Preschool...what a gift.

One thing I love about Abram's preschool on top of the teachers, the kids, the location, and the curriculum. I love teacher gifts. I love to make crafts and give gifts and I'm thankful that there are many holidays to be able to come up with teacher gifts for his teachers. Thus far we've been able to give thankful spiced tea jars, Christmas frames and Candy, and Rolo Cookies for Valentine's Day. I'm excited to come up with aka "google" more ideas for future gifts. And I love watching Abram hand his teacher a gift and give them a big hug.

On top of teacher gifts Abram's preschool has been a huge blessing to him and us. It has helped him verbally, socially, and gives him something to look forward to. Every time I pick him up from school he gets in the car saying, "more school, more school!" And then we count down the days until he gets to go again.

There are a couple memories I don't want to forget about his preschool. One was the first time he actually said something at Show and Tell. I had been putting random toys in his backpack to take to school for participation but the thought hadn't dawned on me to put something in his bag he could actually say. That was until he was given a stuffed cat. At first I wasn't sure what we'd be doing with that stuffed cat but I did notice every time Abram picked it up he said cat. So one day I decided to put the cat in his backpack to take to school for the day.

When I picked him up from school that day I could tell there was an excitement in the air. One of his teachers came up to me to tell me what had happened at Show and Tell that day. Abram stood up as usual, took his item out of his back pack and then he spoke! Cat!!! His teacher said all the kids cheered with excitement when Abram was able to say what was in his bag!!! It was a great victory for Abram that day and all the kids were happy to share the experience with him. Since then his vocabularly has widely expanded and now we can put more than just a cat in his backpack. Even though it might just be a car Abram is still able to fully participate in Show and Tell!

Another special moment was when I took Abram late to school one day. I will admit we are late everyday but this day was a little later than normal. When we walked in some boys saw that Abram was late and immediately ran over and hugged his neck! They were surrounding him and hugging him so much he wasn't even able to take off his jacket. They were telling him they missed him and were glad he was there today. And then asked him to come with them to play trucks. It warmed my heart. It's hard sometimes when I pick him up from school because I want to know everything he did and what he thinks about things. But our conversations are still very limited. When I saw those boys hug him and talk to him the way they did it gave me a comfort and ease that he was loved and loved those boys in return.

At first I wasn't sure if preschool was for us or the way to go but for now it is a wonderful blessing to the Wells family and I'm excited for more memories to share!

Happy Birthday Ellis!

Ellis' birthday was August 26, 2011. As scheduled I'm writing a blog post about it almost 2 months later. That's when I get around to things these days. I hadn't thought much about children's birthday parties until someone told me I needed to have a party for him. I knew that I wanted to but for some reason it hadn't dawned on me that his birthday was coming up soon when they had mentioned the thought of a party.  Within a day I had decided when, where, and what type of party we were having. Even though we were keeping it small I became extremely excited when I realized I now had a new reason to craft, decorate, and plan an event which are all three things I thoroughly enjoy. After much researched I settled on a cheerio theme for Ellis' party.

Some things to remember about the party were:
 1.) Many invitations came back in the mail due to lack of postage.
2.) When they came back I decided to open one and realized the cheerios that were apart of the invitation were now dust that exploded in your face when you opened the invite.
3.) Due to Ellis' potential of not quite being of age he didn't know what to do with or really enjoy his cake. In fact he became so overwhelmed with everyone starring at him he threw a fit in his seat. The only way I got him to smile for the picture was to tickle his feet.
4.) We sang Happy Birthday to him in the bathtub because it is a place he is always happy!
5.) Somewhat ironic but he never has and still doesn't like Cheerios. :)

It was so much fun thinking and decorating for this party and now I'm excited to start planning for Abram's 4th birthday coming up in November! The party planning will probably happen sporadically a week or maybe two before the party. Anyway, enjoy some pictures from the party in August!

Hallelujah! What a Savior.

This past weekend Tony and I had the privilege to spend in Gatlinburg with many college students from the ministry he works for. It was a refreshing getaway to go to the mountains, be with friends, and meet with the Lord. Throughout the weekend were several sessions that included games, a talk, and worship. This weekend I was reminded of what happened in my life several years ago when God called me out of the darkness (enslaved to sin) and brought me into his light (freedom in Christ). The talks were good, and the fellowship as well but I was mostly reminded through a song.

It seems with the busyness of mothering lately that I am mostly reminded of the gospel through songs. I heard a new or possibly old hymn for the first time this weekend and cannot stop thinking about the lyrics. If my heart could cry out a song this is what it would be. I can't listen to it without tears coming to my eyes and without wanting to shout in thankfulness and gratitude to the God who saved me from my sin and calls me righteous through his son. I cannot even fathom the undeserved love and mercy He has poured onto my life. How I wish everyone could understand this song in the way God has graciously allowed me to understand it. You can either read the lyrics below or listen to Hallelujah, What a Savior. Hallelujah is used to express praise or joy.

Man of Sorrows what a Name

For the Son of God who came

Ruined sinners, to reclaim

Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Buried shame and scoffing rude

In my place, condemned he stood

He sealed my pardon with his blood

Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Guilty, vile, helpless me

Spotless lamb of God was he

Full atonement can it be

Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Lifted up was he to die

It is finished, was his cry

Now in heaven exalted high

Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah

When He comes a glorious King

Oh his ransom home to bring

Then a new this song we'll sing

Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Super Baby

Most parents probably think they're child is extra special, really smart, and does crazy things that other babies don't do. Well, let me join the club. I honestly think Ellis is a baby genius. It could be because in a matter of 4 months he has gone from not being able to roll over to almost walking. He went from making little coo sounds to repeating words. The poor babe only had formula his whole life and is now eating veggie soup out of a spoon. And this not so little one has almost doubled his height, weight, and head size. Now this might happen with all babies in a matter of 4 months but that's a big shocker to me. I can't believe that when I brought my baby home he was wearing 3-6 month clothing and is now 12-18 months. Sometime's I'm self conscience about the rapid growth rate of my child and wonder...am I feeding him to much. But, he's a cutie, and he's solid, and tough, and fun, and he just needed a little jump start on life.

I started to notice his genius at his 12 month appointment. There were several animals on the walls at the Dr's office and I was trying to get Abram to repeat the animal sounds after me. I then noticed Ellis was saying them. His first word was Night, Night. His second word...Cat. Later came Mama and Dada. His vocabulary has now also expanded to ball, Nana, and choo choo. It's been fun to see this little man grow but Ellis! could you slow down just a little. I'm really enjoying this little baby stage or small child stage of life and would like to keep it that way at least for a couple of weeks. I'm not ready to change out your clothes again or to begin chasing you around the house. But whatever happens, we love this little boy and are so thankful for his life! Here's to our Super Baby!!!

After writing this today I forgot to mention he can give hugs, kisses, and wave and say hi to strangers. :) Loving this crazy baby.

Our Son is a Warrior

I've decided not to give up on the blogging world even though I haven't written in almost 3 months. We have been busy to say the least. A good busy and I'm going to try to get back to blogging...although no one may longer read this. Anyway, here is a blog I started in July that I decided to finish 2 months later. ENJOY!

This past week at church was Vacation Bible School. We were excited to get to spend the week with our church family and were also hoping it would get Abram a little more used to being in the nursery at church. As of now he doesn't necessarily like when we leave him anywhere but he's getting used to the idea and now knows we're coming back. I would vote this past week at VBS a success. I think he made a few friends and really enjoyed his time. One thing we learned from this past week is that he has no reservations and will do anything. We've also learned that he is very protective of his family and we've deemed him a warrior.

Tony, another man John, and I were put in charge of the story time for the 2-6 year olds for the week. Due to Tony and John's humorous and creative personalities it was a fun, wild, and crazy week. I don't think they looked at the actual script at all but they made the stories very real and interactive for the kids. One night in particular was the story of the Good Samaritan. Tony was the man beat up on the side of the road and John played all of the characters that passed him by. The scene started with Tony moaning and groaning and dressed as if he'd been beaten. This may have been slightly intense for the young children and we know it was for the few that were crying but most of the kids just seemed intrigued. As the scene goes on the priest passes him by, then the Levite. The children were all yelling stop, stop but as the story goes the men just passed up poor, beaten Tony. Next comes the Good Samaritan. Dressed as a super hero he makes his grand entrance and then heads over to help Tony.

As he reaches Tony and begins to perform CPR, give him a shot, and do all of these things to make him better we hear a loud scream come from the audience. The scream was followed by a small child who jumped out of his seat, shoved all others aside, and ran to the good Samaratian. He then proceeded to push the good Samaritan until he no longer lay hold of Tony. It was our son Abram, the warrior. He had come to save his Dad. With a big hug and smile on his face his father was saved and all was right with the world.

What I love most about this story is how Abram had nothing holding him back. He saw his Daddy needed help and he didn't care who was around, no one would stop him from getting to his Father. This was a fist pumping time for his Dad and I. We were so proud of our courageous little boy and were excited to see his love come out. He couldn't yet say it but we could see it without words. That is why we've deemed him our little warrior!

A Day at the Waterpark

We had a fun day at the local waterpark here in Georgetown. Due to Abrams intense love for water it was a day we couldn't resist and he loved it. His favorite part were the jets he could run through and the huge pool he could sit in. He did not however enjoy the lazy river and I was extremely sorry to anyone trying to lounge while we were passing by. It probably wasn't a pleasant experience. That may have been one along with some other embarassing moments for the day. Here's a couple more...

Abram got so excited (and I can't blame him) that he decided to take off running. After seeing and hearing the lifeguards yell at many other people for running I quickly decided that I needed to stop him. So there I went running after him. By the time I got a hold of him I completely wiped out on the ground skinning my feet and knees and shoving my son down and into the water as well. So there we were both laying on the ground one of us in pain and the other wailing. I'll let you decide who was who. But I picked him up and took him to the jets and all was well except for the cuts that I'm now nursing on my legs. At that moment when both of us were sprawled out on the ground I wanted to yell... it's only been 3 weeks people. But I didn't. I stayed composed and went on with the day. I got many sympathy smiles from the people around.

Another time we wanted to explain our situation was when Tony was taking Abram back to the jets. They were almost there and Tony went to wipe his eyes. Within about 3 seconds Abram had went and jumped into the pool that he cannot yet swim in. Thankfully there was a man sitting on the side of the pool that pulled him out. It wasn't very dramatic and Abram didn't even seem phased but once again you're tempted to explain...we've only been parents for 3 weeks! Needless to say we've been learning humility as parents but it's been a fun journey so far. We love taking the boys places because they're usually a joy to people wherever we go. Abram loves to wave and hug and usually has a smile on his face. Ellis just smiles and is usually held by many people. He's a heavy weight and I'm glad he's a magnet which means I'm not the one holding him all the time. Anyway...here are some pics from our day of fun at the waterpark. We'll probably go back sometime.

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A Reflection on the Gospel

When I have time to sit and think, or often times when I'm holding or playing with the boys I start to think what if. What if we'd never made the decision to adopt and what if we'd never brought them home. Even in writing that sentence tears well up in my eyes. It's only been 2 plus weeks and I can't even imagine the thought of it. It almost makes me feel guilty for the times when I asked myself... what are we thinking, or how can we adopt,or how can we adopt 2 at one time, and how can one of those children be older? I was scared and could see these questions in other people. I could see that some people thought we were crazy and it made me wonder if we were. But now none of those questions come to mind when I look at the beautiful faces of two young brothers that are now my sons. My SONS!

This process has affirmed my faith in God and my faith in his son Jesus Christ more than

anything else has in my life and maybe in my lifetime. As a Christian I had recently learned the correlation between adoption and between my walk with God. I started to realize more and more what it meant and what it looked like for me as a spiritual orphan. I thought I knew everything I needed to know about life before I came to know God. I thought there was nothing else I needed. But deep down I felt something was missing and I couldn't ever get it right. I can now see I was selling myself short and most importantly selling God short. I didn't see the CRAZY peace that could come in life from knowing God is in control of all things. I didn't see the joy that I would have even when I shouldn't have had any. And the love that can come

from God and from fellowship with other believers. An unconditional love that is full of grace, and forgiveness, and mercy. These kinds of relationships will change your life. All of this happened when God adopted me into his family. It was nothing I did but he came, chose me, died for me, and brought me into his family. If God hadn't adopted me I never would've known and have experienced all that I have so far. Sometimes I wonder if God feels as much joy adopting me and others as I do when I look at my sons. The joy when I look at them and know the life they came from and the life they were headed for and can see the life they are now living.

While in Ethiopia we saw street children begging for money. One child in particular looked as though he had acid poured on his face. This young boy clung to my side in the markets asking me for money. We then saw a man standing close by collecting all the money from the children. Was this our boys future? We met the boys mother. A prostitute just trying to survive... we saw men selling mops door to door and others laying on the ground begging for food. Was this the future for our boys? Who knows what would've happened to them at their mothers brothel. Who knows what kind of men could have gotten ahold of them. Our boys have scars from their past that we cannot explain but we do know they won't get those same scars again. These boys were destined for a life of corruption, disease, and abuse. So I guess the What if question wouldn't be to hard to figure out. From this we've learned that adoption is a messy process. Orphans come from a messed up life. This makes me wish other people would be questioning, "What if" and not thinking it's not possible. People say to us, "You're such great people", or "you deserve an award", or "this is such a good thing that you're doing." But honestly all I feel like is we had kids. And when they say that all I can think about is how what we have done is nothing compared to the sacrifice that God made to adopt us.

When the process has been hard, when the boys are sick, when I don't get any sleep at night, I think about what Christ endured on the cross for me. I think about how a perfect and holy God, sent his perfect and holy son to earth to become a human just like me. I think about how that man lived a perfect life without sin. A life I could not have possibly lived. And then that man was murdered on a bloody cross to save God's children and to bring them into the family of God. And then he conquered that death and went to be with his Father again.

It should've been me and all of us on that cross. None of us can live a perfect life and all of us have offended God even if we don't see it. But God knew that and sent his son to die the death that I deserved. Our adoption of these boys is nothing in comparison to that great news. Because of that news we are able to extend the unconditional love to these boys. The love that says I don't care where you came from or what baggage that you come with but we will love you and serve you and die for you daily. It is a great honor and joy to have rescued these boys. And the joy that they bring surpasses all.

Ephesians 1:3-6 says, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In LOVE he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his GLORIOUS GRACE, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved."

I'm thankful that God chose me and I'm thankful that he also chose my sons. He picked 2 out of 6 million to be ours and it couldn't be more affirmed by them being here! They are Wells' through and through and hopefully one day they will have another adoption story by our heavenly Father.

Anyway, I was just feeling overwhelmed with the goodness of the gospel and the thought of bringing these boys out of destruction. Hope you're encouraged by the God that you already know or the God I hope you one day come to know. These pictures are random things we saw in Ethiopia.