A Season of Blessings

Halloween, then and now

A year ago, we were winding down our time at the baby house, getting ready to move Lily Grace to our apartment in Karaganda. Our adoption coordinator, Janet Ball, gave us a cute Halloween outfit for her to wear.

What a difference a year makes! This year, Lily Grace, with the help of her cousins, Libbey and Emily, got to experience trick-or-treating for the first time. After a while, she got the hang of it, and our little bumblebee had a great time.



Steve and Tonya

Lily Grace goes to the farm

Lily Grace recently took her first trip to Gentry’s Farm and made her mom and dad feel like kids again, too.

Enjoy the show!




Steve and Tonya

A special milestone

Lily Grace has now been home as long as she lived in her baby house. She will soon turn 20 months, and continues to keep her Mom and Dad on their toes!

Thank you for sharing this journey with us - we are blessed to have her and to have such wonderful family and friends.

Steve and Tonya

Lily Grace's Baptism

July 5, 2009 was a very special day in the Young family - the day Lily Grace was baptized at our church, Historic Franklin Presbyterian. Almost all of our immediate family members were able to attend, and those who could not were certainly with us in spirit.

Our pastor, Sally Hughes, performed the sacrament, and Lily Grace was fascinated with the whole process. Later, when gathering to pose after the service for a family picture, Lily Grace leaned out of Tonya's arms, put her hand in the baptismal font, and proceeded to sprinkle water on her own head! Guess a repeat never hurts. :-)


Picture collage, clockwise from upper left: Grandma Dee Dee (Tonya's mom, Diane) helps LG get dressed; Tonya, LG and Steve with Sally Hughes; LG sits on her Grandpa's knee (Tonya's dad, Ron); All family members who attended the service pose for a picture; LG with Janet Tharpe, who made her baptism gown; LG with her three cousins.

We are blessed to have the love and support of such a wonderful family and our dear friends!

Steve and Tonya

Lily Grace at 16 months

Lily Grace has been home for six months now - seems like it was just yesterday we were on the plane. She's growing and learning - and just like everybody warned us - it goes by TOO FAST. Life is full, life is brisk and life is an amazing blessing. We hope you'll enjoy these photos and video we've put together of her life over the last month.

Thank you for your prayers and support - have a wonderful summer!

Steve & Tonya

Lily Grace takes a big step

Dear Family and Friends,

Watching Lily Grace grow has been a joy that words can't describe. We want to share this milestone with you - enjoy!

Love to all,
Steve and Tonya

Lily Grace birthday pics

Hello Family and Friends,

Finally, here are some pictures from Lily Grace's first birthday on January 22. Most of our immediate family was able to attend and as you can see, it was an entertaining day!

Happy Birthday, Lily Grace!

Today is Lily Grace's first birthday! By all accounts, she's happy and excited about it ... of course, she's happy and excited every day, but we can tell she knows this day is a milestone. :-)

We'll share some pictures from our family celebration taking place this Saturday in a later post - today, we've posted a video compilation of Lily Grace meeting/playing with members of her new extended family over the holidays:

Thanks for your love and support,
Steve and Tonya