"Seven is Heaven"

ADRIAN LOUIS MANUTAMATOA PETERS
Born May 20, 2011
5 lbs 10 oz

His name means...Ferocious Warrior....perfect! :)

Words cannot express our gratitude to our Heavenly Father for the blessing he has sent us. It was few years ago when Louis & I knew our family was not complete...but we ignored promptings and carried on with life until this last year. Lou & I have really been praying about our 'growing' family and new there was a special lil' spirit ready to join our family. Not sure how we'd go about everything, just left it in the Lords hands.

Well, a few months ago we received word that their was a possible baby within the family that would need a loving & stable home. We were very reluctant and uncertain about adoption etc. However, Lou has always said he'd love to adopt a few Samoan kids!! You know my response...uhh..we need to try & have a child ourselves first. :) Then go abroad..ha ha...

Well, the moral of the story is ...Be Careful What You Pray For!

We heard that the adoption within the family might not work out after all so Lou & I just put that behind us and carried on & continued to pursue our efforts to add to the family. Then, totally out of the blue, Lou received a call from our family telling us that the baby was being born early and Mom & Dad wanted to go thru with keeping the baby within the family! Uhhh, Lou & I were really caught of guard and after a few hours of questions, concerns, anxiety, YOU NAME IT, we told kids when they got home from school & we got in the car and drove 4 hours to the hospital. We still didn't know a whole lot, had tons of questions, and were very nervous etc. I swear Lou was WHITE as a ghost the whole drive there. lol! It was shortly into our drive that we realized this baby was born on my Dad's birthday so we call Grandpa and gave him & the family the news!!! Not to mention the week we brought him home was Lou & Preston's birthdays!! What a wonderful Birthday present!! Our family took the news very well & that really calmed our nerves etc. We have amazing family! Love you all!

We know our Heavenly Father had a huge hand in all of this and we feel his love tremendously! What a blessing! Never did we expect to adopt a child, let alone so quickly! But we know he was sent here for a reason & he has a very special mission in this life. We just feel honored to be a part of his calling here on earth.

I think one of the best things through all of this has been to sit back and watch our children open their arms unconditionally right from the beginning. I have really kept them in my prayers and truly have been taught by them! They love this little guy SO much and it is so neat to watch them with him. What a blessing they are! You know, the Lord works in mysterious ways and we know that he has a plan for each of us. It's through our faith that we become who we are to become and be what our Father in Heaven wants us to be.

We cannot end this story without mentioning Adrian's biological parents, Ashley & Eric. They are the ones who have made the ultimate sacrifice for the sake of this sweet lil' angel. This is such an incredible unselfish thing for them to do & we know they will be blessed for it. There is not a day that goes by that I don't think of them and appreciate the true blessing they are to us! Each day, I whisper in Adrian's ear, "Your mommy & daddy love you so much"...Never can I say it without getting all teary...Ashley, I know how hard this had to be & I pray each day that you will realize our gratitude for your sweet, unselfish & loving decision. You will always hold a very special place in my heart. I love ya. I pray each day that you will have the strength needed to get through this time. Please know that you are a true daughter of God & he loves you so much. With his help we will understand this life & realize our mission he has for us. I think of you always.

So, with all this said, we wanted to start this blog to update everyone on his progress & share his life story. We love you all and we appreciate all of you opening your hearts & arms to our sweet little, Warrior. We feel all of your love & support and thank you so much!

We have been calling Adrian, "Manu" for short...it seems to fit well. :) He has grown so fast already! He has gained almost 3lbs & is eating very well! What a joy! The love we have for Manu is out of this world! We feel our family is complete with him here....He just melts our hearts every second.