Daddy Ballet

On this particular day, Matilyn was dressed in a wedding gown play dress wanting to dance ballet. Of course, she wanted Daddy to be her partner and hold her as we danced around and around. Matthew did not wish to miss all the fun and motioned for me to pick him up as well. While difficult to hold two children for ballet styled dancing, I managed to make the princess and prince happy. This is the result:

Baby Has A Middle Name

After much prayer and polling (LOL!!) we finally have a middle name!

Joel means "The Lord Is God"!

Couldn't find a much better meaning than that! Then we love the fact that Joel was a prophet (and a book) in the Bible. And since Jarrod name begins with a J, he will have a first initial from each of us!

We can't wait to hold some photos of our little Andrew Joel Roussel in our hands! And no, we are not planning to call him "AJ". We will call him Andrew. We just aren't ones to shorten their names. Andy won't work, because our puppy has already claimed that one. We like Drew, but think we will stick with Andrew for now.

We are still awaiting a birth day. Please keep little Andrew Joel Roussel in your prayers.

Paperwork Causes A Little Stress

Trying to figure out what comes next can be more than a little scary in independent adoption. Thank the Lord for Deana and Luke Pan!

What would we ever do without them!? They are truly God-sent! I don't think that I have EVER met more self-sacrificing and caring people in my life! All of the things that Deana and Luke are willing and able to accomplish on behalf of children and families in need simply amazes us! I could never express our gratitude to them. Never! I often pray that they will receive unbelievable, abundant, and overflowing rewards for all that they do. So much so that they will be amazed! I know that we can NEVER thank them enough, in any way, for all that they have already done for us.

I have been pouring over paperwork issues for days. Tennessee adoption laws, US adoption laws, Taiwanese court requirements, etc. I was recently asked if I was an adoption research geek or if it was greek to me. I have recently confirmed without a doubt that I am a part of the NERD HERD! LOL!!!!

I feel so much better after reviewing all of these laws and upcoming events, and finally feel like we understand the next steps that are coming fairly well. We are as paper ready as possible at this point, which is a blessing.

Prayer request: Please continue to pray that our passports will arrive very quickly.

Bio Mom Has Another MD Visit

Today Andrew's bio mom had another MD appointment. All is going well, and she will be 40 weeks along this coming Saturday. Her next MD appt. is scheduled for next Tuesday.

Care Package For Baby Brother

I have spent the last few days finding and printing photos for baby's photo album and photo cube. Also picked out some cute newborn outfits and a few baby toys to add to the care package. We mailed it today and are praying that it arrives by the time the baby goes home with the foster mom,so that she will have the bottles and formula to use.

As I type this it just doesn't seem real. It's amazing that our baby could be born at any time! We are so excited!!

Baby's First Name Is Confirmed By The Lord !

Well, despite a long list of baby boy names from which to choose, Jarrod and I kept coming back to the name "Andrew". We both really like it. It means valliant and courageous. Also, begins like my name, ANita. However, we weren't 100% sure UNTIL TODAY!

Have you ever had God confirm things to you in a way that you just get CHILLS, KNOWING that HE is speaking directly to you? Today was one of those days.

When we picked the children up from children's church, I just "happened" to glance down and see Matthew's name tag. From a distance something just looked a little different. As I walked towards him I began to make out that the last name was not our! Instead, the last name on his name tag was "ANDREWS"!!!!!! No, I am NOT kidding!!! I took his name tag off and was just standing there holding it in my hands, just staring at it. The children's church volunteers were probably wondering what was wrong. I called Jarrod over, as soon as I had "gathered myself" and said "Look at THIS!" We were both amazed!!! I was able to share the story with three of the volunteers who were also in awe! We serve an AWESOME God! He is so real, and so good. I just know that he was smiling as he planned and executed this one! The volunteer who had placed Matthew's name tag KNOWS our last name. She even stated that, as she looked like she was in shock, staring at the name tag that she had placed onto Matthew's shirt!! She had tears in her eyes!

Needless to say, we are saving the sticker for Andrew's baby book!!!

OK Lord, now we need a MIDDLE name! LOL!!!!!!!

And then ANOTHER miracle occurred! We have been praying and praying to find a great foster family for our baby. Tonight Deana's daughter Pauline offered to foster Andrew for us. We are beyond THRILLED!!! Another answer to prayer. Jehovah Jireh!!!

This was a GREAT GREAT GREAT day!!!!!!!!!!!

Baby Shopping....YEA!

Today we went baby shopping to put together a care package for baby. Some safe bottles and nipples, formula, pacifiers. By the way, who would have ever thought you would have to do RESEARCH in order to find SAFE baby products for your baby! *sigh* It is amazing how many harmful chemicals, etc. are found in baby products, and that includes FORMULA! We should truly demand better from the makers of these products. Anyway....that's another post!

We had sooooo much fun shopping. Matilyn helped me pick a cute little blankie for him. It's extremely soft and has baseballs and bats all over it. We found a precious little toy, a soft toy shaped like a cube that holds 5 pictures. Hopefully he will recogize our faces by the time we go to bring him home. :)

I love baby shopping!! So thankful that we now have a reason to baby shop again!!!