Amazing Love

Everyday, I get to experience the blessings of parenting these two special boys.

Everyday, many times a day, I get to look into the eyes of God's amazing love.

Everyday, they remind me how much God loves me and how blessed I am to be one of His.

TWO SPECIAL BOYS,

ONCE LOST.........BUT NOW FOUND,

and everyday, I get to be their mom.

AMAZING!

ONE HUNDRED NINETY SIX

Oh my goodness. I went to get my daily shot of Micah Six Eight and had to steal this from Julia. Would you just look at all these precious little ones. ALL now have forever families and are home. All of these in 2011. All listed with Reece's Rainbow. If you haven't already checked this ministry out, then do yourself a favor and go to it now. So many different ways to help a child and or family who is in the process of adopting one of these treasures. Sign up to be a prayer warrior for one or more of the kids. If its money your worried about, well, its absolutely free. Prayer is so vital in getting these kids home and their families to them. Where would we be without prayer in our lives?? Look at their faces and ask the Lord what He would have you do.

ONE HUNDRED NINETY SIX.

196.

GOD AND ONLY GOD. 

 ORPHANS NO MORE.

PRAISE BE TO GOD.

2011-WHAT A YEAR!

Can you believe it, its almost gone! 2011 that is. Wow, what a year it has been for us. As I say that, I have a smile on my face and my heart is busting at the seams with joy and thankfulness for what the Lord has allowed us to do. We started the new year of 2011 knowing in our hearts and praying that it was God's will, for us to adopt a little boy from Russia. We committed to him on Jan. 9th but didn't get the green light that he was ours until Jan. 14th. And then the race began! We filled out tons of paperwork, chased after this document and that document, and before we knew it, just 2 1/2 months later, we were headed to Vladivostok Russia to meet our little guy. And what an adventure that was!!! I'll never forget waiting to see him for the first time. Waiting to see if I could hear him coming up the stairs, waiting to see if I could hear him saying anything. Just waiting. Waiting for my son to walk through the door so I could touch him to make sure I wasn't dreaming. And then there he was.

He walked right in, with his pretty little pink tights on under his shorts (bless his heart)and stole our hearts immediately. He was much smaller and frailer than we expected, but that didn't matter a bit to us.  And although we didn't see much of a smile or any kind of emotion out of him, we knew it was there. It had just been contained for almost 5 yrs. That makes me sad even now as I type this. Oh how I hated to have to leave him when it came time for us to return home. We promised him we would be back to get him and he would never be alone again. But what we had hoped would be only 1 to 2 months, turned into almost 4 months. And to make matters worse, even though they knew we were coming back to get him, Gabe was transferred to another orphanage for older mentally impaired children. We were absolutely sick about this. But rules must be followed and this is what they said had to be done. This is what happens in Eastern Europe to orphans with special needs when they turn 4 or 5 yrs. old. Actually Gabe had been lucky to have gotten to stay as long as he did in the only orphanage he had ever known. And I do believe that his caregivers there were very sad when they had to say their goodbyes to him.

So for us, and I'm sure for him, the next 4 months seemed almost like 4 yrs. But finally on July 31, we crossed that ocean again, this time to bring our precious little boy home. We had been told that he was not doing as well at the new orphanage. We really didn't know what to expect this time either. We knew he was so little and fragile 4 months earlier so naturally we expected the worse. But you know what, we were pleasantly surprised by his size when we saw him. He had grown some and was much more stable on his feet and more active too. But the smile I longed for still wasn't there. There was just no joy or sureness in his little face the first day we met again. Bless his heart, he was so unsure of everything at first.

After our first visit with him, Rick and I both left that orphanage in tears. Our hearts hurt for the brokenness and confusion we saw in the eyes of our precious new son. Our hearts hurt for the other kiddos who we knew no one was coming for. And just as we had done many times before, we turned to the only one who could make sense out of this. And just like always, God delivered. The next time we went back to see Gabe, he seemed like a different child almost. He was happier and there was a connection with us that wasn't there before. Yep, the Lord did it again:)

After our court date on Aug. 5, we had to wait 10 days before we could take Gabe from the orphanage, but I got to visit him during that time. And then finally.......August 23, 2011, we landed in Dallas, Tx. U. S. A.!!!

Sometimes I still have to pinch myself to make sure its real.

The adjustment Gabe has made in just 4 short months is almost unbelievable. I have said it before, but he is like a little sponge, just soaking up everything he can.  Sometimes I watch him and the tears begin and won't stop. I sit here in awe of what God has allowed us to do. And the tears begin again.

Yes sir. What a year it has been. No longer alone, no longer confused, no longer unloved or unwanted. Will you just look at him now!

You little one, ARE love, sent by God above.

Wow. What.A.Year.

  



4 MONTHS HOME

Wow.....I can't believe it!! Some days it seems like our little guy has always been here. We are still amazed at all he can do and how fast he has picked up our habits. Yes, some good and some bad!!! He is such a blessing to our family. We had our Christmas play at church and he was a camel! Sooooo cute of course.(well, at least i thought he was:) ) He loves to be around the other kids and they love to be around him. We have a really neat little church family that helped us raise some money in the beginning of our adoption and then prayed and prayed us through to the end of the adoption. We are so grateful for all of them.

Of course, Gabe doesn't really understand all the Santa hoopla going on around him but he does love all the lights and he can sing a pretty darn good version of  "Must Be Santa" too, thanks to Cole Lawrence!! (and even does the cards!) We are having so much fun with this little one!  And although he doesn't understand all thats going on around him, we are making sure he DOES understand that we love him beyond measure and our Father in heaven loves him even more than that.

This time last year Gabe was one among many little lost and lonely boys and girls living in orphanages all over eastern Europe. Living in a system and a country where ones with special needs are not accepted or wanted, even by their own families.

This time last year, we began praying that this little one would be ours one day soon. And what a MIGHTY GOD we serve!

This year, this Christmas, we are praising God for answered prayer and for allowing us to be this boys momma and papa :)

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE DECKERS!!

(scroll down to bottom of blog to turn the music off in order to hear the video better)



HERE TO STAY

About this same time last year, I did a post here and told you about 2 little boys who now had a forever family coming for them. My heart had been so heavy for these two little guys and when I found out that they would soon be coming home to families who would love them and accept them just as they were.....well, my heart was just filled to the brim with thankfulness and joy for these kids and their families.  As a matter of fact, one of the little boys we named our Gabe after.  Gavin, now the House's son, was Gavin on Reece's Rainbow and when they decided to make him their son, they changed his name to Gabe.  This is the little fellow who pulled at my heartstrings big time (he and others) and also helped turn Rick around too.  God has the neatest ways of making everything fall together at just the right time. You should go to their blog and see for yourself what a difference a loving family can make for these special kiddos.
We are still amazed at our little man's progress in such a short time. We have been home with him for almost 4 months now. (Dec. 23 will be 4.) And oh the joy he has brought us! He is so happy. I mean, you can just see the joy all over him. When we go to bed at night, he gets to lay down with us and play for a bit. He loves to tickle and be tickled, he loves to sing songs, and he loves to just lay between us and touch our faces. He lays there and will caress my face and then reach and kiss me, and then turn and do the same with his papa. Over and over, he reassures himself........"yes....they are mine.....yes, this is real." 
A couple of days ago, we were moving somethings out of the barn to the storage container and Gabe was right there in the middle of things. At one point, Rick and Kobie went to the storage container and I went in my mom's house and I guess Gabe came into the barn right when everybody else had walked out. Now this boy goes all over our place and never misses a beat, but for some reason this particular time, he just sat down in the barn all by himself, and when Kobie and I walked in, about the same time, he was sitting there with tears just a rolling down his face. He was even snubbing alittle he had cried so hard.  I think he found himself all alone and couldn't see any of us and it flat scared him to death.  The thought of that right now brings tears to my eyes. Can you imagine spending the first 5 yrs. of your life as he did and then having your life change completely in a matter of months, with new family and friends showering love and affection all over you, and then suddenly thinking you've lost it all. Your going back to the lonliness and emptiness you'd known before.  Mama and Papa are gone??? Oh my. Breaks. my. heart.  I pray this precious little one will never, ever, think he is going back or we have or will ever leave him. No sir little man.....you are here to stay!  Needless to say, I think he did maybe sleep with us that night. And not because HE wanted to......... but because his MAMA and PAPA just couldn't let him sleep alone that night.
We continue to praise God for this precious treasure and for allowing us to be his parents. Christmas at the Decker's will indeed be special this year. Merry Christmas little man.......Merry Christmas!

AUTUMN LEAVES

"AND GOD SAW ALL THAT HE HAD MADE, AND BEHOLD, IT WAS VERY GOOD." Genesis 1:31



I JUST LOVE THIS TIME OF YEAR!

THIS IS "THE FOREST" ON OUR PLACE.

THE KIDS LOVE IT.

AND SO DOES THE MOMMA!

THEY WERE MAKING IT "RAIN LEAVES!"

THANKFUL THIS DAY FOR THE SIMPLE BEAUTY OF COUNTRY LIVING.



ADOPTION AWARENESS MONTH

Were you aware that November is Adoption Awareness month?? Oh my, how special this is to me. If it were not for adoption, I would not have 3 of my own 4 precious treasures. God has blessed me with the best of both worlds. For this I am truely grateful. But I must say, the adoptions of Casey, Cole and Gabe were the most God felt experiences in my life. God had the perfect plan for placing these kiddos in my life. Each one of them from 3 different decades (man, that makes me sound old!), three different countries, 3 little lives lovingly placed in my care by the Master plan maker. I just love the way He takes our broken hearts and shattered dreams, all our excuses, our fears and shortcomings, and then turns them into miracles. Wow, how awesome is our God!

Every child deserves a home filled with love and affection. Every child deserves a family who will love them unconditionally and always be there to meet their needs. Every child deserves this....period. There are millions of kiddos all over the world who do not have this. And I believe that we, as christians, have a responsibility to do something. I recently read this, " According to Voice of the Orphan, an outreach of FamilyLife Today, 143 million children worldwide have lost one or both parents, and at least 16.2 million children worldwide have lost both parents. Closer to home, more than 800,000 children pass through America’s foster care system each year. On average, children waiting for adoption have been in foster care for 43.8 months, almost four years. More than one-third of Americans have seriously considered adopting, but no more than 2 percent have followed through."  Only TWO percent.  If others had just an inclinging of the blessings that come from adoption.....well, it would be more than 2 percent. I know some may say there are a million excuses NOT to adopt. But if we ask ourselves.....What would God say to do???.....IT IS QUITE CLEAR. It really is that simple. As humans, we are going to worry about this and that and what ifs and what nots.....but if we just give God our YES......HE takes care of us to see HIS WILL DONE, to the end.  Now that doesn't mean it will all go smoothly, and that there will be no fears or doubts, or tears. But it does mean that when we do the will of God, He gives us EVERYTHING we need to see it through. And on the journey, He teaches us, and He makes himself visible so, so many times. OMGosh, He shows up in the darnest places, at the darnest times!!! And believe me.....you know without doubt....it is Him.  Tears are rolling down my face just thinking about how many times He revealed himself to me during our adoptions. God's heart is for the orphan.
This time last year, my heart was so heavy for these precious kids.  I knew what the Lord was asking me to do. He set things in motion back in Jan. of 2010. Let me tell ya......from Jan. 2010 to Jan. 2011.....it was a looonnnnggg emotional stretch. When God is dealing with you on a day to day basis and you know what it is your suppose to do, but the worldly things don't line up with God's heart and yours and people in your life don't understand.....well, it's just plain hard. BUT, I have come to realize, its all just part of the MASTER'S PLAN.  He used that year to continue my spiritually growth, as well as my husbands. He used that time to stir some hearts of others as well. He(the Lord...just making sure your still with me!) started it with a nudge to help the orphans in Haiti and then Africa, and then revealed, without doubt, the plight of special needs orphans in Eastern Europe. It became quite clear through this time, His time, that this is where I was suppose to be. I had to wait alittle longer than I wanted (while He shook Rick up alittle!lol) but a couple months later, Rick and I, found ourselves on a plane headed across that big ole ocean, to meet our new son for the first time. Into a world of unknowns......but with a GOD WHO KNOWS ALL leading the way. If you could be in our home right now, and see the joy and love this little guy gives......you would be booking a flight to EE too! All God needs is a willing heart to say "YES". He will take that yes, and put you right where you are suppose to be. It will be the journey of a life time and you will wonder why you waited so long to do it.
God is so clear about what to do about the millions of little ones who need families. If adoption is too much to ask of you, then there are other ways to help them or to help another family who is willing to give them a home and family. Please, please go to Reece's Rainbow, and look at their website.  There are many ways to help these kiddos. Look at their precious faces. Read about them and how you can help. Old or young, poor or wealthy, extremely busy or with alot of time on your hands, there is a way to help these kids. Give God your YES, and this time next year......you could be writing this instead of me! May God bless you with a heart that breaks over the things that break His and may you take that heart and run as fast as you can into His loving arms and say, "YES LORD, HERE I AM.....SEND ME." He can, and He will!!