Meet our daughters!!

We are over the moon to have finalized the adoption of our daughters today. They have been the biggest blessing we could imagine in our lives. I am not sure there are words that could describe what it feels like to finally be "done" and a forever family! Even though I've done this all before I am still amazed at the work God can do in our lives. Just one year ago our lives and our daughter's lives were so far apart. We were preparing for Christmas and finishing up our license. It was a bittersweet holiday season. (You can see it in my blog posts from that time). Our girls were in yet another home that made a promise to them they couldn't keep. Our ladies would soon know yet another loss in their short lives. We were set on doing legal risk & straight adopt placements only and we were NOT willing to do emergency, or foster to adopt placements. We wanted one little girl, but decided to consider siblings. I have NO idea what made me say yes when our agency called except I knew deep down God had a plan for us, if we were only willing to listen and trust in him. When they selected another family for the girls that Friday I was so disappointed. I had thought for sure then that they were "ours". I usually take this stuff in stride and don't really get attached to any of the kids we submitted for, this time was just, different. I felt such a loss. I spent the weekend pouting & sulking over it. So when they called back Monday & said that the other family changed their minds after taking the girls home & realizing they weren't able to care for their needs, I just knew we had to bring them home. I don't know if terrified even starts to describe how we felt that first few weeks and months. They had already been through so much, and were hurting so badly.  Here we were, not knowing if we would even get to keep them! I wasn't sure if we were strong enough to make it through the wait, or to provide them with everything they needed to get "better". We knew full well the huge risk we were taking, and that it could possibly end in the greatest heartbreak we had ever known. I can't tell you how many tears I cried worried, terrified and just sick that we may have to say goodbye to our daughters. Not only was I afraid for me & my husband, but also our son and our family that were forced into this with us. They didn't sign up for this or agree to take the risk. They welcomed the girls with open arms and took the chance in loving them also. The saddest points were usually in the car to & from work when I was alone & had time to really think about our situation. But 11 months later, all of our prayers have been answered and our patience and faith rewarded. It wasn't all rainbows & unicorns. It took work, therapy, tears, dozens of workers, at least 5 attorneys, many sleepless nights & thousands of prayers to get us here. This was a giant corn maze & we walked into it blind. We stumbled our way through it and we just crossed the finish line. I hope everyday this is our legacy as people, parents and as a couple. We love them with our whole heart, and I am so proud of what me & my husband were able to weather side by side & hand in hand. He is the best partner I could ever imagine and we wouldn't be here without him. So please meet our daughters. 

        Our oldest who I've been referring to as Sissy is 2, she will be 3 in January, meet Everly Tabor or Ever for short. We picked her first name because its original yet sweet, her middle was to honor someone that was so important in my husbands life. She was a person he could trust, who always saw the good in him, showed him what unconditional love REALLY means, and helped him become the man he is today. She always saw him for who he really was, and not who she wanted him to be. I will forever be grateful for her being in his life. I don't know where he would be without her, though she's gone I see the results of her selfless love in my husband every single day. It was a no-brainer to name our little spitfire in that woman's honor. She is sassy and spunky & full of life. I see so much of myself in her. She has a huge heart but the strongest will I've ever seen in a child.  Everly is as smart as they come, but she has a serious side. She is a fighter and she can overcome anything! I am in humbled by her every single day, for her strength, and love, her fight, what shes been through and overcome, and the person she is becoming. I see her giving us a run for our money! She is the first to snuggle up on the couch, or put her big brother in his place with one hand on her hip!

Our little princess turned 1 in July, and is now 17 months old. Previously known as Dee, is our little Delilah Carson or Lyla. We selected her first name after a little girl that changed my view on adoption. A child who's spirit was so unbreakable and who helped me to realize that our kids aren't lucky to have us. We're the lucky ones to get to walk beside them in their lives and on their journey. Adoption is about them, not us. When people tell us how lucky our kids are to have us, I think of that little girl. It was the name I have had picked for my daughter for years. Daddy picked her middle name because that's what he does and he fell in love with the name! She is the little nugget or peanut as we call her! She left the hospital without a name at all, and had a rough start! She was born 4 weeks early & was under the 10th percentile in size. She has overcome THAT title to become quite the meaty lady! She has met every one of her milestones and is advanced for her age. She is happy, healthy and has the brightest of futures ahead of her. She takes a little bit to warm up to you but, once she does, watch out! She is silly and such a ham. She loves to make people laugh especially her big brother and sister. She will use her charm at any chance to get what she wants. Lyla doesn't have a serious bone in her body, and if you try to be serious with her, she's going to make you laugh! If you scold her she will try to kiss you, and if that doesn't work, she will give you the stink eye just out of spite! She can keep up with the big kids just fine and usually bosses them around too!

 For now we're just enjoying the moment, which will undoubtedly be the happiest in our lives! There were many times we couldn't understand the plan that was laid out for us, but for everything God takes, he replaces it with something BETTER, our daughters couldn't have made that any more clear! This has been such a lesson for us, if you spend your whole life staring at the door that God closed, you will NEVER see the new one he opened. So, we're just looking towards those new doors, and not wasting a second looking back at closed doors or our past. The present has never felt so happy, and the future has never looked better! Enjoy the video below (sorry about the quality, its the best blogger would let me upload. To watch in full resolution visit http://youtu.be/7Y2zPkpIqjY ).