Chapter 1 Meeting Her

Ok so I"ve been trying to figure out how I was going to document this whole incredible adoption experience. We have been home for 4 full days now and there is so much to share and think about I wasn't exactly sure how to narrow it down. So I've decided I'd think of it like chapters of a book and this will be my reflections of the chapters. And since I've had a request for more pictures (You know who you are:) I"ll try to put some more pictures on from the trip and since we've been home.

Chapter 1 Meeting Her

The other night Jonah asked me how I felt when I had him and Lydia? I wasn't sure what he was getting at until he asked me how I felt when I met "T". He was wondering if I felt the same when I had him as when I met her. So I will try to explain what it was like to meet my daughter.

We get off the airplane and are in this HUGE airport. I don't fly very often so I'm easily impressed! Surprisingly it didn't scare me thought, if definetly felt like an adventure. We hadn't heard from the foster mom (who was picking us up) so we didn't know if she's be there waiting or if we'd have to wait. We got on a train to go the baggage plane, I kept repeating "North Terminal, blue side" over and over in my head b/c I didn't want to forget where our bags were. After all there were like 3 or 4 baggage claims and in this airport they could've been a mile apart literally! Then as we're on this crazy fast train, my cell phone rings. My stomach does one of those little flip flop things b/c I know it must be the foster mom. It was her wondering where we were and which claims our bags were at. I was so glad I had been repeating "north terminal blue side" in my head over and over so I could tell her. I got off the phone and told Aaron "she's (princess T) with her." My stomach does another flip flop and I suddenly realize I want this train to be going even faster.

We get off the train and find "north terminal blue side" quite quickly. It wasn't too busy, so that helped. We got our bags and I start scanning the crowd, my mind is racing and my heart is thumping ,"Will I be able to recognize them from the picture? Will they recognize us?" We turned around there they were. We walked over to them and "T" was sitting in one of those luggage push cart things. I will never forget the way she looked up at me with those coffee colored eyes. Just studing my face. I wanted to grab her and squeeze her but wasn't sure if I should. I put my hands out to her and she came right to me. For the next 10 minutes. She held my finger and we walked around the baggage claim. She was totally enthralled with the giant Shept pointing and babbling at them. I knew at that moment my life was never going to be the same. And yes, even though it was in a busy airport and she was able to walk around. The feeling I had in my heart was the same when I met "T" as when I had J and L.

"Happy Birthday to you!" and signing her own adoption papers.

We're home!

Right now I am the perfect combination of exhausted, emotional, joyful, uncertain and well. . . as I rocked my girlS tonight together in their matching PJ's all I could think is "my cup runneth over" so I guess just blessed!

We flew into Minneapolis around 11am and got home around 4 pm. Here are a few pics. Shannon got a whole lot more on her fancy camera. More later, right now I need to go to bed.

Funny Story

Yesterday we were going for a walk around the neighborhood and we were letting T just walk. She sees this black car parked along the side of the street and walks up to it very focused. I was very curious what she was going to do. Next she goes up to the car and kissed herself in the reflection. It was hilarious. Just one of the many amusing "T" stories. She's a goofball!

We heard from the agency we are working with here and ND needs one more piece of information, so we should here today that we can go home. Please pray that is so. It has been a wonderful experience staying here, but it will be good to get home too. Hope to see you all soon.

Hello everyone, here are some more cute pictures. We are doing well. We are getting to know each other more and more each day and it really seems like we've known "T" for longer than 6 days. She's such a honey. She's the perfect combination of busy and cuddly.

We have been able to do some sightseeing. Yesterday we went to a really nice state park and today we went down town.





We can't say enough wonderful things about the foster home we are staying at. They are wonderful generous people.

It's starting to feel like we havn't been home for awhile. We talk to Jonah and Lydia every day, but we just can't wait to see all or our kids together! We got a message that our paperwork was sent to our home state on Thursday. That means over half way done. Now our state just has to clear.

"T"

When I sit down to write on here, it's hard for me to narrow down exactly what to write, so I will just start rambling and see where it goes.

Yesterday- Mary (foster mom) drove us around downtown Atlanta. We also went to the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial and visitor's center. We saw the neighborhood where he grew up and where he's buried. It was an intense experience and let's just say that after this week MLKJ day will always mean something in our house. Then we went to a buffet and ate a late lunch." T" is like a celebrity where ever we go.

*Oh let me back up a bit. Because of the legal risk part of this adoption and b/c I"m feeling a little over protective we are not going to put her name on here. So we will just call her "T" from now on out.*

We also went to the clinic b/c she has a cold and we wanted to check to make sure she doesn't have an ear infection. She was a celebrity there too. One of the nurses even had to hug her good-bye. What a special little girl we have! Oh and her ears are fine, she is just getting 5 teeth! Youch!

Today, we just hung out all day. It has been a nice relaxing day so far. I had my first try and fixing kinky hair. It went Ok, we didn't do it all but we fixed a few of the ponies. And in honor of our anniversary tonight we are going to order from an authentic New York Italian resturant. No we're not in NY, but the lady who owns the resturant is. I can't believe we've been married 9 years! And I never thought we'd be across the country getting our 3rd baby! God is good!





Bet she makes you smile!

Here she is!!!

"Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we can not see." Hebrews 11:1

This is what we have been hoping for and boy is she worth it! Such a honey and a goofball too! She likes teasing with her daddy already.

A big day!

Hi everyone!
We met our daughter today!! She is perfect and engaging and funny and smart and such a gift. It's not everyday that a girl has a birthday and gets a new mom and dad all in the same day. She let me put her to sleep tonight which was incredible. From the minute I saw her I can't even explain in words how I felt. Tonight I can't even put into the words the way I feel. I will put pictures on later, but for now I have to go to sleep so I can get up at 5:55 (4:55 our time) with our little early bird.

Thank you so much for all of your support and prayers. We have felt them for sure!

Why Adoption and What Do You Have To Do With It?

Hello everyone. I am Valerie’s sister-in-law and I am taking over her blog for a moment (with her approval, of course)
I think there are a lot of people who are following this blog to find out what will happen with this adoption. Some may have been through it themselves or know someone who has. Some, on the other hand, may be having a hard time understanding the process. And by process, I don’t mean the paperwork, legalities and such. I mean the process of how someone chooses or decides to adopt.
Here is my take on it: Adoption is much more than just a choice a couple makes. For believers, like Aaron and Valerie, this was a calling from God. God has been pressing adoption on Valerie’s heart for many, many years now. I remember when they were dating and I was just in high school. She talked about it way back then. When I think back to that time, I also remember something very interesting:
It was cheerleading tryouts. Valerie was a Junior and I was just a little 7th grader. She hadn’t started dating my brother yet so I didn’t know who she was. I was new in town. And out of nowhere, this big-time, really cool varsity cheerleader came and talked to me. Taked to me, the new girl! She was so warm and welcoming and made me feel right at home in this new town. That really is one of her unique gifts.
Let me tell you, this “calling” from God is no cake-walk. This has been a challenging and heart-wrenching process for Aaron and Valerie. So why would someone choose to do something that is so challenging? Why take all the risks and have all the unknowns? The bottom line is this: God called them and they have obediently answered. They have looked beyond themselves and decided to bring a child into their family who would not otherwise have the chance for a safe,loving home. God gave Valerie the gift of hospitality and we all know Aaron has the gift of humor. Together they are using their gifts to welcome this precious little girl into their home, their family and their hearts.
Now, how do you and I fit into this equation? And why would you want to fit into this equation? Well, not only has this been challenging emotionally, but this process is a huge financial commitment. How does a family who lives a humble life move forward with a call from God when they don’t necessarily have the funds to cover it? What they do, is they continue to trust that God will provide the funds. But how does God provide the tangible funds? He does that through his people. He tugs just a little on their hearts. He gets them to consider what a difference their little contribution could make in life of tiny little girl just waiting for her forever family. He does it through those who are willing to give a little of themselves to support something bigger.
If you feel like God is tugging at your heart-strings to donate to this family’s adoption, there is a special fund set up at their local bank.
Send a check to:
Choice Financial Group
Attn: Eddie
210 Sheyenne St.
West Fargo, ND 58078
Write: Stevenson Adoption Fund on the memo line of the check.

Thank you for taking the time to read my thoughts on this. Thank you for considering being a part of this beautiful story.
Sincerely, Shannon

GUESS WHAT!!!!

WE ARE LEAVING TUESDAY TO GO GET A LITTLE GIRL!!!!! If you can't tell this is me being excited. The last 2 days have been a whirlwind and a fog. Aaron booked the airline tickets last night and we will be on our way! She will be one on Tuesday so we will meet her on her birthday and get to be at her birthday party (It's going to be an Elmo party)! God is so good he knows exactly how everything is suppose to work out and has it under control. I never knew I would feel like this or that I could feel like this. You can't really put it in words. It's just that God's will is a great place to be.

I talked to the foster mom yesterday and she is incredible! She told me all about her. She sounds just great and I just can't wait to meet her! Before Tuesday I have a 1000 things to do so I have to keep this short but can you please pray:

*Pray for an easy transition, that she will feel comfortable with us. I really don't know what to expect so my prayer has been, "Jesus please prepare us for anything!"

*Pray for Jonah and Lydia and our extended family that will be taking care of them while we are gone.

*And our ongoing prayer will be that the Lord let's us keep her. There is and extra legal risk component to this adoption we just need to keep surrendering to God.

I am bursting with excitement and running on adrenaline. Gotta run. I'll let you know more later.

Thanks for praying!

1st day of preschool

Friday was Lydie's 1st day of preschool. She' s in the afternoon class. She was so excited she wore her backpack on from 9:30 until we left to go out for lunch before class. When I picked her up she said her favorite part of preschool was cutting out the little fish. I just can't believe how big she's getting!

Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. John 20:19

How important it is for God to keep us focused on things that are unseen, for we are so easily snared by the things we can see! If Peter was ever going to walk on the water, he had to walk but if he was going to swim to Jesus, he had to swim. He could not do both. If a bird is going to fly, it must stay away from the fences and trees, trusting the buoyancy of its wings. And if its tries to stay within easy reach of the ground, it will never fly very well.

God had to bring Abraham to the end of his own strength and let him see that with his own body he could do nothing. . .He looked away from himself and trusted only God, he became "fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised" (Rom 4:21)

This is what God is teaching us, and He has to keep results that are encouraging away from us until we learn to trust Him without them. Then He loves to make His Word as real to us in actuality as it is in our faith. A.B. Simpson

taken from Streams in the Desert

I know I haven't written much lately about our adoption and the truth is there is not much to write. Our profiles are out and we are simply waiting. . . waiting on the unknown and unseen . . . waiting on the call that will change our lives. . . waiting and believing with great anticipation for the baby that is meant to be ours. . . waiting on God. And in that waiting God is teaching us, I'm so thankful for His teaching. Here is what He taught me yesterday out of a devotional I'm reading. (Thanks for the recommendation Laura:).