I am blessed beyond measure!

Several weeks ago I called a dear friend of mine to ask her if the "girls" would mind getting together to pray for our upcoming adoption and Stephen's transition into our home. Things were happening pretty fast and I did not want to miss the chance to have my prayer warriors cover our family in a blanket of peace at this crucial time. She agreed and assured me it would be just fine to do this the next time I was in town. We set a date and I didn't think another thing about it. We do this type of thing from time to time if there is a big event coming up in one of our lives.

This past Saturday when I walked into my friend Julie's home expecting a coffee and prayer time- I was completely overwhelmed..my dear friends had secretly planned a shower in honor of our little guy. Needless to say, I was beyond surprised and just couldn't help but smile from ear to ear. They are the best and I am soooo blessed to have each and every one of them in my life. It really touched me to find out that they will love Stephen just as much as we will.

There is a verse in Corinthians that describes my feelings towards you ladies:

"I thank my God every time I think of you (all)".

Julie, Mika, Dana, Joy, Mariel, Cheryl, Liz, Paige, Beth and Alicia
(you, too mom!)

(Jules, thanks for always going the extra mile and being our chief, so we can be indians!!)

Flag of South Korea

Mika's sweet sister Judith did a fantastic job on the cake. I almost couldn't bear to see it cut. Judith- you rock!!

We did get one shot in before we all started crying! The prayer time was amazing and I am convinced Stephen felt the peace wash all over him as we prayed for his little heart and first mom.

Lets just say our new son will be the finest dressed three year old this town has ever seen.

It was sooo fun to see such tiny clothes again..okay, it has only been four and half years, but still.

I am so very anxious to see him run through the house wearing his new threads!

Martha Stewart, aka Julie, out did herself with the Preschool boy themed shower. She sprinkled the room with mini books, cars and army men and draped cloths covered in race cars on the serving table. It was so imaginative and placed with perfection, as always. A job well done, my friend! I loved it!!

Puzzles, Books, Bath toys, Army men and Cars

The Display of His Splendor

"Now Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people" Acts 6:8

My friends were not through. At the close of the giving, they presented me with this wonderful collection of blessings (thank you Mika for pulling this together). It is a book for Stephen with a verse from each person blessing him and telling the journey that led us to his precious face. I could barely keep my composure as I read each verse and was reminded of the three and half year journey and each mountain we had to climb to bring him home and of the promise God has fulfilled. I can hardly believe it is really coming true. He is faithful. This book is truly a treasure and I pray it will be as sacred to Stephen as I recount how the Lord literally ordered his steps right into our family. What a night. What a memory. How blessed I truly am.

.."the vision is yet for the appointed time. Though it tarries, wait for it. It will not be overdue a single day." Habakkuk 2:3

Building Families

Registering for Golf and Serious Walking

The agency I work for (Christian Adoption Services) held its annual Golf and Walkathon to raise money for the new building this past weekend. It was a great time to see some of the board members, foster parents, field workers and all of the others that help touch lives every day and bring families together.

Jordan, Makayla, Landon, Michele and Ethan pose for a photo before starting the Fun Walk

Several families attended that had just received placement this year. What a joy to see the new
little ones and to see how happy they are.

Poor Dana was in charge of the activities for the kiddos, which normally she would have loved, but on this day she was recovering from a kidney infection, and she was in some serious pain. She still did a great job keeping the kiddos happy!
Dana and her husband are foster parents for the agency and have loved on over 50 newborns in their care in the past four years.



Lead foot!

I never saw Gretchen when she wasn't on this cart. Who knows what she was doing...
I know I saw the golf car on two wheels once or twice..

My friends. Little did I know Dana and Joy had a big secret they were keeping from me. *Rascals!*

I believe it was a wonderful day for CAS. They ended up raising quite a bit of money, and this will surely help in the future to have a building that will house the staff and minister to the birthparents and adoptive families comfortably.

It is not too late to donate, if you wish. Just click on the link in the sidebar and check it out.

One dozen years!!

We are just a touch behind here at the Lucas house. Actually, Austyn had a birthday before Jon, but I was waiting for photos from her twelve year old birthday celebration to post them. Twelve years ago this past Tuesday, our first precious child was born. She was nine days late, and yet, right on time. Happy Birthday Austyn Nadine!! You are certainly a jewel among jewels!!

The Party

A Motley Crew

At this point I was just thinking "Oh, aren't they cute? They sure do have nice manners" and "I am so glad Austyn has such nice friends to muddle through middle school with.." Is that a gang symbol, Kaitlyn?

At this point Jon and I were locking doors twice and praying they were all very sleepy..we sure were. Does that mean we are old or what?

We survived! As far as we know, no one rang any doorbells and ran or made any prank phone calls.*Whew* This was taken the next morning. As you can see, they were not highly motivated, but they sure seemed to be having fun.

Austyn, we hope you enjoyed your party...it was a lot of fun and we learned a lot. We are blessed to call you our daughter. We love you so much, Happy Birthday.

Oh no! The countdown to thirteen has started...............

Five reasons why our dad rocks

On the way to Jon's favorite Italian restaurant to celebrate his birthday, we had some time on our hands (one hour drive) so, I asked my kiddos to take a moment to tell their dad how great he was on his birthday. I simply passed around a notepad that read "Five reasons why my dad rocks.." Here are some of their responses:

He buys me alot.

He loves me.

He feeds me.

He loves to give me his birthday (long story).

He is where all the money comes from.

He is my friend.

He is cool.

He takes me fishing.

He plays xbox with me (I will never be praised for this, I just can't like video games no matter how I try)

I love exercises like this so you can get an idea what is important to your children and how they are perceiving things and processing. Apparently, Daddy is the money man according to the girls and good for MAN stuff according to Wil. One thing is for sure...He loves them all!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

38 years ago today in a hospital room in Alamance County..a tiny little man was born who would eventually become my best friend and the father of my children. In his 38 years he has lost both of his parents and gained almost four children. He has fought for his country and for what is right. He is strong and fearless and yet, gentle as a lamb (most people DO NOT get to see this).

He has overcome more in his 38 years then most people do in a lifetime. I am his number one fan. I call him our Dick Van Dyke, because he never returns home from business or fishing trips without something for his kids. His children think he hung the moon, and he doesn't tell them otherwise.

I love him more now than I ever believed was possible. I am thankful that the Lord thought enough of me to bless me with him so many years ago. As I have watched his plan unfold for our lives, I am more and more convinced that He knew exactly what he was doing....

Happy Birthday Honey!

We love you!!

Painters

For the past 3 weeks we have had painters here coloring the very white walls of our house. It has been a hoot, and for someone who has no HGTV skills whatsoever, a bit stressful. I was running to the paint store every morning after dropping the kids off and racing back to beat them to the house.

We had several episodes of "oh, wow, that is darker than I thought." Needless to say, I had very flexible painters. They were also very entertaining..I didn't get much work done, to say the least.

I promised them I would post the photos I was taking of them on the internet, so they would feel like celebrity. One of them is quite computer savvy, so I am sure he will see himself here.

This is Bobby. In this photo he was saying "okay, everyone listen to me! I have got something to tell you.." I was a quite nervous that this retiree was gonna fall from that 2nd story landing before he got to tell us.... He was the one who did most of the climbing and tightrope areas that we have here and there. He was definitely the talker of the two and said his wife referred to him as a "loaded cannon". Hmm...I am glad we didn't hack him off while he was here.

This is a photo of Stanley fixing my "oh, that is blue-blue" error. Hated it. It was beautiful on the can, just not what I pictured for this room. OOPs. They were happy to cover it with the more neutral color in just one hour. Stanley was the demure, white Morgan Freeman type. He didn't say much, but when he did, wisdom fell from his lips. We had some great conversations about TBN preachers and bluegrass music. Did I mention that Bobby and Stanley also played in a rock n roll band for over 30 years? Yes, apparently they can tear up some guitars and a little Sweet Home Alabama. Like I said, they were a hoot and very sweet. They went together and bought Austyn a card for her birthday that included ten dollars. Needless to say, she was so thankful and thought they were great. We are gonna miss those guys. Can you believe it? Miss the painters? Maybe we have been gone from IT too long. LOL

Here is the cutest painter of all. My Jon. He is not thrilled that I have given him a project the day before his birthday..My sweet sugar is putting a coat of chalkboard paint on the wall in Wilson and Stephen's room. We wanted to make sure it had some functionality and the chalkboard turned out quite cute..easy as 1-2-3. It had to cure over night, so, before the kids were up I wrote a message for both of my boys. "Wilson, we love you" on one side and "Stephen JaeHo, welcome home, son" on the other..(can't wait for him to read it). Since we are not so crafty..I am thrilled that it turned out. Yay us (as Landon would say)

Rainbows and Butterflies

Wilson purchased a few bug collecting items with his birthday money this year. Included in this assortment of nets and contraptions was a huge butterfly habitat. We have watched our little painted ladies turn into a front row seat science project. It really was cool to see them go through this metamorphosis right in the dining room.

One of the cocoons.

All three came to life in the same day. It was amazing how perfectly it was all timed. How do they know?

I was very afraid that we were not serving the correct butterfly menu and they would perish. Not on my watch. Soon after they came to life we decided to set them free, because, after all, they do not belong to us. This little cutie hung around for quite some time, so I walked back inside and took some quick photos of him. The kiddos really enjoyed watching this process and it was sure less creepy than the harvester ant farm that we had last year. Yikes!!

I am sure there will be more..after all, you are dealing with the same mother who built houses out of cardboard and mason jars for her pet frogs and lizards as a child and raised mice, guinea pigs, and rabbits in her DORM ROOM her freshman year. Oh Stephen, I hope you like animals sweet heart. LOL!

This was the blessing of the day last Sunday night after the threat of Tropical Storm Gabriella. We endured light rain and after it was gone..not one but two rainbows. It was impossible to film, but the rainbows were completely visible from our back door. It looked just like a scripture out of Genesis to me, and we sure had a great flood conversation around the dinner table that evening. I love it when the creator of heaven and earth reminds us of his promises in such simple ways.

Radio Raheem

A little J'ville culture

For those of you who have ever visited us here..you will laugh so hard when you see this. His name is Radio Raheem and he is a local celebrity. Each day he stands a this intersection and does ninja like moves and dances and sings to a little hip hop. I had to post this when I find him on you tube. This video does not do him justice because he is really quite friendly and just a hair looney :-)

Back home for Matthews Alive

Labor Day weekend will usually find the Lucas family back home in Matthews attending the annual Matthews Alive festival, formally known as the Stumptown festival. For those of us who grew up in Matthews, it is hard to miss this "down home" tradition. Of course, it has grown over the years, but the best times are memories from years past...the parade with all of our friends, staying at the street dance as long as your parents would let you, because school would start the following day....

The next generation getting in on the act. Landon helped Doris (my boss) and Gretchen prepare the Christian Adoption Services float for the parade. She ran along side the float handing out candy. Austyn was happy to ride with all of the babies. There were quite a few, and some were just weeks old. ADORABLE. They also got to meet two birth moms who showed up to support the children in the parade. It made for interesting conversation later on and a few questions.

Here are the girls (with Jared Velazquez) enjoying a wonderful show where they each received a kazoo (that was fun to drive home with). They watched at least four performances that day and and each one was exceptional. Austyn admits that her favorite was the clown who juggled and had three little dogs that did tricks. It was geat for the kiddos. I literally had to drag them away late in the afternoon.

Landon finally got to pick out her geode. Gram gave them all money to spend and she knew exactly where to go... it was neat to see them cut it open and reveal the beauty inside.

Once home, Austyn decided she needed to sample a beauty technique. We are approaching the age where they get into all of my things..she and Landon love this new find. Isn't she cute, though?

Snakes, caterpillars and strays........

Our house has been creature central this past week. Some have been invited and some have not been. This one in particular can go right on back to where it came from.

Its one thing to assume there are snakes crawling in and around your yard..its a different icky feeling when the evidence is as plain as the nose on your face. YUCK!

This nasty reptile was caught in the netting that secures the bank of the creek beside our house. Dickie and Wilson were the first to spot it, of course.

Crocodile Dundee decided he would cut open the snake to investigate..did you wonder where Wilson inherited his barbaric tendencies? Boy, this drew a crowd up and down the street. I just knew he was going to suggest we cook it over an open flame. The funniest thing was the innocent neighbor passing by who almost tripped over the carcass that Jon had laid right by the outgoing trash receptacle...she then turned to inform us by saying "Did you know there was a dead snake right here?" with a clearly disturbed tone. The kiddos got so tickled they had to run inside quickly.

Finally, Wilson's painted lady caterpillars arrived in the mail. We thought it would be neat to see them form a cocoon and transform into a lovely butterfly. Who says we don't know how to party at the Lucas house? What could be more fun than watching a cocoon? Here is Wil checking out the larvae for the first time.

Since these photos were taken, six small creatures have reduced to three huge creatures..you do the math. I know we had one Houdini, but who knows about the other two?

They have since formed wonderful cocoons and we are watching each day to see how they change.

As if we are not already taking care of enough...Jon decided that the emaciated stray living in the woods needed to eat late one night. Guess what happened? Lets just say we named him Murray. Wilson loves him and makes sure that he is getting fatter every day. That's all fine..but he WILL NOT make himself at home on the inside....Anyone want a nice kitty?