I spent most of the day today working on paperwork for little Miss Ruby Grace. Many of you have asked how she is doing? We heard this morning that she is doing a bit better but was more weak today. Please, please, please keep praying for her!
We have all the paperwork at Immigration in TX with the exception of the home study, which will, Lord willing, be completely done tomorrow. Then it will just need to pass from one agency approval to another approval process and on to Immigration. We are doing everything we can to get her home as quickly as possible.
I’ll be honest. Sometimes it is hard not to stress.
Our little girl’s body so frail.
So I fast.
Fasting provides such peace for me.
I know many of you know what I’m talking about.
*****
And so finally, I have a few minutes, and here is the
next part of the Story Continuing.
{And Shanna, your comment made me laugh big time- haha}
Sooooo….
When Dw and Emmy led the GO Team to Uganda last month, because of all the commitments that the team had to serve, they were unable to go to this little treasure’s orphanage until 11 days into the trip.
It was seriously killin’ me.
The upside was that that allowed me plenty of time to fast and pray.
Dw said I could share this part: With the very fresh memory of the situation with Elliot Dw was very concerned: How would we know for certain that she was, indeed, meant for our family?
We prayed together that God would make it very clear. There had been times in the past when one of us had met a little one that we thought might be for our family, only to have the other meet that same little one and feel nothing at all.
So we trusted that HE alone would make it very, very clear, with no room for ‘guessing’.
Finally the day in Uganda rolled around for the team to go to the orphanage. Dw called me as I was going to bed
and it was already morning there and
they were preparing to leave
soon for the drive to the orphanage
{after he ran down to see how our precious Ruby Grace was}.
On the phone he told me he was soooo nervous:
What if she paid no attention at all to him?
{Dw knew how convinced I was that she was ours!}
Only God would figure it all out,
we trusted Him to make it clear….
crystal clear.
We prayed together again and I told him
to call me as soon as he could.
I stayed up a lot of the night praying
and praying and wondering.
The next day I got up and it took forever for
him to finally call mid-day in Colorado!
ugh
Waiting is so-not-fun!
{Yeah, and I know you all know that first hand too. haha.
Maybe that’s why this TM enjoyed tormenting all of you.
Adoptions mean spending 1/2 your life waiting for something –
a birth mom, an attorney, an agency, a bureaucrat,
a dang piece of paper, a date, a phone call,
a government, an email, a release of something,
or a locking in of a file!}
When my cell finally rang, I was beside myself.
I heard my sweet hubby’s voice and you know how it is….
the second you hear their voice
you know that it either went well or it didn’t.
His voice sounded sing-songy.
eeeeeeeeek.
I felt myself getting giddy…
“Wellllll, how did it go?”
Smart bee-hind that he is,
he said with that familiar twinkle in his voice,
“What do you mean? How did what go?”
I said, “Stop it Whitey, tell me right now!! I have waited and waited for this day! TELL ME RIGHT NOW! Don’t you dare play games with me!”
And here’s the story he shared:
There were 25 in the two vans as they pulled into the driveway of the orphanage. Immediately kids swarmed the vans.
He went to open the door where he was sitting and as he opened the door, before he even put his feet on the ground, a beautiful little girl grasped his hand. He said it was crazy how instantly she had grabbed it.
He leaned toward her and said, “And what is your name?” To which she said her name. THE name. It was her!
He said his eyes grew wide and he immediately started to look around, wondering if someone had put her up to it. haha.
Only our Miracle-working, Mountain-moving, Awe-inspiring, Gasp-giving God could do that.
She had no idea who he was. She had no idea that he was my husband. She had no idea of anything.
{After talking to Dw, I called the director, who actually was in the States taking care of some things. I told her about this little one grabbing Dw’s hand the second the van door opened and then not letting go – at.all. She couldn’t believe, in fact she said, “That’s crazy. She is not the type to run and grab a hand. She is one who tends to hang in the background!” The director was completely dumbfounded as well!!
Sweet innocence completely orchestrated by our loving Father, who had been working the night shift on her behalf – lovingly moving while hearing her prayers and observing her fasting for a family.
And Dw went on to say that she would not let go of his hand.
At. All.
He said if he moved quickly in one direction because of something and their hands dropped, she scrambled to take his hand again.
And yes indeed, she had stolen his heart.
He knew.
Without a doubt.
Her tender spirit shone brightly.
He talked to her a lot.
Dw asked her about her friends.
She told him that many had already found a family
and had gone to live in America.
Can you imagine the rejection?
The heartache?
Joy that your friend has a family, but trying not to think:
“Why not me?”
And yes, they skipped rope together with a crowd watching, [posted a couple of weeks ago]. It is indeed one of my most favorite pictures of all time……
And I posted this picture from my trip in April…
and even her room…
{but not for long!}
We have another beautiful daughter coming home!
Yippee Jesus!
We are tickled pink.
Celebrate with us!!
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Can't wait to hear what y'all have chosen for her name!!
And I can't wait for both of your new princesses to be HOME! 😀
This story just takes my breath away. Congratulations and so excited for you and your family but most of all for her – that she will have a forever home. Praise God for all you are doing on behalf of these treasures. And, continuing to pray for Ruby Grace.
Linny!!!!!!!!!! You have GOT.TO.BE.KIDDING me!!! O my goodness, o my goodness!!!! I am tickled pink as well:) I cannot believe it…wait…O YES I CAN!!!!! God is good, amazing, awesome! All I can say is WHOOOOAAAA:)
O and she is absolutely GORGEOUS:)
So, so excited for you! How old is your precious new daughter?
This just made me giggle with joy!!!
So excited for your daughters to come home. Ruby Grace will have the life saving love and care she needs and what a joy for your older daughter to come into such a large and diverse family!Thanks be to God!!!!
Holly:)
Wow! What an awesome God we serve. Congratulations!!!
Beautiful smile on a beautiful girl
Congratulations!
*Gasp* it's little S! Love her!! I have some pictures of her I'll tag you in on Facebook from our trip in April. She is a special girl. In fact, before we visited RH, a missionary friend of mine who had told us about RH specifically mentioned S. She said she was praying for a family for her. Congratulations!
She's beautiful! Congratulations!! Will you be able to bring both girls home at the same time?
God is sooo good!! What a beautiful girl!!
I'm excited to hear about what new treasure you'll write about NEXT week. Kidding. (kinda!). No, but really, at this rate you're gonna have to expand your blog header to make all of these beautiful faces fit!
Praising the Lord with you!!
~Kylee
So excited and happy for you! She is beautiful!
Blessings,
Julie
O, O, Ooooooo…
Thank You for taking the pressure of having to sneak to the computer off of me!!
Your daughters are all so BEAUTIFUL!! I am praying for Ruby Grace and for your "newest" daughter also.
Praying boldly that you will be the one to soon be holding them both!
Congrats to all of you!!
Way to Go GOD!!
Shanna
PS I am so happy to be able to go to bed tonight and not wonder what you are up to.
PPS I will stop stalking your blog now. I promise to only check it out once per day!
YAYYYY!!!!!!!!! Linny, I am just so ecstatic for you and your family!!!! You have no idea!!! I'm so happy that I got on to check blogs one last time before I went to bed. 🙂
And by the way, you're not off the hook yet, missy. You still haven't told us how old she is or what her name is. Don't think you'd get away that easy, no way! 😉
And her name????
I am tickled pink for you!!
I see such life and light in her eyes!! She is absolutely beautiful and I couldn't be more happy for you all!! Praise you Jesus for setting the lonely in families!!
Rejoicing with you!!
jenn H
Oh How Awesome is Our God!!! My heart is so full of happiness and the tears are flowing. The picture of DW and your little girl had me crying when you first posted it, and now….
Tickled Pink for you all…and I just love your stories!
Praying for your family
We are so stinkin' thrilled! God is so good!
how so beautiful!!! 🙂 🙂
I was thinking about the verse, something about the joy that comes in the morning 🙂
Loved what you shared, and how both you and Dw knew that YHWH's hand is in all this. How awesome! 🙂
Thank you for sharing!!!!! 😀
And will pray for your little Ruby Grace.
p.s.
OHHHH!!!! so that is why you put the picture of skipping rope under the pink flower in your previous post! 🙂 hehehe!
Loved the pic of Dw skipping with her too 🙂
BEAUTIFUL! What AMAZING news! Can not wait to see these girls in your arms forever! 🙂
She is just beautiful !! What a precious sweet face she has. Truly a blessing from the Lord !!!!
Oh Linny! Wow! What an incredible story! Crying tears of JOY!
Yippeeeee!!!!
OMGoodness!! I'm so stinkin' excited for you and your family! She's super adorable!!! And you guys resemble each other so much that you MUST be related (smile!!).
I haven't been online much to read your blog so I had some catching up to do. Never a dull moment in your lives…..and I love it!!
Congratulations! I love you guys!!
OMGoodness!! I'm so stinkin' excited and she's super adorable!! Congratulations!! Can't wait to meet your precious daughter!
Love you guys!
She is gorgeous. You can see the whole world in her eyes. Congratulations.
eeeeekkkkkk…..i've been missing this story unfold. [well, not really, but missing you typing it out here and i LOOOOOOVE it.] all teary right now just thinking about it all. Lord, please bring these treasures HOME quickly.
and, yes, the fasting and the praying for a FAMILY. it's true and they are serious. these children LONG for a family of their own. could it be me? YES! could it be you? YES! YIIIPPPPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!! =)
love you!
Oh Linny, praise the Lord and Hallelujah! We are tickled pink with you!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh my! She is beautiful! God is so good!!!
Awesome news Linny! It brings tears to my eyes to think of another sweet treasure finding a forever family. Enjoy His many blessings!
I am celebrating with you. I am tickled pink!!
Awwww…what a sweet girl, she is. I figured it out last night! I was looking at your past posts and saw this picture again of DW jumping rope with her and I just knew it! I'm so happy for your family. So thankful God made it so very clear to you both…and so easy.
It's her!!! That's who you get to bring home??? Thank you Lord! i was so touched to see your pictures w/her and especially thrilled (and in awe really at the air DW managed to get) to see DW jump roping while holding the hand of this precious girl! Now it all makes sense! This is just amazing, awesome and inspiring…so God to do above and beyond what anyone could have asked for! Praying for all the details to fly together quickly! The Steadfast Love of the Lord is being played out in front of our eyes in the most spectacular way! <3
so awesome, what a lovely child! blessings…
oh Jesus…I am celebrating!
Yay!Yay!Yay! She's beautiful!! Hugs from all!
Congrats! What a precious example of God's love – for you, for her, for the little details, etc. 🙂
Oh Linny,
What a beautiful story and testimony of the goodness of God for all of you…just WAIT until she finds out!
C~
Wow! Congratulations! Also praying for little Miss Ruby Grace.
oh my stars, Linny, your newest Treasure is beautiful! what an amazing amazing work our God is doing in your family. cannot wait to see her in the family picture!!!!
She is so beautiful and has the most precious smile! Congratulations!!!
Linn, she's BREATHTAKINGLY beautiful. Oh my.
What joy BOTH girls will add to your already joyful family!
Yahoo! She is beautiful and I love the story!
We are so excited for her and you guys!
Love Jill
Oh how precious! I can't wait until she makes it home to you!
She is simply breath-taking! What an amazing God we serve. Excited for your family and your 2 new blessings!
As I started reading this the picture of her with DW jumping rope came to mind! So beautiful, so God…SOOO Happy for her and your family!
Oh Linny,
She is positively precious.
I so remember that picture of the two of them skipping rope together – now that's a father and daughter if I've ever seen it!!!
Jumping for JOY with your whole family!!!
oxoxoxo,
Stefanie
This is soooo sweet!!
I have to tell you that I just knew she was the jump roping girl before you posted these pics!! God is so GOOD!! Sheri
Congratulations!!!
Now I "get" your clues…. the flower for the flower in her hair in her picture with you and the jump rope for the picture of her jumping rope with her daddy. Praying the paperwork goes smoothly and you bring your girls home soon.
Praise God for His faithfulness! ONLY GOD!
Isaiah 30:18 "But the Lord still waits for you to come to him so he can show you his love and compassion. For the Lord is a faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for him to help them."
Please continue to pray for our girls Hannah(7) and Sara(13) waiting for us in China.
I’m so happy for you Linny and Dw!!!!! Congratulations!!! And I am praying also for your precious waiting children.
What fantastic news!!! Congratultions. She is absolutely beautiful!!! Indeed….a treasure!
Woo Hoo!!!! So happy for you guys!!
amy
So very, very excited for you! This is incredible and I will be praying that God moves the mountains to bring these 2 precious treasures home right away! Blessings to you and your entire family as you embark on this journey! I am so happy for you!!!
THAT is one beautiful face!! Of course she's yours, she's got that sparkle in her eye! So excited :).
ohhh she is beautiful!!! Congratulations!!!! Praying you can get your girls home quickly!!!
Love Love Love you and your family's heart! Such a sweet girl with a beautiful smile, she'll fit right in with your family!
Congratulations…again:)!
tears of joy. . .please put that picture in your daughter's room!! It needs to be turned into a canvas. . .for her to treasure forever.
God is so so Good!!!!! Prayers she will be in your arms soon!
Love starting my day with a cup of coffee and a stop at your place! I will be "thinking Pink" all day with a smile!
Love and blessings,
Teresa
Oh Linny…that beautiful, radiant smile!…Your precious newest daughter's SPIRIT SHINES!!!
Soooo very happy for your family!
SO VERY HAPPY for HER!!!
(Okay, so how long are you going to keep us in suspense about this sweetheart's name?! Aaaghhh!!!)
Such blessings all around…beauty from ashes…roses among the thorns…
THANK YOU, GOD, FOR ANSWERED PRAYERS!!!
Love and Prayers Unending (((and HUGS, GREAT BIG TX HUGS!))),
Ame
What an amazing God we serve!! Thank you for sharing that beautiful story that could only be orchestrated by our loving God. You have no idea how much you have blessed me. Our family is in the process of completing our first ever homestudy with the intention of adopting a sibling group from the US. This story was a great encouragement to me as I wonder how God will show us our children. I can't wait to see what He does!
Linny,
She is absolutely beautiful!! Praising God with you and praying that your two sweet treasures will be home very soon!
congrats Linny, she is gorgeous!
I KNEW it! I KNEW it was her! Anyone with a brain could see the connection. AGH I'M SO EXCITED!
beautiful, just beautiful! I love how God works for you!
Celebrating, Rejoicing, Praising Him!!
She is beautiful, Linny! Can't wait to hear the special name you select for this treasure.
~Kelly
Linny, Im tickled pink with you!!! Oh, you should know the joy in my heart right now!!! God is soooo good and I know of a particular young someone that prays and prays for these kids to be adopted and her prayers are being answered one at a time in the most beautiful way!!!
Love love love ya…Jenay (Esther's Mom)
oh! Yippee Jesus!!!!
i was hoping that you were writing about this sweet little girl!
We are SO very excited for you all!
God bless the process with no bumps in the road!
Much love,
Alycia and all
congratulations Linny:o) sheesh you let the old guy out of the crawl space for just a little while and he goes crazy with the exercise….LOL
did he have to take a nap right after the jump rope episode???? *snicker*
She looks like a good addition to your family to help keep DW young….
Limmy:
She is absolutely beautiful! So happy for you all. Praying that things go smoothly with the paper work and that they can both get home asap for the love and care they need.
Leveta
Celebrating here and also knowing with you that ALL IS WELL with your Ruby girl! God is ALLtogether good!
Linny,
Im confused or missed something I thought Rudy Grace was the tiny baby that we have been praying for, but your pictures are of a bigger child and the story about the child who grabbed DH hand could not have been a baby but then the picture on the side of your page is of a baby and says ruby grace… I am not sure where or how I got confussed… a little help please.
Janet
congratulations Linny! What a blessing for her and your family! Continued prayers for Ruby Grace!
OH MY GOODNESS! I have chills all over my body!!! I can't believe how this story is playing out! Praying for you and your precious GIRLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh! Congrats!!! And I knew it was her! You can see her spirit even in pictures! Congratulations! Can't wait to hear all about her and see you guys bring her home!
PRAISING GOD WITH YOU ALL!!!!!!!!!
Tears of happiness! Congrats!
I'm so happy I'm crying! I will continue to pray for Ruby Grace, and now for this treasure, as well. God bless your sweet little ones as they wait.
Yay, Jesus!! 🙂
OH MY she is sooooooo beautiful. This is sooooo exciting I simply can't wait I see an addon to your home
tears of joy for you and your family!!!!! May your paperwork be met with favor in every step of the process and BOTH your daughters be home in record time!!!!
Oh this is just the BEST!!! WOW!!!! Praise JESUS!!!!! Congrats to all of you!!!!! AMAZING!!!!!
CONGRATULATIONS!! She is beautiful!
oh tears and tears! I love how God creates such beautiful families. Thanks for sharing your journey to her it is an amazing story. Can't wait to see her in your arms with the rest of the family.
Celebrating here in Nebraska!! You are so very blessed!
Jami
schuleradoption.blogspot.com
Oh MY GRACIOUS!!!! That is SOOOO wonderful! She is absolutely gorgeous!!!!! What a dazzling smile! 🙂
I am so happy for you and for her! She is BEAUTIFUL! Her light just shines! What a lovely story about how God left no doubt that this is your daughter.
~Lovely young lady!~ I am tickled a rainbow of colors for your family over such a gift! How extraordinary! Isn't that such a fun word? Extra…Ordinary…I like extras of a lot of things…but extras of the ordinary kind…well that's just extraordinary!
So excited for you Linny! She is beautiful!!God is just so good all the time.
Love,
Lyn
Celebrating with you!!!!
CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!! 2 BEAUTIFUL girls!!!!!!!!!! WOW!!!!
So happy for the girls and your family!!!!!!!!!
Rejoicing with you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Celebrating with you precious friend. How awesome is our God. I love it!! Hugs and prayers
Oh my Linny…
in tears…
thats your girl!
Brooke Annessa
http://www.TheAnnessaFamily.blogspot.com
Praising God– indeed she is beautiful and the story SO sweet!
Her smile makes me smile from ear to ear!
I am in tears………this is just so fabulous. You're going to have two more beautiful daughters – how incredible is that!?!? Thank you Heavenly Father. My prayers that Ruby Grace will begin gaining strength ASAP – and that the paperwork for both of your precious daughters will move quickly so you can get them where they belong – Home. xoxoxo
Oh, how exciting for you and your family! Praying for both your girls that they will stay well and be home with you soon!
I have chills! She is so beautiful! Congratulations 🙂 I want to be you when I grow up.
I have chills! She is so beautiful! Congratulations 🙂 I want to be you when I grow up.
Oh Linny …two beautiful girls coming home!!!!!
Hugs
Kathie
Rejoicing with you!! Congratulations on both your pink bunles of joy!!
Blessings,
Suzanne
Linny, that's so exciting! I cannot wait to hear the rest of her story!
Both of your new daughters are beautiful, Linny! I pray for their good health and safety as they wait for you to bring them home.
Wow God is Amazing!! Prayers are definitely answered. He is always there when we need him!! I am soooo happy for you guys 🙂 Please keep us posted! Which I know you will 😉
Thrilled for you all and esp. for your new daughter. Blessings.
🙂 🙂 🙂 smiles, smiles, laughter and more smiles and praises for Almighty God who has such a wonderful sense of humor! you definitely inherited that, linny when He created you in His image!!lol! to think she has been praying and fasting for you all! what an amazing little inspiration she is! she looks like she needs a flower name to represent the love blooming from within! i just cant get enough! will keep coming back for more. prayers still rising as sweet incense for dear little Ruby Grace. (around the clock!)much love!
So very happy for you and for these two beautiful little girls. Congratulations!
Congratulations on your new daughters! They are both beautiful and I am very excited for your family! Can't wait to see how God blesses you all through your journey.
Warmly,
Lori
I absolutely cry at almost all your post. You guys are so encouraging to me, I can not even begin to tell you how the Lord has used your blog/life to encourage me to trust the Lord in everything. Thank you for sharing. I became your friend on Facebook and even tho we do not know each other, I consider you a friend. I have shared your link on my blog page growing4hisglory.blogspot.com, I hope that is ok. god bless you all. I am praying for you guys and my love is with you and your whole (growing) family. Blessings
OH Lynn I love her, I am so happy you are bringing her home. She warmed my heart when I met her and look forward to seeing her again….Tears and goose bumps…
Yes! Celebrating with you!!!
Wow. I just read this to my husband and we're both sitting here saying "wow" over and over again. God is good.
Praise God!!! What a story! You and DW are truly inspirational. I love how she grabbed his hand and held fast for their whole visit. I will be praying for this sweet treasure as well as for Ruby Grace. Amazing, amazing! Congratulations!
Beautiful…Just so precious to see her with that beautiful smile!!!
Soon she'll be with her forever God picked family!!
Blessings,
Amy <><
That picture of them jumping just stuck with me but I wasn't sure why. But now I know! Yet another sweet treasure to pray home!! SOOOOO Excited for you all!!
"Your faithfulness stretches to the sky"…. you guys rock! Congrats. I'm so happy for you!
This is just so incredible – God is just incredible. Thanks for sharing your story. We are in the process of our first adoption. I will look forward to reading your blog.
Oh my goodness! I'm so behind on all of this. Congratulations Linny!!! Two girls coming home… wow. Many, many blessings to your entire family!!!
Oh my goodness!!! She is so beautiful! How wonderful to see God's plan unfolding for her precious life!
Hi Linny- I am looking at old posts – trying to figure out why Ruby is having brain surgery and now I come across this great news!! You have another daughter coming home!! Yay God!
I am so so happy for all of you!! Two precious girls are coming home!!
Just catching up and am so thankful and continuously amazed by our most amazing God! He is oh, so faithful!!!
Can't wait to see how His hand moves to bring your girls home and to one day bring our son and daughter home as well…
God's speed…
In Him,
Daleea