Days of Thanksgiving 2012 : #11

I would be remiss if I did not include in this thanksgiving post a huge shout out to the Veterans on this special Veterans Day.  A big thank you to you all but especially to my dad, my brother, both my grand-dads, my father-in-law and my sister-in-law!! Thank you for protecting our freedoms!! While I am most thankful for that today here are some other things I am thankful for as well:

missionary friends home on furlough - it has been such a sweet time reconnecting and hearing how God is working in their lives and in the lives of those they are serving

my church - Berachah Bible Church - I cannot say enough about how thankful I am that God led us to this body of believers - what a journey I have been on - because in the beginning I didn't really want to go there....

prayer - do you know a privilege this is - and what power is behind it - so thankful I can approach His throne anytime

Days of Thanksgiving 2012 : #9 and #10

Just as I thought keeping up some nights is hard.  This has been a really busy weekend - but that doesn't mean there aren't things to be thankful for ;-)

weekend visit with my mom

being an aunt - our first nephew was born in August and I have a second one due in a few short weeks!

date night with my hubs!! 

the beautiful tree with gorgeous yellow leaves in my front yard (I'll have to snap a pic)

great morning runs in my neighborhood

and last but not least - I800A approval!!!!!! WOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOO!!! got that in the mail today!! hold on Abbie - we're coming!!

Days of Thanksgiving 2012 : # 8

See those cutie cakes!!  Yes these are my priceless treasures and I am so thankful for them.  I love them fiercely like a mama bear loves her cub.  They have stretched me in more ways than I ever thought I could be stretched and for that I am thankful.  My knees are worn and my heart is burdened and that is exactly where the Lord wants me.  Not only am I am I thankful for all that - I am thankful for the joy they bring into my life and the laughter that spills out of me (sometimes silently) over the funny or cute things they say.... like:

Me: "Thanksgiving is my MOST favorite holiday!" Ethan: "mine too we get to go to grammas and then we can put up our Christmas tree!!"  (I love the way this kid thinks - warms my heart!)

Luke: "Hey Nathan - you know that Christmas song whats it called Harry the Happy Angel Sings?" (clearly he was trying to remember Hark The Herald Angels Sing now he calls it Hark the Happy Angel Sings)

Luke: (when we went to vote I informed them we might be there awhile - turns out we were in and out rather quickly) "We're done? Well that was quick I thought we were going to see Mitt Romney."

Nathan: (we saw the movie ET for sale at Wal-mart - of course he thought we should buy it and I informed him I thought Great Mimi might have it so there was no need to buy it) "Well if she does have it its probably in black and white"

Just typing these out gave me another good chuckle - and I am for sure thankful for the gift of laughter!!

Days of Thanksgiving 2012 : #7

I'm super tired but wanted to post my thanks for today :

Nighttime so we can rest

Heat

A cozy bed - right where I'm heading.

Days of Thanksgiving 2012 : #6

November is National Adoption Month so tonight my gratitude is really centered around that as it has been particularly close to my heart more so than normal..... I am so thankful for:

My own adoption - thank you Father for choosing me!! Thank you for the gift of salvation and new mercies every morning.

Thankful for a husband who cares just as much about orphans as I do - what a heart God has given him.

Friends who are on this journey with you and friends you meet in the journey.  Today in particular I got to catch up with one of the moms we traveled with - I now call her a dear friend - had it not been for adopting in China I may have never met Carrie and she literally lives on the other side of the world because her husband is in the military.  I am so thankful for how God sovereignly places people in our lives at just the right time.  

Almost 8 months ago when I would rock Linnea before bed she would look at me like I was a stranger as I was - she had no voice - now when I rock her she says mama over and over with this big grin, the look of the unknown is gone - my heart is overflowing.

8 months ago I can remember trying to get Linnea to say "mama" and both of us ended up in tears literally I had heard her say it once and I just thought if we practiced she could do it again - WRONG.  She could not say one word on command.  She can say "mama" and "mommy" and with conviction of who I am to her.  God indeed is kind to us. 

I often think of Linnea's birth mother - what a gift she has given us - she could have chosen to abort this precious child or had been forced to but God had other plans.  She is a mother regardless of the choices she made and I know her heart must ache - I am thankful she gave Linnea a chance and I choose to believe she loved her for the few months she had her. I am thankful I get to rock her at night - I get to see her blossom - I have the privilege of teaching her about the ONE who loves her more than any mother ever could - again my heart is overflowing.

As I write these thoughts of gratitude I must praise my Savior - all of these things are to bring glory to His name.  May HE be praised!!

Orphan Sunday from Daddy's perspective

Had a great "Orphan Sunday" with great music, testimony and message from Ephesians. I saw this quote by David Platt and thought it was appropriate in light of November being adoption month....“We learned that orphans are easier to ignore before you know their names. They are easier to ignore before you see their faces. It is easier to pretend they’re not real before you hold them in your arms. But once you do, everything changes.” – David Platt (author of Radical and adoptive parent)

This picture was taken the day we got Linnea. She was a scared little girl who finally seemed to trust us a bit that day by making the connection of throwing this little ball back and forth. She started cracking a small smile and I will never forget that day! What a blessing she has been to our family. I cannot wait to see what the Lord has in store for her. So proud to be her daddy here on earth. - David

One step closer to Abbie

Friends that prayed - thank you - your prayers were heard and God chose to have the USCIS show us favor!!  For those of you in the dark - David and I had our USCIS Biometric Fingerprint appointment today - well I should say my appointment was scheduled for today.  It occurred to me sometime a week or two ago that I never saw David's name on our appointment letter nor did he ever receive any kind of notice in the mail.  So right away I called our agency who in turned called USCIS.  To make a long story short - no one could give us any answers - even I tried to call and after being on hold for 45 minutes last Tuesday I finally got to speak to a live person and had to leave a message - which of course didn't get returned until Saturday and I just got told I needed to call another number - mind you my appointment was at 8:00 Monday morning as in today.  Our agency advised us to have David go ahead and come along and just explain we never got a notice for him.  I confess I was a nervous wreck.  The whole morning I kept telling myself over and over God is good and kind and He is in control and His plan is the best plan.  Clearly the worst that was going to happen was we would have to redo this whole process and wait longer to get to Abbie.  But alas we didn't!!  When we walked in I explained our situation to the officer there - and he was straight up honest and told us it was a problem - I asked him to beg whoever he had to talk to and he immediately said we aren't gonna beg we are going to pray - can I just say that was amazing - and he was serious.  I told him I had already been praying and I had other people praying too!!  He came back a little while later and let us through - we were both going to be able to get fingerprinted!! Praise be to God!!  I did tell the officer that even if David wasn't able to move ahead it still would have been okay because that would have been part of God's plan - He is never surprised by what goes on in our lives.  Thankfully that wasn't His plan today.  So we got our fingerprints and now we are one step closer to our sweet girl.  We now await the approval of our fingerprints and then our dossier is prepared to make its way to China.  Abbie knows she has a family - we often wonder if she ever wonders when we are coming.  Well hang on sweet girl - we are coming.  I am working on getting a Christmas package together for her to send over to China.  I am going to make her a blanket and crochet her a warm hat - not sure what other goodies we will put in there but I am sure we will think of something.  I look forward to the day when my sweet family is complete and this mama can rest easy knowing all her babies are safe in the nest.  I am thankful for our Heavenly Father who watches over us all - and way better than I ever could!! I got these pictures of Abbie recently and I have been meaning to share them - these were taken when some Lifeline families traveled to get their precious treasures from Maoming last month.  They were so kind to deliver packages and take pictures for several of us waiting mommies.  These photos are a priceless gift.

love her smile!!

we have heard she is quite the little mama!!

I love this - she always looks so happy! I can't wait til she knows true Joy from our Lord!!

we sent this bear to her and it had all of our voices recorded on it.  We were told she loved it!!

We love you Abigail Joy!!  

Days of Thanksgiving 2012 : #4 and #5

Well I got in bed last night and as soon as my head hit the pillow I remembered that I had not posted my thanksgiving list... and to be honest I didn't want to really get out of the bed just so I could blog.  So I will just put the two together for tonight.  As a song I know says it best "there's so much to be thankful for..."

friends who share recipes, patterns, ideas etc.

craft stores like JoAnns ;-)

church family

quiet moments {trust me these are not to be taken for granted! :-)}

praying with my kiddos - love their sweet prayers

freedom to vote tomorrow!!!

technology

making bread for the third time in a row and it finally turning out right!!

God recalling to my mind scripture that I have tried to put to memory

Days of Thanksgiving 2012 : #3

This time last year as I was running the annual New Hope Harvest Classic 5k also known as Footsteps for the Orphan I was only a mommy of 3 - I remember vividly passing some ladies who were walking with their daughters that they had adopted from China and I thought to myself - I can't wait for this race next year when I will have my girls with me - at the time we had only been matched with Linnea and we were still anxiously waiting to know who our other daughter would be.  While we don't have both girls home for this race we do know who that precious other girl is - Abbie Joy!!  So today I was ecstatic to be able to run with Linnea.  What  joy and great reflection of God's hand!!  Today I am grateful for:

legs that can run, walk, jump, skip - you name it

being able to run and push a stroller and not fall out!!

God's heart for the orphan and how He is raising up His church to defend them!

my sweet Linnea bug - so happy to have her home!

Abbie Joy - praise God for his preservation of her life

Here we are pre-race

And here we are post race!!

Days of Thanksgiving 2012 : #2

It has been quite a day - Ethan has been quite a sick boy this week particularly worse today.  I have been playing chauffeur, nurse, housecleaner, and laundromat today and in between those moments I had the sweet opportunity to hold and love on my sick boy in his waking moments.   God used those moments of quiet for great reflection and time with Him, and time to pray specifically for Ethan - I am for sure thankful for those times.  I have much to be thankful for today - even if I didn't feel thankful in all the moments of the day.  Here is where my thankful thoughts landed tonight:

a working washer and dryer

clothes to fold (even though this is my least favorite chore and I felt like I was doing it all day!!)

a fabulous pediatrician

medicine

carpooling with friends at CCS

a helpful husband

music - Christy Nockels in particular today

prayer and knowing I am being heard.

Days of Thanksgiving 2012 : #1

First I must confess - when I would see fb posts or blog posts in Novembers past all about thankfulness - I would think to myself we are supposed to be thankful everyday actually ALL the time - why are we just posting this in November - what about everyday? Yep those were my thoughts - sad and wrong - who am I to judge what or when someone else posts. But God being rich in his mercy and ever so loving to me has been growing me in more ways than I could ever write about and thankfully has not only forgiven me for such thoughts, he graciously led me to a post where my sister in Christ shared how she wasn't really thankful right now but went back to her November posts from last year and saw all of God's kindnesses and was reminded of how truly good He is to us in ALL things.  Thank you Leah for the reminder and how it spurred me on to this same thing.  I am not always thankful and I don't always see God's kindness to me and it exists EVERYDAY.  So here I am - I am going to (Lord willing) try and do a thankful post everyday this month - is it likely to happen everyday - probably not - but I am going to try.  I don't know how long the lists will be and that doesn't really even matter - what matters is my attitude before my Holy, Just and Loving Savior.  Here is what I am thankful for today:

my Savior 

giggles from my sweet children

good health

His word

new mercies everyday

Linnea is home and vocal!!!! 

a thoughtful husband

sweet friends who help you out in a bind [Elizabeth ;-)]