Four Years!!!

I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High~
Psalm9:1,2

On December 2nd, we celebrated the 4th anniversary of Mercy and Odesco's homecoming. It is good to slow down and recount all the amazing work of His hands. At times, I can forget how far He has brought us as I am caught up in the issues of the moment. Adoption has stretched us all...in ways we expected and in many ways we did not expect. What a comfort to know that it is all for our good and ultimately His glory. It has not been an easy path, but it has been a path marked by the mercy and goodness of God in the midst of it all. The pictures tell the story best :)

THEN:

This is the first picture we received of Odesco back in the early spring of 2006! I'll never forget how we all were glued to the computer as updates came in:)

Another orphanage picture. Don't his eyes look like they are smiling? This picture makes me laugh because it looks like the nannies dressed him in girl clothes on this day!

One of the first pictures we received of Mercy~With her beautiful smile that lights up a room!

Here she is with a 'red palm oil face'...not in the mood for the camera on this day!

This is the first picture we received of the 2 of them together...looks like Odesco is not too happy to have his arm posed around Mercy :)...I am so grateful that the orphanage sent us all of these pictures as these are now a part of Mercy and Odesco's story...a story of God's faithfulness to bring us together.

Our first picture of our 'smiling eyed boy' with smiling lips!! I'll never forget how we studied this picture and were just overjoyed to finally see him smile. I also remember wistfully looking at Mercy's missing tooth and thinking how much time was passing as we waited and waited for passports and visas...

This picture was taken right before Jenkins, Odesco, Mercy, and "Auntie" Melodie left for the airport to come to America. Felicia was a foster child with Melodie's parents and she would be escorted to the States a few weeks later after all of her paperwork was processed. Their eyes look so sad and frightened in this picture...this is the way I remember them looking when they arrived at JFK...just overwhelmed trying to process it all~

Here they are in the airport during their layover in Brussels. Melodie was quite the trooper traveling over 30 hours with 3 kiddos all alone and taking pictures for us !

This picture amazes me...look how big his pants and sneakers were...within months after coming home, he had grown into them! Mercy and Odesco walked so awkwardly upon their homecoming since they had never worn shoes before! They were typically barefoot in Liberia and ocassionally given the chance to wear 'slippers' (flip flops) if a pair was available~

Mercy still talks about all the food on the flight home...she remembers the boys sleeping while she ate and ate! No wonder she is smiling!!

Our boy with the smiling eyes on his trip home:)

...AND NOW~4 YEARS LATER....

I still can't believe how much Odesco has grown!

And Mercy is becoming a young lady right before our eyes!!!

Together these 2 are quite the pair! The other day they dressed up in each other's clothes and tried to trick me into thinking they were the other person. It was still dark and early so they thought they had a chance. Actually, a while ago when they tried this, they actually fooled me!! All morning they were answering to the other sibling's name...they even switched chores! I drew the line at swapping schoolwork!!! It drove the rest of us a bit bonkers after the first few minutes but they kept at it until lunch!

Each year we try to take an evening to celebrate Mercy and Odesco's homecoming.Last year we had a "Christmas picnic" with loads of finger foods and treats I typically never make...they requested this again! Each year on their anniversary they also receive a new Christmas ornament to add to their collection.

Our Liberian nativity...one of my favorite Christmas decorations :)

The gang at our 'Christmas picnic' in the living room...

Every year we also try to watch the homecoming video and the footage from their first weeks home...Mercy doesn't understand why I cry every time I watch it! To hear their thick accents and watch them interact on video is just priceless~ it also reminds me of the faithfulness of God and how far He has brought them and us as a family. Those early days of transition were so intense and challenging. Yet God's grace met us again and again...it is a well that will never run dry. How grateful I am for abundant, sustaining, amazing grace! And how grateful I am that the Lord in His perfect wisdom and love chose these 2 children from the foundations of the earth to become a part of our family. Thanks for sharing our joy!!