WHAT A DAY!!!

WE GOT IT!!! That one missing document we have been waiting on for weeks......we got it. Thank you Jesus! That alone was enough to make for a good day, but add that along with this special boy, and you've got a GREAT DAY!! Happy Birthday Cole Lawrence!! I can't believe he is 16 years old today. I can't imagine our life without him.

Of course, what he wanted was a new lawn mower, and what he got was.....a new lawn mower!

And would you look at his little "wizard cake"!! His sweet teacher, Mrs. Dutton, had that made for him. It was so cute and soooooo good too! Mrs. Dutton's husband has a "real" wizard lawn mower and Cole is always trying to trade him out of it or get it some how. When he does something that he thinks makes Mrs. Dutton happy, he'll say, "so now may I have Frank's wizard lawn mower?!"  He is a mess for sure.

He has had quite a day. Rick woke him up this morning by jumping on his bed and singing Coles birthday song.(mixin up the batter to the birthday cake) and then the phone began to ring for him. Mendie, Chrissy, Jocelyn, MiMi, and it was ringing when we walked out the door! He said, "Man, everybody sure want to talk to me!" He was so excited to go to school so he could tell everybody it was his birthday.(although i think he had already told everybody about 10 times last week!)  On the way home, I got to thinking and nearly had to pull over because I couldn't see for all the tears pouring out of my eyes. I was just so overcome with thankfulness to the Lord and to so many people who love him and show him such kindness and are just so good to him. It really fills this moms heart with joy when I see and hear the kind things you do for him. I thought about how different this morning and today will be compared to the day he was born.  There was no joy and excitement the day he entered the world. No family and friends waiting to see his sweet little face, no announcements going out to tell the world, "hey i'm here". No cute little nursery filled with cuddley animals and cute little clothes. But most of all, no mom, no dad, no brothers and sisters, no grandparents. Nobody. Just a very sick, little 3lb.boy, abandoned and alone.

That's what I thought for just a minute this morning.

That's when I nearly had to pull over.

BUT.....then this came to me:

Jeremiah 29:11

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future"

God was there. He was there at his birth, and He was with him for the first year of his life while in the orphanage, and He is with him now. The Lord knew all along the plans He had for this boy. Thank you Jesus, that those plans included me.

COLE LAWRENCE.....WHAT A JOY AND HONOR IT IS TO BE YOUR MOMMA

I LOVE YOU TO THE STARS AND BACK......ABUNCH