Sunday, November 29, 2009

Julia McGee's 1st Santa Visit

Dear Family and Friends,
As promised, below are some pictures of Julia's 1st visit with Santa. Daddy had his heart set on Julia sitting on Santa's lap this year. I must admit that I was not very convinced this outing was worthwhile especially since she would be none the wiser if she had visited Santa or not. However, I must say that the pictures turned out fairly good considering we were within minutes of feeding time.

Thank you all for continuing to share in our journey! We thank the Lord every day for this precious gift!

We hope you all are doing well. We miss you and wish we could celebrate the holiday season with each of you.

Lots of love,
Christy, Kevin Malcolm and Julia







Saturday, November 28, 2009

HAPPY THANKSGIVING (28 November 2009)

“ O LORD, I will honor and praise your name, for you are my GOD. You do such wonderful things! You planned them long ago, and now you have accomplished them. “ Isaiah 25:1

GOD’s timing for HIS blessings is always perfect. – Stephanie Kanak

The above passage and phrase rings home this Thanksgiving as we give thanks for our precious daughter, Julia. I remember a friend who adopted two children saying that once you get your child(ren), you forget all the endless paperwork, home study visits, background checks, expenses, heartache, disappointments and so forth involved in the adoption process. Instead, you are in awe of the perfect gift from GOD and realize at that time that HIS timing is perfect even if it did not seem that way when you were going through the waiting process. As we hold our precious daughter in our arms, we cannot imagine life without her and know that GOD’s timing is perfect. It is hard to explain, but we cannot imagine not having Julia. She is part of us and the bond and love her is so strong that it is only from GOD. We have so much to be thankful for this year and every day even when times are hard or the blessings seem absent as we all have a loving and gracious Father has perfect timing.

This holiday we are also thankful for a dear friends and family who have been by our side during this life journey. We truly could not have done it without each of you. Thank you for staying by our side.

We wish each of you a very special and blessed Thanksgiving and holiday season. We look forward to each of you meeting Julia in person soon.

Quick JULIA update: Julia is over 9 pounds – probably closer to 10 pounds by now (since her last Pediatrician appointment) ! She has changed so much and will be 10 weeks this coming Wednesday. We can hardly believe it. Julia had a big day today as she had her first picture and encounter with Santa (pictures to be posted soon). Santa did not want to give her back as she was cooing and smiling at him from the time we put her in his lap. (I think we should be worried that she already knows how to turn on the charm to get more gifts. :) ). Anyway, she was adorable to say the least and everyone in the store was stopping to get a peak at her. It amazes us how many people comment on her size. We laugh to ourselves as we think she is a giant compared to when we first brought her home.

We miss and love you all! Happy Thanksgiving!

Love,
Kevin Malcolm, Christy and Julia

Friday, October 23, 2009

"Our Pumpkin" - October 23rd

Dear Family and Friends,

"Our pumpkin" as we like to call her is growing so much. We are amazed each day at how much she changes. She will be 6 weeks old next Wednesday. (Is 6 weeks the magic number when she starts sleeping through the night?? :)).

She started cooing some and definitely has the crying mastered. :) She loves bath time which, we are happy about since we both love the water! We continue to feel blessed beyond belief and thank GOD each and every day for her. We both still can't believe we are parents. However, I must say it is a little overwhelming at times. We want to make sure we raise her right and give her the best (without spoiling her - is that possible?).

I will write more later as she is ready to feed. However, I wanted to send along another picture of our pumpkin!
We love you all dearly! Can't wait for her to meet you in person.

Love,
Kevin Malcolm, Christy and Julia




Friday, October 16, 2009

The Apple of our Eyes - October 16th

"He gives power to those who are tired and worn out; he offers strength to the weak." Isaiah 40:29.

We bought a daily devotional book for Julia to write in for the next year. We might just include something cute she did that day or some wisdom we want to impart to her. I guess this approach is my attempt at a baby book. I started to realize that I wasn't going to be able to get around to putting together a baby book any time in the coming days however, wanted to capture changes and thoughts of her first few months. The above verse was for October 15th. I had to chuckle as I thought it was a little appropriate given that we are both so tired right now with round the clock feedings. However, we try to relish in those times even the 2 am feedings.

She had her one month check-up today and was 7 pounds and 1 ounce. The Pediatrician was very pleased!! What can I say - she has an appetite like her Momma! She is doing well - Praise God! Thank you for all your prayers!!
We went to the apple orchard last week for a brief visit. I say brief in that we got there and saw the long lines - obviously everyone else in Chester County, PA thought it was a good weekend to go pick apples. We knew she wouldn't hold out to wait in line, take a hay ride out to the apples and then pick them. Thus, we opted for the easy route - we went to the market and purchased a bag. Nonetheless, we took pictures of Julia at the orchard. We figure she wouldn't know the difference. :) I have included a couple pictures below.

We can't wait for you all to meet her in person. We feel so blessed that she will have so many family and friends to pour love and support into her life as she grows up. Thank you all for your love and support! You all mean the world to us. Words simply can't express our thanks and gratitude.

All our love,
Kevin Malcolm, Christy and Julia McGee






Saturday, October 10, 2009

OUR BLESSING FROM ABOVE

"Believe HIM, Believe He Can Do What He Says He Can Do. And Believe Also That You Can Do What He Says You Can Do."
The above line comes from a devotional book and was the devotion quoted on Julia's birth date - September 16th! How appropriate and true - our gift is such a testimony to this truth!

GOD is good and we continue to give him all the glory and praise day after day as we look at our precious little girl!

She is growing - already over 6 pounds we believe - to be confirmed at next Pediatrician's appointment this week. She is eating alot -about every 2 to 3 hours. Needless to say, we are tired. However, we try not to complain and relish in all the precious moments even if they are sometimes at 2, 3 and 4 o'clock in the morning. :) I am trying to learn that cleaning the house, doing laundry, etc. can wait as it is more important to enjoy every minute with her.

We can't wait for you all to meet her in person. For now, I am posting a recent picture of Julia.

Also, Kevin Malcolm and I would like to express our sincere appreciation and gratitude for the outpouring of love to our little one. It means more to us than we can express in words! We will forever be grateful to all our dear family and friends. You each have played a very special part in our lives and we look forward to Julia building a bond with each of you and becoming a part of your lives.
We love you all dearly!! (I promise I will try to be better about posting! :) )

Lots of love,
Kevin Malcolm, Christy and Julia





Saturday, September 19, 2009

Julia McGee O'Neal is Home!

James 1:17: "Every good and perfect gift is from above.."

Dear Family and Friends,

We are writing with joy that truly cannot be expressed through words. After a very positive start (driving to Florida to get Julia) and the birthmother changing her mind resulting in many agonizing hours of despair; GOD's grace and goodness prevailed - JULIA MCGEE O'NEAL was placed with us on Friday late morning.

Her adoption story and the last few days have been a testimony to his unending grace and love for all of us. We want to share this story with everyone in the coming days, but as you might guess, we are a little overwhelmed at the moment. Thus, I will write more very soon as well as send pictures.

She is perfect and we are falling in love with her more and more each minute. For now, we will close with expressing our sincere thanks for all your prayers, encouragement and love throughout this long journey. The journey is not over, but we know GOD is in control and will take care of the remaining logistics and steps to finalization. Julia has been placed with us and we are so thankful and grateful to be her parents.

We love you all dearly! Can't wait for you to meet our daughter.

Love,
Malcolm, Christy and Julia

Saturday, September 12, 2009

September 12th - Pay It Forward

Hello Family and Friends!

This blog/title is written in appreciation to so many of our dear friends and family who have supported us throughout this long journey. In particular, I want to "recognize" some dear friends with this title. A friend of mind, Kristie and her family have been such a stronghold, inspiration and positive influence in our life throughout this difficult journey. They have provided encouragment (as so many of you have) and have listened to me "vent" along the way. Most recently, they have provided so much guidance in terms of raising our daughter to come to us any day.

On that note, we are still awaiting our daughter's arrival. The due date is October 4th, but given the latest Doctor's appointment she could come any day - possibly this weekend. Our prayer is that she is healthy. Obviously, the longer she is in the womb the better, but we are resting in the fact that God is in control and will protect her. Please continue to pray for her safe arrival, her health and that the adoption process will go smoothly. We are anxious about all of these aspects, but once again know that HE is in control of it all.

We will continue to keep you updated and let you know as soon as she arrives. Again, we so appreciate each and every one of you more than you know!! Thank you for all your support and love!

To close, our deep desire is to be able to impact the adoption "world" down the road. We want to "pay it forward" to other adoptive families down the road. We ask for prayers that we can some day use our adoption experiences - positive and negative- to make a positive difference in other adoptive families' lives.

Thank you again for all your encouragement. We love you all!

Love,
Christy and Malcolm
lovingparents@live.com