Sunday was a day for the Oatsvall Team memory book ... I am just going to make this simple because I think the pictures say it all ... My sweet precious Jeremiah was baptized ... My HEART !!! He is growing into more of young man than I ever could have dreamed ... He loves the Lord, he loves his family and he loves people ... I would be his friend even if I wasn't his mother ... That is how cool I think he is ... His heart shows in his eyes and I love to dream w/ him about the Man he will become one day ...

We also had our precious Joseph and Daisy dedicated ... These two angels are home because of the power of prayer ... We got to share this w/ many of our friends ... I love dedications because it reminds us we are not alone and that God creates all families ... As we looked at our church body and all our friends/family who came it is a great testimony to how we are to love and support each other ... I am thankful for our STRONG TOWER family and those who journey w/ us in life ... WE ARE BLESSED

Those are probably two words you hoped you would never see in one sentence ... hee hee ... I have been meaning to post about these two SEPARATE EVENTS and just haven't gotten around to it ... Imagine that !!!! hee hee

I will start w/ the concert ... Suzanne and I thought it would be fun to take our Middle girls (MillerAnne, Annabelle, Emily and Maggie) to the JB concert to celebrate all their birthdays and make some big girl memories ... They all love his music and think he is dreamy ... GAG ME W/ A SPOON !!!  ... but I do remember having a certain crush on Kirk Cameron back in the day, so we thought what the HEY let's do it  !!!  When I tell you the noise level at this concert was something I have never heard in my life ... I was slightly hearing impaired the rest of the evening ... I tell you when JB walked out on stage and said that NASHVILLE SURE HAS SOME PRETTY GIRLS  - the place erupted, walls shook, and glass broke!  I will say he is a very talented young man -dancing, singing, playing the guitar, piano, and drums ... He put on a great show ... It was worth those precious, surprised look on the girls faces when he come out (except Maggie cause she was asleep for the first half of the concert ... lol )









Now on to my kind of night ... Our family, the Mayernick's, and the Alexander family (in from TX) went to an HIV exhibit at a local church ... It was an interactive exhibit where you walked in the foot steps of a child facing the issue HIV in Africa ... You heard their story on head sets and waited in a clinic to see if YOU were HIV positive ... So much of the staging was familiar from my trip to Africa.  It was very interesting to hear Scott's take on it since he hasn't been ... He was moved and saddened by the life so many helpless children live ... For me the whole evening was about JOSIE LOVE ... I would be one of those people sitting in the dark not knowing what was going on around the world to so many if JOSIE LOVE had not entered our life ... The most beautiful butterfly ever ... I have watched her go from limp, sick, rag doll to walking, talking, smiling angel right before my very eyes ... One of the greatest gifts for me is watching my children love on her and gravitate to her when they walk in a room ... Plus she calls me GiGi and that makes me feel super special  ... YOU CAN'T HELP BUT NOTICE THAT BIG OLE SMILE AND BOOTY !!!!  When I left the exhibit that night there was a prayer wall and I wrote "THANK YOU LORD FOR BRINGING JOSIE LOVE TO US."

Oh how I wish I had the nerve to pray for more people to come in my life like JOSIE LOVE ... To watch Jesus bring the sick, cripple, mentally challenged, the hungry, homeless, and hopeless to my door and watch them BLESS US ALL AND GROW WINGS JUST LIKE A BUTTERFLY !!!!

so thankful for a night of HIV and JUSTIN BIEBER ... two different nights, yet both a blessing in their own way !!!

Many of you have seen me with the Oatsvall family and have wondered who I am. "Is she the oldest? Is she Scott's sister? Gwen's sister? Cousin? Adopted?" Well to answer those questions, I am all of the above through Jesus. We are not technically family by worldly standards, but by God's. I enjoy every minute of my time with this amazing family and have so for over 8 years now. I have had the privilege to walk with them through all four of their adoptions and each one has been so different.

I think one of the most joyous parts of the adoption experience is that it has allowed me to truly SEE so many more of God's people as REAL living, breathing, struggling, faith filled - people  !!!  A starving child in Uganda is REAL, the lonely widow down the street is REAL, the family living in a dump in Ethiopia is REAL,  and the orphaned child being loved on by their grandparents at your local school is REAL ...

It is odd how the heart can be so torn emotionally for these situations and yet there is a sense of peace and hope from the LORD ... I know now more than ever that HE is present w/ all of HIS children ... I know HE is calling us all to get involved w/ HIS people because they are OUR people too ... BROTHERS AND SISTERS ... We are a spiritual family here !!! and a FOREVER FAMILY ONE DAY IN HEAVEN ...

That word FOREVER FAMILY is powerful ... Do you picture Heaven ??? I imagine the beautiful diversity of colors and life experiences ... I know that Jeremiah and I got way more out of serving the sweet children of Amazima than they did when we were in Uganda ... We saw light, hope, and the simplicity of how life and love can really be ...

I pray each day that I can SEE God's people ... MY PEOPLE ... remember there is no Here or There, but only HERE AND THERE !!!

Though one may be overpowered,
       two can defend themselves.
       A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. Ecclesiastes 4:12

A visit from the entire Alexander Family this past weekend was a blessing !!! How do you describe a moment when you just know that you are with people who get every part of you and your life  ... You feel strength just by being together and it is like you can take a long deep breathe of relief.   Suzanne, Emily, and myself have dreamed of the day when all 19 of our children and our husbands could meet.  The three of us are in constant giggle and crying mode through calls, fb, texts, and blogs.   Almost 3 years ago a local friend told us about her best bud in TX " Emily" and the rest is history ... We sat on Suzanne's bed and meet for the first time 3 years ago November as I was leaving to go bring home sweet Maggie ... We prayed and the 3 fold strand that Christ talks about in Ecclesiastes began ... 


We packed so much laughing and solving the worlds orphan crisis into 3 days ... It is like our brains and mouths were in sync ... We were finishing each others sentences and trying to keep track of 19 kids ...  It took the kids about 10 minutes before they were playing games, talking, and goofing off together ...  I think for all of us here in TN meeting sweet ABE (finally) was a little slice of heaven ... Abe is an angel w/ CP ... I will never forget the phone call from Emily after they were home a couple of months and realized Abe was not progressing.  You see they didn't check the special needs box on the application and after bringing home their 5 month old angel they realized he had severe CP.  Nothing new to the Lord !!! We cried together, we prayed together, and we stood in the gap for our sister.  There is not a day that goes by where I don't pray for Emily.  She has taught me more about being a mother and a follower of Christ than any other person.  The journey her family is on is HARD, but the joy and blessings coming are so bright you almost have to look away ... Abe is like a fountain in a dry and thirsty world ... He is an angel here on earth for sure... His smile speaks volumes and the way his brothers and sisters attend to him and love him would teach us OLD folks a thing or two about how Christ wants us to love each other ... Hill, Wick, Avery, Izzy, Eyasu, and Abe are one super cool family and our kids are already planning a road trip to TX next summer !!!  There is nothing that turns a mother's heart into mush more than seeing her children loving other children, especially ones others might ignore.  Our big kids are surely leading the way !!! I pray one day when they are older they will have forged the same kind of friendship together ... I mean who doesn't need someone to call and vent to about some idiot on TV scaring people away from adoption ...  or someone to call when they find out their child has HIV and you can't even understand their words through the tears  ...or someone to tell you that she is going to be okay and that it is not therapy she needs but just you  ... or someone to listen when you repeat that the doctor has just told you that 60 percent of your child's brain is not working .... the list and stories are endless ... This 3 cord strand is NOT EASILY BROKEN !!!


I really could go on and on about how the weekend was perfect and the beauty of what makes it perfect is we are 3 families living in an imperfect world w/ a perfect savior calling us out on the limb and asking us to walk by faith ... I can't tell you how comforting it is to know we are not walking alone ... We are walking and living out days that include HIV, CP, Attachment Issues, Abuse, Abandonment, Hearing Impaired, Develop Mental Delays and so much more.  The gift is that God gave our 3 families a link together so that we would not feel alone, but feel HIS strength through each other ... It never fails when one of us is having a bad day the other will call or txt something that brings laughter through the tears ... We are GLASS HALF FULL GIRLS ... God is filling our cup daily and we don't mind it if we happened to be sharing the same CUP !!!  I hope and pray our cup overflows to you ... 

As I watched this video again, I have to laugh at a couple of things ... Our family picture was taken about a week after Maggie came home and I was completely exhausted, stressed, and sad for all Maggie had experienced in China ... She wasn't sleeping at all and was having tantrums about every hour ... I laugh now because it seemed it would never end ... And today on her birthday, I took her and friend to see Toy Story 3 and she told me like 100xs that "U da best mom dever" and "I luffa you with my whole China heart." ... I tell you it is all worth it !!! And today I needed that as we walk through Joseph / Daisy's adjustments ... I know there is a rainbow at the end filled w/ the SPIRT OF THE LORD !!! I hope you enjoy this video and the look back at my precious girl !!!  SHE TEACHES ME ABOUT SURVIVING AND HOW THE LORD HEALS !!!