Praying God's Word - April 17th-23rd

Ok, so I'm a little behind this week, and I'll get last week's snippet up here when I have a little more time.

Week April 17th - 23rd

Topic: Praying for me as a mommy

Scripture: "Love the LORD your GOD with all your heart and with all your sould and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you site at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up" ~ Dueteronomy 6:5-7

Father and Son

Here is a copy of an article to appear in the Ft. Hood paper and other various military outlets.

German PRT (Kunduz, Afghanistan) – A father and son recently found themselves crossing paths at the German PRT base in Kunduz, Afghanistan. SGT Glovier (son), crew chief, 4th Combat Aviation Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, ISAF, and Mr. Kevin Glovier (father), project engineer, U.S. Army Corps of Engineer, Afghanistan Engineer District, discovered  their tours overlapping in Kanduz, Afghanistan. Stationing was coincidental and both father and son get together when schedules permits such as meals at the DFAC. When asked what she thinks about her husband and son in the same location, Mrs. Kevin Glovier says she is glad both are together and it makes it so much easier to send a package, but adds, they need to share.  Coincidentally, SGT Glovier and Mr. Glovier are returning back this summer to Fort Hood and Sachse, Texas, within a few days apart.

Special Gifts - Kolden's Flag

Not only were we blessed with the finalization of Kolden's adoption, we were also given some special gifts to celebrate the occasion. First, my mom took us out to eat at Pappas Burgers, YUM! And Uncle Chris was able to join us!!

 My mom had small gifts for us. She gave our family a Willow Tree Angle box appropriately called, "Family". She said she chose this one because it had a Daddy, Mommy, and two little boys, just like our family!

 She also gave me an ornament, "From one Mommy to another Mommy" Thanks Mom! I love the gifts. *Don't worry, she brought marsh mellow bunnies and ducks and sour chewy bunnies for the boys.

 My Dad also sent the best gift he could come up with. On the day of Kolden's finalization, a US flag was flown above the headquarters for the Army Core of Engineers in Kabul, Afghanistan in Kolden's honor. Such a unique gift to honor this day that my son will be able to appreciate the rest of his life.

The bad news was that a friend had to fly the flag for Dad, so he's not in the pictures. The good news is that he couldn't be there because he was probably too busy cooking out with Greg at another base in Afghanistan. Thanks for the flag Poppy!

It's official - Kolden's a Reed!!!

"This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." Psalms 37:4

We went to court to complete the last step in Kolden's adoption. As the lawyer put it, up until this point, we only had a moral obligation to take care of Kolden, now we're bound by the law- which is perfectly ok with us!

 First we met with the lawyer to go over the specifics of the day and to double check everything. Then we all filed into the court room.

So many of our family and friends wanted to come with us, but life doesn't always cooperate. We are very thankful for all of the prayers and well wishes we had. We were also very glad to have Mymo and our friend Brant and the courthouse with us.

There were a total of 10 families finalizing their adoptions this day. It was a wonderful experience as we waited our turn, we were able to watch other families go through the final step in the process.

Once it was our turn, we all walked up to the bench. We raised our right hands, and the judge swore us in. The lawyer started by asking Shad some questions, then she turned to me and asked if I agreed with his testimony. The judge then granted the adoption to us, but there was one last formality to do before it would be over... The judge looked at Riley and said, "Ok Big Brother, here you go"

 Riley took the gavel, and hit on the judges bench. Then the judge said, "Its official!!" It was such a neat way to have Riley involved in the process of completing our family!

 The bar association provides stuffed animals for all of the children involved in the adoption proceedings. So, after the pictures with the judge, Riley and Kolden picked out the animal of their choice. Riley picked out a giraffe, and Shad thought Kolden would like the gorilla with the big sign "BE MINE". Of course, by the time we made it out of the court room, Riley changed his mind and thought he better hold on to the gorilla.

 Then everyone celebrated with cookies and punch. It was such a great day for all of us.

 

 GOD IS SO GOOD!

Kolden's Story

In August of 2010, a good friend of mine took some amazing pictures of our family. Shad and I were blessed with our precious son Riley in 2007, but we both wanted Riley to have a brother or sister to grow up with, just like we had. So, at the time of these pictures, we were on the were on the waiting list at the adoption agency. As Becca was taking our photos, she and I joked that since we finally worked out a time in all of our schedules to take photos, this meant that the agency would call us about another baby.

 Little did we know that the agency would call-- the very next day!!! They called and gave us some information about a potential birth mother and to see if we could set up an interview soon. Shad and I talked it over, we prayed, and we left that weekend to drive to Amarillo for the interview.

At the interview, we met a very sweet young girl who was just in over her head. We knew that we were not the only couple she was going to interview, but her due date was about a month away, so we knew she was going to have to make a decision sometime soon.  We drove back home that Monday afternoon with hopeful hearts, and went back along our daily routines. As the weekend approached, I was becoming more and more anxious. That Friday, I spent the day coaching volleyball, but taking every break I could to call Shad and Cindy (from the adoption agency) to see if either of them had hear anything. Neither of them said they knew nothing, but to my surprise, this is what I saw as I walked into our home that evening.

 The birthmother had made her decision that morning, but Shad wanted to tell me in a special way, not just over the phone. I came home to a family dinner with my two favorite boys, as we celebrated that our new addition would be here soon. A few weeks and a couple of false alarms later, the three of us were at an out of town football game. Just as we were leaving the field, we recieved the call--it was time to head to the hospital. Our birthmom was in labor, and she held on long enough for us to make the 6 1/2 drive to the Panhandle. Once we got there, we were rushed to the delivery room, and on September 25th, just after 6:30 in the morning, Kolden Ray was born.

 Shad waited outside the delievery room, listening for the cries from his new son. I was blessed with the amazing expeirence of holding the birth mother's hand through the delivery and I even cut the umbilical cord. Kolden came out just perfect and after he was about an hour old, Shad and I finaly got out our cell phones to let everyone know the great news.

 I'm not sure who all Shad called, but I remember exactly the three of the people I talked to. My mother, my grandmother Honey, and my Dad who was patiently waiting by his phone in Afghanistan. A few hours later, Shad's parents brought Riley up to the hospital so he could meet his new little brother. He was so excited and immediately wanted to hold and kiss him. He even had his new "I'm the Big brother" t-shirt on.

  

We spent the next two days at the hospital, feeding, changing and holding our new son. Then on Monday morning, we signed the papers, had our first family prayer with our two boys, and Kolden's birthmother, then walked out of the hosptial a family of four. As my friend Becca put it, our family was truely

custom made by God.

. "God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure." Ephesians 1:5 (NLT)

Prayer for Special People

Every night before Riley goes to bed, we say our prayers then read a book. Since he says a prayer before lunch at his Big Boy School, he can recite it without much effort. In an attempt to teach him how to pray and not just repeat, before we say our prayer, Riley and I discuss want we want to talk to God about each night. On this particular evening, I asked Riley to tell me the people he wanted to thank God for and to ask God to take care of. Of course the list started with Daddy, and Kolden, and Grandy, and Mymo, and he went down the usuall list of everyone we love. Then we bowed our heads, and it was time to talk to God "for real" as he says. I started the prayer, then I let him tell God his list. As we went back over the names we had previously listed, two more made the cut that I was not expecting. It went something like this....

and Papa, and Poppy, and Gregory, and Miss Jan, and JOSH HAMILTON, and NELLY CRUZ, and Uncle Chrissy, etc......

It was all I could do to not let out a snicker, but my precious baby boy added two of his favorite baseball players in his prayer. Little did he know, this was the day that Josh had broken his arm, and I told Shad, our son didn't even realize it, but Josh needed his prayer today.

Thank you, God, for giving us such a kind-hearted little boy to raise.  

Oh, and Go Rangers!!

A Day at the Park

Since the weather was so nice, we took the boys for a little time in the sunshine at the local park.

  

Riley went down every slide he could find, and even picked a flower for me ;) He's so sweet. Kolden just looked around at everything, then decided it was time for a short nap.