LL especially LOVED the jumpy house thing.....She just laughed out loud the entire time she was on there.....
We took a little break at the bday party to chat with some people...and LL knew the routine...she handed me my camera to take her picture!! :) funny girl!!! Happy B-day Sweet "K"....your b-day party was amazing!!!****We then headed straight from the bday party to attend the April African Fellowship Group!! I LOVE this group of awesome families!! Just being around these people inspires me more than you could ever know!! The Fellowship Group for April was held at a local park...and I do believe everyone had a GREAT time!!!!
The food is always yummy!!! :)
I love watching everyone cutting up and having fun together...such a blessed sight!!!
Oh, the fun that was had on the twisty slide!!!
You have families in the WAIT for their child......
Others are HOME with their adopted children....It is so much fun to see all the families in different stages of the game TOGETHER!!!
Oh, he loved his baby sister.....so sweet!!!
One of our many beauty queens from the group!! This girly has only been home a short while and was just having the best time today....
Poppy Dip's daughter from http://www.itspoppydipblog.blogspot.com/ These two friends were just too adorable!!!
Above is LL's friend that will start Kindergarten the same year at the same school....so neat to have a friend in class with you that shares the exact same adoption story from the same country!!
This little guy above has only been home a short while....such cute brothers!!!
LOVE these two sisters!!!
Another family going for #5 just like us!!!
And, here's Tracy and me!!! Tracy organizes our group and I'm so grateful she's in charge!! She's still running the show beautifully EVEN AFTER bringing home a sibling group of 4 recently!!! She's my hero!!!
This above family was cute....They just came to the park to play with their kids...and well...they happened to have just adopted from Ethiopia....We have instant new friends!!!! So neat!!! Hope they'll join us next time!!! :)
Tracy with her oldest Ethiopian and her youngest Ethiopian....so cute!!
Siblings that ONLY God could CREATE!!!!
above, Amy from http://www.filledwithpraise.blogspot.com/
Rachel, above, with her three.....She's sitting pretty at the TOP of the AGCI girl list....it won't be long now until they see the face of #4!!! yayyy
My Hal with his cousin Nathan....These two are such GREAT buds!!!
LL was enjoying hanging with Momma at the food tables!!!
My JuJu and her buddy "R"!! Such cuties!!!
Oh, these two just love each other!!! It is just too cute to watch!!!
I had to get a couple of pics of the 3 little princesses present!! These 3 are all around the same age....too cute!!!
Ok, so yall help me here!!!!! These LAST 3 pics are of the sweetest thing I've ever seen!! This lady that was sitting at another table with a totally other group....and she couldn't speak English, but she came over and first gave me MONEY and told me she wanted to make a donation to my daughter!!! I insisted NO..that our adoption was over and she just insisted that I take the money....She then just hugged LL and CRIED and CRIED:
It had everyone crying sitting around us....but we were all left confused because we had no idea what was going on!!! I have no idea WHY she took to LL so much...but she singled her out from the other 100 Ethiopian children and just loved on her and CRIED and wanted to give her money!!!
I finally felt the need to step in and quit taking pics of this situation...She just thanked me and cried some more and walked away!!!
Wow, what a beautiful sight!!! We may not have spoken the same language, but LOVE has a universal language and it was EVIDENT here!! She seemed like a beautiful person and I just wish I KNEW WHY she was so emotional when seeing Lucy Lane!! ?? I guess I'll never know....Any thoughts??****So, are you ready to join this group yet?? Are you ready to take that leap of faith and give another beautiful child of God a home?? It really is simple....a child needs a family....and you have one!!! Simple as that...and if you still aren't convinced, go read my friend Andrea's latest post...it is so good: www.babeofmyheart.com :)
****Well that's it folks!!! Thanks to everyone for coming out today!! It was SO much fun and I can't wait till our next event together!!! You all are some awesome people to hang with!!! :)
Happy Sunday to you all, kj
Oh my stars! I just thought I was overwhelmed as I looked at all that God is doing in our hometown. The children He is brining home, the families He is building, the siblings that He is joining, the friends that He is placing in the same community ... it is so amazing.
ReplyDeleteAnd then those last three photos caused the flood gates to open. Oh my stars! I am so glad you allowed that sweet woman to have that moment with LL. Who knows what her story is but she saw something in LL. Perhaps the face of Jesus!
Love & Miss You Girl!
Kim
P.S. Did you get my emails about the Mwangaza Choir coming to town? They are looking for local churches and need guest homes for their African Children's Choir members. I copied Gwen and Tracy too. Hoping you all can help. Jealous of another event I will miss out on.
Wow, that is an amazing story about the older woman loving on LL. God works in such mysterious ways. What a wonderful group you guys have going on. Wow!
ReplyDeleteSuch fun! I LOVE our fellowship group. Such beautiful and kind hearted families. They are all so inspirational.
ReplyDeleteHave a great week!
Blessings,
Amy
It was great to meet you yesterday! We loved our first visit to the African Fellowship group... what an inspiring place to be with so many people on fire for adoption. I witnessed the lady giving you the money and it was such an awesome sight. I pray that others would be moved with compassion to give, adopt or support... just find a role advocating for the orphan! I look forward to seeing you again.
ReplyDelete-Elizabeth Rutledge (adopting from Rwanda)
http://rutledges-rutledgereview.blogspot.com
What a great time. I wish the group near us was as big! Maybe someday!
ReplyDeleteThe pictures at the end... Wow, did they ever cause me to tear up right here at work. Adoption is so amazing!
What a beautiful day and an awesome story.... those are moments you'll remember FOREVER and always wonder what brought her to care so for your little LL. God knows. That will have to be enough for now. =)
ReplyDeleteYou guys are awesome for getting this group together each month. Let me know if you ever need any help with anything. We had fun!
ReplyDeleteOh I hate that we missed the fellowship this month! Thank you SO much for posting the pictures! Our big yard sale fundraiser was this weekend, so we weren't able to make it! We just found out that there are less than TEN families ahead of us waiting for a toddler girl from ET! We have only been waiting barely 3 months, so are SO pumped to hear we have moved up so quickly. Hoping to join you with our own little Ethiopian Princess soon!
ReplyDeleteAmanda
www.TotallyCrazy4Him.blogspot.com
It was so great to meet you yesterday! It was our first fellowship and was awesome to be with others who are on this journey. Thank you all for hosting this! Looking forward to more fellowships.
ReplyDeleteLL does & will touch so many in her lifetime...it's a God thing!
OH I HOPE to meet all of these lovely families in July! We're planning to come down then! I noticed a few older boys for my guy, can't wait!
ReplyDeleteMaria
Looks like y'all had a fantastic time! We wanted to come join in on the fun since we were in town for the Nashville Marathon, but our oldest boy, John (13), had to be back for Confirmation Class at 4... maybe next time!
ReplyDeleteAll of the kids are precious, and the sweet lady is a such wonderful reminder of universal love and care for ALL people and children, no matter what!
Blessings,
Shari and the Stroup Family
beautiful post. the woman that took to lucy brings tears to my eyes.
ReplyDeleteWe had a great time yesterday too! I feel SO blessed to have such a wonderful support system right here in Franklin/Brentwood. Somehow I missed the lady giving you $$ and hugging LL. What an amazing sight. Thanks to you and to Tracy for planning it!
ReplyDeleteI love seeing all those sweet families and adorable children! It is so precious and inspiring! Love the pics of Lucy Lane with the older woman...what a neat moment to capture! Lucy Lane is just touching lives everywhere!
ReplyDeleteYou never know...we had a woman do that with our boy, and it ended up she had given a baby up for adoption too. She was Ethiopian and it just moved her so much. She knew her son went to a US couple. It just brought back such vivid memories for her I am sure. LL is so cute! :D
ReplyDeleteLL is getting so big...and her hair is just precious as it is growing!
ReplyDeleteVery blessed by your story about the lady...it makes me think of when we are entertaining angels unaware! Also, makes me think that hopefully in our Christian walk we will have the faith of children in touching the lives of others without words, but just by living our our lives in Him. What a great example that served as my "sermon/devotional" for the day!
I found your blog while reading other blogs.
ReplyDeleteThis post was just so touching.
I loved seeing all the kids adopted from Ethiopia but the little Lady that came up to your LL was so precious.
I wish she could have been able to talk to you so she could have shared with you her story. I would bet that some how your LL reminds her of another sweet little baby girl.
It is truly obvious that she was was just offering money and hugs out of pure love.
Who knows maybe someone close to her tried to adopt a little girl and something went wrong and she knows how expensive adoptions can be. Poor lady, obviously needed to see your little one today.
I say go spend that money on something very special for LL. LOL!!
Thanks for sharing.
Sheila