The painting

So yesterday was a terrific day! I had an OB appointment and Shelby, Georgia, and I got to hear the baby's heartbeat! What a miracle! It was so exciting! We've obviously never experienced that before, and it was a VERY special time. Our prayer going into that appointment was that we would HEAR the heartbeat and we did...God answered our prayers! I left that appointment thinking about Julia and the incredible gift that she gave us! SHE had an appointment to hear a heartbeat and yet she knew that she wanted to place her baby for adoption. Going through the morning sickness I can't help but think of Julia, too. The sacrifices that she made for Georgia and for US...it just brings tears to my eyes! It just puts everything into perspective again, but in a whole new way.

When Shelby got back to work he found out that he got a RAISE! WOOHOO! He is such a hard worker and LOVES his job. It's wonderful that he is being rewarded for his hard work. The extra money will help tremendously with a new baby coming...once again, God answered our prayers! It was hard giving up my salary when we knew Georgia was coming but we knew it was what we wanted. In fact, I even turned in my resignation for the following school year when we found out Julia had picked us. I think some people thought I was crazy, especially since we didn't have Georgia yet, but we put our faith in God that He would continue to work in the adoption and he did...once again, God answered our prayers! Honestly, we haven't missed the money and I would not trade the time I have with her each and every day for more money in our bank account. She is SO happy in the mornings when she wakes up!

I know I've said it before, but Georgia is loved by SO MANY! Yesterday we were shown that again by a 16 year old named Emily. I got a call from our music minister's wife and she asked if she and her daughter Emily could come by for a few minutes. Emily is a very talented artist and is a beautiful girl inside and out. What she did for us BLEW ME AWAY! Georgia is by far the best gift we've ever received, but I think Emily's gift was the next best thing! She is a sophomore in high school and painted a picture of Georgia for a UIL art competition! She told me that she told the judge our story and why she wanted to paint Georgia...it made me cry when I saw it! She had to take it because it may be in an art show, but once it is over she will give it to us! Look at this beautiful painting...

The verse around it says, "You love Him even though you have never seen Him. Though you do not see Him, you trust Him; and even now you are happy with a glorious, inexpressible joy." 1 Peter 1:8.

Georgia is checking it out...
And VERY happy about it...
Georgia, Emily, and me with her beautiful work of art. We love you Emily! Thank you for blessing our family!

Eight months old today!

Happy EIGHT months Georgia Claire! What a complete JOY you are to your daddy and me. You make friends everywhere we go. You are such a happy baby and SO good (unless you are hungry, then you get a little impatient)! We cannot complain. God is so good and did an amazing thing in our life when He made you.

I can remember when your daddy and I were students at Howard Payne University and friends saying that certain couples were MFEO (Made For Each Other)...that's EXACTLY how I feel about you! Julia carried you and provided the perfect environment for you to grow and develop (for which we are forever grateful) and even though I didn't grow you in my tummy, you grew in my heart. This time last year your daddy and I were in the middle of a mountain of paperwork and a list of things to do so that we could be approved for adoption. It was a hard time, but SO exciting because we knew a little baby was going to be the end result! What we didn't realize is that in just a few months we would be bringing that precious little baby, YOU, home with us! What a ride!

We love you so much! I cannot say it enough. My prayer is that we always show you the love of Jesus in our actions and not just words. 1 John 3:18 says "Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and truth."

Our Valentine

Best Valentine ever! Momma & Daddy love you Georgia Claire! (And thank you, Aunt Heather for the ADORABLE sweater!)

SNOW!

So we had a snow, if you want to call it that, back in December. BUT, last week we had SNOW...SIX plus inches! A friend of mine posted on facebook that she thinks there will be snow in heaven. It makes everything look so peaceful and serene. I wholeheartedly agree! It was gorgeous! My favorite thing was seeing all of the neighborhood kids playing in it, even the parents...building snowmen, having snowball fights, making snow angels. We thoroughly enjoyed it, although we were without electricity for about 12 hours. Thank goodness Mom & Dad live close and they had electricity. Georgia and I enjoyed spending time with Grandma & PawPaw.

Our courtyard...

Look at this little snow bunny! Shelby came home for lunch that day (yes, he had to work...they had electricity and the oilfield doesn't stop just because it snows!) and we bundled Georgia up and took her outside for a little bit.

I love this picture...she looks SO excited about our adventure!
Love my little snow bunny...(her mittens are a little BIG!)

Daddy and his snow angel...LOVE these two with ALL MY HEART!

Birthday Cake

My family (minus my sister Angie and her family) celebrated my birthday this past Friday night with a birthday dinner and cake at Mom's & Dad's. Shelby grilled pork chops, and we had baked potatoes, salad & french bread...it was JUST what I wanted!

One of Mom's signature cakes is her famous layered strawberry cake. We ALL love it. My nieces Mary Katherine & Caroline wanted to help blow out the candles...
My dad, or Paw Paw, is famous for feeding sweets to the grandkids. Sometimes he tries to sneak it and then sometimes he just doesn't seem to care if momma is watching or not! I should have known that when Dad finished his meal before everyone else and got Georgia out of the booster seat that cake would be soon to follow...I took these pictures in progress of Georgia getting her first bite of Grandma's strawberry cake.

Getting the first tiny bite...I think she's licking her lips!
Grabbing the spoon to get the cake in her mouth...
Paw Paw taking a bite himself, instead of giving it to her...her mouth was watering BIG TIME!
And, mean ol' Momma taking her from Paw Paw after she had had several bites...she was so mad she started crying! She got over it soon though, but I think her face is PRICELESS! Poor baby!
It looks like the cake will be around for generations to come. I guess I know what cake Georgia will have for her 1st birthday!

Happy 34th Birthday To Me!

Today is my 34th birthday...my first birthday as a mom, my first birthday pregnant...it's been a great day! I am so blessed. The best gift I received this year, hands down, by far, without a doubt is sweet Georgia Claire.

Tired and clean baby ready for bed early last night...
I had to take a picture of one of the things my sister Kathy made me...she cross-stitched this...notice the question mark under the baby...LOVE IT!
Tired momma and tired Georgia rocking before bed...my absolute favorite thing to do with her! Thank you Lord, once again, for the gift of LIFE that Julia gave Georgia and the gift of LOVE she gave Shelby and me. We are humbled by your mercy and love.