To God Be All the Glory!!

'Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, "The Lord has done great things for them." The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy!' Psalm 126:2-3

Introducing...

Alealani Faith Tolganai Heckert

Born: October 20, 2007

Weight:3lbs 5oz

Day1, day 5, and day 12

day 3, day 4, 4th of July, GOTCHA DAY!!!!

Yes, we know that it is a very long name for such a tiny person, but the meaning is very special to us. We looked and looked everywhere to find a name that meant chosen and from God. Alealani is a combination of a Kazakh and Hawaiian name. It means, "Beautiful Chosen Child from Heaven." Faith is my mothers middle name and we wanted Alea to know that she is just as much a part of this family as any child born to me, besides, as you all know, this adoption has required much faith from us! Tolganai, pronounced(toll-gun-eye) means full moon, or in Alea's case, eyes like the moon:O)

We knew immediately when we met her that she was our daughter! As Warren says, as soon as she looked into his eyes, he knew. She began to giggle and coo at us and especially at her daddy:O) Warren had prepared himself to be rejected at first because the babies in the Baby House never see men and they are usually scared of them. Not Alea, we think she just knew that Warren was her daddy and she was going to make sure that he knew too. She flashed us her biggest and best smile and that was the end of daddy's heart. I think it may have even stopped beating for a moment:O) During the entire process of this adoption one of Warren's prayers was that she would be a happy baby despite her circumstances. Obviously, she's a strong one to make it through and still be happy.

We actually got custody of her last Thursday, but it was a surprise to us and wasn't actually official until yesterday. That's why I've been waiting to post.

I will still have to stay here for 3 more weeks they are telling me. We're not sure why at this point and it's very hard to wait. I just want to take Alea and get the heck outta dodge!! Please continue to pray for my family while we are in limbo.

Thank you all so very much for all of your prayers for us and encouragements that you send via email or through posting here on my blog. I live to hear from all of you, and while I haven't been able to respond to each of you, please know that I thank God every day for you:O)

Lots of Love,

Jenn & Alea