A Beautiful Beginning

Two months ago Will and I were enjoying a quiet evening after all the kids were in bed. We were relishing in God's goodness and in awe that He had blessed us with so much. Knowing how undeserving we are, but praising God for how wonderful He is, we counted our joys and named them one by one: Amanda Alene, Candice Taylor, Luke William, Noah Daniel, Gabriel Nathaniel, Veronica Joy, Elisa Rebecca, Joshua David, Sofia Alessandra, Levi Rafael, Isaac Josef, and Elijah Angel. Each child God has blessed us with is such a source of inspiration as their unique talents and gifts continually point us to the Creator of every good and perfect gift.

Amazingly, God has chosen to bless us again with precious Ai-Lin Rylie Faith. Through the entire process of welcoming her into our family, God was faithful. Ai-Lin has been apart of our family for just one week and I cannot imagine life without her. She was made for this family. I can't imagine a better fit.

Ai-Lin has stolen our hearts and we are in love. She is beautiful and so full of life. She is nothing short of brilliant and her energy is contagious. Her sweet compassion has touched us all. I am astounded at how quickly she has given me her trust. In such a short time, she is already looking to me for love, comfort, and safety. Ai-Lin seems to be soaking up all the love our family has to give her. I play a little game with her during holding time. I say, "Who loves Ai-Lin? Mommy loves Ai-Lin!" I say it over and over again and I am rewarded with bright smiling eyes.

The game has expanded into Ai-Lin answering, "Mommy loves Ai-Lin!" and then running through the list of the rest of the family one by one. "Daddy loves Ai-Lin, Amanda loves Ai-Lin, Candice loves Ai-Lin," and so on.

This week poor Levi earned a time out and teary eyed he sat in his chair. Ai-Lin walked over and patted Levi's leg concerned saying, "Mommy LOVES Levi!" She is already feeling the all-encompassing love of our family.

Ai-Lin loves to sing and to listen to me sing. When I rock her, she is now requesting I sing to her. I love to sing while looking into her lovely eyes, stroking her soft hair, as my heart swells to overflowing with love for this precious gift from God.

I knew when we began our journey to welcome Ai-Lin home that God had made Ai-Lin and all of the Varnells for such a time as this. I knew in faith that God would use us to teach Ai-Lin and use her to teach all of us as well. I believed with all my heart that the story would be beautiful, yet it is unfolding with far more beauty than I ever could have imagined. God is knitting our hearts together in ways only He can. I am amazed once again at God's goodness. A few months ago, I couldn't have dreamed of a better life, but today I am living it! Thank you, God, for bringing us such a delightful bundle to love and grow with!

Welcome, Sweet Ai-Lin!

Thursday we met our darling daughter, Ai-Lin Rylie Faith, for the very first time. Though she has been with us less than a week, we cannot imagine life without her. Ai-Lin is such a wonderful fit for our family. We are having so much fun getting to know each other. We are so thankful the Lord has given us another blessing and we are praising Him for bringing Ai-Lin into our lives. I know she has much to teach us and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to watch her become all she was created to be. The adoption process is exhausting and at times feels excruciating, but all worth it the moment the dream of welcoming a precious child into our home becomes a reality. I often equate the adoption process with labor. Once it is over and I am experiencing the reward, the memories of the perilous journey fade. Welcoming Ai-Lin was just as exciting as welcoming our firstborn. I may have a bit more confidence in my parenting, but I am still overwhelmed and humbled that in God's grace He would entrust me with so precious a gift. Ai-Lin's bright eyes are a beautiful sight to behold. I love you, precious daughter, and thank God for you! I praise God I get to be apart of your story. The best is yet to come!

Birthday Kids

Joshua's birthday was yesterday and Elisa's is next week, so off to the Happiest Place on Earth we went. We had a wonderful day as a family enjoying God's greatest gifts, our children.

Joshua is eight! He is an energetic, life-loving kid. He is diligent with his school work. Joshua has passion and zeal. He loves pirate swords and video games. He is a lover and a fighter. He frequently grabs my cheeks with his little hands for a smooch. I love it!

Elisa is turning nine! She is so sweet. Though she can be quiet, she is full of love and compassion. She is a hard worker and loves little ones. Always a giver, she spent some of her birthday money to buy a gift to give to her newest sister, Ai-Lin. Elisa's genuine heart is beautiful.

One of the joys of parenting is watching the beauty and potential within each child unfold. We are so blessed!

Happy Birthday, Joshua and Elisa! We love you and are so very proud of you!

Fall Is Here!

I came home from shopping to find the children raking leaves. They were raking our yard, as well as the neighbors, trying to come up with a big enough pile to jump in. Three yards later they had a pretty good pile! I love the change of seasons. Every season is my favorite as each brings a change of pace and new things to celebrate. Autumn brings pumpkin lattes, pumpkin bread, pumpkin cookies, and pumpkin pie. Yes, I LOVE pumpkin:) The leaves are changing color. It is a time for nature walks and an evening jacket. School days have fallen into a comfortable rhythm (for the most part). Daylight savings is over and evenings are filled with crock pot dinners, out loud reading, family games, and hot cocoa. Welcome, Fall!

Mulligan's Field Trip

Daddy took the kids to Mulligan's Family Fun Center Friday for a fun filled afternoon. Our umbrella school put on a party for a job well-done on last year's STAR testing. As for me, I got the best reward! I had the whole afternoon off. I was able to chat on the phone, update our blog, and do a bit of cleaning while the little ones napped. Three cheers for Daddy! Hip! Hip! Hooray!

Child Remaining Nameless

On the way home from Sams Club this afternoon, I was explaining to a particular child, who will remain nameless in this post, the importance of oral hygiene.

Mommy: You know, you need to take care of your teeth because you aren't going to get another set.

Child Remaining Nameless: Aaahhh. I don't like brushing my teeth and I would just rather have soup.

Mommy: Soup? I think you would get tired of eating just soup.

Child Remaining Nameless: Actually, there is QUITE a VARIETY of soups.

Then the Child Remaining Nameless informed me that with all the recipes for soup that can be found on the Internet that he/she could go an entire year without eating the same soup twice.

So I changed my approach. Later we were discussing traditional weddings and who was required to pay for what expense. When the Child Remaining Nameless declared, "For my wedding, I am going to be set, " I responded that he/she may want to start brushing more often if they wanted to find that special spouse. He/she was speechless. I think I won this round:)