First Family Pictures

Susi was able to get a special pass through security on Friday when we arrived home so that Beckett and Helen could see us get off the plane and we could have a moment with our family of five before we headed out to greet the rest of our family and friends! Here is a picture that Susi took of Beckett and Helen with our airplane! We were on the last row and the kids were beginning to wonder if we would ever get off the plane!

Beckett and Will
Helen giving Will a hug!

Our first family picture with all five Harpers!

We are doing well. (Except that it is 3am and Will is still on ET time!) He just finished a bottle and is ready to play! We did take him to the doctor on Saturday morning to get him checked out. I have an appointment scheduled for Wednesday, but I couldn't wait. He has had a rattling sound in his chest with a bad cough since we first got him on Monday. The night that he slept on the plane and his first night at home were kind of tough. His breathing seemed labored and I was concerned. I'm glad that we went ahead and took him! Both of his ears were infected and the doctor put him on a stereroid and some breathing treatments to help clear up his lungs. His oxygen intake levels were getting low. Fortunately, they were not low enough to have to hospitalize him. When he was hospitalized in ET back in May, they mentioned possible asthma issues, so we did want to get him checked out. Hopefully most of this will be cleared up by our appointment on Wednesday and our doctor can get a good idea of what we might be dealing with in terms of his breathing! Just wanted to post a few pictures. I'm going to enjoy some EARLY morning cuddling!

Welcome Home You!

We're back! From Ethiopia to East Tennessee! We are exhausted but so happy to be home with this precious gift.......

Will Tekalgn Harper is home!

I have much to share, but am heading to bed so that I can catch up on some rest! No telling when Will will want to get up.... as his nights are our days and our days have been his nights! Should be an interesting few days as we all adjust! Just wanted to give you a few pictures of our son! The trip was amazing and everything went so smoothly! Praise God!

I'll try to post pictures from our trip in the coming days! He is beautiful and such a sweet, sweet baby! Everything has been wonderful! Thanks for your prayers! I must sleep...........

Adopted x 2

Adopted times two. What does my title tonight mean you might ask? Well, Sean and I received the best going away present we could have ever wished for. Not only have we been blessed to join God in His plan for our family to ADOPT this sweet child........
But today, this sweet child was ADOPTED into the family of God! Praise God from whom all blessings flow! Beckett Lee Harper heard God speaking to him today and he prayed and asked Jesus to be his Savior! Sean and I have prayed for this day even before Beckett was born and we are overjoyed! Ephesians 1:4-6 says, "For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be ADOPTED as his sons throught Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will-to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves." What an incredible gift. Beckett has received the gift of eternal life in Christ and we have received the gift of knowing that we will be with him in heaven one day. Sean and Beckett took a walk back to the barn on Nana and Papa's land this evening and Sean had the opportunity to lead Beckett to Christ.

If you hadn't already guessed, you can be sure that my eyes are about swollen shut from crying tears of joy! The tears had already been flowing, as I had just hugged and kissed my babies good-bye and Sean was taking them to Nana and Papa's house to spend the night. Beckett got very quiet on the way there and told Sean that he thought he was ready to ask Jesus to be his Savior. When they got there, Sean and Beckett went on a walk out through the field and had a great talk. Sean determined that Beckett was indeed ready and that he fully understood his need for a savior. Beckett then went in the house and called me. I was at home finishing up packing and had finally dried up my tears from saying good-bye. When I heard his little voice telling me what had just happened, there was just no holding it together! What a blessing. Needless to say, I had to drive over to hug him and pray with him. My son and my brother in Christ.

It had already been a fun day. The kids went to the last day of VBS this morning and then we surprised them with a trip to Chuck E. Cheese's. They had a blast. It was a great time just spending time together before we leave. Here are a few pictures from our afternoon!

We are all packed and ready to go! It blows my mind to think that one week from today I will be able to sit back in front of this monitor and blog about our trip while Will T. sits in my lap!

We will be flying in to Tyson McGee next Friday. Our flight is scheduled to arrive at 1:58! If you can come to the airport, we would love to see you there and celebrate with us as we welcome Will T. home to Tennessee!

Thanks!

Here is a picture of Will T's first quilt! My mom and my aunt are very talented quilters and they have both made quilts for each of our children. Mom has been working on Will T's baby quilt and my aunt has been working on one too. Imagine my surprise when this arrived in the mail yesterday! Mom just "whipped this one up" in about three days and it is going to be perfect to take with us to Ethiopia! It is about 30x30 and it is so cute. I love that he will have a quilt made by his grandmother for his trip home! Thanks Grankaki! :)
I'm busy packing up donations! THANKS to Julie H. for all of the CROCS! Julie is a friend of ours from church and is also in the process of adopting from Ethiopia! THANKS to Matt and Martha, to Kayce and her boys and to Marilyn for "de-furring" the CROCS this afternoon! Julie found them for $1 a pair and bought a whole bunch, but they are the winter kind with fur! Everyone helped out by taking about 20 pairs each and cutting out the furry part of the CROCS. They are perfect now! Thanks for all of your help this afternoon! Just two more days and we are outta here!

Curls and Tellico Grains

We were blessed on Saturday afternoon to receive an update on Will T from an AGCI family who just returned to the states from picking up their son at Hannah's Hope! Our sons were in the same room with the same special mothers and she sent us 8 new pictures! Here is what she said about him.....

"He does nothing but smile and giggle. I mean nothing but! His lungs and breathing sound great. You would never know he had pneumonia last month. His disposition is perfect. He is perfectly content and happy to hang out in a bouncy chair or bumbo -- or be in your lap playing. Enjoy these pics -- you're going to love love love him!!!"

This news and these pics made our day! These are the first pictures that we have seen with his CURLS! In previous pictures that we have seen of him, his hair has either been slicked down, or he just didn't have much! But it has really grown in! Love it! I still can't show his whole face until we get home, but I've cropped one picture that she sent so you can enjoy the curls!! One week from today we will be waking up in Addis Ababa ready to make the walk from our hotel to Hannah's Hope and meet him for the very first time! I can't wait!

Although there is much to be done, we are trying to hang out and spend good quality time with Beckett and Helen! We took a great trip on Friday to this place........

to get one of these......

Yum! I've been anticipating eating one of these club sandwiches from the Tellico Grains Bakery in Tellico Plains, TN for quite a while! We finally drove over for lunch on Friday and it was SO worth it! I highly recommend it if you are ever in the area! I had the club, Sean had the reuben and the kids had grilled cheese sandwiches. We also enjoyed some of their baked goodies for dessert! Sean would move to Tellico Plains in a heart-beat, but it is just too far from a Target for me! :) It really is in the middle of nowhere and it is a beautiful place. It is on the edge of the Cherokee National Forrest which is Sean's favorite place to fly fish! One more pic with Beck and Helen in front of the bakery....
On our way home, we stopped at another favorite place. Benton's Country Hams. We stocked up on our Saturday morning favorite.....Benton's bacon. While we were there, Mr. Allan Benton himself, took us on a tour of the facility and explained to us the process of dry curing ham. He was such a nice man and let me take pictures of the kids in some of the rooms! This place is just an old block building, but they sure make some yummy bacon and ham! They have been featured in Southern Living magazine and their products are used in many restaurants, including the Tellico Grains Bakery on my club sandwich!

Helen and Beckett with some bacon.....

and with some country ham!!

The kids will be going to Vacation Bible School every morning this week. This is Helen's first time to go and she is pumped! I'll try to post one more time before we head out! Can't believe it is almost time to go! Thanks for your prayers as we prepare to travel!

Pouting Princess

Helen is such a sweet little girl! She loves to snuggle, hug and kiss on us! She plays so well with her big brother and I can't wait to watch her with Will T! I know that she will be a wonderful big sister! We do, however, have glimpses of "the tween years". She can turn on the drama! She and Beckett were playing yesterday afternoon and evidently he didn't do something that she wanted him to do. This is what I found.......
Beckett explained to me that Helen got mad because he wouldn't play the way she wanted to, so she took her PRINCESS umbrella and sat down in the middle of the front yard to pout!

I couldn't help but laugh when I saw her sitting out in the front yard under her umbrella, so I got my camera to take a picture. When she saw me, she turned the umbrella so that I couldn't see her. (Just to add to the drama!) Then after a little coaxing, she lifted the umbrella and this was the look.......

I have a feeling that I will be getting more looks like this through the years! Fortunately, her drama only lasted a few minutes. She and Beckett headed out with Sean not long after this to go fishing. He took them below the dam that is just a few minutes from our house to try to catch some fish. They didn't have much luck, but the kids had a good time. I gave them about an hour to fish and then brought a picnic supper over to the lake. It was a good evening!

The packing has begun and we are excited about traveling soon! I'm headed out today to buy bottles and formula. Those are the last items that we need! Thanks for your continued thoughts and prayers! We leave in ten days! :)