Our little 3 year old princess!

Well, Christmas is in the air, which also means that our little girl is having a birthday! Kilee is officially 3 years old. So now it's time to say the line that every parent says about their children, "they grow up so fast." Always thought it was a trite cliche until God blessed us with our children and then it became so real.
Kilee is such a blessing in our lives and it is such a joy to watch her learn, laugh and grow. Everyday, she blossoms more and more into a little lady! As we watched her open her birthday present yesterday, it was so neat to see her eyes light up when she saw the dollhouse. Then, she told us, "Thank you! This is so sweet of you!" in genuine appreciation. She makes us giggle constantly with her antics, whether it's batting her eyelashes as she dances and curtsys to her own "princess song", or being a total tomboy and practicing calling in turkeys so she can go hunting with daddy! We just love her so much and we remember what a painful, yet joyful road we travelled in having her. After the ups and downs of a high-risk pregnancy and then 48+ hours of labor, to see her sweet face was miraculous! The greatest joy for us as parents, we pray, will come when she accepts Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior. Lord, please draw her to Yourself.
"Kilee Anne" means "Beautiful Gift of God." Here are some pictures of her that reflect just how special she is!

Dancing and singing on her birthday

At the pumpkin patch

What a character!

The Little Homemaker

And to contrast the previous picture . . .The Little Hunter

Our little Honeybee!

Wow, 3 months already . . .

Is it really possible that our little boy is 3 months old? I have a hard time believing it myself. We have had such a sweet past three months, full of faith challenges, emotional ups and downs and sleeplessness, but also precious moments as a family of four! The one constant through it all has been the steadfast love of God through our relationship with Jesus Christ each day. Josiah is officially through his final court date and is finally legally home forever!

Adoption is such a picture of the gospel, you all. Just as Josiah wasn't a part of our family when he was first born in this world, he was chosen to be ours, not because of anything He did, but because our love was set on him, even when he didn't know it. Now he is welcomed into our family, not as an "extra" or an "adopted child", but as a son. He is a full sharer of our inheritance. He receives a new name, our name as his own. Do you see it? Here's the analogy . . . we were once not in the family of God. We were separated from God because of our sin. All of us! The Bible tells us that no one is righteous, not one. (Romans 3:10) But God, being so rich in mercy, set His love on us -- we didn't do ANYTHING to deserve it. There is no amount of righteous acts that we could do to cancel out our sin. He CHOSE us! And if we accept his free gift of forgiveness through salvation in Jesus Christ, He welcomes us into His family. Not as an "extra" or "lesser" child, but a co-heir along with his Son, Jesus Christ! He gives us a new name and calls us His child. We are HIS! What an amazing picture of the gospel of Jesus Christ to all of us. If you have a relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ, you are adopted! How great is the mercy of God.

"For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory." Romans 8:15-17
"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit." Romans 8:1-4

Here are some more pictures of our past 3 months with our new son!

Wearing his Thanksgiving shirt

Sitting up in the Bumbo already!

A big grin before church!