In awe ...

I have spent the majority of my recent years in awe of what God has been doing in my life.  Whether it be professional, personal or spiritual, God has been stirring it up.  I would be less than honest to say I fully understand the reasoning behind all of the opportunities, changes and challenges that have been presented, but I rest in the knowledge that God has a plan...and that plan is for good...regardless of whether I can see or understand it on this side of the veil.  I find myself praying consistently that I will seek His face in all that has been presented...and, again, I fail far too often in that respect (hence, the consistent prayer), as some of these "things" have me very confused...but every morning His grace is enough and I know that He has this all under control.

As we wrapped up our first fundraiser these past few days, I have been in particular awe of the response of family and friends both near and far...and yes, even some strangers.  Names that have not been uttered in decades (ok, 1-2 decades to set that record straight) have come out of nowhere to play a part in the journey to bring Maggie home.  And in some cases, names I have never seen before have popped up on the list.  Wow, what a wonderful testament to God's promise to care for and provide for us.  I can remember a time early on in the process to bring Maggie home that I was particularly perplexed how the money aspect would work out.  "Leap of Faith" took on a whole new meaning to me as I read in one of the packets that "where there is God's will, there will be God's provision."  I can honestly say I have watched Him write check after check as He has worked in the hearts of so many good people over the past months (and year for that matter).  Each one has been a blessing to me and my family...many tears of joy and wonderment have been shed with each one...and many prayers have been spoken for each family that has responded to the call.  Thank each and every one of you from the bottom of our hearts.  You are no longer like family to us...you are family to us.  God Bless you all and thank you for your continued prayers.

Today was a good day, mostly ...

So I had a thought this morning on the way to work.  A little over 13 months ago, my daughter was given away...and it occurred to me that, God willing, that will happen again one day.  Only the next time it will be under very different circumstances...she will have a ring on a certain finger, she will have a heart full of love and excitement and her daddy will be doing the "giving away".  And, oh yeah, there will be this nervous little punk remembering the first time he met me as I was sitting in my underwear on the couch cleaning a shotgun reminding him of her curfew.  :)  And then my phone rang.  Marcie excitedly yells (as only she can) "HAVE YOU CHECKED YOUR EMAILS YET?!"  Just got here babe...doing it now.  And there they were...three new pictures of the most precious, darling, gorgeous, sweetest little nugget of a princess I have ever seen staring back at me.  Standing with the help of a nameless, faceless caretaker's hand on her arm, there she was, black hair spiked on top, tongue stuck out to the side and happy, full of life eyes that were unmistakably proclaiming "come get me Daddy".  What a gift.  I often think about how blessed I am in this world...far beyond what I ever deserved...my family...the most wonderful, beautifully animated and vocal daughter of the King (now hobbling due to a "trip" down the stairs while on the phone with me - hence the "mostly" in today's title)...little, yet full-grown, 20 weeks of bed rest Trevor...2 years of trying for the man with a plan Brandon...and now Maggie, an orphan practically since birth.  God could have very easily cared for each one of these people all by himself...given them lives beyond their hopes and dreams...but he chose little ol' me to play a part in their world.  What an amazing gift...transcending all rational thought that I ever had about blessings in my life.  I pray every day that I will use these gifts and treat these gifts to the Glory of our Father...and waste not what is only on loan from Him for a breath of time.  And I will close with my all-too-familiar tag...we're coming baby girl...we're coming.

So Much Has Changed ...

Wow...it has been just over a year since our last post. We would like to blame it on Facebook for convincing us that blogging was "so 2009", but honestly, it has simply been laziness. But here we are, back for a quick update on our journey to China. As most of you are aware, we followed God's guidance in switching last Spring to the special needs program for China. This program includes those children that have various medical issues or are simply older or otherwise considered "not readily adoptable" (that sounds too horrible to even type...insert shuddering here). The process wasn't without heartache as we reviewed a few files earlier in the year and just knew they were not our daughter. But on September 27, a referral was emailed early one morning and Marcie happened to catch it right away. She called me at work and told me to check my emails and let her know what I thought. We could barely speak to one another as we both came to the realization that we were staring at a picture of the newest member of our family. She had been born in our hearts years before, but now she had a name and a face, beautifully crafted by the One who knew her story long before He created each of us. Since that day, we have been in a whirlwind of paperwork updates, new paperwork, more governmental approvals and fundraising. We are relatively worn out as I type this, but things have slowed slightly as we await some of the final approvals from Immigration and get appointments set for our eventual travel early next year. We know her name...we know her address...we know what she looked like sometime after 7 months of age (14 months old now)...and it is absolutely ripping our hearts out to not be with her. We pray for and think of Maggie Jane daily...and her big brothers are beside themselves in anticipation of her homecoming. Hopefully, some exciting news is forthcoming, but for now we rest in the knowledge that God has her in His hands. No matter her medical condition or her living conditions or her caregiver situation, we know that God has this...as He does everything in our lives (even thought we sometimes forget). And most importantly . . . . . we're coming baby girl . . . . and this time we really mean it. Love you all and thanks for your continued prayers.