Happy 3rd Birthday Frazier!

Dearest Frazier,

What a joy you are to have as a son! Despite the fact that you are a true little boy now, you will always be my baby. You have a zest for life and people that is contagious. And there is no doubt you are a boy through and through with your love for all things that move, dig, can be taken apart, knocked down into a zillion pieces and resemble any sort of weapon (you must have been born with this warrior-like spirit!). 

Yet, you are so tender-hearted and thoughtful under all those swinging swords and warrior faces. This past week you told random people in the store "Merry Christmas!" as they walked by. You are not one to hold back hugs and kisses from anyone. You ask people how they are doing without being prompted, you check on your sister when she's crying, you just care for people!

You still sleep with a paci and night-night, which we haven't even attempted to take away because I didn't want to do that and potty train at the same time. Well, potty training is taking much longer than I thought, so looks like you're the lucky one and will have that paci for a while longer. Seriously though, you don't care if you have "stuff" in your pants and will continue to play til I make you stop. Ugh. You'll get it eventually!

You are a good eater with spaghetti being a favorite and pizza being much lower on the list. You eat raw veggies, fruit and would like to start every meal with yogurt! I am so thankful for your openness!

You were meant to live on a farm - you join Daddy on the tractor any chance you can, you often help carry firewood, you are an expert in mud puddle jumping and sandbox creations, and you would live outside if allowed. You also try to wear your batman rain boots anywhere we go! 

You look up to your Daddy so much, and I am blessed that he is such an amazing role model. We love you, son, and we love your heart. God has great big plans for you, and we can't wait to see them unfold.

Momma and Daddy

Blessings for Leila - Two Surprise Showers

Surprise! Boy, did God bless me with great friends. Two weeks ago, Geoff and I were headed to take the kids to Aunt Lem's house (Emily) so that we could go on a day date to the VCU vs. UVA basketball game we were invited to attend with some other friends. While driving into the driveway I started to see cars - my mom's, my mother-in-law's, April's...What was going on?! It's not my birthday nor my anniversary. What are we celebrating?! 

Well, you can see they blessed my socks off from the pictures below. Many tears were cried (not just by me, though I contributed quite a few), and I experienced a taste of that unconditional lavish love Christ has for us. What a picture of love for our family and this sweet girl who doesn't even know how many people have been praying for her and love her already. My dear friend, Brandi, who is such a cheerleader and encourager for me orchestrated a wonderful event with the help of some other friends and family. It was a sweet picture of friends from years ago and friends I've only known a little while, church friends, college friends, girls dinner friends, family and all those in between. Leila - you have so many people that love you, and you now have so many beautiful clothes, girly things like dolls and nail polish and stuff for your hair that this momma is going to learn how to use!

I think my favorite part was just remembering how we are all connected as each person shared how we met and a memory or fun thing about our relationship. I loved it! And I now have a scrapbook with pages made by each person that is ready for pictures of Leila's arrival, her first Easter, her dedication, her first trip to the zoo, first trip to Starbucks and Busch Gardens, etc. It's beautiful! God is so good to us, and isn't it His way to bless us when we least expect it or deserve it. Wow.

AND THEN, to top it all off...my amazing women's ministry team that I have served with for the last 6+ years treated me with another shower that was so sweet. I walked in to a beautiful bike and helmet just for Leila, which of course led to more tears. And a beautiful cake with our family tree, and then they blessed me with beautiful blessings and words of prayer they had written for our family. Pass the tissues, please! These women have championed me and my faith and family, and I know I wouldn't be who I am without them.

It was such a blessed weekend. "I thank my God every time I remember you." (Phil. 1:3)

Good News!

We received notice today that our lawyer received the legal documents we've been waiting for that states we are Leila's legal parents in Niger! Thank you Lord, and thank you prayer warriors. Y'all are amazing! This sweet daughter of ours is getting closer to coming home. Joy joy joy!

Next steps:

Wait for these documents to be translated into English and file I-600 with the US government and wait for the go ahead to go get her!

Our Niger friends are also working simultaneously to establish their official Nigerien nationality. 

What an amazing Christmas gift!

Pictures to come from my 2 surprise adoption showers. Wow, we are blessed.

Leila Pictures

What a blessing for Geoff to be able to see Leila again (he hadn't seen her since last February - the trip we felt God telling us to adopt her) and for my dad and Geoff's brother, Kameron, to meet her. All reported back that she continues to be incredibly sweet and generous - trying to give things we gave her to other people. She also wouldn't eat all her food so that she could save it for later - after many years of not knowing when they would be fed this is understandable, but hard to accept from a momma perspective. 

Geoff was able to sit in on her school (they have a teacher come to the orphanage), and he said she was incredibly studious, focused and content singing while she worked. I love it! He was happy to spoil her with pizza, ice cream (which she saved to take back to the orphanage so her friends could taste it - it had melted, but no one seemed to mind) and soda. 

Geoff returned home with a lot of paperwork for us and our friends that are adopting. We are waiting on verification that we are her legal Nigerien parents (woohoo!), and then we can file the I-600 form with the US Citizenship and Immigration Services. They are the ones that will approve us to go get her. Come on, we are close!

In the meantime, we are setting her up with English lessons in Niger. This will be awesome for her to have a base before she even gets here, and the fact that she's eager to learn is a true blessing. 

Please keep praying for this process and for her emotions and questions, as I can't imagine what she must be thinking. She asked Geoff when Momma was coming, and he had to explain that I wasn't coming this trip and that he would have to leave, but we would both be back to pick her up as soon as we could. Tears.

2014 LINK™ LiveTen24 Men's Service Mission Final Update | Departs Niger

THURSDAY

So, our last day here has arrived and what we've heard from most is, "I wish we weren't going home today". It's not that we don't want to go home, but it's hard sometimes to leave one great situation for another! It was a busy day, significantly so, as compressed into it have been debriefings, future plans, hopes, and commitments of a sort. Russ noted that a review shows that 8 out of 10 people coming home from a mission trip such as ours simply go back to their 'old ways' instead of following this transformative experience with a true change of heart and a change of life/lives. We've been reminded by TJ that the morning debrief Russ chaired was really significant for all of us, bringing up much that was close-to-the-heart. Some of it painful, but all of it born of a trust-to-speak that has grown up between us as we have shared so many experiences over these days, grown close and expressed many of our struggles, our losses, as well as our hopes and faith growing stronger from all of it.

Afterwards, we had a good meeting and discussion on servanthood between ourselves and the men who staff the LOC. This included testimonies of service to our communities and to our families, prayers for one another, and fellowship with many shared pictures within this broader group that now will span between continents.
 

Then there was the packing and cleanup which included leaving clothes, funds, and health care items for the LINK™ Niger staff and the LOC. The Lightys also prepared to leave tonight with Emma who is now officially their daughter. Emma is full of fun though we all wonder how she will take the cold weather when we get off the plane at Dulles tomorrow afternoon. A missionary family, The Johannsons, joined us for our last dinner tonight. They have been serving over here full time for some 4 years now. No doubt about it, just as we have grown to do, they love the people of Niger.

It has been a day of reflection, a bittersweet one at that. However, many of us plan on returning to Niger to continue carrying out our mission to minister to the people of this impoverished, but beautiful nation. God has been with us this whole time, and as believers, we know He will continue to be with us during our travels and when we return home. Lives have been changed, hearts have been softened, and great memories have been made. However, our mission is not complete. We have work to do when we get home and we're excited about continuing God's work within our own homes and communities. We will miss the great people of Niger, but will strongly remember their faith, their smiles, and the fun times we had here.

For our friends and families, we cannot wait to reunite with you. Please pray for safe travels and for Niger. God bless this nation.

**According to Air France, the team's flight has departed from Niamey.  If you wish to track their flight, you may do so at Air France's website; Niamey to Paris (AF547) Paris to Dulles (AF054). For your convenience, you may wish to consider using Flight Track (this free smart phone app is available by clicking here).