As I sit here at my computer exhausted, over joyed, filled to the top with the Lord, and just down right HUMBLED by His provisions ... You have to go read Kelly's blog because she did a post on Maggie and says much better than I how God is restoring my daughter two-fold ... What was robbed from her in China is being given back in a way only the Lord can do and not just to her, but to us as a family ... To say that we have had an outpouring of support, love, encouragement, and help is an understatement ... I won't even attempt to tell you about the meals, paper good, trips to the store, presents for the children, the diet coke/chocolate for me, the calls, the textes, emails, the cookie bouquet, the movies, the snack baskets, the posters, the visits, the ballons, and so much more that have happened over the last 4 days ... YOU WOULDN'T BELIEVE IT ... At this I am truly greatful, I am humbled by your love and prayers ... PRAYER works ... Maggie is exhausting me by running around, playing, and just being a 3 year old, when I was told she would be in pain and not really wanting to do anything ... NOT MY GIRL, NOT A DAUGHTER OF THE KING ... I am doing my best to keep her calm so her head doesn't bleed through the tubes ... Please continue to pray and when I have longer I will post some pictures ... but in the meantime go to Rhonda's blog where she has posted some Princess Maggie pictures (MacyLi came over w/ lots of goodies for us) ...

Let's add to this Katie's lastest blog post and I am literally spiritually exhausted in a good way ... I am watching the Father work here in my house, I am watching a t-shirt that I designed to bring home A/J touch people's lives, I am watching Katie parent over 15 children and give of herself more each day, and I am watching people begin the process of adoption, and it is all so GOD meeting us and hearing our cries, our prayers, and needs as He opens our eyes to His plan for our days ... He is pointing us to help, to serve, and to be willing to get our of our box ... I AM HUMBLED TO BE A BELIEVER TODAY ...

I love you all REALLY ...

SORRY THE PICTURES ARE IN REVERSE ORDER ... NO TIME TO FIX IT ... tell me my girl is isn't super brave !!! Mama and Daddy "Luffa You" Maggie ...

I have to start by saying (and this is nothing new to any of you) PRAYER WORKS ... I have felt strength from so many of you ... You have been amazing encouragers, you have been amazing at bringing food/ paper goods today, bringing gifts for the children, for checking in on us, and for caring about all of the Oatsvall Team ... My Maggie is a fighter, she is a survivor and she looked at me while in the hospital w/ the eyes of child needing her mama and it felt great to be the person God chose for this honor ... It broke and filled my heart for her to need me and for me to able to show her how love can comfort, change, and bring peace to a situation ...

We have a long 6 months or so ahead of us and I know you will not waiver in your thoughts and prayers for her ... I love you all so much ...

I hope the pictures aren't to graphic, but I wanted you to see since you have been walking w/ us !!

Forgive me if this sounds loopy, but I have been up since 3:30 am ... It seems Maggie is not in the mood to sleep ... She is doing great and does not seem to be in a lot of pain, she has ate well and they are going to let us go home early PRAISE THE LORD !!!

I am not even going to try and describe what her head looks like ... I was totally shocked, but the ports to inflate the tissue expander is external ... Which means my daughter has tubes hanging off the top of her head and will for the next 3 months ... Pray Pray Pray that there is no infection, we can keep Maggie or any other kid for that matter from pulling on them ...

Father you are the great healer, continue to heal my daughter and help us as a family to be able to help Maggie through this transition and give me the strength to be on my toes to prevent anything from happening to these ports over the next several !!!

Thanks everyone for your prayers and please don't stop !!!

I just got back to recovery a few minutes ago .... My angel is sleeping peacefully w/ a beautifully wrapped turban on her head ... She did wake for a minute very agitated, but went back to sleep ... We are waiting for her to wake up and recognize her mama, so we can go to our room ... I am exhausted and rejuvenated at the same time ... Exhausted from keeping her up till midnight last night, from sitting in waiting room all day and rejuvenated that the Father was ever present today ... He comforted this mama's heart and allowed me to rest in Him ...

I will come back after she wakes and we are in our room ... Keep praying ... The Lord hears you!

Doctor came out and she did great (NOT SHOCKED .... SHE IS ONE TOUGH PRINCESS) !!!! He put in a horseshoe shaped tissue expander towards the front of her head ... He did have to give her a new haircut (which I know she will rock for sure) !!! It will be about another hour before we get to see her ...

I am praising the Father right now for His goodness and His miracles for the day ... For those of you who aren't around Maggie much, my girl can eat ... She eats all the time and she likes everything and for her to wake up at 8:30 this morning and never ask for one thing to eat or drink all day long and surgery wasn't till 4pm is a true miracle ...

Keep the prayers coming ... Special prayer for Jeremiah ... He is really worried about people staring at Maggie now that she will have something growing out of her head and making her feel bad ... He is my protector ...

Thanks for saying you would pray and then ACTUALLY PRAYING ... LOVE YOU ALL ...

Maggie just went back about 4pm (surgery was scheduled for 1:30) ... She has done amazingly well ... She didn't ask to eat anything at all today (answer to prayer) ... The basket of goodies came in handy for the wait in the holding room (marti gras necklaces the biggest hit) ...

Dr. Kelly said it would take about 2 - 3 hours as they put 2 or 3 tissue expanders in ... They gave her some of the happy juice and she started acted silly, but never feel asleep ... She was a trooper and has done fabulous !!! As I left her I felt so helpless and thought about the Lord and how He must feel when we don't turn to Him ...He loves us so much and all He wants to do is be our Savior!

Lord, she is IN YOUR HANDS !!!

Keep the prayers coming ... I will let you know how things are once I see her ...

Love You All ...

I love this picture of my girl !!!

SURGERY @ 1:30

Casting all your care upon Him; for he careth for you. 1 Peter5:7

Blessed is the man that maketh the Lord his trust, ... Psalm 40:4

They that trust in the Lord shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth forever. Psalm 125:1


I am preparing for tomorrow ...packing bags, washing laundry, preparing kids list while I am gone, emailing teachers, hiding the sweet treasures that friends have sent for Maggie while she is in the hospital and all the while just bathing my sweet girl in prayer ... To say I am overwhelmed w/ emotions is an understatement ... I feel like I have been waiting for this moment for a year ... I know God Himself will be present tomorrow and will give us all the strength needed for the days to come this week ... I am not going to ask myself "Why", but say thank you Lord for the provisions you have laid out before us ... He has given us MORE THAN ENOUGH (borrowing this theme from Katie ... you have to read her post today) !!!!

To say that last week was a spiritual journey is an understatement ... Our family had a great week in prayer and searching God for more ... More love to spread, More compassion to share, More forgiveness to give out, More time to minister, More peace to go forward, More faith to step blindly in His will, More of everything that God offers freely each day ...

I have had countless emails, blog comments, phone calls, textes, and letters letting me know WE ARE NOT ALONE ... I can't tell you how much it means to us as a family to know you are walking w/ us and ARE THERE when needed ...

I love you all and will keep the blog updated while at the hospital ... Dr. Kevin Kelly is her surgeon please lift his name up ... I will be wearing my t-shirt to the hospital and waiting for God to open the door for me to share about adoptions and orphans !!! I have no doubt He will use my sweet Maggie to capture a few hearts and plant a few seeds for adoption or orphan care ...

Here We GO !!!!!!!!!!!!

Please read post below ... I made $848 at the gold party for our adoption fund ... Plus I forgot to say thanks to my sweet friend Ondrea who also gave me some her gold jewelry ...

I just want to say a special "thank you" to Brenda, Diane, Suzanne, Stacy, My mom and Wendy for donating their treasures to help us bring home our treasures !!!
Class Rings ... Diane, Suzanne, and Mine ... Can't tell you what this means to me to see you walk w/ me and give up something precious ....

A girl NEEDS her sleep and her chips ...

T-SHIRTS ... You are beyond stepping up to help the Oatsvall Family bring home Abigail and Joseph ... We have sold over 100 of the 244 shirts ... Thanks for putting my badge on your blog and thanks for walking w/ us ... I am out of med/xl at the moment, but will get them Friday and will ship them out Mon/Tues ... I have worn mine almost everyday (I am washing it, so don't worry) and I am getting some great questions and some great opportunities to share God's love for the orphans ....

Stephanie is an artist (like so many of you other seamstresses) ... Here is what I love ... She is paperchasing to China and raising her funds by sowing amazing children's outfits and yet still bought one of my shirts ... It is so God how He placed in our hearts the desire to help one another, to love one another, and to pray for one another ... To be honest there have been so many prayer needs over the last year in the blog world I get them confused as I am praying and trying to explain them to my children, but the glorious thing is GOD NEVER DOES GET CONFUSED ... He knows all our needs ...

I HAVE SOLD OVER 60 OF THE 100 SHIRTS ... Praise the Lord ... I ordered another 100 and I am heading to the post office right now w/ some of the orders ... Thanks for those of you who have done post and helping me share this ... It is a long way to $30,000 to bring home A/J, but the money part never scares me ... GOD WILL FUND WHAT HE FAVORS (stole that saying from my fabulous husband) ...

Other God news that I told you was coming ...

Cade is home and recovering well from his eye surgery ... Carlee (my best friend for over 11 years) is an amazing mother and has walked this journey all BY FAITH ...Cade has had more surgerys than I can count and he is about to be 3 years old .. He is a true WARRIOR ...

For privacy reasons this may sound sketchy, but I got a call about a baby that will be born in the summer and in DESPERATE need of a home ... I was directed to this amaizng family (thru a blog) and now this family is pursuing this child ... From the moment I got the call I knew it was all God ordained ...

Also, got a call from a small adoption agency in Arkansas Thursday that has an 11 day old baby waiting in interim care ... Again, God directed me to some sweet waiting families and I contacted them and they are proceeding to see if this is their child ...

Spoke w/ Katie this week and the things happening in Uganda can't be explained by anything other than the Lord ... I am so thankful for all who have posted about her, praying for her, and helping financially ...

This is just the tip of what God is allowing us to be a part of ... I am hearing Him clearer w/ each step ... I will do a book review of CRAZY LOVE by Francis Chan soon ... This book is hardcore truth and a call to action ... here is a quote from the book that is sticking to my soul that Emily pointed out to me, "THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG WHEN OUR LIVES MAKE SENSE TO UNBELIEVERS." I mean can you get your head around that ???

Setting up a work day for the book very soon and getting it ready for publisher ... SERIOUSLY getting excited about what the book can do for those waiting, for those thinking of adopting, and as a beautiful relfection of the many journeys families have already taken ... SO PUMPED !!

Again, this was a lot of random different things, but I know you all GET ME now and expect that there are days when I just need to empty my head plus I love sharing w/ you !!!!


Love You All ...

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