Five Magnolia Branches

I walked into a conference room Friday to find friends at work gathered together for a surprise send off. Sitting on the end of the conference room table was a magnolia tree and it’s branches were filled with gift cards and cash. I did not tell Larry but just surprised him with the tree at home and he was overwhelmed by everyone’s generosity. We took a few pictures of the tree and then began to untie the cash, cards and notes from the tree and cried as we were overcome by their generosity and heartfelt wishes. The tree has five main branches, one for each member of our new family. The main branches shoot forth smaller ones which represent our children’s future families. What an amazing thought! We will plant the magnolia with the boys when we return home and it will always remind us how God uses others to show his love. The support and prayers of these people through this journey means more than they will ever know. There are just no words. They also gave me an envelope filled with notes that is only to be "Opened in Colombia". So, more on that in a later post.

On Saturday we received an email from our agency. The phones have been down at the orphanage so they sent someone to check on the boys. They are all well and excited to meet us on Thursday. We are packed and ready to leave in the morning! Thank you Lord for all your blessings!