“The Mighty One has done great things for us. Holy is His name!” Luke 1:49
Merry Christmas 2011 from the Lancaster family! It has been a VERY eventful year for our family, and we are amazed at what God has done. In January, we took a family trip with the Lancasters to DISNEY WORLD! It was Evy’s first trip and she was just beside herself! She loved every single second! Kurt and I loved watching her experience it all. We can’t wait to go back (as usual)! In February, Evy Kate turned 2 years old, and we had a Mickey and Minnie themed party. We still can’t believe that she’s getting as old as she is – what will we do when she’s a teenager, etc.?!
In March, we received a life-changing phone call: our adoption agency told us that we had been referred a healthy, 8-month-old baby boy!!! Kurt and I were visiting Jackson, Mississippi at the time and I was by myself in the hotel room when I received the call. It was the most incredible feeling! A few minutes later we saw our son’s face for the first time, and in the following months it was a roller coaster of figuring out when and how to get him home! We decided to name him William “Liam” Mark, in honor of many special men in our family. In the spring, I had the huge blessing of THREE dear friends visiting! One of those visits included a Royal Wedding viewing party! Seeing so many of my friends was the most fun I’ve had in awhile!
In June, Kurt and I both celebrated our birthdays as well as our 4th anniversary! It was also very exciting for us to welcome C.J., our newest nephew, into the world! He is precious and Evy is officially very outnumbered on the Lancaster side of the family. J We spent many summer days at our local waterpark, making visits to north Mississippi, and continuing the long wait to bring Liam home. We had a wonderful time in July visiting Texas to see some of my relatives. We really enjoyed taking Evy to a few museums and we made wonderful memories together.
In August, we got the news that Liam had been submitted for his exit permit out of Korea! This was huge news, because we were at the very end of the “quota” that Korea allows each year. We were so, so grateful to God that we would see our son within months. On October 11, I received the other life-changing call of the year – TRAVEL CALL!!! It was so surreal to plan our trip to Korea! My dad came with us to help, and to say that he was an asset is a HUGE understatement! We went to our adoption agency in Korea on October 18th and Liam was handed to us by the sweetest, godliest foster family we could’ve prayed for. Along with the birth of Evy, it was the most profound thing that we have ever experienced. We felt the presence of God in that room, and we were overcome as we watched Liam’s foster family circle around and pray over him. We were blown away that God would be so gracious to give us a strong Christian foster family, but why are we ever surprised at God’s goodness?! The trip was absolutely amazing, and Liam showed signs of bonding and attaching quickly.
Since coming home, Liam has continued to adjust so well! We are so amazed at how well he’s doing. He’s sleeping wonderfully, and Evy is the best big sister in the world. We had no doubts that she would love Liam and take care of him, but they are so sweet together. They always hug each other in the mornings, and I often see them holding hands in the car. God is so good!
This fall, Kurt and I, along with our choir, had the awesome privilege of singing with Travis Cottrell in concert at our church. I’m not sure that I’ve ever worshipped like that in my life. Again, the spirit of God was in that place! Between the adoption and the concert (and more!), Kurt and I are overwhelmed with praise and our hearts are so full. We have spent these most recent months settling into life as a family of four, and we find that it has its challenges, but we love it!
Kurt is still enjoying work and getting to know his coworkers more every day. He has really grown in church leadership this year. We, along with another couple, were asked to start a new Lifegroup class for Young Marrieds and we’re learning a lot about ourselves and the Lord through that process. Kurt is the lead teacher and I’m so proud and amazed at his diligence each week. I am also very proud to say that Kurt was recently elected a deacon in our church – there’s no better person for that role, in my humble opinion. J I am still blogging and enjoying that as a hobby and ministry. I’ve really enjoyed settling into life in Cape this year, and growing some friendships. I’m really thankful for the friends that God has given me here – they bless me every day. I’m incredibly fulfilled in being Kurt’s wife and Evy and Liam’s Mommy!
Evy is most definitely in a Disney Princess phase, and she is adorable! She’s talking NONSTOP and observing so many things. She helps me all the time with Liam (especially with fetching diapers) and I hear her “teaching” him things all the time. We like to say that Evy is the best English teacher there is – ha! She is LOVING her music class at church and sings every single song at the top of her lungs. Just when I think she can’t possibly get any cuter, she DOES. Liam adores her, and he is picking up on some English (we think!). He is babbling and making noises, but no solid words yet. He is walking like a champ and is teething up a storm. He also loves church and enjoys his little classes so much. He is also a cuddle baby when it’s bedtime and that’s just a dream come true. I love holding him close and knowing that he’ll be with us forever.
It’s surreal for me to be writing this letter knowing that 2011 was when we added our second child to the family. We know that God has much in store for us. This journey of adoption has totally expanded our worldview and stretched our hearts to a different place. We see children differently (every orphan now has the face of Evy and Liam to us), we view ministry differently (we are to literally be the hands and feet of Christ), and we have confirmed that we will be open to either pregnancy OR adoption for each of our subsequent children. We started out with the desire to blend adopted and biological children, and this has only increased. We are in the process of finalizing Liam’s adoption (it should be complete in the spring of 2012), and are so excited to see what God does.
This year, I’ve been reminded over and over that Joseph, in essence, was the adoptive earthly father of Jesus. Jesus didn’t originate from him, but he loved and raised Him. I’ve also been reminded that adoption is the clearest picture we have as humans to what takes place when we receive Jesus into our lives and He adopts us into His family. I will never view my salvation the same way because of what we’ve experienced with Liam. We are forever changed and we really can claim the verse at the top of this letter – we praise His holy name!
Love in Christ this Christmas from Kurt, Ashley, Evy, and Liam
