Flat Reed: Raleigh, Afghan, and a Clean Fridge

First things, first. Look at this face!



Raleigh was born this morning after a few hours of labor! She is beautiful! We were so worried that Holly would not have her until right before we left for Taiwan and I would not get my "mandatory" holding of her! I was one of the first people to get to see her.



Here she is with big sister Ashlyn, and daddy Jeff. I got to see Raleigh get her first shot which she took very well. I even got to watch them measure her. It was really neat.



The Wright Sisters! Hannah, Ashlyn, and little Raleigh.



Abbey was quick to point out that she would be the only one of us on the blog holding Raleigh, because when I went the camera was not with me! There is a picture of me holding Raleigh on the Wright's camera. That is good, because I seriously doubt Holly will remember that I was there!



Flat Reed is modeling the afghan that my mom (Reed's Enna) made for Reed's birthmother. It will be a very special gift for her I am sure! Thanks Enna!



Finally, Abbey worked hard this morning despite the fact that she was very anxious to get to the hospital to see Raleigh! It's good to leave with a clean fridge!

Several people have emailed or asked: Are y'all just about to explode with excitement? In a word, yes!

But, we are also about to fall over with deep appreciation for you our blog family and friends. Everyone has been so faithful in praying for Reed and us. We are so thankful to have friends and family who are so excited about the growth of our family. It has been incredible to see the way God has provided for us. A few of you may know that we had a little bit of money that we had to pay for Reed's foster care because he went over the 6 months that we paid for initially. Well, today a good friend of mine gave me the money and said, "I want to buy a pinky!" Even though we had the money ready to pay for the extra fees, it has been things like that which have happened over and over throughout this process that show that everyone is so excited about our baby and God is truly a part of this.

When a couple first realizes that adoption is part of God's plan for their family, it can be a situation where you will hear, "I'm sorry," from well-meaning friends. We have heard very few "I'm sorry's," but tons of "congratulations!" As I type, we are overwhelmed with gratitude to God for His provision of our son! We are so THANKFUL that He chose US to be Reed's parents. There is a song that describes our feelings, "I stand in awe of You!" How true it is!

Keep praying for us as we have still got a lot of packing to accomplish tomorrow!