Received

"Therefore RECEIVE one another as Christ has received you, for the glory of God"!

This is the verse I read on the morning we left for our first trip to Russia....on our way to meet a baby girl.

 Full of emotion, excitement, anticipation, and still apprehension, God spoke this verse into my heart, affirming HIS selection of this orphan for our family.  We were to go to Russia and RECEIVE her.....to move her from a "referral" baby to a "redeemed" daughter.....for the glory of God.  And the Glory of God showed Himself our very first day at the orphanage.  Having read many books on attachment and babies in orphanages, we had prepared ourselves to possibly meet a shy, unresponsive toddler, who probably wanted nothing to do with us - especially with Todd, since they don't see men really at all.  BUT GOD.....He loves to do this.....was in our midst.  When the orphanage worker walked down the hall holding her hand, Todd bent down just to get eye level with her.  She immediately let go of the worker's hand and toddled right to Todd, put her arms around his neck, and laid her head on his shoulder.  Swimming through tears, we hugged on her....and she gladly let us.  She smiled continuously.  As we played with her, she always wanted to be in one of our laps.  Each day, her shiny personality came out more and more.  The only time she ever cried was when we had to leave her.  But we RECEIVED her....for the glory of GOD!

Her name is Annhaven Clare Watkins.

We cannot wait to show her off to you.  Please be patient with us until we have things finalized.  We cannot share pictures or detailed information as of yet.  Just please pray.....pray for her to be safe, to be filled with hope and joy and peace; pray for our court date to come very soon; and pray that God will continue to supply our financial needs to the end.

To the Glory of God,
Marcee, Todd, Adlee, Sam and Jameson