I Can See the Finish Line!!

It's so hard to believe but we are almost ready to be "waiting"!! I can tell you I'm a pile of nerves here! I know it could be a while before we get a call but we really have no idea what God has in store for us. I have no idea how things will work for us with 4 kids to have to leave on short notice, if we aren't matched until the last minute. There is no real way to plan except to make lists & buy what we need when we know how/when things will happen. Yes, I have been daydreaming how it may happen but so many of the situations could be different. So we just keep an open mind & enjoy the ride that God has in store for us. We've seen the many blessings God has given us by being obedient. The valleys aren't much fun at all but we can definitely appreciate getting back to the hilltops after a long trek up those hills! The view is grand!!

We are putting the finishing touches on our profile book! It turned out great! It was a lot of work to get it all mapped out but after I got into it, I really started to enjoy it. The birth family letter was the hardest. It was extremely emotional thinking of the words to write to someone who is in a very tough position & has to make 1 of the hardest decisions in her life.

I know it's kind of trashy but I've been hooked on watching "16 & Pregnant" on MTV. I seriously HATE that channel but 1 day I was looking at the TV Guide & it caught my eye & it just happened to be on just then. So I decided to watch but was thinking that they were going to glorify teen pregnancy. Quite the opposite. It's very real & they show a lot of the tough aspects of becoming a mother at a very early age. Now,don't get me wrong.  I still think they edit things for sensationalism. But last night Brian actually watched some of it with me. He got to watch the episode where the couple decide on placing their child for adoption. It was heart wrenching & the pain & loss by the birth parents was gripping to my heart. In adoption, there is always going to be loss of some sort. We know that we will gain a child but our child will experience some type of loss. The birth parents will grieve loss. It's not something that we like to think about when we hear or talk of adoption. We want to view it as this wonderful, happy thing. As wonderful as it is that we can welcome a child into a Christian home that normally would not have that chance, there will still be a part of us that will grieve that loss of birth family. Our prayer is that God will give us the grace we need to handle that aspect with a birthmother, if given the chance to meet her, & for the loss that we will have to deal with in the future with our adopted child.

I needed to also send out a prayer of praise for our friends, the Zomermaands!! They are now legal guardians of their 2 children that they have been trying to get home from Guatemala for the last 4 1/2 years! They are in Guatemala this week visiting their children & having an empathy study done. This is 1 of the last steps they need to be able to get these 2 home where they belong! We are praising God for moving the huge mountains & we can't wait to see what God has in store for the remainder of this journey!