In the third of a series on the miracles of our adoption adventure, we share how Emmalee's early arrival pressed us into relying even more on heaven to save her life. Born at 26.5 weeks gestation, she got the finest medical care available anywhere. But that almost didn't happen. And it clearly still wasn't enough.

Her arrival and survival was truly a Remarkable Adventure.

The miracles of adoption can be stunning. God knows where His children belong. And if we're willing participants, He'll open the windows of heaven. And when He does, get ready to catch the blessings.

Even though we learned a lot in our first adoption, we didn't know what we still didn't know. Joseph's birth was magnificent. But we had no idea that the events leading up to and surrounding Grace's arrival would take us in directions we could never anticipate.

Truly a Remarkable Adventure.

When we're in the moment, sometimes we don't realize what kind of miracles are taking place right before our eyes. While we have experienced lots of miracles in our family, navigating the uncharted waters of adoption for the first time was full of experiences that, in retrospect, could not have been anything but heaven-sent. We share them in this episode, as baby Joseph comes into our family. Truly Remarkable.

Nothing prepares you for losing a child. The death of our baby Sarah, which we recounted in Episode 1 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/origin-story/id1463003088?i=1000437578221, was traumatic.

And just like everyone else who has lost someone, we had to pick up the pieces of our lives and try to carry on.

What we didn't realize at the time was how our intense sorrow would turn to incredible joy in realizing we were opening the next exciting chapter in our Remarkable Adventure.

We had no idea what was about to unfold.

With the new school year comes the challenge of keeping young students focused. But what happens when things start to go south? What happens when little Johnny or Mary just can't seem to keep from getting in trouble at school? And what should you do when what you thought were reasonable measures to deal with those little behavior issues actually become an unfair weapon against your child?

Bob and Diane sit down with Isaac, their 6th grade son, and reflect on real life experiences that caused undue turmoil in all of their lives, and explore ways parents and their children can avoid having to go through what they did.

When you have something really sacred happen to you you don't wear it on your sleeve. Like fine china, you keep it in a safe place, and only take it out to use it when your best of friends come by, or on very special occasions. You protect it so it doesn't become common.

So it is with the sharing of these stories involving just some of the miracles that we have witnessed in our family. We do so with the utmost reverence for the Power that performed each one of them. We claim no power unto ourselves, but instead, recognize our total dependence on Him who created us, and in His infinite love and wisdom, extended these and other tender mercies to us.

How often do we find ourselves in the middle of trying to make a point, or teach our children something, only to realize we've made way too big a deal of something that doesn't really matter? It happens to all of us! Then you have a tough time extricating yourself from the situation without either losing face, or reducing your credibility.

In this episode of The Evans Life, A Remarkable Adventure, Bob and Diane explore the principle of choosing our battles. And they have some healthy strategies for avoiding battles in the first place.

One of the great things about getting together with our children and their friends is the exposure we get to different ways to do life. While there are many common elements, there isn't just one way to stay close as a family and as a couple. You'll see that in this last of a series of episodes on Staying Close on The Evans Life, A Remarkable Adventure.

We continue our series on Staying Close as a family. Today, our oldest daughter Leslie, who was a professional ballerina, and is now a nutrition and fitness professional shares what helps her to stay close to her family. And Dee Dee and Lisa, Brian and Tracy's best friends, who are just getting married, share what keeps them close as a couple. Hope you get some good ideas from these visits about staying close with your family and loved ones.

Couples and families have unique ways of staying close to one another, even when the miles separate. We continue our series on Staying Close by asking Mark and Jody, and Michael and Stephanie what they do.

Mark and Jody have six children. He's an alumnus of Apple, engaged in internet business. She's the one who keeps everything together.

Michael and Stephanie are both in college. He's studying finance. She's becoming a nurse.

This episode is Entertaining. Insightful. Fun.

Enjoy.