I'm enjoying a quiet morning....Mike's still asleep, coffee is brewing, and the street outside our house is unusually still. Yesterday was Thanksgiving and it's like the world is either recovering from the festivities or sleeping from being up all hours of the night shopping. (I apparently am doing neither, haha)
So, Thanksgiving. We spent the morning at home, Mike making breakfast and me watching the Detroit Thanksgiving Parade...it's really a wonder that he got anything done because I kept calling him into the room to watch "this" or "look at that!". Then we spent the rest of the day with different sides of the family, eating turkey, catching up, and goofing off. It was a pretty calm holiday.
As people do, they asked about our adoption process. I'm not going to lie, I could talk about it all day long. I love to answer questions and tell about how everything has come together and how we are excited to watch the Lord continue to form our family from a couple, to a family of three...a daddy, a mommy and our baby. I don't mind sharing things I'm nervous about right now (I say "right now" because you all know there will probably come a post later on in this process about how I've been silently worrying about something and how the Lord has calmed my nerves and once again reminded me that He's the One in control). I like to tell people "what's next" in the process...it's reminds me that it's all real and starting to happen.
I'm thankful in a way that I haven't been before...I'm thankful to be on this ride, not knowing when the next turn will happen, but knowing that it's where I'm supposed to be. I'm thankful for people who have been there - "veterans" who share their stories with me and the kindred spirits that I find in those people - talking to someone who exactly speaks the language my heart is speaking about adoption, and knows what I'm feeling is incredible. I'm thankful for people who are on the same journey, who can share the frustrations and the questions. I'm thankful for the people who ask and who are excited to watch our family grow. I'm even thankful for the people who don't understand it at all and say things like "well, maybe you'll get lucky and won't have to adopt, those kids can be real messed up" because it reaffirms to me that I LOVE adoption. I am so thrilled to be on this journey...honestly, not wanting to be doing anything else. (Side note, after hearing that last comment, my first reaction wasn't thankfulness, it was to try and not start a rant about how "vaginal kids" can be "messed up" too. Pray for grace for my words...I'm learning.)
It was a different Thanksgiving for me and I loved it. I am so excited for when Thanksgiving will include remembering the bib, or Cheerios, or chasing a little one around and keeping them from sticking their fingers in everyone's food. I'm excited for the first Thanksgiving when we can be holding our child while we pray around the table...hugging an example of God's faithfulness and goodness. I'm so thankful for that day...and I'm thankful for today. Happy Thanksgiving, friends. We love you all.
Friday, November 29, 2013
Monday, November 18, 2013
To my sweet child...
Facebook has been hot with the trend of people making a list of a number of random facts about themselves. It got me thinking of things that I want our child to know about us and things that I hope for them. So here's what I have so far:
- You were not born by chance. You were born with a purpose and were created perfectly.
- I have been dreaming about being your mom since I was a little girl. This does not mean that I will be a perfect mom who has everything together, but it does mean that you are a dream come true for me.
- I will ALWAYS hug and kiss you. So will your daddy. Just go with it because it's not going to stop.
- Christmas decorations will go up early and stay up past New Years...I hope you like the holidays!!
- It's okay to be who you are - in fact, I want that for you. Embrace the little quirks and what makes you different from everyone else - these things are what make you special.
- I'm already praying for whoever it is that you will marry.
- If there is one thing that I want for your life, it's that you love the Lord more than anything else. He is the only thing in life that will satisfy your soul.
- Dance parties are not only fun, but sometimes they are necessary to clear your head.
- I want you to know that no matter what you're going through, I will be here to listen to you.
- Life isn't always going to be fun and easy. It's going to hurt sometimes and sometimes you will want to give up. But, it's worth fighting for.
- You won't always have control of what happens to you, but you can choose how you react to it.
- Negativity is a sickness that will eat your soul - don't let yourself catch it.
- Sometimes, we'll have movie marathons and stay in pajamas all day long. It's okay to relax. Don't feel bad about saying that you need a break and time to rest.
- It's okay to cry when you're sad. Crying doesn't mean weakness.
- Your daddy and I will always love you - no matter what.
- We're allergic to cats and some dogs, I'm so sorry, but you will never have a pet with fur.
- You will also never have a snake for a pet. I'm not sorry about that one.
- Christians aren't going to always treat you like they should - don't judge Christ by Christians that you see. We are ALL saved by grace.
- If you need help with math...or history...or science, ask your dad. I'm not going to be of much help.
- Don't be mean...even if everyone else is. Remember that every person you see was created by God. Stand up for injustice.
- We celebrate life in our family.
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Where He leads, I will follow...
I realize this is an awkward time to post and update, but I had the time to sit and write and wanted to make sure that I got it all in here. (By the way, if you are singing the theme song to "Gilmore Girls" because of the title to this post, know that I am too...you're welcome) :-)
This past week, Mike and I encountered a bump in the road that we were definitely not expecting and we were reminded (once again) that we are not the ones driving this train. We filled out and submitted the application and home study questionnaire on Orphan Sunday. As we were signing the final "e-signature" (little side note about that, there is NO WAY to make a pretty e-signature if you're using the mouse pad on the computer...my signature on our initial documents look worse than my writing in 4th grade when I was first learning cursive!) and before I hit the "save and submit" button, I just prayed that the Lord would continue to lead and guide us, and that He would be in every step we took. We submitted everything and said that we would bring them the initial payments on Thursday morning.
Wednesday afternoon, I got an email from our agency saying that because of the high number of parents interested in adopting from Africa, they were not accepting any new applications until later notice. Being that we had submitted everything, but had not yet paid, I wasn't sure where that left us in the process. So we prayed and wrote an e-mail back, asking about our status, being hopeful but preparing ourselves. The waiting that next day was rough, and I realized that it was just the start of our waiting in this process. Our prayers that day were that the Lord would provide us with peace and with wisdom.
I finally heard back from the person in charge of the Africa program and she told us that since we had submitted everything when we did, we could keep progressing in our adoption. She also told us that because of the increase in interest, that our adoption was probably going to take longer than we had originally thought. But, we can keep going! Thank you, Lord...
So, if you were to use pregnancy terms in adoption, you would be able to saw that Mike and I are officially "expecting"! I just got back from making our initial payment to the adoption agency. Next will be the home-studies, which will take place over the next 2-3 months. After that, we hope to get involved with organizations that will let us set up an tax-deductible account and to also sign up for some grants.
Here's where I ask for prayer from you. Please pray for wisdom for Mike and I. The "bump" we experienced opened our eyes that the Lord may be leading us to open the specifics of our adoption. Whether it is a child with special needs, whether it is an older child...we honestly do not know. We know that, without a doubt, the Lord has a child for us and that he or she was created perfect, in His image. We know that we already love our child more than I ever thought was possible. We know that we want His will...we know that He will lead, He will provide, and that He will make His plan known to us when we need to know it. We know that nothing takes Him by surprise and that He loves us. These things we know...other than that, I've got nothing. I wish I could tell you how long it will take, how old our child will be, and other specifics...but those details are waiting to be discovered in this miracle that we're experiencing. Our story is already beautiful, and I know that it will continue to be so...He is good.
Next step: home studies...bring 'em on! ;-) Love you all.
This past week, Mike and I encountered a bump in the road that we were definitely not expecting and we were reminded (once again) that we are not the ones driving this train. We filled out and submitted the application and home study questionnaire on Orphan Sunday. As we were signing the final "e-signature" (little side note about that, there is NO WAY to make a pretty e-signature if you're using the mouse pad on the computer...my signature on our initial documents look worse than my writing in 4th grade when I was first learning cursive!) and before I hit the "save and submit" button, I just prayed that the Lord would continue to lead and guide us, and that He would be in every step we took. We submitted everything and said that we would bring them the initial payments on Thursday morning.
Wednesday afternoon, I got an email from our agency saying that because of the high number of parents interested in adopting from Africa, they were not accepting any new applications until later notice. Being that we had submitted everything, but had not yet paid, I wasn't sure where that left us in the process. So we prayed and wrote an e-mail back, asking about our status, being hopeful but preparing ourselves. The waiting that next day was rough, and I realized that it was just the start of our waiting in this process. Our prayers that day were that the Lord would provide us with peace and with wisdom.
I finally heard back from the person in charge of the Africa program and she told us that since we had submitted everything when we did, we could keep progressing in our adoption. She also told us that because of the increase in interest, that our adoption was probably going to take longer than we had originally thought. But, we can keep going! Thank you, Lord...
So, if you were to use pregnancy terms in adoption, you would be able to saw that Mike and I are officially "expecting"! I just got back from making our initial payment to the adoption agency. Next will be the home-studies, which will take place over the next 2-3 months. After that, we hope to get involved with organizations that will let us set up an tax-deductible account and to also sign up for some grants.
Here's where I ask for prayer from you. Please pray for wisdom for Mike and I. The "bump" we experienced opened our eyes that the Lord may be leading us to open the specifics of our adoption. Whether it is a child with special needs, whether it is an older child...we honestly do not know. We know that, without a doubt, the Lord has a child for us and that he or she was created perfect, in His image. We know that we already love our child more than I ever thought was possible. We know that we want His will...we know that He will lead, He will provide, and that He will make His plan known to us when we need to know it. We know that nothing takes Him by surprise and that He loves us. These things we know...other than that, I've got nothing. I wish I could tell you how long it will take, how old our child will be, and other specifics...but those details are waiting to be discovered in this miracle that we're experiencing. Our story is already beautiful, and I know that it will continue to be so...He is good.
Next step: home studies...bring 'em on! ;-) Love you all.
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