NEWS ~ 11.23.2007

HAPPY GOTCHA DAY LILY and HAPPY DAY FOR OUR EXPANDING FAMILY!

4 years ago today we held Lily in our arms for the first time. WOW! Lily is so much fun. We made a banner for her room that she awoke to and are celebrating all day as a family. We are off to watch the Razorbacks whip the LSU tigers :) with some friends soon, but I wanted to share why we are extra thankful today.
Lily and Silas get to share a special day - his birthday is also her referral day - Oct 2 (the day we first got her picture and knew who she was ). Now she gets to share another day. Today is her gotcha day and also the day that a special boy in Haiti learns he has a family.

BACKING UP -
After Titus went home to Heaven we had decided our family was complete with Silas. Noel and I felt strongly that we did not want another referral for a different baby boy. I went to Haiti in October with that decision made and enjoyed every minute with Silas. God had a very different plan in mind. On each parent trip - some of the parents that are adopting older children invite their friends from the orphanage to come to the hotel for a pool party. It is fun to see these kids get to play in the pool - then the families get them pizza and coca cola. They have a blast. Some of the kids that come to the pool have families that are not on the parent trip and some do not have a family. While Silas and I were in the restaurant eating pizza that day one of the boys came upstairs to get a slice. I noticed him right away and we smiled at each other. Later, I was talking to one of the moms who told me he did not have a family yet. It was heart breaking to me and I started observing him more closely. He was playing in the pool with some of the other Dads and all I could think about was how something about him reminded me of Noel and how much I would love to see them together.
Well - I went about my business taking care of Silas and interacting with the other parents and kiddos. Throughout the rest of the evening this little boy was frequently next to me and playing with Silas. I even called Noel at one point in and asked him to start praying about how an 8 year old might fit in our family. When I arrived home - we continued to pray...for a while I thought I had lost my mind, but Noel never waivered - he said "we can do this - he is our son." So after a couple weeks we got the news that Loudigens Richard who just turned 10 is available and thought to be a great fit for us if we would like to pursue his adoption. The referral specialist for our orphanage who meets all the children and matches them with families told me that Loudigens prays for a family and has told her to "please find me a mama and a papa - I need a mama and a papa." Well today he should get the letter we got to write to him telling him he has a family. We are so excited. Lily is especially thrilled that she will have an older and a younger brother. You should have seen the smile when I told her Louis loves soccer and will be ready to ride bikes as soon as he gets home. Priceless :)
This is what we wrote....

Dear Loudigens Richard,

I would like to introduce our family to you. I am Lori Tugwell. My husband is Noel, and we have one daughter at home who is 4 years old named Lily. We are adopting Jeff (Silas) from Haiti, who is 2 years old. You will probably recognize him in the picture with you. I was so happy to meet you when I was in Haiti in October. When I got back to the United States we started praying for you and would like for you to be part of our family.
We live in Arkansas, in the USA. The most important things in our lives are God, family, and friends. Noel is a Physical Therapist and has a business where he helps people exercise and feel better after injuries. I am a nurse and I work a little in a hospital and stay home with Lily. Lily is a fun little girl who would love to have 2 brothers. We really like sports and go to a lot of games and play a lot outside. We live in a neighborhood that is safe to ride bikes and play in the yard. We have a great family and lots of friends with children your age. We live in a town that has very good schools and many nice people. It would be one of our greatest blessings for you to be our son. We promise to love you just as if you had been born to us. We promise to take care of you, to provide you with all of life’s daily needs like food and a good home and also to provide you with a good education. We believe that God chose you to be part of our family and we are praying that you feel that way too.

Thank you for sitting with me at the hotel when you came to the pool party. Some of the parents will be coming to Haiti in January. We will not be able to come in January, but we are praying for you every day and counting the days until we get to see you.

We love you very much,
Mama, Papa, and Lily



SO - a very special day for us. I hope everyone reading this had a wonderful Thanksgiving yesterday.
Oh - a fun little tidbit Silas shares his name with my brother (Jeff) and Louis shares a name with my father (Richard) and Noel's uncle. I think he goes by Louis instead of Loudigens so that is what we will change his name to. Louis Richard Tugwell - date of birth 11.5.1997

Thanks to all the parents on the parent trip to Haiti who encouraged me right away and to all of our family and friends who are equally excited as we are about Louis:)
God is good!
lori
for Noel, lily, Louis and Silas

Remembering Titus - I have not lost my passion to continue what God started through Titus' life. I have started a new blog www.thetitustask.blogspot.com . It will have more information soon about a fund we are starting and great ways you can make a difference partnering with us to bring more awareness to the plight of orphans and help bring them home - one at a time.

LOVE you ALL !