Prayers and Praises

Fate, coinkidinks? I think not. The Divine Creator of everything has a perfect plan He is working out here. Let me give you an example of yesterday-

I mentioned that last week my employer informed me of a new pharmacist hired that would take my place in the small community pharmacy I currently work in. I would become an "extra" pharmacist in the rotation, covering at other stores until I got the call. Well, we got the call last night, and everything was already taken care of at work. No stress!! No panic!! No fear of not having the people needed to cover my store while I was gone. No hesitant phone call to my boss to tell him I'd be gone in a week and a half. How awesome is that?

OK- I must admit- I would love to marshall the forces out there praying for us as we prepare to leave. We found out tonight that our deed is only for the property. We need proof of where our house came from. I thought of taking a picture of Tim's hands and doing a certified copy of an original- I could put it with a poem and some pics of us and our house- something like this:

This is the house that Tim built.

This is the wife that lives in the house that Tim built.

(imagine picture of me on the porch)

This is the son, adopted by the wife, that lives in the house that Tim built. (Sorry, you can't imagine a pic of Eli yet- unless he has a mask on........ hehee- soon we'll be able to post a picture....... )

This is the dog that poops on the rug, that will play with the son, adopted by the wife that lives in the house that Tim built. (I keep imagining Eli, Baka and Tim on the floor all wrestling around...)

OK, so I am really joking about the poem- but you have to admit, it does have a certain catchiness to it, doesn't it? I know, I know, the part about the dog really stinks.......... hehee

In all seriousness, I am praying that the documents we have showing the purchase agreement where Tim bought the logs and maybe a few of the permits he had issued will be enough to prove that there really is a house that we own on the property our deed is for.

We also have to provide a document from our homestudy agency telling about the books we've read and how the agency has prepared us to become parents to an internationally adopted child. I sent our wonderful case worker a list of about 10-15 books we've already read. She's to type up a document about our great training, send it to us and we'll have all these items run through the routine- notarize, certify and apostille. All you folks in states that don't require a county certification before you can get your items apostilled just don't know what you are missing. We have met so many more wonderful people by adding in this extra step. Hey, Coleen- if you see this- you can be expecting us sometime next week :)

One more prayer request. My doggie, the one I adopted 13 years ago from the shelter, who is now 15, is not doing the best. She would qualify for a Medication Therapy Management session if she were human. I have an appointment with the vet to "ease her suffering," "let her go to sleep in my arms instead of dying all alone in a kennel while we are gone,""send her on to the happy hunting grounds,""put her out of her misery,""euthanize her," etc. I'm having a very, very difficult time explaining this to my heart. My heart says, your best friend for all these years is struggling to stay alive and you are deciding to kill her, end her life, murder her in a premeditated fashion (after all, I made an appointment). So, my prayer is that my heart will begin to understand what my mind has known is true for a long time. Guess when the only time is that we can get her in? Feb 25. Yep, the night before we leave for Russia. At least I'll have a few days to cry myself out and get my eyes back to normal before we see our precious little boy.

OK, praises- To God be the Glory!!!! We are seeing so many things fall into place. It is incredible to step back a bit and experience this. Everything lining up perfectly for our trip. Our Visa's have been sent for, the tickets have been arranged, soon we should hear about the hotels, the cash is in hand, the paperwork (with the exception of the above docs) in hand and organized. All we have left is to throw some stuff in some bags, get the bills and house taken care of and take off. And we just got the call last night!

Oh, and I discovered the best thing last night- Eli's "gotcha" day will fall on my Mom's birthday!! (Also St Patrick's Day and my soon to be Brother-in-law's B-day!!) Happy Day to us all!!

God bless you all- thank you for your prayers- and please- don't forget to thank God for all the awesomely incredible things He is doing in your life. It is so easy to get bogged down with the mundane and mediocre that we forget to thank Him for the priceless joys and blessings in our lives everyday. May each day be a new discovery for you!! Share your joy- share your blessings!

Hang on, Baby!!

I can hardly believe that in less than 3 weeks I will be able to cradle our little one in my arms again. Oh how I pray that he dreams of us in his sleep and he is not afraid of us, that he remembers who we are and has a divine understanding of the love we have for him. Oh how I long to be able to show him the love that God has filled our hearts up with for him!

We're coming baby, hang on!!

Valentine's Day Gift.... (READ THIS!!!)

Hey everyone...... Happy Valentine's Day!!

We got such a great gift today- we found out that we are going to Russia to get our son!! We leave a week from Tuesday- on 2/26. Court will be on 3/4.

More details to follow!!!!

Happy Anniversary!!!

Happy Anniversary to us!! It is hard to believe 8 years have passed since we were married- even more difficult to imagine that it took so long to find each other and that we haven't always been together.

What an amazing thing happened when God brought the 2 of us together. I had hoped we would be able to celebrate the 2 becoming 3 on the same day the 2 became 1, but I am now happy to share this day only with you, my love.

What an amazing 8 years it has been. So much learning and growing. It is hard to believe that next week will mark the 2 year anniversary of
our filling out our paperwork and deciding to take the plunge into this journey as we have known it. Can you believe we've spent 1/4 of our married lives waiting for our son?

It is so exciting to know that, though the tunnel seems to be quite curvy under the mountain, and the light not yet seen, it really is around the
next bend. How blessed we are to be able to journey this path together. Hand in hand, heart to heart, learning to listen to God's sweet voice as He leads and directs us.

I'll never forget standing in your driveway while your friends and family were taking bets on when we'd be married. We were discussing adoption even then. I am so excited to be a parent with you, nurturing, teaching, loving our son together and teaching him about our love and faith in God and how He brought all of us together.

What a great time to be able to tell the world, to shout it out loud how much I love this man that God has brought into my life and how much I love this little man already that God is bringing into our lives. The journey just keeps getting sweeter and sweeter, honey.

I love you!!!

Trust

Was reading a fellow adoption blogger's post, and couldn't pass up this song. It sums up so much of this journey. See here to read the incredible story behind their song.


Still haven't heard anything. It is becoming more miraculous by the second if we will go this week to Russia. We'll most likely be leaving the end of the month if we hear nothing more today.

But that is why we trust in the Lord and lean not on our own understanding, isn't it?

Interesting developments

I mentioned in the last post that we were planning a prayer day for last Wed. As I prayed through the list we had with our chat group, lifting up my new found friends and family, my specific request for us was that God continue to prepare the way for us- make our path straight and smooth- Go ahead of us- all that wonderful stuff that you pray when you are asking God to continue to direct your future.

Thursday evening I received a phone call from my employer.

Let me back up a bit here- we had a new computer operating system installed at the pharmacy last Monday. We are getting a new wholesaler, with a new computer system for ordering, at the end of this month. My staff is being pulled in many directions to not only cover our store, but to help in some of the other small stores in our chain. Our very good friends, in leadership at our church, are being called onto other things now, which saddens us hugely. Adding to this the fact that we are next on the list to receive a phone call for court to go to Russia and get our son, (yes, everytime the phone rings, we, well, guess I should say, "I" jump wondering if it could be "the call" ) you are probably seeing the changes and challenges occuring in ALL areas of my life.

OK, back to the present. My employer called out, said to call back when I had a few seconds, they needed to talk to me. Nothing unusual, I thought- most likely about the new systems and some adjustments we'd need to make.

Imagine my surprise when they told me they had hired a new pharmacist for my position, and her first day would be Feb. 20. Less than 2 weeks away. I was numb at first. Then very sad. I've been with this staff for almost 5 years and we've become like family. I had so many customers come to mind that I have become so incredibly close with over the years. I had so many thoughts running through my mind in that 5 minute conversation we had.

So- I immediately thought about planning a welcoming part for Annette, the pharmacist that will be filling my position. I told my staff and asked them to begin telling customers about the change about to take place. When I concentrate on welcoming someone into our family here, I don't have to think about the fact that I will be leaving. I won't say I'll no longer be a part of this family I have here- I just won't see everyone as often:)

I'll be put in a floating-type position and filling in at the store I originally worked with when I started with this company in 1994 until we do get the call and leave for Russia (and I become a mom in more than name only).

As I was driving home, seeking God for comfort, He suddenly brought great peace to my heart and a sunny smile to my face. I had just prayed the day before for God to go before and prepare the way for us to bring our son home. Now, not even a day later, my job has been taken care of. I won't have to worry about these customers I care about and my wonderful staff being left in a lurch during this already stress-filled time by my flying off to Russia. I hadn't realized the underlying stress that was causing me- the leaving of my job responsibilities behind. What a burden has been lifted from my shoulders.

So, even though I still get teary eyed as I prepare the pharmacy for someone else to come in and take over, I have such a peace and a joy. Even a little excitement, if the truth be told- HHHmmmmm.............wonder why she is starting on the 20th? Is there something I don't yet know? We had been hoping and praying for a court date on the 19th of Feb. That really isn't likely at all (still miraculously possible, but not likely), but it sure is fun to try to guess what the next few pages of our life books will hold.

As I was discussing this yesterday with one of my staff members, I realized that all that defines who I am right now is being changed. My job, my position on our worship team, the role I play in keeping up the prayer list for our chat group- all these things have changed this week. I am taking this as confirmation that I truly am to find my sense of worth in God alone. Not as a pharmacist, though that fulfills a calling in my heart, not as a flute player, though God does say to worship Him with the flute, and, I'm guessing, not even as a mom- though that is one of the greatest callings of all. In all things, through all phases of my life, God is the only constant, never changing, always there, One who knows me best, One who fills my heart with laughter so it bubbles over........

Hehhehehehehehee- I already have all our paperwork in order in a neat stack on our desk. The visa applications are all filled in except for the dates- the FedEx envelope is all ready, except for the dates, the bills are paid, the house is in preparation- and I've started laying out clothes. Let the journey begin !!!

The Weekend Experiment

I tried an experiment this weekend. It has been a very challenging one for me and brought quite a few discoveries my way- thought I'd share.

I was updating the prayer list on our chat group yesterday morning. I was contemplating all the prayers I want to place before God- for a court date, I'd love to travel with our friends we traveled with before, for finances, bringing our son home, help with situations at work, etc. Suddenly, I had an aha! moment. Though I think I am talking with God all day long in my prayers, I realized I spend very little time praising God. It is more like an extended wish list.......... God, please do this, grant this, change this, help me do this, change my heart toward this or that.

While God does want us to come before Him and make our requests known to Him, I realized, with much chagrin, that I haven't spent very much time praising Him for the awesome Father God He is. I mean, think about it- the Creator of the Universe- of everything past, present and future- cares so much about me and what my needs are. He listens patiently as I make my requests known to Him, longing only for my heart to connect with His.

So, I decided to make this weekend a "praise" weekend. I determined to not ask God for anything, but to praise His name and thank Him for all He has done, is doing and will be doing in my life. I have realized while doing this just how often my "prayers" and talks with God are the beseeching kind instead of the praising kind.

An amazing thing happens when you stop yourself short from continuously asking God to do something for you. My thought life has gone something like this the last day and a half: "Oh God, please help me...... whooops- I mean Thank you God for being the awesome creator you are- thank you for all you are doing in my life. Thank you that you know the requests you've placed in my heart and that you know me better than I know myself. Thank you that I can come before you and worship and adore you............" At this point- I usually have a smile on my face and peace in my heart. I realize I've had to give up the feelings my request begat, and traded them for the feelings that worshiping God begets.

It has been hard to stop myself from sending the one second wish prayers skyward. I never realized how often it happens. But, my oh my, I really like the results. Thank you, God, for bringing this challenge to mind. May I always remember it and continuously draw nearer Your heart and Your mind in everything in my life!