I have so much catching up to do. I'm not really sure where to even start.
Andrew turned seven (pictures to come at some point in the hopefully near future)! Seven . . . I don't want to talk about it. It makes me both incredibly happy and incredibly sad all at once. Watching your child grow and grow up is such a privilege. But the years really do fly by. Still, I wouldn't change it for the world. Every age and every stage brings with it both challenges and joys.
Andrew is kind, caring, sensitive, sweet, bossy, assertive, and a natural leader. He talks all. the. time. He (still) loves all things superhero, dinosaurs, and video games. He has a great little sense of humor although sometimes we have to work on appropriate times to be funny. I absolutely love being his mother.
We're almost through another soccer season (again pictures to come at some point). This is Andrew's first season on the "big" field, and he's done great. Although, it's quite a bit more running. ;)
Sixteen years ago today, Patrick and I started dating. Wow! We had no idea 16 years ago all that life would hold for us. Had we known, we may have headed for the hills. Haha! But I can't imagine doing life without Patrick as my husband, my best friend, my supporter, and my partner in crime. God knew what He was doing when He brought us together.
The adoption . . . I think I've told y'all we're back in the registry which essentially means we're waiting once again. To be completely honest, this waiting is hard. Much harder than it was before we ever received a referral. We've been to Bulgaria. We know there are children that need homes. We want to bring home a little girl more than anything in the world, but we wait. And we will wait until the time is right for us. My prayer is that God will send us a little girl that needs a family. . . a little girl who really doesn't have a family to love her or desire her . . . it will happen.
Join me in my adventures in parenting, adoption, marriage, faith, and life in general.
Monday, October 27, 2014
Friday, October 17, 2014
Going Out In Joy
It has been a while since I really blogged. Truth be told, I haven't felt like it. We've had a rough month. First, we lost our referral for our daughter. Then, my grandfather passed away, and I just wanted to circle the wagons and hide from the outside. But life goes on and we're pushing forward.
This week has actually been pretty good. For the first time since we found out that we won't be picking up our little girl, I found myself looking forward to the prospect of receiving another referral. Having said that, yesterday, I found myself in a horribly bad mood. Sometimes, you can't pinpoint why you're grouchy, but yesterday I could tell you exactly why. The first reason was that I realized that we would be approaching our court date. I have no idea exactly when we would've had court, but most of the families who got their paperwork to the Bulgarian government at the same time as us are either approaching court or have had court and are thinking about travel plans. I'm not going to lie, it's not easy to know that we would've been in that group. One adoption friend stated it best when she said it has the feeling of salt in an open wound. Still I don't begrudge anyone their court dates. I celebrate for them. These kiddos need homes and families, and I'm so happy that they will be coming home soon. The second reason for my stellar mood, was that we really have no timeline for our next referral. And as is typical for me, I started worrying that it will be another year before we get one, and that just iced the cake of happiness.
Needless to say, I needed to snap out of it, but I didn't really want to. I kind of wanted to pout and wallow. But here's the deal. God doesn't call us to pout and wallow. He calls us to trust Him. I'm not saying that we're not allowed to be sad or disappointed, or we're supposed to deny our feelings. But when I sit there and obsess about the fact that we aren't going forward with this adoption and worry about when we receive another referral, I'm doing everything but trust God. We're not just called to trust God when it's easy. If we only trust Him during the good times we kind of miss the point of a relationship.
One thing that I've found that helps my mindset tremendously, if I actually apply it, is mediating on scripture. One of my favorite books in the Bible is Isaiah, and one of my favorite passages of scripture comes from the end of Isaiah 55. I encourage you to read the entire chapter when you have time, and actually, as much of the book of Isaiah as you can. It's an amazing book full of prophecy and redemption (which is really the story that God has been writing since the beginning of time). For now, I'll leave you with this:
12 “For you shall go out with joy,
And be led out with peace;
The mountains and the hills
Shall break forth into singing before you,
And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
13 Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress tree,
And instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree;
And it shall be to the Lord for a name,
For an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”
This week has actually been pretty good. For the first time since we found out that we won't be picking up our little girl, I found myself looking forward to the prospect of receiving another referral. Having said that, yesterday, I found myself in a horribly bad mood. Sometimes, you can't pinpoint why you're grouchy, but yesterday I could tell you exactly why. The first reason was that I realized that we would be approaching our court date. I have no idea exactly when we would've had court, but most of the families who got their paperwork to the Bulgarian government at the same time as us are either approaching court or have had court and are thinking about travel plans. I'm not going to lie, it's not easy to know that we would've been in that group. One adoption friend stated it best when she said it has the feeling of salt in an open wound. Still I don't begrudge anyone their court dates. I celebrate for them. These kiddos need homes and families, and I'm so happy that they will be coming home soon. The second reason for my stellar mood, was that we really have no timeline for our next referral. And as is typical for me, I started worrying that it will be another year before we get one, and that just iced the cake of happiness.
Needless to say, I needed to snap out of it, but I didn't really want to. I kind of wanted to pout and wallow. But here's the deal. God doesn't call us to pout and wallow. He calls us to trust Him. I'm not saying that we're not allowed to be sad or disappointed, or we're supposed to deny our feelings. But when I sit there and obsess about the fact that we aren't going forward with this adoption and worry about when we receive another referral, I'm doing everything but trust God. We're not just called to trust God when it's easy. If we only trust Him during the good times we kind of miss the point of a relationship.
One thing that I've found that helps my mindset tremendously, if I actually apply it, is mediating on scripture. One of my favorite books in the Bible is Isaiah, and one of my favorite passages of scripture comes from the end of Isaiah 55. I encourage you to read the entire chapter when you have time, and actually, as much of the book of Isaiah as you can. It's an amazing book full of prophecy and redemption (which is really the story that God has been writing since the beginning of time). For now, I'll leave you with this:
12 “For you shall go out with joy,
And be led out with peace;
The mountains and the hills
Shall break forth into singing before you,
And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
13 Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress tree,
And instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree;
And it shall be to the Lord for a name,
For an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
Farewell for Now
This morning while the sun was rising my sweet, sweet Papa went to be with Jesus. I could write a novel about what an amazing and Godly man he was. He was tenderhearted and stubborn and kind and generous, and he loved God with all his heart. Now he's healed and whole and worshipping his Savior. So while we have heavy hearts here on this earth, we know that one day, when we pass through the gates of Heaven, he'll be right there to greet us with a huge hug, and I have no doubt, that he'll be the first to usher us to the throne God. We love you Papa!
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