Day 4,276

The Fifth Year As Our Son

He's been our son for FIVE beautiful years.

And every year it comes around, I'm always warmed by his response, "Mom, I'm extra special. You were adopted once. I get to be adopted twice!" 

I love you, my son. The Lord has preserved you, cared for you, provided for you, and protected you. I pray you never ever forget these truths that you've so thoroughly learned this year. He is worthy to be praised as the reason for our hope, for our love, for our ability to endure and to persevere. Trust Him with your whole heart, Son. He is your good Father.

"How deep the Father's love for us...how vast beyond all measure. That He would give His only Son, to make a wretch His treasure."

 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love 5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kindintention of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. 7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace 8 which He lavished on us.

Ephesians 1:3-8

Adoption Day AND Fall Festival! It's one of the most special days of the year around here! And this time, they chose to be Oompa Loompas after watching Charlie and the Chocolate Factory for the first time!

Day 2,314

The First Year As Five

October 31st has proven itself to be a testimony of bountiful harvest in our lives over the years. Six years ago yesterday, we celebrated the hope we have in the regenerated heart of my father the day before he died. Three years ago yesterday, we celebrated the Lord’s generosity in providing for us our very first home. And one year ago yesterday, we celebrated through tears and alongside our church family as we chose to receive Bearett into our own family as Son.

I’m currently studying the book of Galatians and have been for the better part of the last month. The providential timing of the Lord to have me in Galatians 4 was not lost on me, as this last week, I’ve been reading about our sonship in Christ through spiritual adoption. 

The most beautiful part of adoption to me is that it - by definition - requires a choice. The choice of bringing the offspring of another into your own family. When I consider the reality that before being adopted myself by the Lord, I was apart of another family - an unregenerated daughter of the enemy without any hope - I am utterly speechless at the unmerited mercy and grace of the Lord. He chose me as his child. He didn’t have to. He didn’t need to. And He was perfectly in His own right not to. But instead, He chose me as I was, gave me new desires, a new hope, a new birth, a new home, a new name - an heir alongside His perfect Son. Through faith in Christ, by the Lord’s will, this is what I’ve received and done absolutely nothing to earn. 

Choosing Bearett as our son could never measure nor compare to the redeeming love with which the Lord showed when he graciously chose me as His daughter. But choosing to adopt Bearett is a picture of the Gospel that serves as a visible reminder in our own lives every single day of the goodness of the Lord and His unmatched kindness, mercy, and grace. 

Though at times, things are a little hairy and don’t always go as planned, life with Bearett has been everything we hoped and prayed it would be. And so much more. 

He unites this family in a way that never was and brings a certain joy that couldn’t exist without him. 

The girls are crazy about him.

I said the other day that I honestly don’t know what we ever did without him. And it’s true. I don’t. I can’t imagine our lives now any other way. 

They do everything together. They see everything together. They learn everything together. It’s been such a joy watching them grow as brother and sisters and I am just so grateful.  

To celebrate our special day yesterday, we skipped school and had ourselves an entire day of family. We went to the park, ate lunch at Panera, got all dressed up in our favorite costumes (!!), went to Fall Festival at our church, and finally did a little door to door candy collecting. 

The kids had a blast. 

And we did too. 

Every year now, we have a built-in day of celebration, centered on the abundant kindness of the Lord, and it’s a day we look forward to with renewed hope and sweet perspective. 

Bountiful harvest. 

Overflowing goodness. 

Unmerited favor. 

If anything I said above was confusing, just look at the photo.

A year ago, fathoming THIS picture would be inconceivable. Truly. My three kids sitting on the benches outside our church watching “The Lightlings” next to Morgan - it’s overwhelming to comprehend. Shocking even. But not to Him. I’m in awe at my God. 



From the Conley BeeFive (nearly Six!) to you, Happy Harvest Festival! 

Day 2,226

The First Year Together

A year ago yesterday, the three of them boarded a plane with me from Washington to Atlanta. He was their cousin then. He’s their brother now. 

This is then. 



And this is now. 

A million times over, I choose this. 

How incredibly beautiful. How incredibly dear. 

We can’t even try to rewind it back to 366 days ago, nor do we want to. To imagine our lives without Bearett is impossible and we continue to thank the Lord day in and day out for bringing our son into our lives. Such mercy. Such goodness. He’s our best friend  and we are so in love with him. Happy first year, Conleys! You know we celebrated this best day with chocolate and fun!

Day 2,443

The First as Five

I hope one day, they look back and say to me, “Mom, you taught me what it is to be sustained by and rooted in Christ, confident in nothing but his sacrifice and his righteousness.” Or at least something along those lines. If nothing else, I hope they see a mom who loves the Lord and pursues Him in obedience always, even in the ugly times and even in the pretty times. My role as a mother is so much greater than I ever initially perceived it to be, but thank God that he’s revealing the immeasurable impact I have on their very souls, day in and day out. What a task. What a responsibility. But what an honor. I treasure motherhood and hold it dearly. I love my role as a mom and even more, I love my role as THEIR mom. I am filled with gratitude and joy when I consider that of all the children the Lord could’ve given or could’ve withheld, these are the three he gave me. Bearett. Amelia. Ella Mae. Oh my heart. I love you each more than I could try to explain and thank God for such grace in choosing you for me! 

The happiest Mother’s Day yet came on my third year of celebration - with three gremlins climbing all over me for most of it. This is right where I want to be. Leading them, alongside Adam. 

I don’t know how it could get better. 

Happy Mother’s Day. 

And especially to my own Mom, who’s given me such wisdom, encouragement, care, and support over the last thirty years. I would be hard pressed to find a more sacrificial, protective, and dependable woman to share my life with and am grateful always for the example she puts before me. Her tremendous successes and inevitable failures have helped to shape me into the woman I am today. I love you, Mama. 

A special thank you as well to my Grama, who I count on almost daily for a smile and who’s brought me such joy over the years with her ornery jokes and contagious laughs. She’s one of my best and most loyal of friends and I’m just smitten with the love she brings my life. 

To my sisters, who are riding alongside me through this journey of motherhood. Thank you for your shared loved, for your ideas, for your recipes, and friendships. And for answering the midnight calls when I don’t know if I’m just being a hypochondriac or if maybe an ER visit is the wise choice. I count on you for so much and depend on you for helping me keep my sanity some days. I love doing life with you, even from all these miles away. Happy third time being a mom, Ellie. And happy first to you, Shelby! What a task we have before us. May we be those who take it seriously and recognize how much of an impact we have on these little lives!

To you as well, Katy. Happy Mother’s Day to the woman who’s son I adore in the most dear and intimate of ways. You raised a man who’s unlike any other. Such a treasure. I realize more and more just how much effort and sacrifice it took on your behalf. Thank you. I love you.

And finally, to my sister who made me a mom for the third time. I’ve found a love for our son that I never could’ve imagined so sweet. So pure. So real and true. Your sacrifice has added immeasurable joy to our lives and I couldn’t imagine for a second not hearing the word “Mom” come from that tough, freckle-faced, tender hearted boy. The torch you lit and passed onto me has always shone so bright in our lives and I will forever be in gratitude toward you for not letting the flame burn out. In all of this, you are the unsung hero who is deserving of being told “Happy Mother’s Day” every day of your life. You are a tremendous mom. Truly. I gush with pride over the humble sacrifice you made in giving Bearett a home in my family and will always consider you one of the strongest women I know. I love you Morgan. In such a deep and special way. My hope (Bearett’s too!) is that someday, you’d fully recognize the greatest picture of adoption that we’ve shared so often with you, and that you too would proclaim yourself an adopted child and heir of the King. Happy Mother’s Day, my sweet sister. 

Day 2,300

The Greatest Year

We raised our hot cocoa cups among great friends and cheersed the new year, sharing fond memories of 2017 and looking forward with great expectation to 2018. 

2017 was maybe the biggest year for us yet. I think our Christmas card said it best:

The saying goes, "the more, the merrier," and to that we say AMEN! This year, we grew from a family of three to a family of five in 6 months of the busiest, hardest, but most joyous days we've yet to experience. On March 29, Ella Mae Katherine was born into the water at our home. She's the most content and happy baby you might ever meet and the giggle glue of our family. On October 31, we finalized the adoption of our son, Bearett John. From calling him "cousin" to now calling him "brother," we daily praise the Lord for his place in our family. What a treasure he is, and what a dear son he's become. Thank you, Morgan. We're finally settling into our "new normal," and spending as much time together as a family of five as possible. This year was intense, witnessing FIVE moves, one demotion, one promotion, 11 days evacuating a hurricane, six weeks in an extended stay, one dead fish, two swimming toddlers, six years of marriage, Ella Mae's first flight at 18 days old, one Adam Conley bobblehead, 14 cities, 10 states, one adoption home study, one oral medication, three swollen faces, countless new songs sung by tiny sweet voices, faithful discipleship, lots of tears, even more laughs, and one infinitely gracious and merciful God. We struggled through the toughest baseball season of our lives but saw tremendous growth in our faith, rendering every single trial worthy of praise. We gained perspective. We gained Truth. We gained discernment. More love. And two children. 2017 showed us what true contentment looks like, and for that, again we say amen. 

Happy new year, friends and family!!

Day 2,296

The Hibachi Map

The boy LOVES maps. Loves em. No matter the map and no matter where he sees the map, he’ll run up to it in frantic search for “where we are.” His most recent map obsession is with those found in the back of his Bible. And so, we thought you necessary that he have a HUGE one in his room. “Where’s Judah?” was his first question. “What about Damascus, Mom?” And finally, “Where are we and where is Grandma and where is Grandpa Larry?”

Found us all!! This boy is SO happy with his new big map. Now he sees the world and it serves as his reminder to pray for the people living in it. Yesterday he said, “Lots of people in the Earth don’t know the Lord. We have to pray for them.” Amen, son. 

After map time it was nap time. 

And after nap time was Target time and then hibachi time. Amelia loved the soup. 

Bearett loved the sushi. 

And Amelia HATED the “fire show.” Clearly. Of course she did.

But the food was great and the babes were all cute and the girls all wore the same shirts because: why not?!

Oh yeah, and Bearett loved it! He even got the attention of the chef, who gave him squirts from his special water bottle!

Day 2,279

The CBC Christmas Program

The Conley’s inaugural CBC Christmas Program!! And they did outstanding! The children at our church spent the last month or so preparing for a thirty minute Gospel presentation through song, and it was maybe the sweetest and most adorable thing I’ve seen! Bearett is thriving and growing daily. Seeing him up there gave us such encouragement and hope, and confidence too, knowing that just a few short months ago, it would’ve been it’s own task to keep him from completely stealing the show! 

Amelia too, we are so proud of. She was the youngest kid on stage and fit right in! They memorized the songs “Good News” and “Go Tell it on the Mountain,” and sang both with joy. 

As it was our first experience with having children on stage, we were giddy and couldn’t stop smiling. Laughing too. I will never again make the mistake of sending a two year old up in front of an audience...in a dress and without tights. I’m pretty sure the whole church got a glimpse of her undies on multiple occasions, when she decided to either pull it up with her own fidgety hands or when she was dancing along. WHOOPS!

Still pondering how she managed to hike her dress up that high when the thing goes past her knees when she’s still! Eeeeeep!

Ella Mae was giggling with Dada and I too. So fun. So funny. I just love our church so much. 

Day 2,277

The New Beginning

My two year old wakes up to her little baby and reads to her most mornings. This is real life. And I love it. 

And this is real life too. Welcome to the beginning of the 2018 season. December 8th and Dad is feeling like a whole new (and better) version of his old self again. “Papa Pete,” as the kids have coined him, sure helped direct Daddy’s efforts the past couple days. We’re so thankful for their long-time relationship and that he was available to come out to assist in the instruction of proper mechanics as Adam begins throwing. We’ll fly him back once more in January when Adam starts pitching on a mound again. We look forward to his visit!

Dad! You look big and strong!

Well, that’s because he is! He’s already had at home weigh ins at 210 pounds and we’re hoping to gain at least five more by February. It’s taken much effort on all our parts, but Daddy is stronger than ever before and he’s seeing gains in all areas of his work (and truly, in all areas of his life).

We’re excited and enjoying our time together this offseason, as it’s been incredibly fruitful. We’re closer than we’ve ever been. The kids are thriving. Our family is united. We’re growing tremendously in our pursuit of Biblical truth. And we’re just desiring to continue in obedience and contentment wherever we’re directed. 

The Lord has given us so much and our hearts posture is that led by gratefulness. 

Thank you for times such as these, Lord. 

We love You so much.