Praising GOD for an update, a letter & a smile!

Hi all,
I'm here with a quick update.
We received our Letter Of Approval today!
HOORAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Isn't God just absolutely amazing?!!

I can't even put into words the emotions I feel.
It's sinking in slow, but it's sinking in deep.
And for all of this, I give Him thanks & praise!

Dear Emily Margaret.
Welcome to the family. No you're not actually home. But today does mark the day that this house was granted permission to be your home. HOORAY!!! As we eagerly await your arrival, I want to leave you with a few thoughts.
First and foremost we love you and we can't wait to learn all about you. We don't care if you have purple polka dots and a peg leg, you're a Hinson now (God bless your sweet soul).
In our family it's important to know, we'll push you to be your very best. Just remember, we'll always love you, even especially at your worst.
As your mama, I'm gonna do my best to teach you everything you need to know. But be prepared, because I will mess up. Just know that I'll go down trying & praying.
Probably most importantly will be the time I've spent in prayer over you. I've prayed for everything from a sprig of hair long enough for a hair bow, down to your sweet knees staying safe from falls until you know the love of a Mommy & Daddy who kiss boo-boos and make them all better. Prayers for your heart. That it will stay strong from surgery, but also that it would be filled with the Holy Spirit. I've prayed for your sweet little ears (the ones that look just like your brother Joseph's). I'd love for those ears to be able to hear my whisperings of "I love you" into them. Even if you never hear my voice, I pray that you'll always hear the voice of our Father.
Emily Margaret, I don't know what I did to deserve the honor of traveling across the ocean to bring your angelic face into my life. Please know, I will always thank & praise God for you, our Baby Girl Hinson!

Oh, and just so you know, God heard my prayers for hair.
How do I know??
Because he had Mrs.Vicki send me this

"Hello, my name is gorgeous and yes, you can just refer to me as that!" ;)
Thank you Mrs.Vicki!!!

I'll keep you posted of any news.
We've got more paperwork to do before traveling...
in 2-3 months!!!
God's blessings friends, Sarah :)
aka The Proudest Mama on the Block!

Emily Margaret's 1st Beach Trip {kinda}

Hi all it's me,

Emily Margaret's mama 

coming to you live from the beach.

This is Emily Margaret's 1st beach vacation...

well, it was supposed to be. 

You see last summer I was certain would be

our last without packing floaties and hairbows. 

I just knew that Emily Margaret would be here with us.

I even bought our baby girl a yellow ruffled bathing suit. 

Needless to say, our sweet girl didn't

 make it home in time for this year's trip.

So what's a mom to do?

Throw a fit and

refuse to vacation until Emily Margaret joined us,

OR continue living and honor her too??

After some mental pouting,

I decided I had to do what was right for the boys.

Just like having her birthday party without her,

I knew I had to keep moving forward.

It wasn't the present time that made me the saddest,

but the days to come when we looked back.

My mama's heart broke 

as I thought of the Hinson five 

looking back on years of vacation photos.

We'd flip through all the fun memories

and finally stumble upon 2011.

She'd see photos of Joseph flexing 

and James bungee jumping.

We'd laugh and recall the fun.

Then it would happen.

She'd say "Mama, why wasn't I in those photos?"

I'd dance as fast as humanly possible 

explaining that we were waiting to bring her home.

Oh I'd tell her how our vacation was incomplete,

but there'd be nothing tangible to prove it.

That's when I remembered my mini-me,

Emma Grace Speakman & her dear friend Kit.

Kit is Emma's American Girl doll.

You'll often see them together at the ballpark.

Unless of course Emma decides to play red rover

and Kit has to stay behind.

So as I was packing for our trip,

I thought back on a recent conversation where Jennifer

& I laughed about her being a grown woman 

and carrying around a baby doll in her purse.

We couldn't help but imagine the 

crazy looks she earned.

Ultimately we decided that if they knew the 

Emma/Kit bond, then they would understand.

And that was it.

Exactly the piece I needed to 

link Emily Margaret's wait time

 together with our everyday life. 

So with all the background info behind us,

look who joined us for her first 

beach trip after all!!!

Emily Margaret,

this morning you took your first bike ride.

While the boys road through the sprinklers,

 we stayed back & snapped pics.

You'll come to find that us Hinson girls 

can hang with those boys.

We just do it in style

by adding a splash of pink & a dab of lip gloss!

And don't you worry,

once you're really here

there's a purple bike with ribbons and bows

just waiting for you at Werner's. 

Oh yeah baby girl

even Daddy agrees,

we've got some lost time to make up for!

 (Daddy & the Princess

at the Hangout's Pirates & Princesses breakfast.)

Pre-Approval Dec. 10th, 2010

James' Birthday

Log-In-Date May 23rd, 2011

Mama's Birthday

Keep those prayers going up,

Daddy's birthday is on July 8th

and we sure are ready for our Letter of Approval!

God's blessings & love,

Emily Margaret's Beach Bum Mama ;)