The BIG Hand Off & 8 Months Old

Today marks the day... one month ago today was the 1st time Jonas was placed in my hands! Oh what a feeling it was! The day was April 19th, 2010 just after 10 am .. they were running late. There was 4 other families waiting to see their children for the 1st time. We were all filled with nerves and excitement not knowing who was going to show up at the hotel first. We knew they had to do two van loads of children so it was either going to be the older children or the babies. Amy and Jon were the only other couple that had babies, 5 month year old twin girls. This is a picture of Amy and I the morning before sharing in our special moments. We are two proud mamas! This was Amy's first time being a mom and I couldn't wait to share in her excitement. It was such a cool God moment for us to be paired together with Scott and I already having twins at home. It was a match made in heaven .. we got along so well and I was so thankful to have her as such a great friend. She is such a beautiful women of God.

We were truly blessed with all our traveling buddies, 3 couples had adopted before so their wisdom was priceless.

This picture below is of all our IAG travel group except one family.

As the van was late we were very anxious .. my heart was racing a mile a minute .. all I could do is pray and lean on the Lord. I just didn't want Jonas to be overwhelmed and start crying or see me and be scared.. I wanted him to feel at peace as he felt us. I thanked the Lord for getting us all the way to this point of this special day that our lives would be changed forever. It was the same feeling I had right before giving birth to the twins. I couldn't wait to gaze into his eyes to stare at all of his God given features, to see those cute dimples and smile, to hear all his cries and meet his needs as a mother does, to rock him to sleep, to feed him and to pray over him .. ah it was just so great we were at the this moment! I look at the watch and it's 20 minutes after and we are all on pins & needles .. We all thought that the older children would be first dropped off as they don't take morning naps. A few false alarms.. we hear different vans pull up around our place but not the van with the children .. then finally they are here! the first van. Totally not expecting it, we ask who is first to come so we can be ready as a group to snap photos and video. They said "THE TWINS" the whole courtyard is instantly filled with tears .. ah Oh My Gosh here they come! Oh God how perfect are You to design the first time parents to go first!

The big hand off into your mama and dada's hands forever..awe it brings tears to my eyes right now.

My first thought was WOW they are soooo healthy and big! They were around 5 pounds when they came to the orphanage. They were well taken care of and just PERFECT! We were all balling our eyes out and just so happy for them .. God knew the PERFECT parents for these twins girls. Now a beautiful family of 4 within minutes! Then in the middle of all the emotions Scott and I heard YOHANNES ( Jonas) is NEXT!! What? wow .. my heart was racing and my eyes already filled with tears again and thinking finally the wait is over our long journey is here and I finally get to see Jonas and that perfect smile I had seen in so many pictures ..oh I just can't wait to hold him.. If I could have screamed I would have but I was just too shocked.

Finally together at last!! Of course he was even more beautiful in person and oh that smile.. when I first walked up to him, I couldn't believe it. What a gorgeous moment I will cherish the rest of my life! It was like a fairy tail had come true.. just storybook written. It was everything I had dreamed of meeting him .. God designed this PERFECT little boy for our family .. oh Lord how You do GREAT things! This is one of the Greatest in my life.

YOHANNES JONAS SCOTT ARMSTRONG WELCOME INTO THIS FAMILY we are truly the blessed ones. I just can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for you.

It was even more special that it was the day that Jonas turned 7 months old. He was born on Sept. 19, 2009. I didn't have to miss one more monthly milestone. YEAH! He has been in our arms for an entire month and I have loved it! It's truly so much easier to have one baby around the house and I feel like I get to enjoy babyhood more. I rock him to sleep at night and he only likes to be in my arms for bedtime which I love for right now:) I just feel like Jonas is the walking Gospel.. he is just pure joy always smiling and laughing. If someone even starts to pass judgement on our family I feel like he smiles at them and it clears that person's mind instantly. He lights up everyone he is around. If there is a disease for being too happy he has it. The moment he has gotten home he has brighten our house with so much love. Scott and I walk around feeling so content and at peace. It feels like he has been here forever and just blends into our family perfectly. The twins love him and when they just randomly give him hugs and kisses it just melts my heart. Here is a few things he's able to do in the last month. He sits up on his own, eats baby foods twice a day, sleeps through the night (AMEN), takes two naps a day, and is teething like crazy ..no teeth yet! Some of his many firsts are flying an airplane over 16 hours, seeing sooo many white people:), going into a Publix grocery store (seeing balloons he's in love with them!),going to a restaurant, going into the swimming pool, riding in a car seat, going to the library for story time, sitting in a highchair, sleeping in a crib by himself, swinging in a swing at the park, living with a HUGE 118 pound lab(not a big fan of), and living in a home with a brother, sister and parents that love him. I think he's adjusting well with all that being said:) Happy 8 Months Jonas!! So glad you are home with us