Adoption Update

Our adoption paperwork is done. It is hard to believe, since technically, we began this process almost three years ago before I was pregnant with our third child. We did put things "on hold" for a while...but regardless, this has been a long journey thus far.

Our Ethiopia paperwork is complete and is in Ethiopia. Our China paperwork is in China and we are waiting for confirmation. We have received approval from the U.S.C.I.S. for both adoptions. The next step will be a referral of a child from Ethiopia...a picture and some information about the next little one to be joining our family. We are hoping for a referral sometime this summer and then a trip to Ethiopia in late 2009. Receiving a referral from China will take several years, so we are focusing on Ethiopia first. The timing for both is completely out of our control.

We are excited about this next step and we are at peace with our decisions. However, there is definitely an element of unknown and if I am left to dwell on the "what-ifs," it can arouse serious anxiety in my heart. It is a major undertaking, embarked upon initially because God whispered - and it is a step of faith that is equally as scary as it is thrilling. We feel prepared and as ready as we can be, but we are approaching things with humble hearts because we know that we can not do it on our strength alone.

So for now, we wait...and I will update as things progress. We continue to covet your love and prayers as we travel this road of international adoption.
**If you have a heart for international adoption, orphans, Ethiopia or just want to help, here is one possibility. Our adoption agency, Christian World Adoption, is building a complex in Ethiopia. It will be called Acacia Village and will house a children's home, clinic, life skills school as well as housing for traveling families and those visiting on mission trips. To find out more to to donate to this project, please visit their website at www.acaciavillage.org

Summertime

We are settling into our summer schedule quite nicely. The pace still seems a bit busier than I prefer (thanks to swim team), but it has slowed greatly since the school year and I think we are all enjoying it. We are dabbling in a few summer sports and have already spent some time at both the pool and playground. We have had two weekends in a row with no planned activities...and it was wonderful!

This past year, I have become very aware of how quickly my kids are growing up. I seem to have a heightened sense that my time caring for little ones is fleeting. With the first two children, I just don't think I truly grasped the speed at which those first few years would go. But now, my baby just turned two and I am having a difficult time letting her make that leap to a full-fledged kid. It has been really hard. In recent months, I have thoroughly enjoyed just being their mom and to see them growing older makes my heart ache.

I have always loved the warm weather...flip-flops, the beach, July 4th, Jimmy Buffett, swimming, cook-outs...and I still love summer. But in this season of life, summer also means no school, fewer activities and more time spent with my kids and as a family. So it is still one of my favorite times of the year...but now for very different reasons.

Happy Mother's Day

I like my kids. I mean, of course I love them. But, I really like them too. The little ones are scrumptiously adorable and as they get older, they are growing into quite funny and clever little people. They are sweet and kind and they make me laugh...a lot. I really enjoy spending time with them and I am blessed that God has placed these little souls in my care. But like most of life's great journeys, motherhood is so much more difficult than I'd ever expected. "You don't know what you don't know" and there is no way that I could have imagined the enormity of the task I was undertaking. The bulk of mothering requires the laying down of self to serve others...all of the time. Really...is that what I signed up for? I must have missed the fine print. Loving and serving all day, every day? When children are little, the physical nature of the care leaves many women (myself included) exhausted. The lack of sleep alone can turn even the most stable woman into a pile of blubbering mush. The day of any mommy consists mainly of care-taking...dressing children, cooking for and feeding children, doing laundry, driving, amusing children, picking up after children, bathing children, getting kids to bed and then collapsing from exhaustion - just to start the cycle over again the very next morning - it can make you crazy. Still, as the kids get older, I find myself fondly reminiscing about how easy it was when all that I had to do was meet their physical needs...because shepherding hearts is much more difficult and scary territory.

What I never understood prior to becoming a mom was that these kids would be a glimpse into God's love for me. That He would use them to shape my soul, to hammer out selfishness, to teach me to rely on him alone as I begin to fully realize my weakness and sinfulness. I was dreaming about gummy baby grins and a cute accessory for our Christmas card photos and He was thinking heart-changing and life-altering. Hmmm...I can see where my expectations may have been a bit off. I've found this process uncomfortable and at many times, excruciating. Being stretched out of my comfort zone is not always enjoyable and growth hurts. But how amazing it is to glimpse the bigger picture...to see how He is working in us, through us and in our family.

Motherhood isn't all work. There are many treasured moments and those times are what keep weary mothers moving forward. The other day my littlest ran to me with arms open wide and said, "I lub you mommy!" I melted. These morsels keep me going. God is so good to provide these little nuggets of joy to encourage us when our spirit wains.

I love being a mom, but the experience is long and full of much adventure. To all the mommies out there, may you have a wonderful day. Do not grow weary because raising little people is tiring but worthy work. If you are feeling loss on this Mother's Day, may God bring you peace. Before we are mothers we are women, and that journey is fraught with its own perils. Hopefully we can love each other well in both the joy and the sorrow.

Thank you to my mom for being a faithful prayer warrior for all of my years. Thank you to my mother-in-law for raising a man who knows how to love and serve so well. Thank you to my children for allowing me - with all my flaws, sin and yuck - to be your mother.

Happy Mother's Day.