Family Photo

 My Memorial Box Monday story is about these family photos. 

To learn what MBM is click here.

 This is a story of how God loves to give good gifts and He sometimes has to chase us down and be persistent and patient to give it to us.

 He works with awesome people who also have to be persistent and patient.

 Only a few weeks after we had brought Esther home to be our forever daughter, a friend of hers, that knew her before we did, because she worked at Esther's orphanage for 3 months, came to visit her and us. 

 Anna and her sweet sister Alycia came to visit and meet us and love on Esther.  As we were visiting with  Anna, who is a great photographer, she announced that the Lord has laid on her heart a ministry for adoptive families, that when a family brings a new child into the home she would like to take a family photo so that the new child could be included in a beautiful family picture to hang on the wall.  

She said she would like to do this for our family free of charge, as she knew that adoption was expensive and it was her way of giving of her talents and bless the family.  

Wow!!!

  What a blessing!!!

  So we said we would just LOVE this and told her we would have to schedule that soon.

 WELLLLLLL, if anyone knows how our next few months went we could not keep up with the growth of our family or get everyone at the same place at the same time for many months. 

 So, Anna was patient, but she soon had to move.  

 Her very sweet and talented photographer sister, Alycia, said she would take the pictures for Anna, as she thought it was such a great idea and she lived close by so surely we could coordinate and get a family photo.  Well, Alycia was patient, and sweet, and we flaked out and rescheduled so many times that it got to the point I was embarrassed.  

Here she was giving us this great gift and we just kept being difficult. 

 It got down to Thanksgiving week, and then a week before we found out Lashae and Chaney could not come, so I told Alycia, we would have to flake out one more time and if she wanted to just skip it I would understand. 

Oh no, she said no problem she could just wait.  Remember, this girl is a professional and she doesn't need to be waiting for me, she has a business, and a family, and she works in ministry, and she is just flat busy.

 So it came to Christmas, and the ONLY time we could all get together for a picture was on Christmas Eve.  Here's how the conversation with Alycia went:

I call  Alycia and tell her we are available for our family pictures that she wants to bless us with. :)

 But here's the problem...we are ONLY available on Christmas Eve.

So this sweet and talented girl...leaves her family...loads up all her photography equipment...loads up this very cute chair...meets this crazy family in the park, and takes our picture...ON CHRISTMAS EVE.  

We can not thank her enough. 

 She did a great job...it took her a total of about 20 minutes to take all these photos, she is so quick and entertaining in the process, and she had some of the pictures posted of Facebook before we even got home from the park.  

This girl ROCKS.

 We feel so blessed by the Lord, and Alycia, and Anna for such great family pictures that include everyone, and now we can hang up these photos and Esther is in them, Chaney is in them, and Maezie!!! 

  I am blessed clear to my bones!!! 

 Thank you Lord for giving good gifts and using talented precious people to do your work.

So moral of the story...if you want an awesome family picture that you could never afford...

ADOPT!!!! 

 Just one more great reason to adopt a child that needs a family. :) Just Sayin'!