Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
sky over my freedom
I've updated our needs list in the blog about making our needs known.
Our main needs now are financial for the adoption, mattresses, maternity clothes and a size 6 boy coat. We don't need any other clothes at this time.
We have been enjoying a visit with Leon's mom, sister and two of our nephews. They arrived Saturday night and will be leaving Thursday. We have been able to be with them every day. We have enjoyed home church, swimming, eating, playing games, worshiping in song and fellowship etc. None of us have been getting enough sleep but, we'll catch up next week.
Our snow is melting fast. I think it will be a couple weeks before we see any grass in our lower front yard but, we can see the ground in our well traveled paths and on the driveway. There remains a foot or so on most places of our property and big hills of snow where we scooped it off the roof or shoveled. Before this winter it had been sunny most days with blue sky unless it was snowing or (rarely) raining. This winter the weather was a little dreary with a white sky hovering over a white world. It seemed like it wasn't doing anything but, waiting. No wind,storm blizzard or sun, just quietly waiting. With everything that's been happening with the adoption and expecting a baby and being ready to act on whatever else the Lord directs, the 'waiting' state of the sky was driving me a little crazy.
One day when I was complaining to the Lord about the blah sky He showed me that it was the sky over my freedom. Here I am under this sky doing my favorite job in the whole world and with the supreme womanly privilege of carrying a child in my womb once again. I am so free, everyday. I could be viewing it from a prison cell, a hospital bed, or lost in the woods. I could be without a husband or without children. I could be getting ready to go out to a job that I don't feel I was created to do and spend hours ignoring the refining work of God in my life.
Our main needs now are financial for the adoption, mattresses, maternity clothes and a size 6 boy coat. We don't need any other clothes at this time.
We have been enjoying a visit with Leon's mom, sister and two of our nephews. They arrived Saturday night and will be leaving Thursday. We have been able to be with them every day. We have enjoyed home church, swimming, eating, playing games, worshiping in song and fellowship etc. None of us have been getting enough sleep but, we'll catch up next week.
Our snow is melting fast. I think it will be a couple weeks before we see any grass in our lower front yard but, we can see the ground in our well traveled paths and on the driveway. There remains a foot or so on most places of our property and big hills of snow where we scooped it off the roof or shoveled. Before this winter it had been sunny most days with blue sky unless it was snowing or (rarely) raining. This winter the weather was a little dreary with a white sky hovering over a white world. It seemed like it wasn't doing anything but, waiting. No wind,storm blizzard or sun, just quietly waiting. With everything that's been happening with the adoption and expecting a baby and being ready to act on whatever else the Lord directs, the 'waiting' state of the sky was driving me a little crazy.
One day when I was complaining to the Lord about the blah sky He showed me that it was the sky over my freedom. Here I am under this sky doing my favorite job in the whole world and with the supreme womanly privilege of carrying a child in my womb once again. I am so free, everyday. I could be viewing it from a prison cell, a hospital bed, or lost in the woods. I could be without a husband or without children. I could be getting ready to go out to a job that I don't feel I was created to do and spend hours ignoring the refining work of God in my life.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
quick updates
Quick update: We sent a letter to the Speaker of the House on Monday as we were requested to do. We hope to hear news soon about the completion of our adoption and their traveling plans.
Fun stuff: God let us get super cheap ski's and boots for everyone. They've been skiing every day out on our front lawn.
The hard things that God uses to bless us: I went to the Above Rubies Ladies retreat. God used it to make preparations in my heart for our three new arrivals. While I was gone, Leon took all 6 of the children skiing on the mountain. He must be the bravest man I know.
When they arrived home and I was pulling in to the retreat center, I called them. The house was in an uproar of horror and tears. Our kitty had just been savagely attacked by the neighbor dogs and lay dying out on the snow. I think that everyone I was traveling with was crying when we got out of the car. Leon took good care of everyone and by the next day everything on the home front was quiet again. It was amazing how this tragedy softened my heart for the fellowship and godly encouragement that I soaked in all weekend.
Thursday, March 05, 2009
too busy, writing again
We got another update from our placing agency. The word from Liberia is that the new laws will be finished being written next week. Then all the adoptions in process will be able to complete under the old laws. They have been saying a similar thing for months so, who knows? Who? God knows. He has recently taken away my frustration and filled me will peace and contentment about His time frame,..again. Maybe they won't come until the baby comes. Maybe they won't come until we expected to be on our trip to the Portland area this summer. That's OK with me. I can trust God with it all. I would love for them to come soon. We are trying to make ourselves prepared knowing that they could come this month. This weekend we are going to go ahead and buy mattresses for them.
Wow, we have a lot of festivities this month! We have b-days for Leon, Naphtali, Havilah, Leon's mama, my mama, my brother and my niece. Please let me know who's b-day I'm forgetting. Ephraim's creation day is this month. We have family coming to visit and two other families coming just for dinner. Three goats and our cat are expected to give birth.
I am going to the Above Rubies ladies retreat and will be gone 3 days. I think that the Lord is pleased with me going to this retreat. My heart needed to be prepared and strengthened to receive the three new children that God has been pleased to entrust to us.
So today we've got to finish a cake, sour dough, pizza dough, return movies,and grocery shop. Tomorrow we'll make our customary pizza's and try to make up on snuggles and discipline that a busy day out always necessitates. I am pretty careful to only go out one day a week, not counting the weekends which we spend out and about usually.
That's my crazy March. I should have been more careful in my planning. I will try to use more discernment next March. For now, I'll use some little tricks I've leaned to keep things as un-crazy as possible. The main concept to apply is praying without ceasing.
New thought: I haven't felt free to blog these past months. I used to blog as a kind of journal for my whole family. I thought that some day I'd use the blogs to write a book. Then I realized that I had to be careful to not write anything that could get us in trouble with anyone, or anything to personal etc. I no longer felt free to express myself.
I LOVE to write and feel that I NEED to write but, I sit in front of the empty blog screen and I can't be interested in saying anything. If I try to write what I think people want to hear, I can't find anything creative in me. So, I will go back to thinking of it as just journaling for myself and my future book.
Wow, we have a lot of festivities this month! We have b-days for Leon, Naphtali, Havilah, Leon's mama, my mama, my brother and my niece. Please let me know who's b-day I'm forgetting. Ephraim's creation day is this month. We have family coming to visit and two other families coming just for dinner. Three goats and our cat are expected to give birth.
I am going to the Above Rubies ladies retreat and will be gone 3 days. I think that the Lord is pleased with me going to this retreat. My heart needed to be prepared and strengthened to receive the three new children that God has been pleased to entrust to us.
So today we've got to finish a cake, sour dough, pizza dough, return movies,and grocery shop. Tomorrow we'll make our customary pizza's and try to make up on snuggles and discipline that a busy day out always necessitates. I am pretty careful to only go out one day a week, not counting the weekends which we spend out and about usually.
That's my crazy March. I should have been more careful in my planning. I will try to use more discernment next March. For now, I'll use some little tricks I've leaned to keep things as un-crazy as possible. The main concept to apply is praying without ceasing.
New thought: I haven't felt free to blog these past months. I used to blog as a kind of journal for my whole family. I thought that some day I'd use the blogs to write a book. Then I realized that I had to be careful to not write anything that could get us in trouble with anyone, or anything to personal etc. I no longer felt free to express myself.
I LOVE to write and feel that I NEED to write but, I sit in front of the empty blog screen and I can't be interested in saying anything. If I try to write what I think people want to hear, I can't find anything creative in me. So, I will go back to thinking of it as just journaling for myself and my future book.
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