Wow. I realize that I should avoid starting blog posts with this sentence: sorry it's been so long. But really, sorry about that.
A lot has happened since I last wrote. We went on a cruise, celebrated Christmas with family. I turned 29 (should have written a blog post on what will in fact be my last birthday of accepting any higher number than that).
Anyway, let's just pick up where we left off.
I know that you are wondering about our adoption. I wonder about that all the time, so I understand your curiosity.
We were officially approved on December 16, meaning that our profile would be available to expectant parents who are considering an adoption plan. So we've been active for just over two months. It's difficult for us to feel like we've only been waiting for two months. We took our first steps on this journey of growing our family in December 2010, so to us, it feels like a long time.
Other than that, there isn't much to report! We know that we have been shown only a few times. It's hard going from talking to our social worker (who is wonderful, by the way) at least once a week during the home study process to almost complete radio silence. We get an update from her once a month, unless I'm having a crazy day and need to email her to make sure that this isn't all some weird dream.
Because some days it can feel like that.
I was perusing the internet this morning and came across an adoption blog about what the writer does to get through the craziness. My list is much different, so I thought I would share!
1. We pray. And then we pray some more. Our baby, who we believe is out there somewhere, may be the most prayed for baby on the planet. And that is such a great thing. (So thank you, faithful prayer warriors!) Paul and I pray together at least once each day and then pretty much all day separately for the baby and his or her mom that is thinking about her baby's future. Can you imagine the gravity of that decision? Can you stop right now and pray for women who are choosing life and choosing adoption?
2. We have fallen in love with our church. We love, love, love our church, Horizon Christian Fellowship. We are still getting to know people there, but we are growing deeper in the knowledge of Christ, gaining a deeper understanding of His Word, and gaining insight about our call to adopt.
3. We do stuff. Paul plays in a pool league and loves his weekly small group at Chickfila. I've started volunteering at Ten Thousand Villages and will jump at any opportunity to spend the day with my most awesome niece. We have weekly or biweekly television dates with friends. We went a great b&b for a weekend. Paul just went on a guys' weekend camping trip. I'm planning to get to the beach with some girl friends in a few weeks. I play a lot of Just Dance 3 (and look awesome doing it, I'm sure). We don't sit still. Sitting still leads to boredom, which leads to too much thinking, which leads to a good case of the adoption blues. Avoid sitting still.
4. We act as if we are having a baby, but we don't go crazy. This is tricky, because there is a balance in this, and I think it is different for everyone. I thought I would want to get the nursery done straight away so it would be ready. So we've picked out paint colors and fabric, we know what crib we are going to get, and we got a chair for the nursery (which, by the way, is so comfortable that we are leaving it in the living room for the time being even though it doesn't match a darn thing...light green chair, bright red carpet. You get the picture. But it is so comfy.). But that's about as far as we've gotten. We have gotten a few very sweet gifts from family and have started a baby pile in what will be the nursery. We walk through the baby section at Target, but we don't buy anything. We're just not there yet, and that is a-ok.
5. We talk about it. I will tell anyone who wants to listen about our adoption process. We ARE expecting - we just don't get the luxury of a due date. So we have all of that excitement and wonder of what our child will be like, just like if we were physically pregnant. Don't be afraid to ask about it - some days I may just give you a short answer, but others, I'll happily pull the fabric swatch out of my purse and ask you about cloth diapers and which bottles to buy. (But seriously, feel free to comment on these things).
So that's about it. We're so excited for the day to tell the world that our baby is coming home!!
One last thing...I'm in a Bible study that is doing an inductive study of Ephesians. Such amazing richness here. Yesterday, I did a word study of the "predestined." The greek word is proorizo, "to decide beforehand." The word is found in Ephesians 1:5: In love, he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.
Amazing. We serve a God who completely identifies with our wait to adopt. He waited a long time to adopt us Himself, through Jesus. What God starts, he works out to completion.
