He ran into my arms one year ago...

It's another family day for the Harding team! One year ago, a little boy that we had been matched with for over a year, was sitting in a director's office in Shijiazhuang China. He was playing quietly on the floor, dressed in literally everything he owned. His lamb pajamas, a pair of jeans, a brand new jean jacket, and his shoes. Shoes that were at least two sizes two small, with no laces, and the left one ripped which made it fall off with most every step. I pushed away two giant pieces of plastic that covered the door, and I saw him. The orphanage director stood him up, and in an instant he ran into my arms with a glorious "MAMA!" It was a gotcha day like I was never expecting. It broke me into a million pieces. It still breaks me each time I watch the video. He had waited so so long, until we one day were there.

Writing about my Asa is so so beautiful, that I am crying thinking about it right now. In the adoption world, Todd and I literally hit the JACKPOT with this little guy. How he came to be a Harding is only the work of The Most High, and reflecting upon it brings me to my breaking point, in a thankful, and humble way. Asa's file was never supposed to come to us. We had not checked his special need on our "accepted needs list." But OUR plans NEVER THWART the King of King's. His file was was for a little boy with Cerebral Palsy, and Microcephaly. Todd and I remember mulling this over, and over. Could we handle this? What would his medical care look like? How severe were the needs? These things were real issues to us, and they were scary. That was until I got a clear, and undeniable word in the Scripture that he was in fact OUR SON. Regardless of his needs, God made himself abundantly clear to Todd and I that we were to go get him. So we said yes, knowing that whatever came with him, we could adapt and overcome. I do have to say, our fear fled in the instant we said yes. I mean not one ounce of fear. We just knew.  We had to change our special needs form to show that we would indeed accept a child with his diagnosis. Now, fast forward through the one whole year he has been home....

My Asa Josiah, has been an absolute DREAM since he has been home with us. He is literally a child FILLED with joy. All day, every second. Nothing, and I do mean nothing steals it away. Even when I had thought in my heart of hearts I had stolen it. Several times. We wake up to smiles and squeals of joy, every.single.day. We get "HI MOMMY!!" and "HEY DADDY!!", a boy who hugs and kisses, leaps with joy, snuggles with brothers and sisters. He is so gentle, kind, obedient. He makes everyone who meets him smile. Everyone. I'm not even exaggerating. He is so so smart. He has just seized each and every day he has been with his family. Oh how God knew what we needed. Throughout the two years we waited to get both Asa and Selah, the one verse I clung to and had plastered throughout my house was Psalm 27:13-14 "I BELIEVE that I shall look upon the GOODNESS of The Lord in the land of the living! Wait for The Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for The Lord!" 
And, I wish that I could stress enough that He is so faithful, and so so good! I watched His goodness unfold right before our eyes with Asa.

He has a completely unknown past. We will never know what his birth parents named him. We will never know what day, or what time he was born. We will never know how much he weighed, or how tall he was. We will never know why he was abandoned. We will never know where he was found. Only our Abba Father knows. Only He knows while Asa was being knit together in the womb, what great and mighty things a little boy so full of joy will accomplish for His Name and His Renown! On October 19th, 2014 Asa became a son, a brother, a cherished child, and he was named forever. This not so little 4 year old boy has completely wrecked me on the inside. Asa has shown me the dark side of my sinful heart like nothing else on this earth has. He has brought me to my knees in crying tears, begging for forgiveness for my dark, selfish, soul. And I am GRATEFUL. Do you hear me. Grateful. Nothing has grown me and challenged me more this year as Christ follower, than walking out His Gospel, every single morning as Asa & Selah's Mommy. I feel so privileged that God has allowed me to be the one to experience joy upon joy from this little one. I think to myself what I will tell him one day when he begins to question his most vague past. I don't really get sad about the story anymore, because the true story is that even though it started out not so great, The Great I AM knew him and made a way for him. But in some weird way, I think Asa already gets that. The heart of The Father is already beating in that little one's body. I really just get to stand back and watch it unfold. What a beautiful seat I have!! I pray that one day his birth Momma will know what an incredible treasure he really, truly is! She won't ever know this side of Heaven, but what a party we could have if she knows Jesus Christ!

To close out this little update on our beautiful boy, the cherry on top of the whole thing is our boy has no special needs. He is a perfectly healthy, normal, little guy. He doesn't have anything that his file stated he did, which truly never mattered to us anyhow. When we gave God our yes, it came with no conditions.  Asa's true and only special need, was a family.

It's been a WHOLE year y'all.....

One year ago, I was sitting in a small-ish room, in a building where it is still okay to smoke INSIDE of, with about 5 other families, and we were just waiting. We were all waiting for that second where all of the paperwork we compiled over two years, 25+ hours of airplane and vehicular travel, would all be forgotten in an instant. The instant they handed over to me a little 24 pound, screaming, fear and trembling, 18 month old baby. She was wrapped in 3 layers of clothing in 78 degree weather, sweating, pale, and watched with terror as the only face she knew since she was 3 months old, her Ayi (nanny), handed her over to a big, bearded, bald, Baba. It was that fast. So fast that I was scrambling to get my phone to record this moment. She was finally ours. The little girl promised by God to us. Yes, PROMISED by God to US. She was. Little Fan Fan. I just remember seeing her crying face and not even knowing what to do, but my Mommy instinct did. I just scooped her up and tried with all my might to comfort her. I wanted her to feel safe. I wanted her to smell me. I wanted to smell her. I wanted her to know that we were going to be OKAY! I just barely remember her orphanage director telling me what she ate, and how she slept. I literally just grasped, bottle and nap times. Everything else was Charlie Brown's teacher to me. We made it through China for three weeks, and I will write another blog in 7 days telling about her brother, but for now, I just want you to know what this year has been about for our family.

You know, I had read tons of blogs, read books, searched out Google for anything to help me be a "Great NEW adoptive Mommy." But, everything I read, never prepared me for the first year I had with our sweet Selah. Her special need is a limb difference which will require her to wear a prosthetic leg for the rest of her life. BUT, that in my mind, THAT is what got her out of China. That's it. It by far is/was the easiest thing about her. Even teaching her how to walk, was a piece of cake compared to her ACTUAL special need. Her actual special need is healing. Internal, mental, HEALING. It is THE only thing that presented itself for this first year, and we aren't done. She and I have spent hours, OW-WERR-ZZZZ, laying on the floor, holding her in my lap, restraining her arms and legs so she cannot hurt herself, or try to hurt me. It is THE most heartbreaking thing Todd and I have ever experienced. In the adoption world they just call them "rages." But, it is so much more. I don't want to go into super detail, because I'm sure it will be embarrassing to her one day, and it really breaks my heart.  But, the trauma of her being left and abandoned, not once but, TWICE, was just too much for her sweet brain to comprehend. Her special need is her need to control, everyone, and everything. She has the hardest time just trusting and being, and it presents itself with as much violence as a little 28 pound, 2 year old can muster. But God, y'all. He is with me. HE has been with me, even when no one else was. Through all the mornings I could not do, NOT ONE MORE, breakfast session that lasted 3 hours, He was present. Through all the rages I could not do, NOT ONE MORE, banging of her head on the floor. He calmed the raging storm in me and her when I could not do NOT ONE MORE, face smacking, ear ripping, scratching, afternoon. The only promise I had was His. The promise that HE fulfilled, and I promised to love through the trenches, even when I could not even bring myself to just LIKE the little girl that was placed in my arms on October 13th, 2014. As the months passed, she started to just "be" more and more. Her raging became less frequent, and less intense with each passing week. We started find a groove. We started to connect. She started to show signs of happiness. She began to understand WHO we were. She knew that she had a home. All the things that you never really get to SEE with your own eyes when you have a biological baby. She began to be silly. She began to be KIND. She started to be HILARIOUS. And it was incredible to witness. It's such a mirror image of The Gospel. I mean almost IDENTICAL. How we begin to just BE, and to just TRUST, and to just KNOW, that Our Savior Jesus Christ has us. Safe and secure. Each and every time Selah would rage, and rage, I could see that it was exactly what I did against a Holy God. I fought and fought, until one day, I got it.

Today, my sweet girl still rages, but man have we nailed it down. We can get her through it, sometimes in 15 minutes, sometimes in an hour and 15 minutes. But, I can get her through it. She no longer tries to hurt herself, or me. She has let that part go, thank you Jesus. She no longer bangs her face and head on the floor, thank you Jesus. She no longer holds food in her mouth for hours and hours, thank you Jesus. She no longer sits for three hours refusing to eat, thank you Jesus. She no longer refuses sleep, thank you Jesus. She is becoming a daughter, a sister, a cherished child. THANK YOU JESUS. Many many times, the catchphrase that Todd would tell me every day, because I NEEDED him to tell me was, "Honey, God knew who the perfect Mommy to raise her would be." I blew it a LOT over this past year. A. LOT. But, I think I have repented more than I ever have in the history of ever, and He has been faithful. FAITHFUL. Every single second of this year has been used for my good and His Glory. All of it. He will bring you through anything He calls you to friends. He will. This was never the way I pictured my family would grow. I never thought in a million, bajillion, trillion, infinity years, that I could love with all my heart, soul, and strength, someone who was ONLY important to our Great IAM. But, I do, and she is absolutely, without a doubt, the greatest GIFT wrapped up perfectly in a bow of spitfire and sass. I only wish I had more words to express just how amazing she is. Happy 1 year Family Day my sweet Selah girl. You are cherished, loved, and wanted. I love you more than you will EVER know.

7....

As I opened up my blog to sit down and write, I noticed that it has been almost six months since the last time I was able to blog. Geez. I am in no way a writer, and I barely think anything I have to say is "blog worthy" but, I try to do an occasional sit down whenever I want to remember something significant. This just happens to be one of those times. Today is Good Friday, and I always seem to reflect upon my walk with Jesus on this day. You see, without this weekend, my faith in Christ means absolutely nothing. The Apostle Paul said it the most profoundly in my opinion.

"And if Christ has not been raised, then ALL our preaching is useless, and your FAITH is useless. And we apostles would ALL be lying about God-for we have said that God raised Christ from the grave. But that can't be true if there is no resurrection of the dead. And if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised, then your FAITH is useless and you are STILL guilty of your sins. In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are LOST! And if our HOPE IN CHRIST is ONLY for THIS LIFE, WE ARE TO BE MORE PITIED THAN ANYONE IN THE WORLD." 1 Corinthians 15:14-19 {NLT}

Paul is telling the Church at Corinth that we are to be the most pitied people on the planet if Christ did not raise from the dead. And that just blows my mind, that a statement like that is in the Bible. Because it is so true. Our Christian Faith is solely based on one single event in history. Jesus not being in that tomb Sunday morning. An event in time that at one time I mocked openly. You see, 7 years ago on Easter Sunday, Jesus called me by name, and pulled me out of the muck and the mire, and set my feet on His path. And 7 years later, it is still the most important relationship in my life. 7 years of walking hand in hand with The Creator of the Universe. The Alpha & The Omega. Who did not woo me to Himself when I had it all together. No. He plucked me out when I was a murderer, an adulterer, a liar, a thief, jealous, broken, and had a dark, cynical, prideful, arrogant, heart. That was ALL me. All of those things, and to top it off, I openly mocked His name. I mocked those who called His name precious. You could not possibly get me to set foot inside of a Church. No way, no how. But, He knew how to get me there, and He knew I needed to hear the Truth. I heard the Gospel that day. And, when I say I heard it, I HEARD IT. It was all of a sudden heard with ears that knew without a shadow of a doubt that what Pastor Rick Barnett was reading Easter Sunday 2008, was true. I don't know why, but I knew that my sin was sin He died bearing for me, so that I might KNOW Him. I have never been the same since. On April 6th 2008, I was baptized in the East China Sea, and when I came up from that water, I. WAS.FREE. Do you hear me? I was free. I can't explain it in any better language than that, and I have sought to know who He is, and what His Word says, ever since. Each time I look back to that day, it humbles me in a way that I can't convey without tears. To know how dirty, and wretched, how broken, I was until He swooped down and rescued me? It's a gratefulness that I can only give back to Him by making MUCH of HIS NAME. It sometimes feels as if it will overflow from my body and spill onto the floor. When I hear His name spoken in reverence, I feel as if I have to bow my head, or bend my knees. SO, you out there who don't know Him. WHAT would cause me to have this significant of a life change, if it WAS NOT for an empty tomb? There is no other answer, other than Jesus Christ. As each year passes, I am blown away by how much less this world means to me. How much less afraid of what people say, do, and have done to me. The one thing that remains focal is Him and Him alone.

As Easter Sunday rolls around, it seems as if every Church has some sort of "Special Event" planned for their Church, in an attempt to draw a crowd. This saddens me so much. Because, Easter usually is one day when people feel they "HAVE" to attend church. The one thing Jesus has always been really, really good at, is drawing a crowd. By all means, invite your loved ones, friends, coworkers, whoever, to Church on Easter. But, let them know this is the day we celebrate the Gospel! That God made a way for us. Then on that day, TELL them how "He is not here, HE IS RISEN!" The Gospel, and the Gospel alone saves, and if your church has 7 people there on Easter Sunday, then you tell those 7 people about God's great love for them. He knows who needs to hear. WE need to let God be God, and God saves through Faith alone, by Grace alone.

I pray that someone invites you, or you go to find out what I am saying has any weight, or that you have been feeling the gentle tug upon your heart to surrender your life completely to Him. 7 years. He has given me 7 life breathing years knowing Him. I get excited to know that He isn't done with me yet. I blow it all the time, but He always encourages me right back to His side. My prayer is that by next year's blog I can know more of you as my brother and sisters, than just my friends.

"The Angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid; for I know you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. He is not here, He has risen, just as He said. Come see the place where He was lying." 

"So if the Son sets you free, you are free indeed." John 8:36

One Giant "Thank You Note."

So here I sit, at 5:12 am, and being up since 1:28 am. The Asian Invasion is in full effect at the Haus of Harding. The kids are not sleeping well at all. They are up, and down, up and down, up and down. So while Todd snuggles them on the couch with some VeggieTales, I thought I would sit down and write a quick note to all of the sweet folks who knocked our socks off when we returned home from China. Oh, how I wish I could sit down and write each of you a special "Thank You Note" but I know I would be kidding myself. I am lucky if I can put one baby down to potty. I also was having issues with my phone since I returned from China as well. I had all sorts of text issues, time issues, voicemail issues. Geez. I mean. So, if I haven't responded to you, it's certainly not because I don't love you, because I so do. Before I get into our return trip, I just want to be very transparent with you all. I have been so overwhelmed by the uniting of our Village. Overwhelmed with the uniting in prayer. Overwhelmed with the uniting of funds. Overwhelmed with the "doing good, especially to those in the family of Faith." {Gal.6:10} Most of you know that for most of our lives, Todd and I have done all the things, on our own. We have not had "get your hands dirty" help and support. We have become a very good team, him and I. Mostly because we both have the same goal in our minds, and we work very hard to achieve the same things. I have found myself succumbing to the help of others. I am blown away by the joy I see on the faces of those just wanting to put their hands and feet to the plow with us. I haven't ever seen that in my life, until I met Jesus. I struggle with feelings of complete un-worthiness. I struggle to accept help, and ask for help. And I know exactly where it stems from. Even sitting here typing it, I have more memories of asking, crying, yearning, for help, and not receiving it, than I do getting it. It makes me turn to see just how my newest littles are feeling. Crying to have their needs met, and no one comes. Being so extremely clingy, because they are not sure if you are coming back. Worried faces as friends come over to drop off food, not sure if I am going to pass them off.  My thoughts are falling quickly into being a failure, because I can't even begin to think about how I, me, ME, with all my quirks, is even going to be able to raise them. So that is where I am at right now.

Psalm 145:18-19 {NLT} " The LORD is CLOSE to ALL who call on HIM, yes, to ALL who call on HIM in Truth. He grants the desires of those who fear Him; He hears their cries for HELP and RESCUES them." 

I was so thankful to read that yesterday while searching for just one mere nugget of God's Word to speak to me.  So all that to say, "Thank You." Thank you for just doing, and allowing me "not to ask." I feel so filled to the brim of thankfulness. Walking into my house after that long trip back from China, was indescribable. Walking in to the smell of a pot roast simmering in a crock pot, then walking in to my own bedroom finding about 10 gift bags sitting on my bed, FULL of clothes for our babies. The load that took off my shoulders was unreal. The burdens that many of you eased for us by praying are huge. The burdens you have released by just being encouraging, and speaking kind words, and posting scripture to our Facebook Page. Parents, Teachers, Friends, Families, all joined hands in agreement, and made the choice to LOVE the little nomad family called the Hardings. I never would have imagined that God would have paved such a perfect little yellow brick road for us. Never. Not in a million years. All we ever wanted was to add to our little family, raise some great kids, build a legacy. We just wanted to do whatever it was that would bring the absolute most Glory to Him possible. I never expected anything in return. But, He has given me a return on my investment that I find it hard to even accept at times! Like I feel like saying, NO NO Lord, it's too much! But, then He keeps the fountains flowing. I think I finally understand what He means when He says "Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, it will be POURED into your LAP. For with the MEASURE YOU USE, it WILL BE MEASURED to you." Luke 6:38 {NIV}
But, what a double minded wretch I am. Those verses are never meant for me, only for others. I never "expect" to reap the huge blessings, only what I measure myself to. Which isn't much. So dear friends, thank you so much. I wish I could give to you what you have given to us via our Heavenly Father. I pray that you know in your hearts how I want you all to know that nothing you have done or given to us has been missed or taken for granted. Not one thing. I cherish each and every gift, word, hug, text, phone call. I am literally yearning to hug all the necks, and smooch all the cheeks. I know I will get that chance in the weeks ahead. Time to head back to that plow, because this field isn't going to harvest by itself!! HUGS!!!

Hangin' In Hangzhou: Day 1...

We have made it to the Land of China! We got in late last night around midnight October 12th. After about 30 hours of travel we were so thankful to be hitting our bed in our hotel. We are staying at the Merchant Marco Hotel in a very affluent part of Hangzhou. It is very nice. We met our guide Savor, and our Driver for the week. Both are VERY kind, and our driver was very cautious in getting us to Hangzhou from Shanghai. We slept very well, and awoke at about 5:30 am. Breakfast is served at 6:30, so before breakfast we were able to Skype with both of the kids! Oh that made my heart full. I am missing them so much already, but I am so thankful they are with some very great friends who love them like their own. It was so nice to see their faces. Taryn has been sending me text messages over Skype, and I just love it. She makes sure she says Good Morning, and Good Night, and sends lots of emoji's with her messages. We went to breakfast at 6:30, and we were blown away by our breakfast buffet. It was a huge buffet with traditional Chinese food, and Western food. They had a chef there to make any kind of eggs you wanted. Fresh fruit, and freshly squeezed juices of all kinds. My favorite was the bacon, and the coffee. I love strong coffee, but in America it tends to more bitter the stronger it's made. Well this coffee was very strong, but it was not at all bitter. It had more of a nutty taste. Todd and I drank the entire pot ourselves. Sorry China. After a shower, and getting ready, we met our guide, and headed out to walk around. It is a gorgeous day of around 70 degrees, sunny, and very windy. We went to a large WalMart type of store, where they had everything. Our guide Savor and I had a ball!! She is super fun, and I really like her. She totally gets my sarcasm! It is very pretty here, and reminds me a lot of Okinawa. I feel so blessed to have lived there for 5 years, because I am not at all culture shocked at the grocery store! I pretty much knew all of the things, and have tried many. I found a bunch of snacks that I knew were delicious for Selah. I bought blueberry Pocky, which for all my Okinawa buddies, they HAVE BLUEBERRY!! They had about 9 flavors of Pocky! So great. Took this great photo for my friends Kim & Emily.

                                                       {Green Tea Ice Cream Flavored}

Our Guide Savor...

We are so excited to finally be in China! For the rest of the day/evening we are pretty much hanging out in the hotel. We will grab a bite to eat and then hit the sack, because tomorrow is a BIG DAY!! It's SELAH day! We should have our sweet girl in our arms at about 9:30 am tomorrow! Please pray for her to not be too scared or fearful, and that her grieving would not be desperate. Along with the beauty of adoption comes the heartbreak as well. This poor girl has no clue about what is going on in her little life. Thank you guys so much for keeping us covered in prayer. We have had such great peace, and things have been just falling right into place!!

HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY: Erin almost pays a  Buddist woman to pray for her. Just Bless all that.

Sweet Selah....

Selah. The Hebrew word used primarily in the Book of Psalms & also three times in the third chapter of the Book of Habakkuk. The definition of the word has come to universally mean theologically, to pause, to reflect, and to give praise or say "Amen!" I have been doing lots and lots of research regarding this particular word in Scripture because The Lord made it very clear to me that it was to be her name.

When I laid eyes on her face, she took my breath away. She literally caused me to "pause", "reflect", and to say "Amen!" She will be our daughter. Her story is so great y'all. A story that only Our Lord God could write. Won't you listen with ears to hear?

"Give THANKS to The Lord, and PROCLAIM His greatness. Let the WHOLE WORLD know what HE has done. Sing to Him; YES SING HIS PRAISES. TELL everyone about His WONDERFUL deeds." 1 Chronicles 16:8-9 (NLT)

On March 5th, 2014 we were presented her file. I know that that date is very significant, because we were in the midst of celebrating our son Asa's birthday from across the pond! Asa turned three, and Todd and I received a text from our Social Worker, asking if she could conference call us in around 4pm. She said that she had to ask some questions about our documents we had submitted for Asa. She phoned us at 4pm sharp, and quickly began to let us know that she did not in fact need to go over any documents, but that she had just gotten approval from the entire staff of our Agency, to present us with a file she had put on hold for us days ago. Wait? What? "Erin, didn't you write a blog post about how your Agency was NOT going to allow you to go forward with adopting a second child?" WHY yes I did! I did not feel another blog post was really necessary for the news we received about three weeks following our No. Our Agency, through prayer and seeking the best thing for our family and Asa, decided that because we were already approved for 2 in our home study and our I-800a paperwork, they would still consider us candidates to adopt two children concurrently. Honestly, I did not want to get my hopes up, because I didn't want to be disappointed again. So I stayed quiet about it for the most part. Only a few people knew that we were still being considered, and it came with a BUNCH of stipulations. The child would have to be chosen by Lifeline. The child had to be approved by every one of the higher ups at the Agency. Meaning in laymen's terms, it HAD to be the PERFECT child, the PERFECT FILE, and the PERFECT fit. No pressure or anything. But, basically, GOD had to move every single mountain, and let me tell you, I KNEW HE was going to do it!! I kept saying to Todd, to every one of my prayer warriors, HE is going to do it y'all! God just does NOT close a door, and then crack it open again to dangle the possibility in our faces. Revelation 3:7 "What HE opens NO ONE can close, and what He closes NO ONE can open." Months went by. We still had no idea if we were going to be bringing home one, or two. We knew we were going for Asa, and we were OKAY with that. We had resigned ourselves to get it through our heads that we could be taking two trips to China. Until.... We got her file. The waves of emotions that echoed through our home were fantastic! Ian later said that his Daddy was "sobbing so many tears it was like it was raining inside." The rest of the night was pure bliss! We literally were on cloud nine. It felt just as glorious as it had felt when we said yes to Asa. That night before bed, Todd and I prayed and thanked The Lord for just being amazing, and answering lots and lots of prayers. Prayers uttered from the mouth of me, Todd, Taryn & Ian. After we were finished praying, I said to Todd, "Man, I wish that I had a scripture I could cling to for her, just like I had gotten for Asa." Because this Momma knows that my Lord NEVER contradicts His Word. I know I can always take it to the bank. Rely on it when I get afraid of the unknown. I have had to do that several times with Asa, but I KNOW that I KNOW, he is my son, because God said so. I just wanted that same thing for her. Something that my heart knew she was meant for us, God-picked.

Please hear me when I tell you that stuff like that is IMPORTANT to Him, folks. Because the very next morning, God blessed me durning my quiet time. He gave me my scripture to cling to.

Isaiah 61:7 {NLT} "Instead of shame and dishonor, YOU will enjoy a DOUBLE share of honor. YOU will possess a DOUBLE portion of prosperity in your land, and EVERLASTING JOY will be YOURS."

And just like that I knew my Selah Karis was meant to be our daughter. The fact that The Lord of all the earth, would take such care to have me know HIS giant plan? I mean it is almost too much for my brain to comprehend. Later on that morning, our Social Worker texted me a photo of our entire agency praying for our family. The entire China staff praying and cheering for our family. You guys it was almost too much!

Because this story is quite long, but so needs to be told, please take this moment to grab a drink, and or a snack. Go ahead. I'll wait.

Still cruising through Day 2, about carpool time. I texted Emily to let her know that I was so consumed with thankfulness and gratitude, the scripture from Psalm 8:4 "What are mere mortals that that You should think about them, human beings that You should care for them?" Kept popping into my head. I just HAD to tell someone. But she texted me back this scripture, sort of like God prompting her to tell me, "No, HOW about this one?" It is King David's prayer of Thanksgiving. I quickly pulled it up on my phone and just sat there is complete awe, because The Word is ALIVE people. That a person over 2000 years ago, felt EXACTLY the way I was feeling in 2014 sitting in the carpool lane. I mean....just read for yourself.

2 Samuel 7:18-22 {NLT} " Then King David went in and sat before The Lord and prayed, "Who am I, O Sovereign Lord, and WHAT is MY FAMILY that YOU have brought ME this far? And now, Sovereign Lord, in addition to everything else, You speak of giving Your servant a LASTING DYNASTY! Do you deal with everyone this way, O Sovereign Lord? What more can I say to You? You KNOW what Your servant is REALLY LIKE, Sovereign Lord. Because of YOUR PROMISE and according to YOUR WILL, You have done ALL these great things and have made them known to your servant. How GREAT You are, O Sovereign Lord! There is NO ONE LIKE YOU. We have never even heard of another God like You! 

The rest of that chapter is really, really good too! Please read it!! Alrighty, we now pause for this seriously necessary cuteness.

Now, let me fast forward to why I decided to write this blog today of all days. I wrote it down because I NEEDED to remember. I needed to PAUSE, to REFLECT, and to say AMEN! Today was a very lazy Saturday around the Haus of Harding. We were really just enjoying the gorgeous day, the date is 3-15-14, and as I was cleaning up the house something inside of me thought it would be so cool to look up on Facebook, what I was doing/thinking on Selah's birthday. Her given birthday is February 12th, 2013. Is it her actual birthday? Probably not. It was probably given to her because she was abandoned. BUT that date is what is ALL over her file. So I hop onto my Facebook account, and pull up my status for February 12th, 2013. Many of you might remember that I did a 30 days of Hubby Bragging on my Facebook. Well, this particular day was day 30. And here is a screenshot of what I posted. Please click on the photo to enlarge it if you aren't able to read the small photo.

 Also please take note of the comment left by my amazing hubby! You still not sure God works in the details? Well, let me seal the deal for you right now. This is my husband's status he posted on his Facebook, the exact same day.

Our God, perfect in His timing. Perfect in all His ways. Was orchestrating each and every thing to bring this little girl into our life. A blessing all FOR HIS NAME, and HIS GLORY. Gah-lee, I cannot fathom NOT knowing a merciful and loving God such as ours. He is absolutely perfect, and each and every time His Plan is so incredibly perfect, and I wish I could convey how HE wants us to live absolutely, and completely surrendered to Him and His Will. He will show you GREAT and GLORIOUS things each and.every.time. Please take a minute to find your Selah moment. Your great pause, reflection, and praise of Amen! Thank Him for it. Thank Him for the road He took you down to get there, because looking through from the other side is SOOOO WORTH IT! We are stronger people for clinging to His promise, even when we thought there was NO HOPE. After a YES, turned to a NO, turned to a MAYBE, turned to an AMEN! Friends, our family will be going from four to six in just a few short months! I can hardly stand it. Asa got a little sister as his birthday present, and our family got a huge God blessing! Can I just also mention in closing, Selah's middle name is Karis, which means "Grace" in Greek. So her name will mean, Pause, Reflect, say Amen...to Grace.

China said YES!!

"O Glorious Day!" The Hardings have LOA!!! This is a HUGE milestone for us! This little document came to us today via FedEx from the land of China! LOA means "Letter of Acceptance." It officially says that Todd and I are, in the eyes of China, Asa's parents! He is ours and we are his! A family has been created from miles and miles away! How I love this little boy I have not yet met!! Did you hear that?! I have NOT YET MET! But he is mine. On the LOA it says that he is a "Foundling." In about two and a half months, he will no longer be a "foundling" but a Harding! Wanted. Treasured. Loved. Chosen. He will have brothers and sisters, a home, a bed, and most importantly a Mommy & Daddy who have prayed and prayed and prayed for years, FOR HIM!! This my friends is such an answer to years of prayer. As I was talking to a dear friend last night, I could barely contain my emotions as reality is beginning to settle in for me. I NEVER, EVER pictured that I would be at THIS day. That THIS day would be possible for my family. We have been trying to add to our little family for a very long time, and God is revealing His great plan to us, and I do have to say it is overwhelmingly GLORIOUS! And, I think the biggest answer to prayer for me is knowing without a shadow of a doubt that Adoption is NEVER plan B. It has always been plan A for The Lord! My heart longed to know that I could love Asa just as I could my very own biological children, and He has shown me so clearly, and given me the blessing of knowing love through the eyes of Jesus Christ. How He sees us, as His adopted children. But, most importantly, is how He knew before the foundation of the earth who's Asa's family would be. I'm so humbled that The Great I AM would choose me, to be even a small part to a glorious story. Watching the Scriptures play out, right before my eyes, is just incredible. So, we are coming Asa Josiah!! So very soon, I will be holding you!
Isaiah 12:4 {NLT} " In that WONDERFUL day you will sing: "Thank the LORD! Praise His name! Tell the nations what HE HAS DONE. Let them KNOW how MIGHTY He is!"