The three best decisions I ever made

1.  Decided to follow Jesus

2. Said yes to marrying the curly haired man who brought crossword puzzles to Spanish class in college.

3.  Planted a blackberry bush in the backyard.

Like a drunk knitter.

Well!  This summer (year?) has come together in an interesting way...hide your surprise as I compile a random update!
We haven't done as much traveling this summer for various reasons but there is a family vacation in the works.  We have done some stuff around the house though!  We managed to purge some items from the house, re-do a few things in the LR and get central air installed.  Right now the kids are finished up drama camp and bilingual camp, not to mention that Mo is loving gymnastics team practice.  Our adoption application is done and already we have been sent profiles for a little boy and a sibling set.  We talked about it and as hard as it was, we said no, praying a family will be found for them.  We've heard lots of good news - TPR for my cousin's little guy, a friend who is finally pregnant after miscarriages, another couple pregnant after waiting/wading through infertility, etc...but it all balanced out some sad news too.  We've enjoyed some local fun at the state park, on the lake and attractions near our house.
Half the year has come and gone and I've barely mentioned my goals!  I fell off the wagon for my morning Bible challenge but I have already signed up for fall.  I needed to sort out a few things in my mind before I could really be faithful and diligent.  Don't get me wrong, there was still plenty of Bible reading going on, just not according to a plan.  We've done some serving w/church and I am officially on the women's ministry team =)  We've been meeting and serving together fairly often.  I'm not even going to mention my lack of progress in the personal goals area and neither are you!  Physically, I was rocking the workouts at the Y until...May?  Then life got hairy and I have been a slug.  I miss running but my house/family are worthy winners of my time.  I'm hoping I can hit the re-set button in fall.  As a family we've booked a vacation, visited w/out of state family and looked at a house or 2.
Overall, I've been learning to live in the moment and forget the fact that this year is nothing like what I expected.  When life gives you yarn, a pattern and some wine, you make a wacky sweater, but hey, you made a sweater!!  =)

Peaceful

She asked him to read the captions in the pink photo book about her adoption. He complied.  My heart was happy!  I love them!

Adventures in cleaning attic vents

....I have decided to try and post more often over summer...hopefully pics of our adventures!  Today Dave tackled the attic vents, knowing there were bird nests...

...and he unknowingly sucked up the tiniest baby birds.  :(. We had a little science lesson and prayed over the babies...thanking God for His creation and asking Him to be w/their momma.  Dave apologized to me but there was nothing we could do... 

Today.

Today we say good-bye to Dewey and Curly-Sue as they are being reunited w/their mom.  I have a lot to say about saying good-bye, but not much time right now to write about it.  Please pray for their family as they begin their journey as a healthy family in our community.  When people hear we are foster parents, almost everyone says they could never 'give them back'.  We signed up for foster care knowing that the kids would only 'belong' to us for a short time.  We don't find it easy to say good-bye, and of course we love them.  Would we keep them if we could?  In a heartbeat.  But can we still find the strength to say good-bye?  Yes.  I am beyond thankful for the friends we have and the support network we have.  We lean on them and they understand the duplicity of the situation.  I know a lot of the people I am referring to are reading, so THANK YOU!!  Also, thank you to our families that deal w/the secondary emotions that are no less raw.  They are saying good-bye too...thankfully we are able to see some family members often and give and get all the hugs we need!  They didn't choose this and my heart hurts for them.  I do know this, though - I serve a God who is bigger than all of this and He hears my prayers!  For the families reunited, for those torn apart, for those that rejoice and those that mourn.  Thank you for your prayers...

Intricate

I saw a quote someone posted in a foster care and adoption forum and I just knew I had the perfect photo to go w/it.  Mother's Day in our house has always been a little bit of a wild ride, given our struggles w/infertility and all...and then 6 years ago, my husband's father passed away on Mother's Day.  Talk about taking a day filled w/emotion and then cranking it up a few notches!  (Notice I said 'emotion' and not just plain sadness.  Being that I have 2 children to call my own now, not to mention some foster children too, some of the pain of infertility has changed to joy - it's such a blessing to get handmade projects and cards from my kids!!  Also, we rejoice that my FIL is singing for Jesus in heaven!  I can still hear him taking the bass line when we sang hymns =)  So yes, there's still sadness but there is just a jumble of other emotions too...)  When I saw this quote, I felt like it hit the nail on the head.  Love is such a complex thing to show, feel and receive...Family is such an intricate group of people who we choose to love, but might not always.  For us, we consider a lot of people family who are in fact not even related to us!  We are so close to them, they have been given titles like Uncle and Auntie or Tia b/c they fill that role for our kids.  We choose to give them the respect and love we think they deserve.  The same can be said for kids that are not physically created of our own DNA but for all purposes are ours, for life or just for a time.  On days like Mothers' Day this year, my mind can't stop percolating like a washing machine w/too many clothes and more than the allotted amount of detergent.  How did I get to be so blessed to have these children in my life?  How can the 'solution' to my pain be something that may cause others to feel pain?  Why must all this be necessary - surely there has to be an easier way to sort this out...obviously these are all rhetorical questions...

Feel free to share but remember this photo belongs to me - thank you!

...if you are someone who struggles w/infertility, even if it was a thing of the past, please know I prayed for you this weekend.  I prayed for all the adoptive mommas and daddies, I prayed for those that are waiting w/empty arms, I prayed for those that are waiting for a court date and those that are fostering.  I prayed for those that are just now beginning to think about these things and the journey that may be ahead of them.  I also prayed for those men and women who are content to live life w/o children of their own, that God would richly bless them for the time and energy many of them spend pouring into the children of their extended family and friends.  

Thanks for reading my intricate thoughts today....I'm sorry I haven't updated the blog in a while.  The end of the school year is creeping up and I have a million posts I plan to write!  I'm just about to water some seedlings and hang wash =)  Two of my most favorite things about this time of year!  

Special interest...

(I started this post a while ago - months ago!  April, I think...)
Today is a day full of good stuff so I think it deserves a blog post!!

First and foremost, today is our niece's 18th birthday.  She was 4 when I met her...her uncle and I held her hands as we walked her to the park down the street.  We weren't really dating yet, but I know my mind couldn't help but flash into the future and think about the day when he and I would be walking our own child to a park.  She told me, "We don't say stupid."  I was chastised by a 4yo!  It was yet another reminder of how I was still a work in progress, someone who had been saved barely a year before and was still trying to fit into her 'new creation' skin.  This niece of ours, she still inspires me and amazes me 14 years later.  I can't believe the little red-headed kid who hated to wear jeans but loved rack dresses has turned into a woman who loves God, prays for her siblings and aims to be a music star!  Then again, I should believe it, given her upbringing and her first born spirit.  Someday this niece will be a star who is not just noticed by her family and friends, but one that the world sits up and takes note of.  It may be at a concert or a college graduation, or maybe on a mission field or a prayer team, or maybe as a wife and mom in her own house, but I'm telling you now that it will happen.  Nora, I wish you the happiest of birthdays!  May God bless you as you take charge of your life and decisions, may He guide your steps and keep you safe, but most of all may He give you many more happy birthdays!  We love you!
Secondly, today a friend of mine from the world of adoption support is sitting in a courtroom finalizing the adoption of her daughter.  I am overjoyed for her!!  As any who has adopted can tell you, the road can be long and difficult...but on adoption day you are swept away w/emotion and it seems like every last dream you ever had just came true!  Nothing matters in those moments, nothing but family and love.  Love wins.  Thank you Jesus!!