Joy in The Congo

Simply Beautiful ~

3 Projects - Project #1

The past 2 weeks at church have been non-stop busy, so our Children's Pastor gave our staff this week to work from home - accomplishing just the "have-to's" and spending some time recouping!  Since I'm not one to sit still for too long, I decided this week would be perfect for accomplishing some projects for little A and J's room.  I found 3 projects on Pinterest (oh Pinterest, where have you been all my life?!) that I LOVE - I figure if I chart my progress, I'll have more incentive to actually get them done.

So...here's yesterday's project - #1

Prepping the canvas

Cutting out the letters

Modge-podge

I make my own modge-podge using equal parts of Elmer's glue and water - shake really well and presto - you've got modge-podge!

Finished project!

My Cup Overflows

I'm sitting this morning thinking through all the events of yesterday, Easter Sunday, with such a grateful heart!  I'm so thankful for our Risen Savior, who gave His everything for me.  One of the songs we sang yesterday with our Harbortown kids was "Remember" - I'll remember You - remembering the price You paid, remembering the cross, remembering the empty tomb - I'll remember You.  Even this morning, it brings tears.

I'm thankful for our girls!  As I looked at them in their "Easter best" - which, for our family, meant their volunteer t-shirts - my heart overflowed.  They chose to spend their Easter Sunday serving others through 3 services and 3 Easter egg hunts - love their hearts! 

I'm thankful for my incredible husband, who "gets it" when I'm tired and is patient even when that tiredness results in grumpiness.  Instead of complaining, he grills steak and takes us to TCBY!  

I'm thankful for the amazing people I have the privilege of serving with each Sunday in our Children's Ministry - what an inspiring, encouraging and fun group of people - love them!  

I'm thankful for the two sweet little ones that are waiting for us on the other side of the ocean.  I'm thankful for the little glimpses we have of them and their personalities through pictures and video.  I can't wait to be their mommy - I can't wait to celebrate next Easter with them!  

I'm so thankful for all that God has taught and continues to teach our family through this adoption journey.  It isn't easy, but we have seen God's hand in undeniable ways - we all have grown and I wouldn't trade that for anything!

This morning, all I can say is "thank you Jesus".  My cup overflows!

Joy

Our great hope is found in believing that God sees the bigger picture - the highest perspective.  And in those times when we are puzzled by the small pieces that just don't seem to fit together, He promises to be with us.

A month ago, our family was truly puzzled, the picture just wasn't turning out like we thought it would.

We knew that God delights in adoption, in putting orphans into families and we knew that God called our family to adopt - so why weren't things working out?  

I asked myself that question many times in the days right after we lost our 1st referral.  But here's the thing, we never lost hope - because we know that God sees the pieces of the picture that we don't and we knew that He was walking through this time with us - we felt His comfort and peace in so many different ways.

We continued to wait with great expectation for what piece of the picture God would show us next.  And boy, did He have a beautiful surprise in store for us!

Today, we officially accepted another referral and our lawyer will be heading to court on our behalf in just a couple weeks.  Here's what I can show you...

Yep, you counted right!  10 little toes on 4 sweet little feet!  Not only did God give us another referral - He doubled the fun!!  Twin girl and boy, who turned 3 yrs old in January.  I cannot begin to tell you the range of emotions we're experiencing right now, but joy certainly tops the list!

"God has done great things for us and we are filled with joy!"  Psalm 126:3

I know the plans I have for you ~

Last Tuesday, on Valentines Day, we received the news that "our" little one will indeed be placed with an Italian family.  There were tears and sadness and we had to work really hard to pry open our fingers and let go of this little one that we were supposed to be holding onto loosely.  It was beyond difficult, especially for this momma.  I placed her picture in my Bible in Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future".

God's promise for this sweet little girl.  

I'm so thankful that she will no longer be an orphan - that God did place her in a family.  We'll continue to pray that she will come to know and love her Heavenly Father and spend her life discovering the plans that He has for her.

And we'll continue to follow God's plan for our family and wait for the little one He has chosen for us.  

Update: It's not happy news

We got an email from our Agency late this afternoon with the subject line: "It's not happy news".

We'll now be waiting until next week to see if our little girl's name is on a "list" - that "list" will tell us whether or not she has already been promised to an Italian family.  My heart says, "she was already promised to us", but since the Italian agency holds the Abandonment Decree, our "promise" is really only words with no official backing.  

We'll wait for next week.  We'll wait for the "list".  We'll wait to see if this little girl is the one God has chosen for our family.  

We'll still wait, pray and trust.
We're not the only family from our Agency that this "list" will affect.
We'll be praying for them as well.

Col. 1:17 "He is before all things and in Him all things hold together."

Wait. Pray. Trust.

The past few days have been...interesting.  We're still waiting for that one document that means that we can move forward in our adoption process. This document - an Abandonment Decree - we found out last month is in the hands of an Italian Adoption Agency.  There has been a lot of back and forth, but we're still being told that they are willing to hand it over to our lawyer - when that happens we'll start moving along again.

We were told that our lawyer would be meeting with a representative from the Italian Agency this past Sunday or Monday.  We were told on Tuesday that didn't happen as planned, but they promised to meet on Wednesday. Our Agency was going to talk with the lawyer after that meeting and would let us know what transpired.  We got word from our Agency Director this morning that they tried several times yesterday to call our lawyer, but didn't get through.  They would try again this morning.  We're still waiting for word from them.  

I'm still trying to figure out exactly what I'm feeling right now.  

Worried, No.

Disappointed, Yes.

Frustrated, Not Really.

As much I would love to have all the answers and feel like I'm in control of this situation.  Here's what we know...

God is in control of all things - big, small and everything in between.  He's never taken by surprise or caught off guard.  

We trust Him.  Period.  

Wait. Pray. Trust.  That's all we can do right now.  Thanks for joining us.  We appreciate all the prayers. We're happy to answer questions the best we can.  We love knowing that the arrival of our little one is greatly anticipated by family and friends.  We're trusting that we'll have news to share with you all very soon!