An Unknown Path

I honestly don't know how to start this post. Or even what to say.

It's been nine months since I last posted and I really miss it. I have changed up my blog design because this is a new chapter and a new road, one that I have never walked before.

Our family is walking through a horrible situation. We thought it would be resolved in days. But it's been far far too long. The longest and hardest eight months of my life.

There were days and moments when hope seemed entirely gone. But when God is on our side, who can be against us?! He alone will provide victory.

I can't share any details publicly but I would be happy to share privately (leave me a comment or email: allisonsnyder2@aol.com).

And if you're willing, please add our family to your prayers.

This storm we are walking through does not make much sense now, but I'm trusting that God will turn something bad into something amazing. He's never failed me and He's not about to start now.

"In God's hands intended evil becomes eventual good"-Max Lucado

Thank you, friends.

((((beep))))
Allie

Life Here Lately (Summer 2016)

What a summer it has been. A very blessed and very busy summer.

We've had many hot and humid days this summer, so we haven't been outside as much as we usually are.

And with this being the first summer the boys are home, it's been a bit crazy. :)

I didn't get the camera out much, but here are a few pictures from the past couple months:

 

These three are such good buddies!

 

"Please stop eating for a minute so we can take a picture," says Marie and I.

I guess Carlie listened. :)  The homemade s'mores must have been too good.

 

It may have taken me about two hours to make graham crackers and marshmallows. But it was worth it! They turned out so yummy. I'm still perfecting my corn syrup free marshmallow recipe and gluten free graham crackers, but I'm getting there! 

 

Marie got some cute pictures of Carlie and Nate:

And Collin is adorable as always:

 "Yep, I can totally get that," says Collin.

Got it!

 Ending with a beautiful sunset from a couple weekends ago.  

Life is good.

Celebrating Carlie

It was a warm June day as I sat with my mom and older sister while we looked at the file of a little girl.

We read that she had severe unrepaired CHD and was almost eight. We were told she was terminal.

My mom opened the video attached to her file and I saw with new eyes just how desperate this girl was.

The video was from two years before that and showed a malnourished little girl with dark purple skin from lack of oxygen. She was tied to a crib.

To this day I cannot watch that video without crying. It is almost unbearable to imagine what my sweet sister went through.

We then found out that she was from the same orphanage as Rosie.

We prayed that God would revel to us if she was a part of our family.

It was one month after we lost Rosie, and we questioned whether our family was actually ready for this next step.

But God gave us a very clear yes. And suddenly we were in the midst of another international adoption.

We were racing to bring Carlie Ruth home.

We traveled to bring Carlie and Maisey (also from Zhongshan) on December 17th, 2014. And on the 22nd we met the girls.

I stood in the Guangzhou Civil Affairs office and tried to hide every emotion that was racking my body. It was minutes after we met the girls and found out that Carlie had been living the past four years on a hospital bed. Alone.

We had been told that Carlie was discharged for her adoption. We knew this was true, because her hospital bracelet was still on.

We were given an "oxygen pillow". We were given random medicines. We were told to not let her walk around very often.

I would of given anything to have been able to get there earlier. To have adopted Carlie before she had endured such a huge amount of suffering. To erase the time spent in the hospital and have brought her home four years earlier. My heart was so torn up for our sweet girl.

I cried softly in our hotel room that night. Carlie didn't even know how to sleep because all she did was sit in bed 24 hours a day.

She had been left in the hospital to die. And to be forgotten. On her own in a small hospital in Zhongshan City, China. But our God didn't forget. And this is a story of hope. A story of grace. And a story of love that overcomes.

It's pretty amazing how God works.

Carlie turned ten last week. I'm starting to cry as I write this because I realized how many miracles I have seen in the year and a half  Carlie has been a Snyder.

Her two miraculous heart surgeries have given her more energy that she ever had in China.

She has grown and become such a beautiful and spunky ten year old.

While I wish she hadn't spent eight years in an orphanage and a hospital, I wouldn't change it. Because she wouldn't be the person she is today.

And I certainly wouldn't be the same either.

I sat on the couch the other day as she did school with my mom. As she spelled words and read a short story, I realize that God had prepared her for this.

Because even though she spent her first eight years in an orphanage, God was keeping her spirit and preparing her for her family.

She was always meant to be a Snyder.

Happy Birthday Carlie! I beep you. <3

Two Years of Blogging

It's been two years since my blog started (well, it's actually been a little over two years, but I'm only a month off :).

What started as a way to share about Rosie,  this blog has become much much more.

For me, it has been a voice. A way to share what is on my heart. A way to put all my dreams out on paper and pray that some of them become a reality.

For you, I hope it's been encouraging. I hope I portrayed a pictured that loss is hard, but beauty abounds even in the darkest valleys.

For Christ, I hope my blog has pointed to Him. And I hope that I honored Him with everything I have written thus far.

I'm excited to see where this little blog of mine will be in a few years. I hope that more people can be reached and lives touched by Rosie's story. I hope that Rosie's legacy will continue to spread, because it has already touched so many lives.

It's amazing how a sweet little five year old girl could completely change my life. How she opened my eyes to see a world beyond my own selfishness.

How this blog was started for her and how her life is still such a part of mine.

This story? This story is a beautiful one, not because the road was easy and smooth. This story is turning out beautiful because during the dark valleys, we knew we were not alone. He was holding us up.

Two years ago,  I could only wonder if anything good would come out of Rosie leaving this earth.

Now here I am. Realizing that God has done so much more than I even could have ever imagined. He is so good.

Celebrating Rosie today, because isn't everyday a good day to celebrate Rosie? :)

Carlie's Heart Cath

It's been a few months since I wrote an update on Carlie's heart.

Back in December, we were so thankful that her second open heart surgery went better than expected and her heart was doing as well as it was. The plan was just to see how her heart continued to function post-surgery.

Lately, she has been having some increasing valve issues and a few other things going on. The doctors in Boston decided it was time for a cath. She's getting it done here at Children's Hospital tomorrow morning around eleven.

Would you pray for the doctors to see everything they need to see? And for Carlie to have a calm and relatively easy day tomorrow?

Thank you, friends!

This girl just amazes me. After having spent four years in a crib and four years flat on her back on a hospital bed, her progress has been nothing short of miraculous.

She has the sweetest personality and loves to be with Nate (they were crib-mates in the orphanage). They have such a special bond.

She's pretty obsessed with her monkey named, "my monkey" (hence the monkey face). And she told my mom that she wanted her hair cut "like Rosie's". Oh my heart.

Hoping that tomorrow will be a good day! 

Love you Carlie!