Christmas in Georgia - now that it's April!

Abigail was awfully happy to see Granddaddy when we arrived Christmas Eve!
And Hannah enjoyed Uncle Stephen, his keys, and her cousins.
Great Grandmother G and Patrick
Christmas morning: All the kids helped Grandmama make breakfast!
Sisters in front of the tree - Hannah's first Christmas!
Gavin, Lane, Patrick, and Laoise - Nathan's sister Talitha's four
Christmas afternoon we drove across the border to Grandmother L's for dinner with that side of the family. (Great) Grandmother and Hannah have always been close - we spent the second week of Hannah's life in Grandmother's home waiting interstate clearance to come home. Grandmother and her daughters - Mona, Kelly, and Donna
Talitha, Stephen and children
Trying to get a sisters Christmas picture!
Nobody was still, but there was lots of laughing. Merry Christmas!

Visiting Lydia and family

On the road again December 24th! On our way to Nathan's family in Georgia, we stopped by Tom and Lydia's for a quick Christmas Eve visit. Little girl cousins enjoyed playing together (ours didn't want to leave!).

Aunt Julia and Lydee
Tom's game with Bella
Hannah thought her cousins' zebra was amazing
Cozy Christmas Eve morning

Christmas letter 2009

Dear family and friends,

“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9). Incredible. “The Son of God. . . divested himself of heavenly wealth and became an impoverished child so the fragile flesh of humanity could be taken up into God’s embrace” (Miroslav Volf). What lengths God went to to ransom His children—in the incarnation of Christ and in His substitutionary life and death. What joy to realize God’s adoption of us making us heirs with the risen Christ Himself!

Last year we told you of God’s leading us to adopt a child, and He indeed added to our family this year! February 3rd we learned of the five-day-old baby girl who would become our daughter. We excitedly gathered (more) paperwork, signatures, fingerprints, baby clothes and diapers and hurried to Alabama to meet our sweet Hannah Elisabeth (her middle name is after her mommy—Julia Elisabeth—and after her great, great-grandmother Mary Elizabeth Cole who persevered in faith through much adversity). The foster family placed Hannah in our arms February 7th and we stayed in Alabama (with Nathan’s Grandmother Lane who made her home ours) the next week waiting for interstate paperwork approvals. Finally, we brought our two little girls home and re-entered “normal” life with our precious new gift and a lot less sleep.

Abigail devoted herself to her long-awaited sister with much love and affection. The biggest challenge we had was keeping our grown-up three year old from picking up her infant sister whenever we turned our backs. She was really very gentle and careful, but three is not old enough to carry Baby up the stairs! By three months old, Hannah loved Abigail back and showered her with smiles and coos and the first real laugh. We were grateful to finalize Hannah’s adoption back in Alabama on May 11 (with several grandparents present) and soon afterwards to receive the new birth certificate for Hannah Elisabeth Garner—officially and permanently our daughter!

Last week Abigail turned four and was delighted to receive several “dress-up” outfits. She loves to pretend—especially that she’s a mommy or a bride. She has learned most of her letters and can write her name and Hannah’s. Hannah is ten months old and trying hard to keep up with big sister. She’s petite, strong and loves to pull up on things, clap, play peek-a-boo, bounce and jabber. We’re blessed with two exuberant, affectionate, and very funny little girls.

Nathan completed four more graduate classes this year and has just the MBA capstone class remaining for the spring semester. We’ll be celebrating his achievements, God’s grace, and more time together come May 2010!

Many of our activities and responsibilities have continued: Nathan’s begun his eighth year working at the airport. Julia keeps friends’ children part-time at home. We still teach the second grade Sunday school class and are involved in a Shepherding Group at Heritage Bible Church. And we travel—mostly to visit our families who live in four other states. Happily, Tom and Lydia and their eighteen-month-old daughters are back in the state after a job-related move to California.

Early fall we listed our townhouse for sale, hoping to buy a “real house” while interest rates were low. Two months later, we received a contract for the condo and scrambled to find our next home. After some disappointing searching, the Lord led to us the house we were hoping for—a roomy brick ranch in a quiet neighborhood. Of course, the repairs and updates it needs were what put it in our price range—and will keep us busy for several years if the Lord keeps us in town (Did Julia say she never wanted to buy a fixer upper?). We moved in three weeks ago and are excited to have another bedroom (for guests and future children), more living/entertaining space, and a back yard! Please e-mail if you want our new address (juliapgarner@gmail.com).

We hope to update the blog again soon. . .

May your celebration of Christmas be filled with the joy of redemption in Christ!

With love,


Nathan, Julia, Abigail & Hannah Garner

Family visits on the way back

Sunday after Christmas we headed south again by way of Farmville. We enjoyed a yummy meal at a riverside restaurant with Aunt BA, Uncle David, and Emmalee. Afterwards we went to Uncle Chuck and Aunt Faye's house and got to visit with Julia's cousin Kristen and her family there too. "Baby Amaya" is one now (just an infant the last time we saw her!) and she and Abigail were happy to play together. The camera Abigail got for Christmas came up in conversation, and so Abigail demonstrated her photography skills - see the pictures of Jason and Aunt Faye and of Uncle Chuck and Daddy.

Christmas In Virginia

Christmas Eve, Caleb, Abigail and Julia picked Nathan up from work at the airport at 3:30 p.m. and we headed to Virginia! We'd planned to spend Christmas this year with Julia's mom and family in Tennessee, but Mom was spending the holiday with her mom (a year after Granddad died last 12/21). After getting in late, we slept, and woke up to share Christmas morning with Tom and Lydia and girls as well.
Caleb read of Christ's incarnation from Luke 2. Abigail could've recited verses 11 and 14, but she was too shy to do more than whisper a few phrases. After we exchanged gifts (which we took a long time doing!), the ladies got to cooking for a late afternoon meal. It was special to have this portion of the family together (first time in six years that Mom, Julia, Caleb, and Lydia had all been together for Christmas). And of course, the three little girls kept everyone entertained. Bella and Lydee are developing so much personality (six and a half months old at Christmas) and Abigail's always ready to exercise hers.

Our Christmas letter

Well, I'll be back later with pictures from Mom's 60th birthday celebration and then Abigail's 3rd birthday. . . Merry Christmas!


Dear family and friends,

“When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’” (Galatians 4:4-6). God is building his family (and he’s been planning to do so since before the creation of the world—see Romans 8:15-17, 22-23 and Ephesians 1:3-6)!

We’ve long celebrated Jesus’ birth as a part of God’s plan to redeem mankind. But Christmas has become even dearer to us this year as we’ve pondered the truth that Jesus came so that we could be adopted as God’s sons. We were once alienated from Christ by our sin, strangers to God’s promises and without hope, but God reached across all barriers and drew us into His family! And now, we are heirs together with the Son of God. Amazing!

Nathan is now in his seventh year of full-time work at Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport. We’re thankful that while he continues balancing varying job responsibilities, he has more help this year and thus his hours are more regular (especially helpful with a class schedule to juggle too!). Nathan just completed one of his more enjoyable semesters taking Economics and Human Resource Management and is headed into two of his last five classes this spring.

Julia continues to keep the children of friends in our home a few days a week. This fall we’ve cared for two baby boys as well as for preschoolers (not all on the same day!) and so Julia and Abigail have both had opportunity to practice their infant skills.

We still enjoy teaching the second graders at Heritage Bible Church. Each class of seven and eight year olds is full of such fun (and different) personalities . . . They prevent any hour from becoming routine! We delight to teach them of the God who made them, loves them, and seeks to redeem them from the curse of the fall. . . that He might display his greatness and worth to all the world.

Our little girl turned three last week and thinks she’s nearly grown. Abigail is an energetic chatterbox (with an incredible vocabulary) and keeps us hopping too. Though she loves helping Mommy and Daddy and enjoys all of her toys, you’ll most often find Abigail caring for her baby dolls. Some days she’s their mommy, some days their babysitter, and some days their big sister. But she’s forever rocking, bouncing, feeding, kissing, instructing, washing or changing her babies.

Since Abigail was 21 months old (about the time she gained the skill of using words to communicate!), she’s been asking God to add a baby to our family (as she’s watched him give babies to many other families). We are thrilled to share with you that God is answering her prayer and ours. God led us on a painful journey called “secondary infertility,” and now we rejoice in His leading us to add to our family through adoption! Even during engagement we discussed our desire to adopt, but considered the possibility to be several years out. Now we believe that God has been working to change our time table to align with His.

We plan to adopt a newborn domestically. Our homestudy is complete and we pray and wait to learn what child the Lord has for us. God has worked much in our hearts through this process. Nathan has expressed his excitement at the opportunity to learn and try to model God’s relationship with His people as the adoptive father of a transracial family. Will you pray for all of us?

You can watch for the baby announcement and keep up with pictures and news of our family at our blog nathanjuliagarner.blogspot.com. Enjoy celebrating Christ this season!

With love,
Nathan, Julia, & Abigail Garner