An incredible mothers day gift! We have a daughter!!

As many of you know we have been working through the process to adopt a baby girl from China. We had not planned to even start the adoption process until this fall ~ however, God made himself very clear in asking us to start the process a full year earlier ~ a true lesson in God's timing vs our timing:)
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Monday afternoon, May 4th, I was having lunch with a very dear friend and colleague, Toni. During lunch my cell phone rang and I didn't recognize the number. I answered the phone and it was our adoption agency ~ they had a little girl that was 21 months old and asked if we would like to review her file ~ I said of course! Toni had a feeling when it rang it just may be the adoption agency ~ she was right!! In the matter of 4 hours I had read and downloaded her file, poured over the medical reports as did all of my nursing friends, met up with Curtis so we could look at her picture together on the blackberry then ran the medical info to the pediatricians office for him to review. As she was on the shared list we had a brief window of time to make a decision. The pediatrician called and said he felt good about her medically ~ she's small, but healthy:)

Tuesday, May 5th, on Jordan's 16th birthday, we accepted the referral of Gabriella Grace Wright!!! WE have a DAUGHTER!!! We mailed in our letter of intent (LOI) and are awaiting the response from China. We are not allowed to post any information or a picture until we receive our pre-approval ~ however when we can, you all will be able to see the most beautiful little girl in China:)

Jordan had opened gifts before going out for dinner on Tuesday. We told him we had one more gift for him to open and we would allow him to open it at dinner ~ however, it was something he had to share with his brothers and the rest of the family. He opened the picture frame you see above with his new sister looking right at him ~ tears filled his eyes and the boys were beyond excited!!!

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This is the first year that I can recall my birthday and mothers day falling on the same day. I can't imagine a more perfect gift than the gift of a daughter ~ God is soooooo good!! We will remove the piece of paper that is covering her sweet little face as soon our agency allows us to ~ we can't wait to show you the perfect daughter/sister God has chosen for our family!

Jordan turns 16 years old today!

Sixteen years ago today, at exactly 8:00 am Jordan Tyler came into our world:) Little did we know as he was born to the opening music to ESP* Sports Center that he would be our little basketball player. I distinctly remember Curtis sitting next to the bed while we were in labor saying we should name him Jordan Michael... Though this little guy was born with some challenges and was very ill as a toddler, and the doctors told us all the things he would never be able to do, he has surpassed everyones expectations in all of his accomplishments and we couldn't be more proud!

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When Jordan was 4 and playing t-ball he ran off the field and straight over to us. He said "Mom, Dad I know why God let me be a little bit blind in one eye. When I'm playing second base I can watch the guy batting with my good eye and I can see if the guy is trying to steal first with my other eye" (he has peripheral vision and can only see around the outer edges of in one eye). We knew at that moment in time, at the age of four, he was seeing the glass half full and he was going to do awesome!! We are extremely proud of his personal relationship and love for Christ, his determination to make the best of any given situation even when met with adversity and his desire to follow God and allow Him to direct his path in life that makes him such a wonderful young man. We love you Jordan ~ happy 16th birthday:)