Wordless Wednesday :o)

Fall Fun

We were blessed with such a wonderful Thanksgiving & weekend.

It's been filled with laughter, good food, and best of all, great friends.

Some of whom even let me put them to work ;o)

There were cute kiddos at the kid table...

...and some yummy desserts :o)

On Friday, we decided to skip the chaos and enjoyed a peaceful day at home eating leftovers, playing Wii, and decorating our Christmas tree.

Then today was absolutely GORGEOUS! The sky was blue, the weather warm, and the park- where we met up with some friends- was full :o)

The boys had a wonderful time at the dog park where, in little boy fashion, they immediately found a tennis ball & started playing catch. Uh-huh...did you catch that....dog park, found ball, catch....your imagination is correct *wink* Funny thing though, normally I'm an ultimate germ-a-phobe, but today I learned that I obviously only have an issue with humans. Well, and probably raccoons, possums, bats.....but, dog slobber- no. That one seems to pass the heebee-geebee test ;o)

There was bike riding...

....and football.

The child showed off his skills....

...and the mom showed that one's never too old to make a fool of themselves ;o)

*J Updates*

1. J has been training me in the art of Mario Cart and now refers to me as his Padawan.

2. We informed J that he would have more privileges in life when he's old enough to vote and that if the gov't doesn't feel he can make decisions prior to then, then obviously we shouldn't either (He knew we were teasing him). His response was that when he's older, that he is going to change his name to J____ SieteSiete! (Like Chad OchoCinco- it should be noted that J's hockey number is 77) LOL!

3. He excitedly told his hockey coach (who doesn't have children yet) before his game that he was going to have excellent hand eye coordination in his game, because he just put together an entire Star Wars Lego ship. His poor lost coach totally failed to comprehend what on earth he was trying to tell him ;o)

4. Ever since his concussion, he has led his entire hockey team in mixing up all the boys names in the locker room as an ongoing game. He thinks this is hysterical and claims that now the entire team has a concussion. Needless to say, the locker room is filled with name shouting, little boy cackling, and parents thinking our child is the goofiest child on the planet.

5. J being totally serious: "Mom, listen.....(proceeds with making spit noises through his teeth) It's amazing what you can do with spit now-a-days!"

6. And his new occupation....he decided today that someday he's going to be a poet. So on that note....

Autumn Leaves

by J

Tree's leaves falling one by one.

Many little children having fun.

Leaves are in bags and on the ground,

hoping to survive year-round.

But the trees let them all fall.

Then the white comes into sight.

Hiding them away for another fall day.

*E Update* Our agency director left for Ethiopia yesterday. We are praying that with his trip will come some good news for our family and the other children who are currently caught up in this mess.

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Hugs, M~

"Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all you who remain of the house of Israel.....I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you." Isaiah 46: 3&4

Women in the powder room...

Through centuries, it seems that women have found an odd sort of comfort in the powder room. I've been greatly amused at many a ball to walk into one of these gorgeously arranged rooms only to find elegant women with their shoes kicked off, lounging about on the plush settees chatting away. We all hold teenage memories of racing into these rooms with a passel of either outraged or boisterously giddy friends. It's offered moments of refuge from uncomfortable situations as if sending out a beacon of sanctuary and has served as an office for confidential exchanges. All rather odd if you stop and think about it....but I'm sure most women can identify.

Well, today I met a beauty in the puff-room ;o) A gorgeous, incredibly sweet woman. The mama of one of our pastors actually. Anyway, this precious women stopped me in my tracks today on my journey through the room and wanted to know about our E. Ah....I thought, here we go...put on the armor, M...breathe, don't cry.....

Things aren't going so well, S.

I give her the now well rehearsed run-through and then wait...all the while chanting in my head, don't cry, don't cry....

As sad eyes stared back at me....she spoke.

"Us Americans are so used to things going swiftly, it's sometimes very hard to understand how challenging things can be in other countries. I really wanted your son home by Christmas," a pause, then with a burning look of determination, "but I will keep praying!"

Oh God thank you for sending this beauty into my path today. She didn't insult my son's birth country, she didn't make me feel the fool for our agency choice, she didn't lecture me on trusting God or give a sermon on His timing, she didn't make irrational statements about buying children for pennies in India or Haiti....or wherever those mythological adoptions take place. There were no comments on our lack of patience or need for more...

She just simply looked me in the eye with passion and burning determination and declared she would PRAY. She offered me sanctuary in the powder room and much needed sweet bolstering.

Pictures of J at our churches bonfire and game night:o) Notice he's the only one STILL bundled! So my child ;o)

"Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God." Isaiah 50:10

My D~

Eleven years ago in the warm month of May, I married a goofy cadet.

We were married in this chapel, nestled up on a hill in the beautiful Hudson Valley.

The cadet slowly evolved into a soldier, a father, a leader, and a friend of many.

He's walked on foreign soil, worked longer hours then any man should, has missed birthdays, anniversarys, and holiday feasts.

Then one cool fall day he received a letter in the mail....it was a letter asking him to attend a special banquet. A banquet where he was to receive an award. He smiled and laughed. He thought he didn't deserve such an award. He wondered how it happened.

That night as his wife watched him humbly accept his award and listened while they read her soldier's biography. She couldn't help but smile and think......

....oh honey. You so deserve it.

You do everything as working for the Lord, not for man. It is what makes you who you are, it is why you succeed. I love the fact that you do not do anything for selfish gain. I love the fact that you love others more then yourself. I love that you walk in such humbleness and are driven by compassion. I love you D.

"Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." Col. 3:17

Milestone

Happy Birthday my sweet boy.

I pray with every breathe that next year we will be celebrating this time together.

We love you with all our hearts.

Mommy, Daddy, and J

So I pray

Bring me joy, bring me peace
Bring the chance to be free
Bring me anything that brings You glory
And I know there'll be days
When this life brings me pain
But if that's what it takes to praise You
Jesus, bring the rain

~Lyrics by Mercy Me

Mercy

Pics from J's final soccer game. This year our fields were surrounded by corn....

How crazy to think that next year they will be surrounded by oceans, palm trees, a tropical paradise...as I sit here in my slightly chilly home pondering putting on slippers, I must confess, the move is slowly growing on me ;o)

"And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." Micah 6:8

On the wall of our home we have this paraphrased scripture. I wrote about it a while back in a post. It's a scripture that has spoken to me, corrected me, and reminded me on many occasions since we added it to our home. This week "Mercy" is the word that has captured my heart.

Mercy

Oh, how many times my heart is quick to skip this one.

We've had a hard week. I spoke briefly of it in my last post. We've learned that our son's adoption paperwork was not fully completed prior to being sent to the courts and now we must wait for the missing documents to be provided by his orphanage. Unfortunately, we have found ourselves at the mercy of a probably overworked and overflowing orphanage in a foreign land. This is not paperwork that our agency can acquire for us, they can only encourage and request that it be handled in a timely manner. It could be resolved in weeks...or months.

My heart has run the full spectrum from devastation, fear, anger....but my wall whispers mercy. In my heart, I need to offer mercy and pray.

When I sat down to type this, I thought I would share a picture of our wall.....but when I searched through old posts to find that picture, I was knocked over to find my own words ministering to me. The photos I sought were attached to a post I wrote during a time of discouragement when our social worker's agency discontinued their homestudy program, leaving us in need of transferring our foster license to a new SW and setting us back a couple months with our paperwork. How amazing to read my own words now and find encouragement! To read them knowing how God brought us through...If you wish, you can read it here.

I hope you all have had a beautiful weekend. Our little man kept us busy with a soccer & hockey game, his end of the year soccer party, and laser tag. Yes, you read that right....and let me tell you, this mama discovered that I make an excellent sniper *wink* I also discovered that laser tag is a great balm for the heart...it's hard to be depressed when you're busy being hunted down by a pack of squealing 8 year olds! ;o)

Anyway...sending all who actually made it to the end of this a big hug!

(And if you did, leave a note in my comments! I'm curious, if anyone actually did! *wink*)

(To my fellow Hopesters: Don't lose hope ladies and know that I will be praying until each of our sweet children are in our arms. Love M~)