Hanging out at Home...

"What in the world is that mommy?"

Daddy--"Did you have a bath today Sophie?"
Sophie--"How did you guess Daddy?"

First summer outfit!! Dressed up, and no place to go!

Look at those cheeks....no meals missed around here!

Family of FIVE!!!!

Brotherly love has a whole new meaning...



Silas loves to feed Sophie....He says "The well is dry Soph!"



Sophie checking out her brother Stephen!



Early morning LOVE!

Surprise Baby.....then Surprise Baby SHOWER!

My BFF Judith finally got to come into town (they moved to attend seminary 3 hours away 2 years ago) to meet her Goddaughter in person! Of course she had gotten to see all of the pictures I had posted on Facebook, but it's just not the same as in person snuggling! I had no idea that a baby shower was in the works as well! Judith, Leah, Tracy, Lisa, Amber and many more I have no idea about, helped to pull off the surprise!

The food was unbelievable!!



We received so many gifts, I'm not sure when I'll be able to find
a place to put them all!!



These two get the reward for traveling the farthest...Judith from the Raleigh area, and Jenifer from Asheville.
They blessed me SO much by coming to celebrate Sophie's arrival!

Anna (Judith's daughter) took all of the pictures at the shower! She has decided that she needs to spend a week with the Dobbins clan this summer.....come on down Anna!

Beach Trip

With Sophie being a surprise, we had A LOT of commitments we had made, some we had to cancel or rearrange, but one we made sure to go through with....a beach visit with Stephen's birth mom N, and her mom B. The boys and I were supposed to go to the campground and stay with Grandma and Granddaddy for three nights, then go on to Myrtle Beach and visit one night with them. So....we sent Silas on with G & G, and then we (my friend Leah and her daughter Kinsley who is 15 months) went and picked him up on Wednesday and then checked into the Dunes Village Resort for one night. You would have thought we were staying for a week if you had seen all the stuff we had for 4 children and 2 adults! Poor Scott, he was working and missed it all!

It was a whirlwind 36 hour trip, but we had a good, but abbreviated good time. Leah and I decided that getting 4 kids in and out of a mini van could rival any military campaign....I decided that "Shock and Awe" was the best description I could come up with. Of course we have friends that have 4 children, so they live it everyday! God bless them!

Taking LOTS of Pictures of this Baby Girl!

We LOVE this baby girl!!!

Our Hearts Whispered Your Name and God Answered!

"Every good and perfect gift is from above"  James 1:17

 

With patience and faith we waited for our miracle.

And now, with love, we joyfully announce the arrival of our angel...

Sophie Joy

Placed in our arms 4-4-12 through the blessing of Adoption

Complete disbelief and overcome with emotion!

We got a text from our adoption agency director on Tuesday night that she needed
 to "meet" with us the following afternoon...

 About 20 minutes into our meeting, Doris left to go get Gretchen, the pregnancy counselor, to answer some questions about an expectant mom...or so we thought! Five minutes later, Gretchen walked in carrying a baby girl...OUR baby girl! It was so surreal, we couldn't believe what was happening! I covered my face with my hands and just wept with JOY! Two years after starting the process for our third adoption, and twenty months on the waiting list, God had finally answered our prayers.

Ready to go home and meet her two big brothers who had NO idea that she was coming home!

Stephen's first look at "Baby Sophie"....we've been talking about her for SO long! Just a couple of months ago he said
 "I think girls are hard to find mom, 'cause Jesus has been wookin' and wookin' and he hasn't found our Baby Sophie yet!"

A VERY happy big brother!! Silas has been praying and praying for her to come!



First picture of the three of them together!



Chillin' on her Boppy pillow just minutes after arriving home! I LOVE the outfit that they had on her!!

First official photo shoot with all three...sure to be the first of MANY!!



She has beautiful eyes and wiggly toes
Lots of dark hair and a cute little nose!

God knows there's a right time for everything, and some things are sweeter when they're slow in coming...

Praising God for His perfect timing!

One of the sweet young ladies, "J", who works at the adoption agency, was an eyewitness to Sophie's surprise placement that day. She wrote this later that evening and shared it with us. She touched our hearts with her words...

"Call it a mistake, call it a series of bad choices, give it whatever name you’d like. Somehow a young woman finds herself pregnant and totally unprepared. Meanwhile, a couple has been waiting for two years for a little girl to call their own. Call it unfortunate genetics, call it unfair, give it whatever label fits in your mind. For some reason, this man and woman who SO desire to have children are unable to conceive. In contrast to the series of bad decisions she’s made recently, the young woman makes up her mind to place her child for adoption…knowing she could not give her baby girl the life she deserves. Call it a blessing, call it a miracle, call it divine providence and plans beyond our limited understanding. Call adoption whatever you’d like- but I dare you to tell me that God’s fingerprints are not all over this situation- this birthmother, this baby, and this couple… weaving what could have been two independent desperate situations into one of the most beautiful tapestries of love one could ever hope to see. Today, there wasn’t a dry eye in the place…"