.  The very next day, Amy called and let me know we could proceed.  We were thrilled with the news and then she followed up with more good news...we were logged in and the shared list was coming out that very night.  She was careful to manage our expectations that we would be low on the list having just gotten logged in, so we may not get a referral, but there was a chance our daughter could be on that list.

The next morning, she called and the first words out of her mouth were, "are you sitting down?".  I knew immediately she had a file for us.  Within in five minutes of hanging up the phone, Hank and I saw the face of our second child...our sweet Emalyn.

We have experienced God in so many amazing ways throughout this process.  It has been so hard to keep this pregnancy a secret, because this baby's story is so interwoven with Emalyn's story.  We believe with all of our hearts that God has an amazing plan for our family and we are thankful that He is revealing it little by little. 

We covet your prayers as we prepare for our family to expand from three to five in a short 3-4 months time span.  Please pray that LOA comes quickly and we are able to travel as soon as possible.  Not only are we anxious to bring our Emalyn home, but we would love to have as much time as possible with her before the baby comes.  In addition to that, it is my heart's desire to be able to travel to China, to her homeland, to love on her from the very second she's in our arms.  To have to wait at home for Hank to bring her back to me, just might "do me in" emotionally.  I do know that God has a plan, though.  I know that He ordained this and it will play out just as He has plans and I can rest in that.

Visiting Biltmore Estate

On Sunday, after Loren and Bobby's wedding, Hank and I visited the Biltmore Estate before heading home.  It is an astounding setting and beautiful home, one that truthful looks more like a castle, set in the breathtaking Blue Ridge Mountains.  It boasts 4 acres of floor space, 250 rooms, 34 bedrooms, 43 bathrooms and, during a time when very few people had electricity or running water, Biltmore house had both.  To say it was a sight to behold would be an understatement.

View of the Blue Ridge Mountains from the terrace

A small sampling of the vast gardens

Mr. and Mrs. Spiller

One of my dearest friends married the love of her life this weekend in Asheville, North Carolina.  It was a beautiful weekend filled with special moments leading up to their wonderful wedding and fun reception.  Congratulations, Loren and Bobby!  We love you both and can't wait to see what God has in store for you as Mr. and Mrs.

Me, Loren, and Blair

Before as Mr. and Miss

After as Mr. and Mrs.

Kevin, Mary Ellen, Mary, Kimber, me, Blair,

Phillips, Hank, Matt, Kara and Mark

Beautiful lighting and reception

Mr. and Mrs. Spiller

Sorority sisters after we embarrassed Lo with our wedding song

Meeting Aubie

Hank took Adair to The Club on Thursday night to meet Aubie.  As you can imagine, Aubie is one of Adair's favorite things about going to and watching Auburn games, so she was thrilled to meet him in person.

War Eagle!

We took a little road trip to Auburn this weekend for the Mississippi State game.  Despite the heat, it was a fun day and a very exciting game.  I did not go to Auburn, but it's always good to visit and we always leave wanting more.  We hope to venture back to plains at least once or twice more this season.  On November 19, my alma mater (Samford) is Auburn's opponent for Homecoming.  This is a rare event and we plan to be there to support our teams, despite that the outcome of the game is fairly obvious.

First Day of 3-K

Adair started 3-K on Thursday at God's House Kindergarten.  This is a new school for us this year and I think we are all going to love it.  It is a very quaint and warm school.  They focus on the gospel everyday and desire for the children to learn about Jesus.  I love that Adair will be exposed to the Bible outside of home and church.

Her teacher's name is Miss Beth and she is precious.  Adair already loves her!  Two of her best friends from church are also in her class and I know she will come home every day after school saying "Sarah Kathryn this and Caroline that".  It should be a fun year full of learning, encouragement and growth.

Craft Note:  If you are curious about her bag, I made it and it was SO easy anyone can do it.  These little tote bags come in a pack of three for $6.99 at Hobby Lobby. 

If you would like to give it a try, here's how I did it.

Supplies:
Canvas tote bag
Template for letters (from Word)
Heat and Bond Light
Fabric scraps
Embroidery thread
Scissors
Needle
Iron

Steps:
1)  Print an outline of the letters you want in the right size in Word and cut them out
2)  Pick out your fabric, cut squares of fabric a little bigger than your letters, then iron the Heat and Bond Light onto the backs of the squares following the directions on the package
3)  Trace your letters on the Heat and Bond Light side of the fabric (make sure you face them the right direction)
4)  Cut out your fabric letters
5)  Iron your letters onto your bag following the directions on the package
6)  Use embroidery floss (I used 3 pieces together) and hand stitch around each letter; you could also embelish with buttons, fabric flowers, etc.

Introducing Our Daughter

Many months ago, we told you about our heart for China and today we are excited to introduce you to the daughter God has given us through adoption.  Here she is, the newest member of our family...we proudly introduce Emalyn Mae Qing.

 Our first unofficial family picture

Emalyn with her big sister

 

Emalyn is 15 months old and has a first degree cleft lip.  She is tiny for her age, but seems very healthy.  Her cleft lip seems to be mostly cosmetic and doesn't seem to interfere with her eating or babbling.  Her file says she is well liked and fairly on target for her age, developmentally.  Qing is part of her Chinese name and it means "celebrate".  Which we will do for the rest of her life! 

 

It is surreal not knowing every detail of her life and growth and needs and likes/dislikes.  Everyday I try to imagine what she is doing, if she is eating well, sleeping well, well loved, played with...it is hard not knowing much for sure.  Please pray with us that God would prepare her heart to meet us and that He would prepare our hearts, too.  A friend who has an adopted sister told me that her mom always prayed that someone would cry when they took their daughter from her orphanage.  I love that, because it says that someone loved her enough to shed tears because they wanted what was best for her, a forever family, but they would miss her.  I want that to be my prayer for Emalyn.  I pray that someone with her now loves her enough to cry when she meets her forever family.

We are so thankful to be at this point so quickly and we pray that the next steps move along as quickly as the ones before them.  We can't wait to hold our daughter in our arms...to love her up close instead of a world away.

If you would like to read our full referral story or follow along as we make our way to China, visit our adoption blog at http://www.alongroadtomeetyou.blogspot.com/.

So Close, but Yet So Far Away

Many months ago, before we even turned in the first piece (of many, many pieces) of paperwork, I announced that we were beginning the adoption process to bring our second daughter home from China.  God has been so faithful during this journey and has continuously reconfirmed His call for us to adopt.  We know that our daughter is waiting somewhere in China to join her for ever family, our family.  We anxiously awaiting the day that we will see her sweet face for the first time and, even more so, the day we will finally hold her in our arms. 

We are one big step closer to these big moments today!  We are officially DTC!  For those of you who are unfamiliar with the adoption lingo, DTC stands for "dossier to China".  Our plea to adopt and all of our paperwork is on its way to China.  Once it arrives, we will wait 3-4 weeks for a log in date (LID) and then we are officially waiting on a referral.

We covet your prayers during this time.  These are the things we are praying for specifically.

-Wisdom for Lifeline (our agency) and Lily who will be matching us with our daughter.
-Clarity upon referral; that we would know without a doubt if we are staring at the face of our daughter.
-That God would provide a special person to love our daughter and comfort her while she waits.
-That God would prepare her heart to be adopted and provide a supernatural peace through the transition.
-That God would prepare our hearts and the hearts of our families and friends, to love her, accept her and grow her up in the Lord.
-That this process would continue smoothly and quickly.

Thank you for supporting us and praying with us during this process.  If you want to follow all of the details of our adoption visit us at www.alongroadtomeetyou.blogspot.com.

Special Friends, Special Weekend

This weekend was a very special one!  Two of my closest friends are getting married this Fall and we've been celebrating around here.  Three weeks ago we had a backyard barbque for Loren and Bobby to celebrate their wedding coming up on September 24 and this past Saturday we honored Kara and Mark with a shrimp boil.  They will tie the knot on October 8.  I am so very excited for these girls and can't wait to see what God has in store for their families!  Unfortunately, it rained the night of Loren's party, so I was scrambling so much to save the tables, chairs and centerpieces from the rain that I didn't snap a single picture.  I did manage to make my rounds with my camera this weekend, though, and thankfully we escaped the summer thunderstorm this time!

The Happy Couple: Kara and Mark 

Sweet friends who came to celebrate with Kara and Mark:

Kimber, me, Sharon, Katie, Kara & Loren

Yummy, but Messy Shrimp Boil

The Almost Newlywed Game: Describe your fiance in one word.

He said "sweet"; she said "fun"...what a match!

Best friends from our Samford days:

Sharon, Katie, Kimber, Loren, Mary Ellen, Kara, me & Meg

As you can see, it just so happened that so many of our precious friends from Samford were able to make it into town to celebrate with Kara this weekend that it became a mini girls weekend.  We had a wonderful time catching up and hanging out with each other's children.  It was such a refreshing weekend!

The kiddos: Jack & Sam, Britton & Jacob,

Adair, Hadley & Ellen Kate, and Sixten

The kiddos with the girls: Kara, Blair, Loren, Meg,

me, Mary Ellen & Tricia

Fun Filled Fourth

Our sweet friends, the Hawleys, invited us to join them for a long weekend at their lake house over the 4th of July holiday.  We had a wonderful time hanging out with great friends and enjoying the lake, pool, water table, boat and jet ski rides, watermelon, bubble baths and more! 

Adair had a blast swimming and playing with Webb and Kate.  She also enjoyed acting as a big sister to Webb's little sister, Marlen.  We all enjoyed wonderful home cooked meals, relaxing and quality time with family and friends.  It was a wonderful way to celebrate our country's independence. 

May we always realize how fortunate we are to live in America the beautiful and never take for granted our freedom to make our own choices and to worship as we want and who we want.  God bless America!

Watermelon! 

Hank with all three kiddos: Webb, Adair and Kate.

Bubble bath!

Adair and Webb filling up the water table.

Adair's adorable "swimming" face.

Loving the boat ride!

Webb, Adair and baby Marlen

Adair loved jumping off of the dock.

Adair and Webb completely tuckered out.

Adair's first ride on a jet ski.  She loved it!

I am going to add a funny story here, because it's one I don't want to forget.  As we were packing to go to the lake, Adair asked if she could take a couple of movies.  I told her that was fine and to go pick them out and put them in her bag.  She chose "Tangled" and "Mary Poppins".  On the way to the lake, it occurred to me that "Tangled" had been in the DVD player, so I commented to Hank that we had forgotten it at home.  Adair quickly interjected that she had gotten it out the DVD player by "not touching the bottom like Daddy taught me" and put it in the case before putting it in her bag.  I looked at Hank, shocked, first because she remembered it was in the DVD player and got it out, and, second, because she managed to get it into the right case.  As Hank said, I think we are in trouble!