Monday, January 28, 2013

Expecting More

Plates to remind us our family is still growing.

As our littlest one has almost reached her first birthday, I am reminded of the two children we plan to adopt. God put adoption on my heart the same night He revealed to me that we would have children of our own. When I shared the news with Grant, it became his heart's desire to adopt too.  But first, can you believe it, we had to have children of our own and so far that had been not so easy. Then a little over a year later we welcomed our first daughter. Now it's been almost 10 years, 11 total if you count when we found out we would have children and adopt others!

God put it on Grant's heart to set out plates once a week when we all share a meal to remind us to pray for the children that will become part of our family. We chose to do it this week on Saturday: Pancakes & Bacon Morning. It was amazing how eager the children were to set those places.  They had so many questions, some really silly (in the eyes of adults) and some profound about adoption and the changes to our current family that adopting would entail. We don't know when they'll come into our life. Two years, ten years? But the process has started in our hearts and the rest is to come.

Left to right: Grant, cupcake ninja, nature girl, baby-behind-the-flowers, my seat, Bubba, and two plates waiting! See our table is just waiting to be full.

I read an astounding stat the other day. To paraphrase it: if every American church congregation had just one family willing to adopt one child, all the legally free children in the foster system in the US would have forever homes. Even if the stat was debatable.  I thought, "what an incredible impact God's family could have on the fatherless." We have friends that have adopted three times. We have other friends working on adopting 2nd and 3rd times. We have rejoiced in domestic and international adoptions and we don't know which kind God has in store for us. We have witnessed the great financial sacrifices families have made to follow God's leading in adoption and realized He may ask that of us too.  We are at the beginning and it's time to get schooled on all the hoops, home studies, travelling, court dates, etc that will be a part of our adoptions. If something reminds you that we plan to adopt, please take that moment of awareness to say a prayer for us: May He give us wisdom and lead our hearts. 


Thursday, January 3, 2013

A moment to be in the present.


Sunshine, yay!
It's a rare time when I can consciously be present while attending to the basic needs of our fourth child. So many other needs usually rush in, but this morning it happened. The last week has been full of sleepless nights and sick little ones, stress with the business, and no time to grocery shop. Then this morning came as a sweet gift, a little bubble in time wherein I could just pause and drink in these last days of babyhood.

Although it has been cold with snow on the ground for a while, I awoke to sunlight streaming in the windows. After a surprising breakfast where everyone ate their oatmeal with gusto, I decided it was time to bathe the two littles. When it was time to take Zibs out of the tub, I reached for a towel, and guess what? It was actually her towel, still plush and not worn down from 10 years of washing, and there it was... I was inspired.

I would give her a massage, and oh, look, there's some yummy smelling citrus Badger body butter! My chubby baby didn't cry or try to crawl away while I rubbed and soothed her trying to remember techniques from the infant massage class I took almost seven years ago for Baby Dragon (who hated it).  Then with the sunshine pooling on the bed where I dried her off, massaged her and nursed her without interruption, I knew it was a cloth diaper and fresh woolens kind of morning. It felt so good to have my intentions come to fruition, even if only one morning this winter. It felt good to live out those ideals that seem to keep getting pushed back by the demands of every day life with six in the house. It felt incredible to smell a fresh and contented baby after long nights of discontent and sour breath. My gratitude for this simple delight poured happy serotonin into my brain and I thought, "I have got to write this down so I don't forget." Ta- da!

Connecting :)