precious angel

I have come to realize something in the last couple of days.  Getting an answer to prayer isn't exactly the end of the road.  I honestly thought it would be.  I confidently believed there would be a moment when God brought something to pass that we had prayed would happen for years.  A minute of time when I realized this prayer has been answered.  Check. 

You see, when God answers a committed prayer it isn't really over.  The surrender to God's will on the topic continues.  It isn't fulfilled in a single moment.  It just changes. 

I never doubted that they would be parents.  I believed.  I prayed.  Many prayed.  It was a long hard road for them in ways I am sure I can't imagine.  But every tear cried, every prayer lifted, every day that passed was not in vain.  It brought them to this moment in time when a baby girl needed them and God brought them together.

It is with great joy that I introduce to you Baby H.  She might just be the most prayed-over little girl I will ever know.  She is a gift to her faithful parents and I can't wait to meet her.  To meet the precious angel who made our dear friends her Mommy and Daddy.

Her arrival was perfectly timed.  Not a moment too soon.

And so our prayers continue.  For her parents.  For her little life.  That she would grow up to know how much her Heavenly Father loves her.  That He chose from the beginning of time to place her in the arms of two godly parents.  That she would always feel loved and prayed for because we can't hardly stand to stop now.

Oh yes.  Our commitment to praying for this sweet family continues.  How blessed we are to know El Roi, the God Who Sees.  Congratulations friends!  We love you so much.      

a year in review, 2012

About this time one year ago, I wrote down several key things I felt like God wanted me to work on and pray for in 2012.  Here is my look back at those goals.  Enjoy.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- *ABIDE:  I feel strongly that this year will be about learning how to abide.  To make God the focus of every moment and to pray in every circumstance.

Learning to abide in Him was definitely a reoccurring theme this past year for me.  You don't realize how much you compartmentalize the Lord in your life until you know what it feels like to need him every hour.  I am hopeless without Him.  I didn't go as far as tattooing it on my body but I did use a sharpie on my wrist to remind me on a few occasions.  I thought that was better than writing it on my child's forehead. Check out the jewelry J's friend had made.  So cool.  Awww yes.  To abide in Him is my [daily] life goal.

(mine)

(friend's)

                                                                                                (friend of a friend)

*BOLDNESS:  I have a feeling this will be a continual theme.  The years of "silent witness" seem to be behind me.  It has become easier for me to speak the name of Jesus but God has provided an all together new opportunity for me this year.  I am excited to see what God does in a new friendship with an unbeliever.

I'm not exactly sure I can say this goal was fulfilled this year.  God faithfully provided many opportunities to speak his name boldly in regular conversations with my friend but I know I could do better here.  Much of the fruit here might be unseen at this point.
 
*DIE TO SELF: It has become very clear to me that the only way God's love can flow through me to the lost and broken is for me to surrender all of me.  It is not easy.  I am a work in progress.  But I am hopeful by the end of this year I will be able to look in the mirror and see less of me and more of Him.  With disappointments, heartache, chaos, disruption, unpredictability on the horizon my focus can not be on what I want for this day if God is going to use me.
 
One of the biggest things I have learned in this area is that it is not really an attainable goal that can be measured at the end of the year.  It is a daily effort that I have to work hard at but the result is always fruitful.  

*PRAY: We spent 2011 learning to pray for the needs of others.  We were overwhelmed to watch God work and answer prayers in his timing.  Our faith was strengthened.  Each morning we would open up our journal and lift up the names of so many people in our lives.  Extended family, local friends, far away friends, our church.  Over the months new names/needs would be added.  God worked in many who didn't even know we were praying.  He was faithful to show us more than once what He was doing.  With a little perspective, we have come to realize we let our own family's prayer needs fall by the wayside without intention this past year.  Is it possible we have been offering up other people's Isaac's and holding tight to our own?  2012 will be about learning to pray for ourselves very specifically.  To pray for each other's hearts and weaknesses.  To see God work in our marriage.  To witness more transformation as he answers each prayer in his timing.  We will still be praying for you all, but we are putting our names higher on the prayer priority list with a sense of urgency.  We expect we will be praying a lot more this year.  I guess that is how you learn to abide in Christ and He in you.
 
We have definitely learned how to pray for our immediate family's physical, emotional and spiritual needs this year.  But we also learned something new on the topic.  It is hard to want to pray for/with someone when you feel disconnected from them in the moment.  We want God to reign in our marriage even when we don't feel like being around each other and that has taken some practice.  Praying more intentionally for the needs of our own family has bound us together in a deeper way this year. 

*SERVE: I want to be willing to be used by God in our church and community however would best bring him glory.

We have gotten more involved in our church this year.  We have committed indefinitely to serve in the toddler nursery once a month.  It has allowed us to stake out some of the younger families in our Body which has been a bonus.  My Love volunteered to travel with a team from our church after Thanksgiving to New Jersey.  They helped muck out homes after Hurricane Sandy.  He continues to be an example to our family of having a true servant's heart and I hope to better follow his lead in this area in the new year.  We were certified to become foster parents in our county this year after an eight week training and a home visit.  We continue to wait for a placement and remain available to be used by God in this way when his timing is right. God has asked me to be more available to friendships in my community and that has probably been the biggest reason for the lack of blogging in recent months.  We see opportunities for serving people in our local community more in the new year.     

*HOSPITALITY:  I want our home to be open to any and every one who might need a place to stay/eat/live.  We honestly believe he gave us this house for his good purpose and we want the doors to be open to all at a moment's notice.  I guess I should learn how to be a better house keeper too then.  *sigh*  A bigger house means more work for me.  Cleaning does not make me jump for joy, people.  I can think of 100 other things I would rather do.  But I want our house to be available to be used by God at any time which means clutter needs to be addressed and bathrooms need to be maintained.  Perhaps I will learn to love cleaning for his glory.  How did this bullet point turn into doing house work?  Is My Love reading this?  Let's move on.  

I wouldn't say my love for housecleaning has increased.  Or that I clean any more often.  But I do feel as if I have been more eager to open my home at a moment's notice when an opportunity arises.  That sometimes means kid clutter and dog-hair bunnies and dirty dishes piled on the kitchen counter much too long, but fellowship still happens here and we love welcoming people in.  Friends and family from near and far are welcome. 

*READ: I need to make more time to read.  As an adult, I have learned how to get lost in a book and I hope the new year allows for more opportunities to do that.  Once again this brings focus to prioritizing better.  With the addition of foster children, many things at the bottom of the list will be sacrificed. Our marriage, children, home, friendships, prayer, loving, serving, blogging, and reading seem to be the only things worth preserving.  Kind of freeing actually.  

It took me a while to realize how much reading I actually did this year.  More than usual.  I did three devotional studies.  One with our women's Bible study (Enhancing Your Marriage by Judy Rossi).  One with our Life Group (Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas).  One with my sister via Skype (James: Mercy Triumphs by Beth Moore).  I also did A LOT of reading about foster care through the library.  Many, many educational and factual books about the System as well as books written by former foster children (The Lost Boy and A Man Named Dave both by David Pelzer, Castaway Kid by R.B. Miller) and foster parents (Another Place at the Table by Kathy Harrison).  It consumed my down time for several months and I am thankful for all the information I was able to glean through the broad library resources.  And after two years, I finally got an opportunity to read Hope Unseen by Scotty Smiley whose brother is a friend of ours.  It is his written experience of becoming the first blind active duty solider and all that God did in and through him because of it.  I highly recommend it.  I also read Kisses From Katie: A Story of Relentless Love and Redemption by Katie Davis while traveling to see family.  It was definitely an inspiring tear-jerker. 

*DATE: Enough said.
  
We did do better about dates this year but they didn't actually look the way you might think.  Because our Life Group meets every other Friday evening, we hired a babysitter so we could participate.  We managed to sneak away for date on a few special occasions but it looks like 2013 might prove to be the best year for our dating life.  With new-old friends moving to the area in early December, we have already had the chance to swap babysitting each other's kids for free.  Oh yes.  I could see this being a very good arrangement indeed. 

*LOVE:  I want to learn to love how Christ loves.  To see others through his eyes.  
 
 
 Another work in progress that needs reminding.

*SALVATION:  We are praying for many to come to know Jesus as their Savior and Lord.  May this be the year that the Holy Spirit opens their eyes and hearts of those we have been lifting to Him.  Will you join us by praying with confident expectation for the lost that God has put in your lives?  
 
Our prayers are continually lifted on the behalf of many loved ones.  He is Sovereign.  His timing is perfect and complete.

*BOUNDARIES:  With all this serving and hospitality we have learned some very important lessons.  We need boundaries.  We need firm priorities that are not affected by constant changes in the wind and rain of the storms coming.  This is a time sensitive goal.  With every long term house guest has come opportunities to learn this concept.  God has been good to show us this need before the abnormal becomes normal.  With boundaries and structure in priorities the unexpected that will fall in our laps will be less likely to blow us down.  We choose to cling to our foundation and each other.  Their can be peace in the chaos.  We choose to abide...and create boundaries.  

With My Love's lengthy stay home we had lots of opportunities to practice boundaries with our time and priorities.  We have learned that good communication helps this goal tremendously.  As well as understanding the overall mission of our family. 

*EDUCATION:  I REALLY want Brother to be in some kind of structured pre-K kind of schooling at home.  He is more than ready and I know if he has something in place the unpredictable days ahead will be less stressful for him...and me.  (temporary note: this Saturday is a homeschool gathering at our new church.  Perhaps this goal will be well underway sooner than I think)

Brother has been thriving since April with the kindergarten curriculum we have chosen for him this year.  We have created a good routine for schooling at home and it has been such a blessing for our entire family this year.  So far so good.
 
*STUDY:  My Love and I would like to do a Bible/book study together this year.  It has been a few years since we have done something like this.  I am hopeful it will open doors for better communication and deepen our connection.  We are both really excited to see what God will teach us together.  Have any book suggestions?
 
Our communication, connection, and understanding of each other continues to grow whenever we have a chance to do a study together.  Thankful that this year included several. 

--------------------------------------------------------------
And that is about it folks.

devastated

I think my heart actually exploded tonight. 

I sense some internal bleeding that will likely leave some permanent scar tissue. 

It has been quite some time since I have spent a day praying like that.  Since crying like that.  The pain and sorrow being experienced tonight by two dear friends of mine seems unbearable.  They are devastated beyond words.  They are tired.  So I pray and I cry some more because my heart is already broken for them.  There is however comfort in knowing and believing that "those who sow in tears will reap in shouts of joy" but LORD please bring that day soon.  All glory honor power is Yours forever Amen.

miracle moment

What a day!  

This day will go down as one of the best days of my life.  And I have lived some pretty awesome days.  

There were undoubtedly gifts along the way of what started as a normal Saturday.  Like when I had to get up at 4:30am and change my daughter's wet sheets.  That was nice.  Most of the day was spent enjoying friends here for lunch.  Such a sweet time.  But the day took a drastic turn into the "one of the best days ever" category when God saw fit to answer YEARS of prayer in a miracle MOMENT.  

Galatians 6:2 commands us to carry one another's burdens and really I can't think of many things in this life on earth that are more fulfilling and rewarding.  We have had the privilege of praying for many people as God has walked them through trials and periods of waiting.  By lifting their burdens to the Lord, we became part of the journey in trusting God right along with them.  God saw fit to answer in his timing (we heard the news today), and we were blessed beyond measure to bear witness to his perfect miracle.  We rejoice today with dear loved ones at a long waited answer to faithful prayer.  "All glory honor power is Yours forever Amen."   

untitled

Job 23:10 "But he knows where I am going. And when he tests me, I will come out as pure as gold."

Psalm 61:2 "From the ends of the earth, I cry to you for help when my heart is overwhelmed. Lead me to the towering rock of safety."

thoughts

I have a lot on my mind.

Thoughts of friends who haven gone on short term missions trips to places like England and Haiti and India.  I want to know how they are doing and what God has done in their lives.  You can not return unchanged.

Thoughts of others who have committed this season of their lives to full time missions in Spain.  I want to hear how they are REALLY doing.

Thoughts of a sibling expecting her first baby and another expecting her second.  It has been way too long since we have spoken last and I wonder what this season of life has been like for them before everything changes...for the better.

Thoughts of a friend who had a miscarriage while her husband was out of town.  I wish I could hug her every day if only the miles didn't separate us.

Thoughts of a friend who sent her firstborn off to kindergarten this week.  What a milestone!

Thoughts of a fifth location being opened up in a friend's small business.

Thoughts of several college roommates who I haven't spoken with in months and in fact years.  Wondering how even to pray for them when I have no idea how they are doing.

Thoughts of a friend waiting for the results of the second state BAR exam.

Thoughts of family that is struggling with other family, at least three separate situations.  I so long to fix the pain all around but know only God is capable of a complete healing.

Thoughts of family and friends who are unemployed both near and far.  How stressful their days must be.

Thoughts of an impending wedding and wishing I could impart wisdom only learned after nine years that I know can not even be understood until experienced.

Thoughts of many friends in the process of adoption, either adjusting to the new addition, awaiting their official gotcha-day, or still listening for the phone to ring.  Oh how the heart aches in the waiting.  How do you do dishes and fold laundry when your child is somewhere out there?

So many thoughts of loved ones consume my mind.  I want to spend hours and days talking, catching up, listening, writing.  I really want to know how we can continue praying for each one of them.  I want them (and many others) to know we are thinking about what they are going through.

On the other hand the personal struggles around me seem so urgent that all I want to do is curl up in my house and shut out the world until I can emerge looking more like Christ and less like me.  Our marriage needs to be healed.  I want to selfishly put all these thoughts on hold and focus on myself for awhile.  This dawned on me just yesterday as the day drew to a close and I looked at a text on my phone through puffy, emotionally-drained eyes.

"Grandma is at [the hospital]..."

The thoughts are many.  I hope to put those thoughts to action soon.  To connect with many I love and care deeply for.  Even in my silence we are praying for them.  But for now action seems only able to be solely spent here.  There is much work to be done and TODAY is the day to do it.

Pray for us and my grandma.

fourth seizure

My Love made it home just in time to go with me to take the kids to Vacation Bible School (VBS) last night.  This was the first one I had ever heard of that met at 6pm but I figured we would at least give day one a try.  My Love and I checked the kiddos in and then hung around in the back of the sanctuary for a few minutes to make sure our littlest Bundle was settled in okay.  Off we went to Costco for no particular reason except for that driving thirty minutes back home didn't seem ideal.  We wandered around and then walked out around 7:30pm with just a package of princess panties size 2T for our Babydoll.  I told her I would get her some soon since she was in need of more.  My phone beeped in the parking lot and I noticed that I had a voice mail.  The cell service within Costco is spotty.  The voice on the line was that of a man who sounded a little panicked.  "You need to come back to VBS immediately.  Your daughter is having a seizure...."  I gasped and told My Love of the news and he started driving like a bat out of Hell the (now less than) ten minutes to our church.  Poor Babydoll.

We finally got there and found our precious Gift from God lying limp in the arms of a friend of mind.  I was able to educate some of the adults standing around about febrile seizures and they answered some of our questions about the incident.  Apparently my friend walked into her classroom right before Babydoll fell over (which caused her to hit her head) and started seizing for less than a minute.  Thankfully I had briefly mentioned to my friend last month after Sissy had one so it wasn't completely surprising to her.  This was the first time it had happened while she was awake though so this opens up a whole new action plan whenever we leave her in the care of someone else.  Consistently the seizures have occurred at the onset of any kind of fever so unfortunately at this point it isn't easily preventable.  The one plus is that she will outgrow them by age five.  I am not eager for her to reach that age just yet though.

Even though there was still an hour left of VBS, we took Brother out of his class and brought them both home.  He SO graciously didn't put up a fight even though he didn't really understand why we were there.  God saw fit to not have Brother in the room when it happened of which we are so thankful.  He has never seen his Baby Sister have a seizure before even though this is her fourth one in seven months.  Praising God for that fact!  We put Babydoll in the car and she was still in her out-of-it daze even though she would open her eyes from time to time.  Once back home, she came to again and we gave her some Motrin and Tylenol before showing her the panties we had bought for her.  My Love placed the package in her bed and she fell right back to sleep.

While typing this I had to take a break when I heard Babydoll call out "Daddy" over the monitor.  I walked into her bedroom this morning to find her studying her package of panties and back to her sweet little self.  So thankful that she doesn't remember the trauma of nights like last night.  Thankful that so many people there were praying for her and her fever is now being handled.  Poor Babydoll.  Since she has no other cold symptoms at this point we can only assume it was triggered by teething.  With several gaps in her smile still, the teething process has been a long one.  We would appreciate your prayers on this issue.  Although we are not as fearful as we were when it happened the first time, it is still a scary thing to witness. 

forgiveness

The topic of forgiveness has been on my mind recently.  I have known many people who have let the decay of unforgiveness consume their lives.  Strangely I have been able to offer forgiveness at times when apologies were never made.  It was a part of surrendering a past hurt to the Lord and asking Him to redeem it.  Often times the people involved are unaware of their offense toward me.  And isn't that just it?  Forgiveness is a matter of the heart.  Another person really can't do or say the right amount of things to make a relationship right again.  It is only by God's strength and grace that we can even offer such a gift to someone who maybe doesn't even really understand the pain they caused.  70x7.  That is how many times Jesus said that we should forgive our neighbor.  Yes that is a calcuable number of 490 times but the point is there should be no end to how many times we forgive.  If you are keeping a tally of how many times you have forgiven someone than your heart probably isn't in it.  I don't know about you but I am thankful for a Lord that didn't stop forgiving me at some calcuable number because you can be sure I have exceeded 490 offenses toward Him.

In one of my marriage studies last week, there was an exercise where you had to write out every sin your husband had committed against you.  Every way he has failured or disappointed you.  I sensed that God wanted me to take some time to put everything out on the table and not rush through the assignment leaving some hurt unturned.  I searched my mind and heart but I took too long in the process.  A couple days into the work and Satan had set himself up a nice little camp on the foothold I had prepared for him.  As I thought upon all the ways My Love had offended me I started to get more bitter toward him.  Fights we restirred between us that he had no part of.  Of course that blew up into a major ordeal.  But God brought something so beautiful out of it.  He put his finger on an issue that was buried so deep that I didn't even know was the cause of some festering resentment. 

Shortly after that reconciliation I completed the study homework in which I told God I forgave My Love for each offense and that I wouldn't hold it against him any longer (per the assignment instructions).  Saying each thing on my list out loud so my heart and mind could acknowledge the act of forgiveness.  It did take some time of discernment to figure out what things about my husband were actual faults and which were "just the way he is".  One's heart sure is revealed in such an exercise.  In the days to follow I found situations popping up that brought to light the things I said I had forgiven.  God immediately spoke in my mind and didn't let me wander into bitterness.  There was a real spiritual warfare going on and the voice of truth was louder.  "No!  You forgave that, remember?  Don't go there."  I allowed him to take the thought captive.  With each reminder I could feel the resentments washing away.  After each item on the paper was listed and verbally forgiven, the sheet was destroyed and was never shown to My Love.  Most issues of the heart are between me and the Lord anyway.  The Holy Spirit is more than capable of showing him the ways that he falls short.  And in fact, when I spend too much energy pointing out his sins to him I may be getting in the way of him hearing from the Spirit.  What a hot mess I have created!

A week later in Bible study again, the speaker gave us two pieces of paper.  One was labeled HUSBAND.  The other was labeled ME.  She asked us to repeat the exercise.  Mind you My Love was aware of the assignment but did not know anything I had written down.  And nothing had really changed from his part.  The difference was my heart toward him.  I sat there and had a hard time thinking of offenses he had committed against me.  It was like God was blocking my memory and not allowing me to slip back into bitterness.  I was free even though our circumstances hadn't really changed.  Next she had us write down all the ways we had sinned against God lately.  Oh boy did the thoughts come like an ocean wave crashing over me.  Seeing my offenses against God in writing next to a blank sheet of paper of the wrongs My Love had committed against me was powerful.  Suddenly I became overwhelmed by how much God loves me and how much more I am in need of His forgiveness than My Love is of mine.  We stapled the two sheets together.  The speaker said "If you want God to forgive you of your list, than you have to forgive what is on your husband's list!"  Gulp.  After some time with the Lord, we walked out front and threw our lists into a lit fire pit.  We watched God take all our sins away. Powerful.

Fast forward to the next day (yesterday).  I totally blew up at a close friend over the phone.  In the midst of some raw emotion and hurt I felt she had caused me, I allowed my anger to spew in her direction.  It didn't take long before God showed me that I needed to seek His forgiveness and HERS.  Yet again he put his finger on a deeper issue that I allowed to fester.  An eruption was inevitable.  I feel ashamed and embarressed and broken.  It continues to amaze me how God brings more and more dark corners of my heart to the surface so he can scrape off the dross and keep working at transforming my heart and mind toward the imagine of Christ.  "Surrender more!" I hear Him say.  "You think you have it all together?  That you have forgiven much?  We'll see.  There is more work to be done."  He has poked at several close relationships this year that he wanted to do a healing in and really it boils down to forgiveness.  In many of those situations I thought the other person's wrongs against me were enough to fill up a whole sheet of paper when in fact God showed me that I was really in need of forgiveness FROM THEM.  Oh how the pride gets wounded!  But with humility comes forgiveness and reconciliation with God...even if the circumstances from the other person's side never changes.

Pray about it.  Is there anyone in your life that you need to forgive?  Is there someone who you need to seek forgiveness from?  In either case take it the Lord and watch as he burns up the heavy burden you are carrying around.  There is freedom found in forgiveness.
   

the right thing at the wrong time

I talked to KB for 2 1/2 hours yesterday (God kept my Bundles napping for most of it).  I am not usually a phone person.  An unfamiliar area code came up on my phone as it rang and for some reason I answered it.  She spoke as if she knew me but I couldn't place her voice.  Once she told me who it was I was overjoyed to receive a call from her while on the ground in Haiti.  She is halfway through her thirty days of serving with a ministry called Danita's Children this summer.  As she told me story after story of things she saw and what God was doing.  I couldn't help but feel a flicker of light being lit back up inside of me. 

During the months that we were praying about, preparing for and completing our foster parent training the idea of God using our family and this home for his glory was heavy on my heart.  I read books about foster care.  I set up the spare bedroom.  I envisioned little faces at the dinner table and in the back of the car and pushing the shopping cart.  My heart ached for God to use us.  

God asked us to wait.  I kept preparing believing with all my heart that a phone call could come at any moment (which it still can) and felt I needed to be continually learning about what God was walking us through.  Then one day I realized that I was so busy dreaming of the future that I was missing the now.  I actually said out loud to My Love one day that, "If this is all that there is I will probably become discontent with my life!"  Huh?!?!?!  Are you kidding me?  Look around Girl!  You have a BEAUTIFUL life.  But what I meant was I felt so strongly about what God was going to do that I couldn't see myself being satisfied with the American Dream that we live that the world strives for.  My life can't only be about myself and my husband and my two healthy kids.  I am ready to be used.


God has changed my attitude since then during this period of waiting.  He has given me great contentment for this day because he has written it for this day.  I don't spend too much time longing for the children "who might be out there in the world right now" because they are first and foremost God's children and he has them safely in his hands.  He will bring them to us when the time is right.


But as I listened to KB talk, I began to ache again.  For the millions of people whose lives only include suffering and who have to rely on God for EVERY THING.  We were out of power for two days in the heat and we thought that was misery.  When our phone call finally came to an end she left me with several very specific prayer requests to get her through the rest of her time there and as she returns "home".  My stomach hurt.  I felt a nagging in me again.  My house suddenly seemed gigantic like it has at times in the past and I told God I was ready for him to fill it up already.

KB and I have a very unique relationship.  God bound us together before we even met and he continues to use our conversations to bless each other even though we are in very different circumstances.  I asked her what God was teaching her while in Haiti.  Her answer was long and detailed after pausing to think but she shared something from a sermon given there on the compound.  "The right thing at the wrong time is disobedience," she said.  Other than briefly speaking before she got on the plane to fly to Haiti we hadn't spoken in about a month so KB wasn't really up to speed on all that God was teaching me here in Virginia.  I told her that she thought this was a morale call for her but really God was using her to bless me.  Yes.  Foster care, adoption is the right thing for our family.  But if we pursue it at the wrong time we are outside of his will and are disobeying God.  

Gulp.


So we wait...patiently.  We wait in this six bedroom four bathroom house for God to work everything together in his perfect time.  This is the time for our marriage.  To prepare us for the journey ahead when he will grow our family.  I know he will.  I imagine my thoughts and emotions will continue to fluctuate between peace and discontentment like on a roller coaster from time to time.  It's God's way of keeping my mind fixed on him no matter the circumstances.  Please pray for my heart.  It is a Mama heart for more than just these two and I want to be completely transformed so I may be better used by God when His time is right.

the fifth reynolds

Our dear friends are at it again.  Monica is en route as we speak to bring home her daughter S from Ethiopia.  Please pray that everything goes well with courts and paperwork and details so they can come home together as planned on Saturday the 23rd.  We live further away from the airport now than we did when she brought her two home early last year, but we hope to make the trip to join the welcome committee again.  There is something so powerful about seeing her sweet face on day one and then seeing how far God brings her in the future through the power of prayer.  If you think about it, please pray for Fred and their four other children back at home while Monica travels.  The newest (11 year old) addition will be an adjustment for everyone.  Praise God for placing his heart for adoption into the Reynolds family.  They aren't perfect but God is using them in a mighty way because they have made their very lives available to be used by Him and for His glory.  We are beyond blessed to know them well and be involved in this chapter of their lives.  Yay!  I can't wait to meet her!!!  You can follow their honest journey of growing their family through adoption here (with names changed for privacy).

littles and olders

It has been a busy week.  We have visiting friends staying with us for awhile.  The Bundles are having fun playing with their age-appropriate playmates.  The pairs have acquired the names "The Littles" and "The Olders" for the time being.  There is something so comfortable about living in community with people you know and trust.  We wish they could stay forever.  Or buy a house down the street.  Maybe some day.  In the meantime, I have come to discover that the dish fairy does exist and lives in Florida most of the year.  Our Brita pitcher is magically always at full capacity and the play room is tidy every night before bed.  Of course we enjoy their company too. ;)

Little, Older, Older, Little

We had a fun New Year's Eve weekend with our friends here at the house playing games and eating appetizers with all four of us staying awake almost until midnight.  Mr. S. is back at work again in the City and we hope to see his face once more before he has to return for the second half of his yearlong deployment.  God knew my good friend would need the distraction of being here right now but the reality of the long road ahead for her and their two young children is heart aching for me to watch.  We were thrilled that he was able to be home for his R&R at Christmas.  The two bonus weeks he had tacked on to be in our area for his boss's time at home was a huge gift.  J and the kids will be hanging with us for the next couple of weeks until M flies out.  Please pray for their Little and Older as well as their brave Momma in the new year.  Hurry home, M!


On a positive note, our time together as families has been precious and God has shown more than one answer to prayer this past week.  He is working.


Needless to say I have wanted to write and am now only getting the chance (My Love has been home and off of work since Christmas) because I fell asleep shortly after the kids went to bed and am now wide awake.  Perhaps this is my opportunity to post something.  I have much to share.  Stay tuned...