She's Arrived

As almost everyone knows, Lillian Grace is home. After 13 months from the time we began filling out paperwork, the Lord brought us the child He had for us all along. As I have told many people, though the wait seemed like forever, I would have waited even longer just to have this baby, Lilly Grace. From the moment I laid eyes in her, she was mine, securely planted in my heart. The moment I saw her was like the moment Madeline and Ry were placed on my belly after delivering--I experienced the same rush of emotions.

In the late afternoon on Tuesday, I got a call from the director of the adoption agency. We had been chosen, BUT the paternal grandmother really wanted the birthparents to keep the baby, and insisted that the birthparents at least meet us. The director asked us if we would be available to meet them the next afternoon. And she told me not to tell anyone about this. I immediately called Matt, who was in Charleston, and told him that he needed to be home by 4pm the next day, which he was excited to do. When we arrived at the agency on Wednesday, we were early, so we drove to a parking lot and prayed over our time with the birth parents.

Squirrel Fun

For Easter, we were thrilled to join the Sullens at the Battle House on UNC's campus.  They direct the Baptist Student Ministries there, and we were excited to enjoy Easter lunch with them and some college students.  The adults were still at the table when Madeline came running in, shouting that Ryan had caught a squirrel.  Of course I did not believe her at first, but she was insistent.  I decided that I must go and see.  About a month ago, I told Ryan that if he could catch a squirrel, he could keep it.  That's a safe thing to say as a parent, right?  I mean, who can catch a squirrel. . . . . . . .well. . .our son managed to catch a squirrel.  I could not believe my eyes when I walked outside and saw Ryan holding a baby squirrel.  Of course we told him to put it down and let it be, but this little squirrel did not want to be let be.  Upon placing it on the ground, it scurried up a tree, only to come down and play on the top of Madeline's shoes.  After a period of time, Madeline picked it up and laid it in her lap.  The little guy was very content to be in her lap.  After about 30 minutes, it was hot, so Madeline decided to relocate to the front porch.  She placed the squirrel in the tree and began to walk to the front porch.  What did the squirrel do, you ask?  It followed Madeline all the way to the porch, waiting for her to pick it up.  So. . .we brought it up to the porch and just held it and pet it.  At one point, it crawled underneath Matt's shirt to find a cozy place to nest.  Of course there was no way we were taking the squirrel home.  As we were packing the car, Matt and Madeline placed the squirrel in the tree and walked away.  Again, the squirrel scurried down the tree and bounded after Madeline.  Again, we tried to place the squirrel in the tree, and again it bounded after Madeline.  So, then we took it home with us.  It fell asleep in a box on my lap, and it was at that moment that I fell in love with it.  On the way home we stopped at PetCo for food, and then stopped at our vet's/friend's house.  She informed us, that domesticating a squirrel was a very bad idea, and that we needed to contact a wildlife rehabilitator.  As soon as we got home, we contacted the rehabilitator, and scheduled a pick up.  We soon found out that the squirrel was 6 weeks old, and that its mom had probably died, and it had ventured out of the nest to find food and water.  It likely had other siblings.  So now, this adorable squirrel is going to be raised with another squirrel family for the next 6 weeks and then released into the wild.  Of course, that night, Madeline sobbed.  To help her through her grief, we have a stuffed squirrel arriving from Amazon tomorrow. . .so funny what you will do for your children!

Madeline and Ryan were SO gentle with the squirrel.  They both have great tenderness for animals.  It's really special to watch.

There she is, eating Kix cereal (the food at PetCo ended up being a waste of money. . .she just liked cereal).

We were actually able to hand feed it!

Confession. . .Matt and I were heartbroken to watch the dear squirrel go!  It was really a special and bonding time with our family.

Madeline's Baptism

My handsome little man.  He was so excited for his big sister.  He kept a look-out for her.  Their bond is so sweet, and so special.  My prayer for them is that they will be best friends, and like iron sharpening iron.

The joy of all joys was marked on Saturday, April 23rd, 2011.  Our baby girl was baptized.  For over a year she has expressed an interest in being baptized.  She knows Jesus as her Lord and Savior.  She knows He bore all of her sins on the cross, that He died, and was raised again 3 days later, that she may live for eternity in Heaven with Him.  We pray for her that the Lord will blanket her with His Holy Spirit, that He will grow her in maturity, that He will give her a love for His Word, a heart for prayer, and a desire to go out and make disciples of all nations.  Praise God for this life, given over to Him.  As a Christ-following parent, there is no greater joy than when your child accepts Jesus as their Lord and Savior.  

Ryan and his friend Braden (if you can recognize Braden from the back).

What a joy these two college girls are.  Just recently we have been meeting together on a regular basis.  They blessed us by coming to Madeline's baptism and giving her a very thoughtful gift.  You can probably tell from the picture that these are two very special young women.  Marissa, in purple, is going to be our houseguest this summer, and we are SO excited.

Had to include this picture and the one below.  What an AWESOME reaction this young man had to being baptized!!!

Oh my goodness, look at the expression on her face.  You can tell that she is scared, excited, and nervous, all in one.

Jeremy, the Summit's Kids' Pastor, baptized Madeline.

Good job holding your nose, sweet thing.  Of course, you must know, that your Mommy and Daddy are balling right now.  What a joy to witness.

This is Madeline with her AWESOME Elementary Church Teacher, Mr. Tyler.  He specifically made sure he was there to watch.  What a blessing he is!

Dying Eggs

Every since I can remember, I have been dying eggs to celebrate Easter.  I now love that Madeline and Ryan also look forward to this tradition.  Thankfully, after years of making eggs with lots of cracks, I finally seem to have gotten the hang of boiling them.  Of course, Ryan's favorite dye color was Carolina Blue.  Madeline enjoyed putting an egg in each color, and then elaborately decorating them with stickers and crayons.  As you can imagine, we have been eating lots of eggs since Friday!  

I love how focused she is when working on a craft project!

Looks like Daddy's giving instructions.  Over and over, we had to remind them to place the eggs gently in the containers, and not plot them down, inches from the bottom of the container.

A few of Madeline's beautiful creations!

A Day at Marbles with the Webbs'

Madeline and Madeline tend to a boxer at the "vet".

Good gracious, this boy is cute.  Love that smile.  Here he is taking care of a little pooch.  He is SUCH a joy!!!  So fun.

I'm not about to ask Madeline what procedure she's conducting with gloves that long, but it looks like it will be pretty intense.  Last Thursday was a rainy day, and thus, a wonderful day for a trip to Marbles.  We were there from 10-3, and had an awesome time.  I'm so grateful for our homeschool community.

UNC Football Day

A few Saturdays ago, Daddy to Ry to a special UNC Football Day.  He had an awesome time playing games and meeting the players.  My little 'heel.

Can you tell someone's having fun?!  Do you notice the color of his sweatpants, the logo on his sweatshirt, and his cap?  Decked out for UNC.

Flag Football

Little did Matt know that when he told i9 sports he could help out with Ry's flag football team, he would become the head coach.  This was especially disconcerting given the fact that I filled in for him as assistant coach for the 1st practice, where I unexpectedly discovered that assistant coach had unknowingly been promoted to head coach.  In a group of about 50 to 70 parents and children, the head of i9 sports called head coach Wells' as the first coach to be presented with a roster and call their team together.  You can imagine my disbelief and horror. . .I know NOTHING about flag football!!!!  I tried to quickly explain my dilemma to the gentleman running the program, but he did not care, so long as the team had a coach.  If I had enough gusto, I would have stood there, refusing to budge until being presented with a head coach to lead me, but what could I do. . .7 sweet faces were staring up at Coach Wells', ready for their first flag football practice.  Praise God that after voting on a team name, and running around cones, the Lord sent a wonderful father to assist me and ultimately take over the practice.

Anyway, enough of my ranting.  Matt has done such an awesome job coaching.  Though they are only the Pee Wee players, he puts so much time and effort into planning practices and running them.  He wrote the below article after the practice and game on Sunday.  I am so proud of my wonderful husband!

Panthers win again!!

By: Matt Wells
Copyright: i9 Sports - South Durham and South Orange Counties
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
It was a beautiful football Sunday in Durham, NC. The Panthers displayed a high-powered offense in scoring 34 points. Ryan Wells led the team with three touchdowns and a two point conversion. Ryan had an amazing run for a touchdown called back after he grabbed his belt. Isaiah Boston and Blake Fearrington also had amazing runs for touchdowns. Isaiah also scored on an extra point conversion. Both Blake and Isaiah showed great bursts of speed as they outran the defenders to gain their touchdowns. Blake also had a pass attempt, displaying a great arm and accuracy. Tyler Jones continued to display his interior line skills and team-first attitude. He had two run attempts, and had a great attitude. Miles Harris played well on defense and offense. He had one run attempt, and showed the crowd that when he touches the ball, he has the ability to take it all the way for a touchdown.
After going back and forth all game long, the game came down to a great defensive play by Isaiah. Isaiah ran down the QB in the end zone to give the Panthers two points and the ball. The Panthers then converted that turnover into a touchdown, to win the game!
At the conclusion of the game, Miles was presented the sportsmanship award for "Communication." As the coaches discussed, Communication is key to playing as a team. It includes listening to coaches and encouraging teammates. Great job Miles.