Be Still!

Well, it's 1 week away from Christmas and as you can see, Micah is enjoying the season! We are going to have quite the "first Christmas" with him this year...broken ornaments, sticky fingers from candy canes, and all. He has also picked up a new word...coco!

We have decided to postpone everything for me until the holiday is over. We don't want to interrupt the kids Christmas and want to still be able to travel and visit family and see my sister's new baby. I am scheduled to have surgery in January so we will just sit back and wait.

God is speaking to me this morning through others. When I woke up this morning, I had a FB message from a dear lady at church who shared with me that God had gotten her up at 5:00 a.m. this morning to pray for me and she gave me this verse..."Be still and know that I am God." Psalms 46:10. A few minutes later, when I got on my blog to update it, there was 1 new comment and a Dillon mom had left a message for me and included the very same verse! So, like all good children who obey their fathers, I am going to try to "be still" today and rest in my heavenly Father! :)

Mountains and Valleys

My father-in-law said to me this week..."It seems like every mountain top experience that the Lord leads us through, He then walks us through a valley." Well, I know that our adoption of Micah was our mountain top experience this year, and now we are heading into our valley. This week I was diagnosed with breast cancer. We are still trying to absorb this information and all that it means. As we head into the holiday season with our family, I do have one certainty.

Two years ago, I might have questioned, "Does God really care about the intimate details of my life?" Today, I cannot question. I look at Micah and I know for sure that God does. I believe that God allowed us to have a mountain top experience in our adoption with Micah. He showed us that He is not a God who just sits in heaven and is far removed. He wants a relationship with us and to be involved in our lives. He loves us so deeply...ALL of us. Even the smallest of these, like a little orphan boy in a small orphanage in the middle of India. He also showed us that He will get intimately involved in our lives and will provide for every need in ways we cannot fathom.

Now as I sit here on the brink, I believe that God is going to walk through this valley with us in the same way. If I begin to doubt or question, all I have to do is to look at Micah and I have the reassurance of God's hand of love, design, and provision on my family's life. I don't understand why this is happening, but I will try to walk with the assurance that I am God's, that He loves me dearly, and that as I go through the storm, I am safe in the palm of His hand.

Naughty List!

By now, I'm sure that Micah's name is clearly on Santa's "Naughty" List. It looks like I will be spending all of Micah's Christmas $ to fix the things he has broken in the last couple of weeks. Not that I am keeping my own list, but here is a short break down from least expensive fix to the costliest...

• 2 New Christmas balls ($2) - This year I bought a new 4 pack of pretty balls to add to the ones I had purchased last year. So far Micah has broken 2 of my new ones. Of course he knows he is not supposed to touch them. He brings them to me, points his little finger at my face and tells me, "No, no!"
• 1 Pack Foam Darts ($10) - For some reason, Micah seems to like chewing on his brother's foam darts that shoot out of a little gun and stick to the wall. He will actually climb the bookcase to pull them out of Nathan's box (which is supposed to be out of his reach) and all day long I will find him chewing on half pieces of dart that he has chewed in two.
• 1 Bathroom Cabinet door ($60) - Micah has pulled on, slammed, and yanked on our bathroom cabinet door, till last week it came apart in 3 pieces and cannot be glued back together.
• 1 Portable DVD player ($150) - Last week Micah got mad at Nathan in the car and so he kicked his legs at the DVD player on the back of my headrest. This snapped the little plastic hinges that hold the door on and so, of course, the front cover fell off. Now we cannot watch movies in the car.
• 1 Car Stereo system ($170) - Last week, I tried to play our choir cd in the car so that I could practice for our choir program. It would not take the cd. Upon further inspection, I saw that Micah had slipped several quarters and nickels into the slot meant only for cds. I will have to either pay for someone to take the whole thing apart and put it back together, or just get a whole new one.

Micah has also mastered the "pouty face." It used to work, but we have quickly figured out his system. He is too cute for his own good. :) I guess all I need to really remember is, "Having Micah home for his first Christmas...Priceless!"

BlindSide

Just saw an awesome movie tonight called "BlindSide." I will sing it's praises from the housetop and hope that it can somehow counter balance the damage that may have been done by the horror flick, "Orphan." What a great true story about taking in an orphan and how it changes US! My husband and I laughed and cried through the whole movie. So many times we thought of Micah and our other children. We are truly a family blessed by adoption!

Desperation!

My husband and I were able to share a brief testimony about our adoption experience at an International Adoption Dinner hosted by Bethany Christian Services this weekend. It was awesome to hear all the stories from families, but to also be able to encourage the families that have just started the process or are well into the waiting.

I was talking with my friend Pam, another Dillon mom, 2 weeks ago about being in the middle of a desperate wait...one where you cannot see your way or hear God's voice of direction. Then, Friday night a "waiting mom" spoke about their "waiting" and their desperateness to hear God's direction in their process. The long wait in adoption can be excruciating and lonely. This mom shared on Friday that a friend of hers had come up to her and reminded her of something very powerful. "In the middle of your desperate waiting, somewhere out there is a child who desperately needs you to wait." Wow! To persevere, knowing and having the confidence that God is at work on your behalf even when you cannot see it happening. And to remember that God loves and values the orphan child so much that He is working just as diligently on their behalf to unite them with a forever family!

Have you ever noticed in the Bible that most children of promise did not come in the usual way? Jesus, John the Baptist, Isaac, Samuel, etc. God has promised that if we care for the orphans, it will give glory to God. He is a God who keeps His promises and delights to bless us. I truly believe that an adopting family can claim Romans 4:20-21, just as Abraham and Sarah were waiting on their child of promise with no idea of how the promise would be fulfilled..."yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief, but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what He had promised, He was also able to perform."

Goodbye Autumn!

The weather is gorgeous, and Thanksgiving is just around the corner! I'm getting out the Pumpkin Bread recipes and buying my ornaments for the kids teachers at school. Although Winter is not officially here until December 21st, with all the Christmas lights being put up in our neighborhood, and all the trees losing their beautiful leaves, it feels like it's time to bid goodbye to Autumn...my favorite time of year.

Micah continues to take everything in stride and bewitches everyone he is around with that charming little smile.

I have way too many pictures to post them all here, but here are a couple of my favorite memories from this fall season. First is our trip out of town together. The mountains, the sites, the motel...it's always quite an adventure! Next is our annual hayhide and pumpkin picking mission up on the mountain! Micah seemed a bit nervous on the wagon ride, but was quiet and took it all in. Then, have I mentioned that Micah has a sweet tooth? I love this pic of him eating his powdered donut on the soccer field during sissy's game. And, last but not least, Micah dressed up like a lion on Halloween! His little "roar" was adorable! Autumn is great for making some awesome memories!

Picture Perfect!

Micah is 20 months old today! I can't believe that in a couple of months he will be turning 2! Time has flown by so quickly. I got these school pics of the boys today and cannot believe how much Micah has changed in such a short time. I'm glad to have this sweet picture of the boys loving on each other. I'll try to look at it every time they are fighting! :)

My nephew recently told my sister as they were driving home in the car that the wanted a little brown-faced brother like Nathan has! :) I'm sure at times Nay Nay (as Micah calls him) might be willing to send Micah to live with his cousin for a while, but overall, they love each other dearly. I have so much to be grateful for this holiday season and these 2 little boys are at the top of my list!