Sweet Peace...

(A quote we noticed immediately after walking in the K's home.)

I've been quiet on the blog because we were traveling to visit Annalise! :) Monday we drove halfway to Georgia to meet my aunt so we could pass off the kids. This prevented either of us from having to make the full drive.

Then we left bright and early on Tuesday morning and returned in the wee hours of Thursday morning. Then I took yesterday to process a bit and work on my ultra long to do list. Somethings just never change.

I've had several friends check in with me to see how I'm doing. The truth is that we really dreaded leaving our baby girl behind. There were a few moments that I had to blink back some small tears. But it wasn't nearly as horrible as I predicted.

Here is why:

We have incredible prayer warriors that have been praying for that very moment. The moment we would have to hand our baby girl back and walk away with an unknown return date. I specifically asked several of our friends to pray for that very moment. I even gave them the exact time that the transition should be occurring. It truly was a peace that passes all understanding!

Annalise's foster family is just jaw-droppingly amazing! I've tried to explain what I mean by that a few times and I never feel like I give my description the justice it deserves! Mama K and Daddy K ooze joy and their love for children and Christ! They welcomed us into their home with open arms, they patiently answered all 5 million questions we had for them, they've had incredible amounts of people praying for her from their congregation, they've hoped and prayed for a family to come forward for her... I just can't even begin to share all of the details that make them so incredibly special.

But I do have a few that I would like to take the opportunity to share.

• The K's have been fostering for 28 years.
  



• Annalise is their 76th foster child.




• They've adopted.
  



• Mr. K's parents were also foster parents.




• They are relentless advocates for children.
  



• Shortly after we sat on their couch they handed us Annalise. We did most of her care while we were with her.
  



• They invited us back in at 11pm to meet her night nurse.




• Mrs. K showed me a little scrapbook that she had put together of Annalise's 8 months of life. Precious.. sweet.. thoughtful... WOW!

As much as we want her home, we have no doubts that Annalise is being cared for in a loving way. The peace is amazing and it makes our wait much more bearable.

So much more to share,

~Steph

PS: Would you lift my friend, Susanna, up in prayer? She starts her travels today to go meet her Katerina! We had the opportunity to share a little bit of time together on Thursday.. but more on that later!