Goodnight my Prince...

Before Carson came home I use to look inside his crib and dream about him sleeping. I would wonder: what does he look like when he sleeps? does he move all round the bed? does he sleep with his eyes open?

Dear Lord,
Thank you for your love and forgiveness. Lord, Thank you for allowing my dreams to come true. I love watching "your son" Carson sleep. Lord, please give Carson a peaceful rest, watch over him, and please keep him safe. Thank you for all you have done for Carson and I.
Amen.

Leaves, Leaves and more Leaves weekend recap.

Saturday "all day" Jonathan and I raked leaves. Ok, Ok, he raked and I used the leaf blower. I dumped three truck loads of leaves at the horse stable. Carson had his first experience playing in the leaves. At first, he was really unsure what to make of it all. Once he saw Jonathan and Kyndel (my dog) laying in the big pile, he wanted to join in the fun. He loved sitting submerged in the sea of leaves. That evening my sister Tracey volunteered to take Carson to the Christmas parade in Stone Harbor. Jonathan and I went to Atlantic City with my girlfriend Kelly and her fiance' Ryan to see Jay Leno and then to Buddahkan for dinner to celebrate my birthday. I thank God for allowing me to hold steady at 29 (;-). Sunday, Essie (my Mom) cooked a smorgasbord of food. Thanks Essie-it was scrumptious. I received great gifts for my birthday. Thanks everyone. I love all of you.

Happy Birthday mommy

'Hi mommy its me Carson your son. Today is your birthday and I want everyone to know what a special mommy you are and how thankful I am to have you as my mommy. Everyday you take care of me and give me lots of love. I love when you come into my room in the morning and I see your beautiful smile and you say good morning to me. You make me happy inside mommy. I love when you hold me and read to me and play ball with me. Even when you're not in the room with me and I hear your voice I get excited inside. That's because you're my mommy and I love you. You feed me and dress me each day with cool clothes and change my diaper and give me a bath and let me splash in the tub. You hug me. You sure do love me mommy. And you pray with me too and read me stories from the bible. I love that. I think God loves that too. I thank God for you mommy because you're so special to me and my life is so great because of you. You chose me mommy and give me love everyday and you are teaching me to be thankful. You taught me to say cat and ball. I love the cat. One of these days I'm going to catch him. He is too fast for me right now :-). Thank you for taking me to church too. I like to clap my hands and try to sing with everyone. I am learning about Jesus. You are the best mommy in the whole world. Have a great birthday mommy. I love you and I always will. Love, your son, Carson.'

written by: Jonathan for Gret's Birthday.

Thanksgiving dinner

I am not sure if my Aunt Jeannie reads my blog, however this entree is dedicated to her.

My Aunt Jeannie hosted the Thanksgiving dinner tonight. She made a wonderful meal with all the traditional Thanksgiving fixing. As we were sitting at the dinner table, my Dad asked Aunt Jeannie when did you start preparing the meal she replied "last night". Wow, she dedicated a few long days of her holiday to cook for the family.
Aunt Jeannie,
Thank you for your hospitality. The Thanksgiving dinner which you prepared was fabulous. I truly appreciated all you did for the family. Also, thanks for the heart to heart talk we had in your bedroom. I always enjoy talking with you.
Love,
Gret

If any of my blog friends cooked for Thanksgiving hats off to you!

Thankfulness

With Thanksgiving just a few days away I've been searching my heart for what I am truly thankful for. The Lord completed my search this afternoon and relieved to me....Carson's birth mother. Carson's birth mother give me (my family) a royal gift of life, my son. I am thankful for Carson's birth mother's willingness and unselfishness to give her biological son a new opportunity in life.

I always remember you in my prayers day and night. And I thank God for you in these prayers.
2 Timothy 1:3

God's faithfulness

Have you ever stopped to think about God's faithfulness?
I remember dreaming about " seeing Carson through the rear view mirror while I was driving." For the past five months guess who I see throught the rear view mirror?




That's right Carson.

God's faithfulness is amazing!

The mall trip!

Uh! What a day at the mall. All week I was planning on going to the mall on Friday with Carson to get alot of my Christmas shopping done. The car ride to the mall was perfect. He was listening to music and drinking his bottle. While I was going over the Christmas list in my head for the 1ooth time. We found a great parking spot and I thought "let the shopping begin. " Well, Carson had another idea... he was going to have a melt down. He did not want to sit in the coach. Each time I attempted to put him the coach he started crying and shaking his head No. Finally, after 10 minutes of crying he sat in his coach and we began to shop. We were going into our third store and the melt down started again. This time it was 10 times louder and he would not stop crying. Needless to say, I bought a few things a bath and body, and one gift card.

Where is pickle?

One of Carson's favorite things to do is..."hunt for Pickle" our cat. Carson will look everywhere for pickle. However, we are trying to teach Carson how to love on pickle instead of hitting her or pulling her tail, so far it is not working. Any advice?

Pickle where are you?

There you are.

I am coming to get you pickle

Guess what is in my hand?

Yup, the kitty scooper.

Uncle Joey is home.

My favorite brother Joey came home tonight for a short visit. Joey is a pilot and lives in Va. so we do not get to see him very much. So, each visit with Joey is very special to the whole family. Carson had a great time playing with his Uncle Joey.

Walk down sunny lane

Its starting to get cold in New Jersey. So, I thought I would post a photo of a warm, sunny memory. One of my favorite things to do in the summer time is "walk the boardwalk." The photo above is the first time Carson rode the train on the boardwalk. The little girl with us is Holly, she too is from Guatemala. Holly is a very special girl to me. I have been taking her to church every Sunday for the past four years. Its amazing to watch her grow in her faith. Holly and Carson have an amazing relationship.

Dear Father,

I praise you for who you are. Thank you for bringing Holly into my life so many years ago. I ask that you will watch over Holly and Carson as they grow. Please keep them healthy, safe and protect their hearts. Thank you for bringing these two amazing children together. I also pray for all the families waiting for their children to come home, and all the children who are already home please help them adapt to their new environment. Lord help me walk closer to you.

In your name,

Amen

Carson

Weekend recap

Wow, were did the weekend go? Friday was our second post adoption visit which lasted an 1 hour and 40 minutes. I believe it went well. Our final post visit is scheduled for June of 2008. Yea!! Friday afternoon Carson went for his first hair cut. He sat for 15 minutes while Rose Mary cut his hair. My Mom and I took turns looking through books with Carson and giving him puffs while he sat like a big boy during his hair cut. Late Friday night, Jonathan, Lily and Noah came down for the weekend.
Saturday morning Carson went to gymnastics where he is learning to do hand stands and forward rolls. Saturday evening was a family dinner at my home which is always a great time. Sunday was church, bell practice and preparing for the week.

Post-adoption home visit.

Tomorrow is our second post adoption visit. I am hoping it will not be as long as the first visit which was three hours. Yes, I said three hours. uh! The second post adoption visit is suppose to begin at 10:00am however, that is Carson's nap time...and boy does he get fussy if he does not take a morning nap. I am not going to stress about it. What will be, will be.

Carson's Grandparents

The random picture of my parents was taken this summer outside of their home. Carson is so fortunate to have grandparents who are my Mom "essie" and Dad. My essie has the most giving heart. Tonight, essie bought Carson his first winter coat, warm winter hat, a few pairs of PJ's and an extra soft stuffed dog.
I am very thankful for the gifts she bought him but most of all I am thank her for unconditional love to Carson. My dad, he is the listener. As Carson grows up he will be able to talk my dad about "anything" without being judged or questioned. Caron, PopPop has over thirty years of coaching baseball...you have the best coach in town.

Dear Carson,
I hope and pray you have an excellent relationship with your grandparents. I want you to spend as much time with them as you can. The memories you make while spending time with MomMom and PopPop will last you a life time. Carson, MomMom and PopPop love you very much. They are so greatful the Lord picked you to be part of the family.

I love you sweet baby boy,
Momma

My smiling prince

I can not believe you are walking. I love you sweet baby boy!

Its very quiet. What is he up to?

Why was I worried? Carson was reading one of his favorite books.

A horse, of course- for Halloween.

Friday Photo

One of my favorite things to do is watch Carson play with his trucks. He is very serious while playing and makes the vroom vroom sound when he pushes his trucks on the floor. Carson is ALL boy!

Future Professional Juggler

Carson enjoys hitting the beach ball and trying to keep it off the floor. He can spend hours doing this if I let him. He works up a great sweat and pants like he just ran a marathon.

I hope I teach Carson how to Love the christian way.

The Faith of Works
“Dear brothers and sisters, what's the use of saying you have faith if you don't prove it by your actions? That kind of faith can't save anyone. … So you see, it isn't enough just to have faith. Faith that doesn't show itself by good deeds is no faith at all—it is dead and useless.” (James 2:14,17 NLT)
Consider this paraphrase of James 2:14,17 (based on the NLT):
Dear brothers and sisters, what's the use of saying you love your spouse if you don't prove it by the way you treat your spouse? That kind of impersonal love doesn’t make your relationship a marriage. … So you see, it isn't enough just to have an impersonal love. A theoretical love that doesn't show itself by intimate involvement in the life of your spouse is no love at all – it is dead and useless.
I use this example because it helps us see the holy union of faith and works. We can say we love our spouses, but without the “good works” of married life it’s hard to see the love. Yet we also can go through the motions of “good works” within a marriage without the presence of love.
Either way, we’ve missed the point and veered from God’s plain and simple plan. When it comes to faith and works, it basically works this way:
· We are saved by grace, through faith; this salvation is not from what we do, it is a gift from God; Salvation comes from faith and not by works, so that no one can boast about what they did to get to heaven. (Ephesians 2:7-10 NIV; Psalm 51:12 HCSB)
· God places the Holy Spirit within us, and we are energized by his spirit to do good works. (Colossians 1:29)
Paul says we’re compelled by love to do good works; it is possible, however, to fake faith by doing these good works. This may feel good bring us praise, but it will not earn salvation from God. It’s good works done in a faithless way – because they do not require faith, nor are they motivated by your faith.
James says it the other way around: You can claim faith all day long, but if your faith isn’t reflected in your actions, in the way you live your life, then you faith is dead. You’re living with a faith that has not been energized by the Spirit of God. It’s a theoretical faith that doesn’t compel you to pour your life into good and godly works.
Faith without works; works without faith – neither of these is God’s design. He designed us to live out a union of faith and works, so co-mingled that they reflect the very image of Christ.
What now?
· Work your faith – Let’s bring this lesson back down to an intimate level. Which takes more faith combined with works, for you to:
Participate in a mission project in a foreign country?
Treat your spouse with civility?
Submit to a boss you don’t respect?· God’s energy directs your work for him – “To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me.” (Colossians 1:28-29 NIV) Perhaps you never thought you’d hear this from a pastor, but there may be some good things you’re doing that you can stop doing – because God never meant for them to be part of your purpose or the works you were created to do. This is not an excuse to sit on the sidelines. The question is: What is God energizing you to do for him?
· God’s love compels you to good works – “For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.” (2 Corinthians 5 NIV) God’s love is within you, compelling you to good works. What good and godly work are you consistently compelled to do?