More Pictures.....and they are almost home

 Reunited.....daddy Keith and the new Ghana Johnson's...little Milo in his arms and precious Abby....all smiles

Jeane shared this picture while they were in Ghana.....the kids are precious and so happy.   Jeane, Keith, Milo and Abby are all headed home now...they have made it thru all the airport check points and are on the plane flying home right now....Praise God!!!!.  Thank you for keeping them in your prayers I know God heard them all.   What an Easter celebration......we have the gift of new life thru our Lord, Jesus Christ......and he has continued to live in and thru us and has richly blessed us all with these 2 precious new gifts of life........

Happy Birthday Ben......Scooby Dooby Dooooo!!!

 Guess you've caught the theme here....

   and a quick candle count will reveal the birthday boy's big day.....big 21! 

 Might need to break out a second lighter for all those candles.....but 'girlfriends' got it under control.....under brother Joseph's watchful eye of course..

  Ruh Rowww....too many goodies...

 yeah, there's always a little boy inside...

 Went thru half the box before they realized they really were dog treats.......just kidding!

Happy Birthday Ben. Ben turned 21 years old today..... He always loved Scooby Do as a little guy so we had a surprised party for him. {Mom thanks for the idea} He was definitely surprised by it. Life goes buy so quickly we need to pause often and share special moments.....today was one we enjoyed sharing with Ben......We love you Ben and Happy Birthday!!!!

Made it!! So far so good.......

Ok...no matter your time zone it is good news.......Jeane and Keith have arrived in Ghana after an uneventful (and I dare say maybe even somewhat comfortable and restful?!!!) flight from the US......The 'little' issue of no ride waiting at the airport for them to take them to their hotel was resolved fairly quickly (nice to have texting and int'l calling set up in advance....along with an outstanding US support team.....we 'humbly' acknowledge  :) ........

More details to come...but for now they are cleaned up, eating, and enjoying time with the new kiddo's.....hearts are full......and sleep will come eventually.....

Rejoice with me as I travel to Ghana

I hate to leave them....

 but I am so excited to finally hug them...

I am leaving for Ghana today with Keith my son in law to pick up 2 new blessings. I am beyond excited. To give me a chance to visit the home country of my own children and grandchildren is a gift. Easter is about the new life we as Christians were given at the cross...to be a part of something the Lord designed for these 2 precious children- giving them new life and hopefully one day they too will understand fully the love Jesus has for them is a blessing.

I will also be meeting their mom and the birth mom to my 2 sets of twins. What a privilege it is to share with them how well the children are doing. I am going to meet 2 other children - something we have been praying about and I will share when I get home :)

My husband or daughters will guest blog post for me while I am in Ghana. Please pray for us as we travel, hug on our new life and meet the moms whom we can love on and the 2 precious ones I will be meeting.

Strive to be biblically accurate rather than politically correct thoughts of mine

After watching the news about the upcoming Supreme Court decision about gay marriage and seeing the profile pictures of people on fb as well as some in your face posts about it all I can not be silent about my beliefs and feelings on this subject.

I have some friends who are gay and some who are not. I even love some people very much who are gay and some who are not. I personally disagree with that lifestyle or choice but do not feel judgemental about it...I just disagree. The reason I disagree is my belief in the Bible. I am allowed to have my belief on these moral and spiritual issues based on my belief of what the Bible teaches.

I will not disrespect the gay people's right to express their belief but I desire to be equally treated to my expression of faith and belief. I also would not unfriend a person on fb ( Not that I was but read some were) just because we disagree on an issue....Unless I felt the other person was rude or using profanity to express themselves but come on people we are adults and can act like adults...

I don't know how some Christian people I know can think away some of the Bible verses about homosexuality but , that really is not between me and them but God and them. I just know when I read these verses I believe it says something very different. I also believe as a Christian it is important for me to express this publically . My intent is not judgement but to share my beliefs about what I read in the Bible. I happen to hold the Bible as the highest authority in my life. I have tried to live according to the principles and values in the Bible. If someone disagrees with my choice to claim the Bible as my authority that is their opinion and right to do so respectfully. I will not post the verses but there are many that I feel prove my side.

I also feel like we as Christians can walk a much better walk when others disagree with what we feel and know is Truth. I liked these Bible verses I found that share some of my feelings about judgmental Christians :


 We may let feelings of contempt or fear lead us into the sin of self-righteousness. But Jesus and other New Testament leaders taught by word and example not to be self-righteous or discriminate against those we consider to be "sinners" (Matthew 9:10-13, Luke 7:36-48, 18:9-14).
Further, Jesus told us to eliminate the sins in our own lives rather than passing judgment or looking down on others. For if we judge other people harshly, we will, in turn, be judged harshly:

"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. (NIV, Matthew 7:1-2)

Christians have a responsibility to correct matters of wrongdoing among themselves (Matthew 18:15-17), but this should always be done fairly and with compassion. We are never to take upon ourselves the task of judgment that belongs to God alone (Hebrews 10:30, Romans 14:10-13, 1 Corinthians 4:5.)
James makes it clear that we must treat others with mercy, not with judgment or partiality (prejudice):

You do well if you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." But if you show partiality, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. For the one who said, "You shall not commit adultery," also said, "You shall not murder." Now if you do not commit adultery but if you murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment will be without mercy to anyone who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment. (NRSV, James 2:8-13)

As Christians, we must remember that all of us are sinners in our own ways (Romans 3:21-24, 5:12). Despite that, God loves all His children (Genesis 1:31, Psalms 145:9, Matthew 5:43-45, John 3:16, Romans 5:8). We cannot afford to let our feelings or fears about homosexuality blind us to Jesus' commandment to "Love your neighbor as yourself" (Matthew 22:36-39).

Now all this said only to mean I believe the gay marriage act is wrong. I believe in one man , one woman marriages. I also believe that I am a sinner too and I struggle daily with my own sins...I do not judge others for their beliefs....so don't judge me for mine.

The Calendar says March but the weather outside says January...come on spring

The calendar says March but our weather thinks it is still January. We woke up to snow again this am...and to be honest we are all ready for warmer weather and spring to come. We have had a fire all day....Last week we celebrated Olivia's 21st b-day. My children are growing up . It is neat to watch them . Olivia was our oldest adopted child when she came home at 16 yrs old. We were allowed to adopt her because she was a part of a bio. sibling group and, the USCIS allow families to adopt up to the age of 18 if they are a part of a bio. sibling group. so glad she was...

I got this from Pinterest and it was a huge hit here

Last nite we had our first Easter egg hunt....we put glow sticks into plastic eggs and hid them. It was magical. Even though these pics show the kids in a lighted room it was dark like the bottom and top picures here....because of the flash. It was a hit for sure. If you do it at home you have to fold the sticks like a pretzel and some eggs we taped...some stayed shut. You can't tell and the room was transformed into a magical room of colored lights....

Just in case you are not my friend on fb….

So you want to know what is on my mind ? How about a trip to Ghana over the Easter weekend to pick up my newest grand babies….Congratulation to Keith and Mary Kate for passing their exit interview this am….and thank you to Kofi in country coordinator for all of his efforts. I get to travel with Keith and our flights are booked…can't wait to hold my grand babies…what a blessing to watch your own children follow into the journey of adoption- something so dear to my heart and Gods. This makes 12 grand babies….We are again blessed by a child.

Happy St Patricks Day was made happier with the NC grandbabies arriving today....

Eli eating our green cake and having green teeth.

After a dinner of  pork chops , potatoes, cole slaw, beans and pistachio fruit salad we played cards, enjoyed each others company- especially seeing our daughter, Jenn and her kids who drove up today made it wonderful. Keith was able to make it too for dinner. He has been working 2 jobs lately and we have hardly seen him the past few months...Not a bad St Pats day and we are not even Irish.

Girl's Nite at MK are always fun....

It was Friday nite and we all went over to Mary Kate's house for a girl's nite.

Mady and Lila love their nails.

I think having older sisters is so much fun for the younger girls...and I love how they help the little ones.

We had popcorn and coke while we watched  Wreck It Ralph...which I enjoyed too. 

It was a late nite for us even Mady and Lila were up till 11 but we all had fun and yes we all were in our pj's.

Hope of Spring

Mady finishing her meds when she was sick with pneumonia ...Now she is better and our spring bulbs are up and blooming....Yes the hope of spring. 

Do you know that spring is right around the corner ? We have had so much illness that I am so ready for warm weather and healthy kids...even my grand babies have been sick. Mady the (little one) even had pneumonia ....fortunately they were able to treat it at home but she was quite sick for awhile. Here they are eating donuts at Nana's and Paw Paw's- nothing like a donut to help you feel better…. Now she has bounced back and it is good to see that sweet smile of hers....Praise God for the hope of spring.

Our grand children adoption update

These pics were taken when MK and Keith visited them in November....

I shared before that my daughter, Mary Kate and her husband Keith were adopting siblings from Ghana....Abbie and Milo our 2 sweet ones will be joining their family soon. They have a visa exit interview scheduled for March 19 and if all goes well they could be home for Easter...We are praying for that...would you remember to pray too.