We Have Our Son

And all is well!!

So sorry I have not been able to keep up here.

Connection has been terrible!

I have been able to post some to Facebook and will try to copy and paste what I have written there when we get home.

However, if you would like to read about our trip so far, please friend me there!

Will is amazing and was ready for us!

Thank you all for your prayers!  

Here are just a few pics from our trip so far!

Pre Will:

Meeting Will:

And just a few shots from the following days:

Happy 14th birthday...  just in time!

Monkey Park

First plane ride.  Headed to Guangzhou!

Please leave me a comment if you would like to catch up with us on FB.

God is just sooooo good!!!

Break Down on Aisle 3

Or maybe it was the frozen food section…

I remember being cold…

And shaking…

And for the first time in my life, I understood how a panic attack might feel…

The shortness of breath…

The quickening heart beat…

And the feeling of circumstances spinning out of control.

Is this how he feels?

After all, while I tend to cling to the falsity that I maintain at least a morsel of control…

He truly has none.

Decisions are being made and his life will never be the same…

And as I sit here on a plane at 31000 feet, as a result of those decisions…

I wonder.

Nothing about this adoption has been easy.

Most adoptions are not a walk in the park, 

but this one was fast…

It had to be.

This one was emotional…

Most are… but this child we had spoken of, advocated for and prayed over, for years.

And when the Lord said “go”…

There was very little time left to get to him.

In the rush of paperwork and preparations, there was little of that time left over to just be still, to allow emotions to be felt and visions of our family, plus one, to be digested.

Roadblocks were real and hurdles were overcome time and time again, as were the emotions that lurked just beneath the surface of my heart. 

The attacks were fast and furious and like seasoned adoption warriors (wink), we battled and defeated each blow with the assurance of the One who stood beside us, but it was in that grocery store aisle, with a cart so full of provision that I could barely see over the top…

That it all began to spill out and it was messy… I was a mess and weary of the fight. 

 I looked past our provisions and our incredible blessings. I dismissed the courage and the fortitude that was not mine and all His. I couldn’t be grateful and thankful… for just being grateful and thankful. 

I saw a cart that was “abnormally” full instead of abundantly full and in a split second, a life flashing before your eyes kind of second, I wanted my “normal” back, the kind of normal that allows you to walk out of the grocery store with one cart instead of two, the kind of normal that doesn’t think about, obsess over and loose sleep over all of those children, those millions of children, who also long for “normal”, a safe, loving, forever family kind of normal…

And as I struggled to push all of my “burdens” down Aisle 3, my thoughts returned to a boy across the ocean who has waited for “normal” for 13 years and while the world may stare at our “abnormally” full life, this child will finally know life to the full…

Yep, that day in heaven, I am certain “clean up on aisle 3” was heard and I am just as certain that the Lord was the One with the mop.

Two more days to Song!

SNOW WHAT!

It snowed here today...

and not just a little snow...

for us....

it was a whole lotta snow...

the kind of snow we just never see...

ever!

The kids loved it...

The dogs loved it...

The cats hated it...

*haha*

 

I took lots of pics, cause...

 

we just never see snow like this...

ever!

*grin*

So life just stopped for a while today...

kind of...

while we enjoyed a rare glimpse into winter...

and you snow what???

as beautiful as it was...

and as fun as it was...

I am thankful I live in the South...

Brrrrrrr.....

Christmas 2017

"but Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart"...  

This verse from Luke is one of my favorites and speaks to this Momma's heart, especially this time of year...

and especially because this Momma is a treasurer and a ponderer, living in a world with very little time for treasuring and pondering.

I am convinced that in this world of desires and answers, just a click away..

treasuring and pondering are a lost art.

I think about Mary, her quiet strength and unwavering trust, in a world that didn't yet know Jesus.

 I have always been fascinated by Mary.

As a child,I thought she was beautiful.

As a believer, I think her faith was beautiful.

I think about her Momma's heart as she lovingly gazed into the eyes of her little boy.

How much did she know?

I know the Lord is so gentle and patient with us as He leads us down His chosen path for our lives, not revealing too much too soon.

How much had He revealed to this young mother?

As she treasured up those first moments with her new precious baby, what was she pondering?

I know how I treasured up precious, fleeting moments with each of my children and pondered the gift that we had been given...  even at 2:00 a.m. feedings...

sometimes, especially at 2:00 a.m. feedings...

How much did she know?

Was she pondering the future of our Lord and Savior, the One who had been born to die?

Or was she simply treasuring up and pondering the beautiful face of her first born son?

It is difficult to wrap my heart around what she may have been feeling as she gazed into our Lord's eyes.

How much did she know?

This time of year, my heart often turns to Mary and that beautiful night when love was born...

and as we step back into this path of unknowns

I pray that I can be more like Mary...

her quiet strength and devoted faith...

saying yes to the Lord's plan for her life without hesitation, trusting in His ability to equip His "humble, servant girl". 

Facing what the world would regard as burdensome, with unwavering assurance, calling herself "blessed" and trusting in the One who had "done great things" for her.

So, I treasure and I ponder as another Christmas comes and goes...

as kids get bigger...

and our lives just a bit crazier.

I consider myself blessed...

not burdened...

as I step into our future with (mostly) unwavering assurance...

and trust in the One who has done great things for me.

This Christmas my heart lingered on moments past and memories made...

while anticipating those approaching moments and memories known only to the Lord as He gently and patiently guides us down this path He has chosen for us.

Who knows... 

maybe that path will include a pain free Christmas picture next year...

yeah...

I feel your pain buddy...

*grin*

Surely it will embrace another pair of candy coated, reindeer food making hands...

another Christmas tree designer...

another place at Christmas dinner...

another Christmas morning Cinnamon Roll..

another Christmas gift giver...

and recipient...

Next year, the decorations will remain the same...

as well as the craziness.

The traditions will not change...

and more than likely...

neither will the painful picture process...

*grin*

We will just add one more cooperative, smiling face to the pain...

I mean process!

*haha*

Next Christmas I will be treasuring up a year's worth of memories with our newest son and pondering how a year could have gone by so swiftly and yet seem so laden with dewy new moments and  experiences long overdue...

and I return to Mary and I pray that as I treasure and ponder, that I will also have the faith of one so full of quiet strength and unwavering trust.

Mary said, “I am the servant of the Lord. Let this happen to me as you say!” Then the angel went away.  Luke 1:38

Sometimes the things we are called to are scary and hard and are condemned by the world as foolish or burdensome as they completely change our "normal"...

but the Lord never changes...

and His "normal" is unlike anything this fallen world embraces.

Next year, that space in our Christmas picture that always seems lacking...

the one that every year, since the girls came home, someone always comments on...

will . be . filled.

Merry Christmas!