Here is sweet Lily meeting her Daddy for the 1st time!
Lily Hope Jiatong Stanley
Lily Hope Jiatong StanleyWhat an amazing little treasure. I'm in such awe and wonder when I think of how she came to join our family. How God loved her so much....and He knew we were meant to have her...forever. God had to mold us into his will. He knew which little girl He created would need us and that we needed her. To teach us. To show us. To open our eyes to other children waiting in orphanages due to a small thing called a "special need". God gave us a tender nudge, a gentle tug to follow Him on a journey that He would not fail us..that He would not leave us...if only we would trust Him. A journey that He did not promise would come without challenges, trials, and heartaches. But a journey of healing. a journey of love. a journey of HOPE. So thankful the Lord is still leading us by the hand. taking one step at a time. trusting. following. and loving the four treasures he loaned to us in the meantime!
Lily is so much fun. She has made the most amazing strides will I will share soon as her one year gotcha and home anniversary post will come soon. (September.) All I can say is we are smitten with the baby of the family. She is a true picture of Jesus and the Hope He brings.
I asked each member of our family what they loved most about Hopie..here are their replies.
Brennan- I love her smile! (gulp...immediate tears when he said this!!!)
Bryson- I love how funny she is! She is so silly!!
Lola Joy loves having a playmate to laugh with.
Daddy- I love her belly laugh!
Mommy- I, too, love her silliness and hearing her belly laugh at the sibs!
Lily's favorite things to do are to read books, play with Lola Joy, push a stroller with her blanky and Panda in it, Play COPYCAT-she does something and waits for you to copy her...this continues until you tire out..she never does! She loves food, ice-cream, and to dance.
Thanking God tonight for His precious gifts!!!!
Be the HOPE 4 Orphans!!!
Julie
As soon as we got back to the hotel, I got my first smile!!! 
Some of my favorite pics of my sweet baby girl...
Love that tongue!
Beach bum!
What a cheesy grin!!!
Some of my favorite pics of my sweet baby girl...
Love that tongue!
Beach bum!
What a cheesy grin!!!
That was the biggest cotton candy I've ever seen!
Lol! it was bigger than her head!!!
Here she is...enjoying her birthday today!!
Here she is...enjoying her birthday today!!
God is good!!!
6 comments:
Wow, tears, tears!!!!! We love it when she smiles so big those big beautiful brown eyes disappear. We love you Lily HOPE, xxx's & ooo's from the Gutmans.
I believe that Lil's greatest "special need" was to have a family to love her! God sure took care of that!She has lots of family and friends forever!Happy Birthday Lily Hope!
Dang, I shouldn't have read this on my way out the door! HA! Tears! My favorite thing about Lily Hopers is how she runs head first to the fun awaiting her! So thankful God made your family for her so we can share in the life of that super sweet baby girl! LOVE you Lily! Happy Birthday!!!!
Happy birthday Lily!! And thank you so much Julie and Doug for sharing your families journey and milestones with all of us.
Happy Birthday sweet Lily Hope! Can't believe how much she has changed in those pictures! :) We love you!! :)
What an amazing story! I'm so impressed with how you and your family are living out the call of James 1:27. The non-profit I work for, Live 58, is looking to connect with more people like yourselves, who've radically experienced living out God's heart for orphans and widows. Would you have some time to tell me more about your story, perhaps through an interview? You can reach me at adam@live58.org and feel free to check out our website for more information about who we are: www.live58.org.
In Christ,
Adam J. Woodward
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