The Night A Family-of-8 Bunked With Us - Literally

One of the things I love about adoption is all the wonderful people we have met.  People all over the country...some we have met in person, some we never have.  A few days ago the B family went from that first category, to the second.  

Joy first contacted me 4 and 1/2 years ago.   She is my friend's pastor's daughter's friend.  And she lives in another state.  I have had the distinct privilege of watching her family bring home 4 boys from the Philippines during the time I've known her.  And then most recently, a precious baby girl.

We have talked back and forth for years now, saying we needed to figure out how to actually meet in person.  When Joy messaged me a few weeks ago and said her family was coming near here, and they would love to come a day early to get to meet us...I was thrilled!

When another 12-passenger van pulled up next to our Silver Bullet, we knew our peeps were here!

Every single one of the eight of us fell in love with every single one of the eight of them.

They actually have 7 children, but their 19-year old daughter is serving in Kenya right now.

 Our only complaint?  They only got to spend one night with us.

Abigail thinks Mrs. Joy is great!

Jas and I both loved the dad - Stephan

For supper, the R family (and their Mimi) joined us also.  So we had 7 adults and 16 children:

Yes, it was cozy here at our old homestead...and a tad loud.  And it was fabulous!


Joy and Stephan got to sleep in the boys' room (on bunks! ack!), Kylee bunked with our two older girls...and all 6 of the oldest boys (their 4 and our 2) had a slumber party in the family room floor.

 I knew that the B children love playing games as much as my children, and they all had a ball:

 And G and A also "had a ball"...playing b-ball with Aaron (he was so sweet with them!):

It looks dark out in this picture because it was.  The kiddos got up and immediately started playing games again at 7:15 a.m.:

And I didn't catch any pictures of this, but they were all swimming shortly after breakfast.  The water temp has definitely cooled, so some of them had chattering teeth...but they hung in there!

My girls hogged baby A.

She has hydrocephalus, and Joy and Stephan brought her home when she was 2 months old.  When they heard she was living at a hospice facility with no family to love on her, they immediately worked to bring her home.  We don't know how long she'll be here (but then, none of us do), but they are loving her with everything they have while they are blessed to have her.

It is so moving to see the love that this baby girl gets from all her big, tough brothers, and her sister...and her parents!  I am getting tears in my eyes just thinking of it again.

To have watched the B family respond to God's call on their lives again (and again) over the past few years has been such a privilege.

This is the whole reason we're here.  As believers our sole job is to make Him known.  To make much of Him.  To point people to Him.  To bring glory to Him.

The B family has done this...and done it well.  I feel so honored to finally get to meet them in person....and so very encouraged by the time we got to spend visiting with them.


And now our kiddos are begging us to go visit them...and Jas and I look forward to that also!