Why We Call Our Blog the Miracle of More

The miracle is a beautiful image of Ephesians 3:20--more than I can ask or imagine. Every day is a miracle. Every moment is a miracle. Specifically for our family, the miracle of more is our family growing in ways I would never have imagined when we first committed to adoption 8 years ago. But, the greatest miracle is the change in ME!

If you have questions about adoption, our work in South Africa, or spina bifida, please email me at rbmattox@bellsouth.net

Monday, January 30, 2012

Zeke and the Shower of Blessings

And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing.(Ezkeial 34:25)

Stan and I have been studying Ezekial as we wait to bring home our Zeke. What a might prophet he was! What a mighty man of God we hope our Zeke will grow to be.

As I was studying during my Saturday morning quiet time, I came across the verse at the beginning of this post. I thought I would use it when we were in China, but then, just like my Jesus, he sent the shower of blessings earlier!!!!

We used Gifts to China with Love (highly recommended) to send Zeke a CNY gift. We found out yesterday he had indeed received the gift. Then last night while I was sleeping, these photos of him with his gifts were delivered to my inbox.

In the first photos, he is admiring/or playing with his gifts. We are excited to know he actually was able to see them and know they were from his family.




My Second Favorite Photo!
You've got to love that smile!!!



My Very Favorite Photo!
He's looking at the photo album we sent him, with pictures of his family. Click the picture, enlarge it, and you will see whose faces he is looking at.

Saturday, January 28, 2012

You can't hide from God or Mama

This morning, I had an extended time with my BEST Friend Jesus. It was so sweet.

I had told the girls we would start house work as soon as I had my quiet time.

When I walked out of my bedroom at 10:30, here is what I saw.


I was fully aware that the girls were not asleep. We had already shared breakfast before my quiet time.

So, I took a picture and sneaked up behind them, began to tickle them, and heard Ellie say...

"It was worthy a try!"

Happy weekend everybody!

Monday, January 23, 2012

More Video From China

If you'd like to learn more about our Drew Zhuang Zhuang, there's still more to come.

Thank you for the financial blessing one of you sent us Saturday night! What an awesome way to end the day when God was smiling down.

And, even more blessings for a friend...who welcomed, through adoption, a precious newborn baby boy to their family. Read more here!

Then, come back and watch this video. I love the showers of blessings God sends after a storm.

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Video of our Baby Boy!

What a precious treasure that arrived in our mailbox today.

The same friend Marsha, who prepared a package for her son Josh to take to China, sent another blessing to us.

Josh had taken several video clips of our Drew, and her husband made a DVD of them. The DVD arrived in the mail today while Stan and I were in Valdosta. It was the kind of yippee that keeps a tired body from resting.

We've been told by the founder of the foster home that God must have a sense of humor to place Ellie and Drew in the same family. We've been told our Drew is vivacious. Apparently, Amy was looking for the most pleasant of words to describe him. :)

Watch this boy in action...and I mean action. He is the loudest and the busiest of all of the children in the foster home. He is the center of attention. He is enjoying life (In case you can't tell which one that is, he is the one is the grey shirt, continually wrestling with Josh). Look out Stan and Brandon and Caleb and Kennith. We've got a ball of fire coming home from China. I hope you have the energy to keep up with him. (This is one of several videos. I hope to post a new one each day this week!!!!) Listen to that sweet voice.


Don't forget to pause the playlist player at the bottom of the page!

Friday, January 20, 2012

Mom and JT's Day Out

With the storm we suffered over the last few months, and the upcoming BIG changes in our family dynamics, I have realized that I need to give my kids some one-on-one Mama time. (Stan get's his share, too.)

Over the holidays, I spent a day out with each of the little kids individually.

I enjoyed my day out with Josie-Tatum as much, if not more, than she did.

We had gone ice skating with Kennith and his youth group before Christmas, and Josie-Tatum wanted to to back.

So, one day after Christmas, Josie-Tatum and I left for Savannah, just the two of us.

We did go ice skating and had such fun, while burning a few calories at the same time.



When we had gone ice skating before Christmas, we drove through beautiful downtown Savannah before heading to the mall. At the mall we met with Kennith and his youth group for lunch. As we drove through downtown on Abercorn Street, we passed the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist. The girls thought it was beautiful, so I told them how much more beautiful it was inside.

Josie-Tatum remembered my saying that, so she asked if we could go see the inside. After ice skating, I typed the address for the cathedral into the GPS and realized we were within walking distance. Since she loves a good walk as much as her mother, we decided to walk through the lovely historic city on our way to the church.




The weather was as beautiful as the city!


It had been at least 20 years since I had been inside St. John's, and I had forgotten how extravagant it was, had forgotten about the tree made of poinsettias displayed at Christmas, forgotten about the Holy hush felt when you enter the building.





We ended our date with a picnic I had already prepared. We sat in the park in the square around which the cathedral stands.

It was a God-given heavenly moment. A day the LORD made. A day to rejoice and be glad in it.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Not to be Outdone~ :)

Stan doesn't want Whitney's love to outshine him.

So.....

You should know that he does sometimes cook supper. And since I don't often fry foods, he usually chooses to fry something. And, if you grew up in the south, your mouth might water when I tell you he was frying porkchops the day I took these photos.

I wanted shots of him cooking, the evidence that he really can cook.....




He was more interested in showing off his handiwork.


If you're ever in south Georgia, ask Stan too cook up you something.

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Finally...you can meet....

Kennith!



Kennith is the love of Whitney's life. And, her whole family liked him from the minute we met him. She met him in church. (Hey Girls, THAT is THE place to meet your soul mate.)

And, for those of you who know Josie-Tatum personally, you may be as schocked as we were to hear this. Kennith came to our house after driving two hours to get here. He arrived just before lunch. Then, as Josie-Tatum was going to bed, she looked at him and said, "I think you will make a good brother-in-law." He had won Josie-Tatum over in hours.....after one visit. That was something.

You might also want to know, he has NOT asked Whitney to marry him.

But, Kennith rolled with the punch and laughed as much as we all did.

He even joined cookie baking day, with as much enthusiasm as the rest of the kids.



He loves Jesus. He treats Whitney with kindess and respect. He entertains my girls when he and Whitney skype at night.

But, New Year's Eve, he won my heart.

We had a family emergency and Kennith was on his way to our house. He took the time to text me and tell me he was praying for us. I was with the family member at the hospital. I remembered I had a Boston Butt at home I needed to put on the smoker.

Whitney and Kennith spent the day preparing the butt and keeping an eye on it throughout the hours and hours it was on the smoker.



Kennith!

I had come home, but needed to rest. Kennith continued working in my kitchen.

We're all thinkin' he's a keeper. He can be a part of our miracle of more.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

The New 147 Millions Orphans "Minus" Campaign







Oh Friends! I am soooo excited about this new shirt. I love, love, love it. On the front it reads, "147 Millions Orphans." On the back it reads "Minus #". You get to choose the number!!!! You can choose any number 1-6.

We have been doing very little fundraising since our miracle donation. If you don't know about that, you can read more here:
http://meimeimakesfour.blogspot.com/2011/11/more-than-i-ever-could-have-imagined.html

Through the MIGHTY hand of God, we have been blessed with enough money to go to China. Our fundraising efforts now are simply to be sure we have enough money to take Josie-Tatum and Ellie with us. We think it is so important for them to be a part of "Gotcha Day," to be reminded of what a special moment that is.

We desperately want to take Ellie back to her foster home. That is where Drew is currently living, and the nannies at Amazing Hands loved her dearly. The government of China is also forcing AH to give up their home...and since it is CHina...they can do that. They are currently looking for a new location. This will likely be Ellie's only opportunity to visit the place where she was cared for until her Forever Family came.

Take a look at these shirts. If you'd like a shirt, you can purchase the red baseball shirt for $35 and the tee-shirt for $20. The red shirt is a women's fitted shirt, so I recommend ordering at least one size larger. The t-shirt fits like most commonly worn t-shirts. If you need it shipped, I will take care of the shipping costs.









You may click the paypal link included here. When ordering, please include in the message to seller box at Pay Pal and/or send me an email stating the size and type of shirt, as well as the number you want placed on the back. If you are ordering in honor of our family, you can put Minus 5 on your shirt. Many of you, though, have beautiful families completed through adoption, so you'll have your own number.

Thank you for your unending support and prayers throughout this past year as we followed God's guiding hand. The enemy fought every step of the way, but our God who loves the orphan more than we do, who loves Drew and Zeke more than I can imagine, has sustained us. He is Jehovah-Jireh.

May He receive all the glory due Him!
Robbie

You are not required to have a paypal account to pay through this button. It will also accept credit and debit cards.










We also still have Ugandan beads to sell. You can use the same button to order necklaces. Due to the release of Katie's book, 147 Millions Orphans is currently out of beads, but I have about 20 strands.

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Twenty-Four Hours of Blessings

Yesterday I received a message from a friend M. M and I have never met, but the LORD connected us is a way that I won't try to explain now. But, if you are like me, you are amazed at how God connects so many people in the adoption community, the things you find you have common, the love and support you receive from people you've never met in person.

Well, M was thinking of me because her son J was taking a trip to China, and she had JUST learned that the group would be visiting the foster home where Dre is on Saturday. J was just hours away from leaving, and she emailed me a question, "Would you live for my son to tell Drew his parents say hello? Since it was last minute she offered to send a gift to him on our behalf."

Since I was at work, and she was not able to hear from me, she took the liberty...and I and so glad she did, to put together a care package for Drew. She even printed some recent photos of his family to send.

Last night, she sent me this photo.




And, on Saturday afternoon from 3:00-5:00 in China, while we are still sleeping, J will be meeting our Drew. He will be telling him that his Mama and Baba are on the way. He will be the first one to show him a photo of his family!!! I am thrilled.
(BTW, I was working already this week... getting a photo album ready to send to him. So, now before the photo album comes, he'll already have a gift and already know what his family looks like.

After I got home, STan and I went to town to have new photos made for our visas. We discussed the package Drew would be receiving while driving to town. After our visa photos were ready, he passed by a display of Match Box and Hot Wheels cars. When I reminded him that we have a Rubber Maid container full of cars that belonged to Caleb at home, he said, "The boys should have the joy of opening the package with a new car." Then, he spent his time looking at every car.

Not.

Even.

Kidding.

And, after he found the perfect six cars, he said, "I plan to buy two cars each week!"

I had a blast just watching him enjoy looking through cars. He came home and put them in a special place, where he plans to keep purchases he makes for the boys.
God is soooooo good.



Then, when I was getting dressed for work this morning, and Stan was in the tub...I brought my computer into the bathroom so I could listen to The Fish Atlanta on the computer, so I checked my email.

Surprise!

A message from the founder of Drew's foster home.

Here are some pictures which Tina took of ZZ during the Christmas party. He is a vivacious, energetic, and very smart little guy! We marvel at how the Lord chose you for him and him for you, because he has so much potential for all that energy and brainpower! It takes a strong and wise mother to raise him in the way of the Lord. I am sure your husband is also a strong and wise leader for your family. When it's time to go, ZZ would be so excited!! We can't wait to see him united with his God-given, forever family! The angels in heaven must rejoice with us! Meanwhile, please take care and keep well! Please give Ellie a big hug from us! :-)

Blessings,
Amy


And, photos!!






Check back tomorrow. I have someone who must be introduced before another member of my family "disowns" me. ;) You know who you are.
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