A lot of FIRSTS & a Court Date

This week has been so amazing to watch Thomas enjoy his 1st Thanksgiving (yummy stuffing, olives & potatoes), his first visit with his Grandma H. & Aunt Sharon, then meeting Great-Grandma & Great-Grandpa S. too!! My parents enjoyed some time with him on Friday, while Jim & I managed to decorate a little for Christmas. With a new baby and a trip this month, we kept our decorating very simple this year. Thomas was only a few weeks old last Christmas, so he's loving the lights, looking at the tree & dancing with our 5 ft. dancing Santa. He loves the bear that lights up and shares the story of Jesus' birth. He points to it, then stands and listen, then points again. I keep hoping that even though he's still learning, that maybe he'll hear it so many times, he'll know about Jesus. We spend time each night praying over him as he sleeps in his crib. When he gets older, we'll teach him how to pray, too.
He is teething and fighting some allergies. He is so cute, when we go to wipe his little nose, he blows with his mouth open. He has figured out how to give his Daddy a sherbert on his belly. He also loves to put his hand up to his mouth and blow "bah, bah, bah".

Tomorrow is a very important day for us. The first court hearing to decide if we should move into the "adoption" phase or if the judge sees birthmom making a change, to reunite Thomas with her. Some of the underlying circumstances make us believe that the judge will favor Thomas staying with us. But of course we know ultimately who makes the final decision -- God. We trust that God knows what the decision is already. We believe that God sent this child to us and has made him a part of our family already. We trust that God has Thomas' best interest at heart and will only bless him. We believe that Thomas is God's way of telling us things don't matter (like cleaning house, playing PS3, staying up late or not missing one of our naps).

So please join us in prayer that Thomas will stay with us and will become our son forever!! Also pray for our nerves tomorrow as we are anxious and nervous about the outcome tomorrow.