I'm Baaaaaaack!

Wow, It's been forever. Please do accept my apologies. It seems as though Facebook has taken over my life and I have let my blog fall the the wayside.

But, nevermore!

I can't use FB as the only excuse, however, my life has been just plain crazy since we returned from Ethiopia in June. What a ride it's been. Alyza Kate slipped right into our family and has adjusted beautifully. She just fits right in. Funny how God does that, huh? She has bonded quickly and has a fire in her that is not quickly dimmed. She absolutely cracks us up. She smiles ALL the time when she is not crying. There is no middle ground with this child. She is either smiling or crying. She still really good a crying when she don't get her way, she don't like to be told no, and she still tries to play the "I was in an orphanage" card occasionally. It use to work, for about a week, then I revoked that card.

We have such chaos in our lives. Imagine your world with a 2 and a 3 year old in it. The schedules are still the same, we just have 2 little ones that we have to drag everywhere with us. They really do very well. They are getting along great, for the most part. They have their toddler issues, but most of the time they do pretty well together.

We must be enjoying our life, because we are stepping out on faith and doing it again. We have begun the process to adopt one more time (Pat says this is the last one, but I'm not convinced) and we are now adopting a beautiful boy from China. I can't wait to tell you more about him and hopefully very soon I will be able to post his picture. Take my word for it, he is truly a handsome young man. We are in love. That's the sweetest feeling in the world too.

So, stay tuned for more information on our little man. We've got some exciting things on the horizon so check back on us often. I'll try to do a little better updating!!!

Love you all,

Jadyn's Birthday Slideshow

Sorry it took so long, I've had a little trouble with my printer transferring my pictures. Enjoy!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Alyza Kate's Birthday Party

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Happy Almost Birthday Uncle Vern!

Today Tomorrow is my brother's/Jadyn's favorite Uncle Vern's birthday! (I didn't notice that it was the 3rd and not the 4th) Oops! Anyway, Happy B-Day tomorrow, we love you! Here's a little present from Jadyn.

Enjoy.

Photo of the Week

Sorry, I'm a little late on getting my pic of the week up and running. Here is one of my favorites.


How handsome is he? He is finishing his freshman year, just got his learner's permit (AAHH!), and is a blessing to us all. He's a fun-loving, always good for a laugh, and REALLY, REALLY cute 15 year old. If I do say so myself.

My brother took this picture while we were having our big birthday bash in Knoxville. Thanks Vern!

Amy

They Say It's Your Birthday...

On Saturday, we loaded up and headed east to Knoxville for a Big Birthday Bash for our family members that have/will celebrate birthdays in April.

We left a little early and stopped by the Brockelman's house and visited with their family for a while.  Their daughter, Tia, is from the same orphanage as Jadyn and we  traveled together to pick up our daughters at the same time.  Jeff is actually Manda and Jeremy's worship pastor, small world huh?

Here is Jadyn and Tia with their "cheese" grins.

After a wonderful visit, we headed over to the Norris' house for our celebration. What fun we had. It is so rare that our family gets together, so I think everyone had a great time. I know I did. Here are some pictures from the day. We really should do this more often, I kind of like these people, why not spend more time together? It was great to see Stacy and Ben (my niece that lives in Asheville), they made the trek over on Saturday morning also. Also in attendance was my Aunt Nola and her husband, Walt. She is my Mom's only sister and looks so much like her. She is our only remaining Aunt. It was great to see her too. I've got some really great family.

They are all excited about our upcoming adoption and celebrating the homecoming of our little African Angel. Thanks Jeremy, Manda and Will for opening your home and making it such a special day. We love you guys very much and appreciate all that you did to make it such a fun, special day!

I've thought a lot about the day, my family, the closeness, missing Seth and wishing he was there, our daughter in Ethiopia and many other things. It was just a really good day. Thanks everyone for making it special.

The Hood's

Our Story...Part I

How refreshing it is when you look back and see the how a few of the pieces of the puzzle fit together. It always causes me to stand in awe of the Father. Some of you may know our story and some may not. So, for those of you that don't, the following paragraphs will allow you to look into the window of our lives. While it's tough stuff to deal with, I feel compelled to share our story. It's always important for something to be learned from your situations and circumstances. Equally, sometimes it's for someone to learn from your situation and circumstance. After all, if you don't have purpose for your pain, you just have the pain, and nothing to show for it. Let's begin, shall we?

January 7, 2007 2:08 a.m.

In May of 2005, we began a journey of a life time. We started the adoption process and looked forward to the addition of a new family member in the upcoming months. The wait time was a short 5-7 months for referral. We were logged in Oct. 21, 2005 and I don't have to tell you what happened with the wait time. It was at that moment that time began to nearly stand still. We received the referral of our precious Jadyn on March 5, 2007, traveled as a family in May 2007 and brought Jadyn home May 19, 2007. It was during that wait time of 2 years that my family experienced many ups and downs such as the death of my Mother, only 2 months after beginning our paperwork. It was a tough time, but it was only going to get tougher. It was also during this time of great pain that we began to watch our oldest son, Seth, pull away from his relationship with God and begin to live in rebellion. After some very difficult times, he moved out of our home out on his own, where we had much less control. With Pat being a pastor, we have lived in a fish bowl most of Seth's life. And, of course, the rumor mills began to crank out those rumors. Many of which were just blatant lies. Imagine that, the enemy using lies and the people that spread them, to bring you down. What a novel idea!

We had always planned to take both Seth and Zachary with us on our trip to China, but with Seth's growing rebellion, we had made the difficult decision to leave him at home. We explained this too him. He didn't like it, but understood. Again, in spite of the anticipation and excitement of seeing our daughters face for the first time, it was dampened by the situation going on around us. Even with the joy of our impending referral, it was a dark time.

Fast forward almost 2 years. We began to see God working in Seth's life, little things here and there. Comments he made, things that he did etc., were demonstrating that God was turning his heart toward Him. Pat and I really had to mind our own business, and allow God to mind Seth's business. We made the decision to give Seth a list of guidelines that he had to follow to allow him to go to China. He did these, all of them. So, after much prayer, we decided to let him go with us. We left May 8, 2007 China bound. On May 13, 2007, we witnessed the beginning of a transformation before our very eyes. We traveled to Jadyn's orphanage on that day, a day that I must say for obvious reasons, it changed all of our lives. But, a miracle happened that day. I watched as my 21 year old adult son knelt down beside a little girl in dirty clothes and in a dirty walker with snot dripping off her chin, and and ever so gently wipe her nose and face with a tissue he borrowed from one of our travel group ladies. Seth has always been very caring and gentle, so I was moved, but not surprised by his action. Little did I know, I was watching as God was transform the heart of my child, before my very eyes. Seth was very moved, and left in tears after visiting with "the least of these" that the Bible so plainly talks about. It was a life changing day for us all.

Again, fast forward. Tonight, as a family, we drove to the airport in Nashville and watched our 21 year old son, go through the security gate alone, to board a plane bound for Malaysia - to serve as a missionary there for the next 6 months with YWAM (Youth With Mission). We were met there by friends and family, who were there to see Seth off and be support for us. After returning from China, Seth begin to sense a calling had been placed on his life to return to Asia to demonstrate the love of God to "the least of these". We watched him move back home, begin college again and complete the semester with 3 A's and 1 B (and he was MAD about the B), spend time EVERY day with God, work full time, and live a God honoring life.

During the 2 year wait for Jadyn, I questioned MANY times God's plan in this all. Why so long? Why were we going through these things? Why was God not answering my prayers? and so on. Looking back now, I see so many pieces of the puzzle and how they fit together. And what I see, is on a small part of the puzzle. And, as I sit here tonight at 2:08 a.m., unable to sleep, because my first born son is somewhere on a plane bound for Taiwan and then on to Malaysia, I felt an overwhelming prompting from God to share our story. As I was replaying the events of the past 2 1/2 years in my mind, God reminded me of something. "This adoption that I lead you to was not about you, and it wasn't about a little girl living in an orphanage in Fuling, China, and it wasn't about the transformation of Seth, it was about Me and My glory - all the time." This journey is not about us, it about a much bigger plan - one that is life changing and transforming.

So, whatever the reason, God had me share this with you. Maybe you are in the middle of a storm with a child that is rebelling, God has a plan. Maybe the crushing feeling of increasing wait times has you feeling defeated, God has a plan. Maybe you are wondering how this adoption will change your life, God has a plan. I don't know, but God does. We think we have it all figured out, but what we know barely scratches the surface. God used a little girl with a runny nose to bring a 21 year old to say "I just want to share Jesus with people". You never know what the impact of this journey that we are all on, whatever your journey. I am so very grateful that the Master Artist is making all things work together for good.

Pray for Seth, as he spends the next 6 months sharing God's love with others. He will be in Malaysia for 3 months and then spend the next 3 months in another location. He will seek God's face on where he is to go, but it will be somewhere in South Asia. I have a link to his blog from my blog, should you want to follow his journey. But mostly, I just ask for your prayers - for his safety and that he can effectively communicate the transforming power of the gospel to the people of South Asia.


(I wrote this in wee hours of the morning after taking Seth to the airport. It was one of the toughest times of my life. But, seeing God work through this, made it easier to bear. Thank you for praying for our family)

Amy

Friday Photo Fun

Here is my favorite photo for the week. I took this picture just before Christmas. The boys were on their way to the Titans game after church one Sunday and I got them to stop for just a second for a quick pic.

The Men in My Life

Happy Birthday My Love!

To day is the love of my life's 41st birthday. So in honor of the big day, I'm going to list 41 reasons that we love him so.

1. He is the funniest person I know.



2. His feet are always warm, no matter how cold the night.



3. He is my first love.



4. He's the father of my children.



5. He filled out the preliminary application for adoption and suprised me!



6. He plays "I'm gonna get you" everynight with Jadyn.



7. He prays with me.



8. He loves me like no one ever has.



9. He ALWAYS seeks the Father's face on every issue.



10. He's proud of our boys.



11. He adores "Daddy's little girl".



12. He wants to adopt again.



13. He's hot.



14. He dresses really great.



15. He does our laundry.



16. He sweeps the wood floors.



17. He has more integrity than anyone I know.



18. He's my spiritual super hero.



19. He prays for our children.



20. He prays for me.



21. He lets my dog sleep with us.



22. He loves to shop.



23. He loves shoes.



24. He spends time every day with God.



25. He leads our family.



26. He's so smart.



27. He use to be red headed.



28. He makes me laugh when no one else can.



29. He makes our children laugh too.



30. He lets me sleep with my mattress warmer on in August.



31. He always drives when we go places together.



32. He takes such good care of me.



33. He don't mind if I sleep in socks.



34. He rarely complains about my flannel sleep pants.



35. He likes the same TV shows that I do.



36. He always watches them with me.



37. He always wants me to go to bed when he does.



38. He has a heart for the lost.



39. He has a heart for orphans all over the world.



40. He is our spiritual leader.



41. He's my best friend in the world.

I could go on and on and on, but since he's only 41, I guess I'll stop there. I love you baby, with all my heart. And your children love you too. I hope you had a wonderful birthday!

Favorite Photo Friday

Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear seth, happy birthday to you! Can you believe it, Seth is 21 years old today. Now I really feel old. It seems like just yesterday Dr. Jones told me, you ain't ever gonna have that baby. And, after a million hours of labor, decided to do a C-section. How we love him and can't wait to see what God's going to do in his life. Happy Birthday Seth, we love you!!!