Birthdays, baseball, and eggs

We have been busy around here.  With Spring, comes baseball and we now have THREE boys playing at once.  Greg and I were dreading going back to the tball field since we have worked our way up to Majors with Reece.  However, we forgot how much fun it is to watch the game through the eyes of beginners.  Clay and Jimmy were both so excited to wear their new hats, shirts, and cleats.  They both claimed they hit home runs since they made their way around the bases.  And yes, Clay is already asking when he will get his trophy (just like his sister did).  We were thrilled to get to play on the same team of some friends of ours and the boys just love their "Coach Allen".

We are so proud of Reece who was recognized on the Cincinnati Reds field for winning 1st place in a skills competition for all the Reds Summer Camps.  He is loving playing his new position of catcher for his Rangers team and still growing and striking out on the pitcher's mound.

Our daughter, Ruth, has been marking days off on her calendar and was so excited to celebrate her birthday for the very first time.  As I held her basketball cake in front of her and my family sang to her, I became overwhelmed at the magnitude of that moment.  This girl is pretty amazing.  I will write a post on her soon, but for now, just know that.  My family is THE BEST and they made sure that our girl's day was special.

What else can I say but God is so good to us.  Our enemy has been working so hard to tear me down, thus tearing our family down.  Adoption is still hard.  There is so much to deal with and grow into to become attached and to be a family that genuinely loves each other.  There is nothing easy about that.  Someone told me that adoption is a refining process and I agree.  But I remember praying for God to refine me.   I remember praying for him to give me an undivided heart for him and for my children to love him with their whole hearts.  If the challenges of my life brings my heart closer to my God, then I want them.  And the moments of this month that are captured above are proof that God is still rooting for us.  My weak heart has to be reminded of that every now and again.

OH....and the Reece's WHITE CHOCOLATE eggs are from my sister who, although she can't always be here with us, somehow knows just how to make me smile.