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Goodness, it’s been a while since I last posted. As far as our adoption goes, absolutely nothing we know of has changed. If I had this shirt from Adoption Mama I’d probably be wearing it a lot lately. It says, “Yes, I am still adopting. No, I haven’t heard anything yet. But each day brings me closer to my child.”

Our pastor gave just about the best sermon I’ve ever heard yesterday. Of course, being Easter it was about resurrection and redemption. It was a challenge. He said, “If you belive it, you will change!” I think it was about the loudest I’ve ever heard a preacher preach in person. It struck a cord with me because for the most part I believe it’s pretty impossible to change. I know very few people who have done so. However, those that have changed only did it by the grace of God. And I do believe it. And I want to change. Anyone else? You can listen to the Easter sermon at College Hill Presbyterian Church. (I just listened to the sermon online. It’s great but it’s not the “loud, passionate” one I heard in the second service. In the service I go to, people were shouting amen, clapping, standing up. They were excited and so was the pastor! The first service is quite different 😉 I wonder how that will affect the vote next Sunday.)

Happy Easter!

The latest ICBF Wait List was published last week. It shows that there has been no movement in our category. Colombia is still working on families adopting two children from 0-4 who were approved in March 2007. We had no expectations of movement one way or another so we weren’t really suprised. It will be all the more blessing when it does change.

Please continue to lift our children up in prayer. Please pray especially for their health, safety, and the love of a family. We pray that they will already know Jesus and ask that he be their comfort until we all become a family.

There’s nothing like nieces. I love mine. Yesterday Zach and I were babysitting Ava and Grace. We tag team rather well. Ava had to go potty so I took her while Zach put Grace to sleep. Here’s what transpired in the bathroom for 20 minutes:

“Nene, I want to read a book.”

“Ok, let me get one.”

“Nene, can you hold my dress while I go potty so I can read the book?”

“Sure honey.”

“I want to read another book.”

“Ok, I’ll get some more.”

“Nene, hold my dress while I read.”

“Ok.”

“Dinosaurs HAPPY and dinosaurs SAD” (said with much exaggeration!) . . .

And we read “Oh My, Oh My, Oh Dinosaurs,” “Goodnight Moon,” “The Going to Bed Book,” “Blue Hat, Green Hat,” “Skip to My Lou,” “Horns to Toes,” and “What Do You Say?” That’s a lot of holding dressess and going potty and reading books!

Sometimes I feel like this . . .

One moment, I’m the girl who’s different; the one who asks too many questions, the one who is adopting kids -box one. The next day I’m just another teacher, another girl who read “Eat, Pray, Love”, another girl who is adopting kids-boxes two, three, and four. It’s all a matter of perspective. In the moments when I feel like the odd-ball, I always think of Sesame Street, and that song gets stuck in my head.

I can only imagine how often my children are going to have these thoughts running through their heads. May God help me to validate all the boxes they will fit into, and help me to teach them how to embrace each one.

That is such a beautiful and complicated question. It has no easy answer, although you might think it would be an automatic “YES!” One day last week a gentle soul at church privately asked Zach why we are adopting. He suspected that it was because we are not able to have biological children, which is true, but not at all the simple answer it appears to be. When this man heard the reason, he invited us to attend a healing service at church, in order that we be healed of our barrenness. I’m so grateful for this man’s faith and willingness to offer prayer for us, but . . .

“Dear God, please heal our children. May you always be the constant anchor in their crazy world. May they learn from you that they are loved forever and no matter what. May they know you as the giver of peace in the midst of a world that’s been turned upside down. Heal their hearts, that they may know how to let people love them, especially their mommy and daddy. Heal their spirits, so that they can bond with us and form lasting attachments, even though that means they will have to trust someone again. Heal their minds of any confusion and loss. Heal their bodies of any malnurition or harm. Lord, prepare us for each other. To you be all the glory. Amen.”

“Dios, por favor, sanar a nuestros hijos. Se puede ser el ancla en un mundo loco. Pueden aprender de ustedes que el amor para siempre. Pueden aprender de usted la paz en un mundo que es al reves. Sanar sus corazones, para que su mama y papa pueden amarlos. Curar sus espiritus, para que podamos los bonos con un otro y podemos confiar en un otro. Sanar sus mentes de toda la confusion y la perdida. Sanar sus cuerpos de la malnutricion y los danos. Senor, prepararnos para un otro. A usted que todo la gloria. Amen.”