Monday, January 28, 2008

Heard the Heartbeat

I had a doctor's appointment this morning and we heard the baby's heartbeat for the first time. It was very exciting. Papa Bear was jumping up and down, fighting back tears. The doctor prepared us ahead of time that she might have a hard time finding it since I'm only 12 weeks, but she found it right away. She said it sounded just as it should.I talked to the doctor about how crappy I've been feeling lately. I'm not throwing up, but I'm nauseous and burpy nearly all the time for the last few weeks. Once she learned that I'm still taking my prenatal vitamins she said to me, "You eat whatever you want. Whatever you like." To this I responded, "I like you!" I'm praying I feel better soon. Sometimes I get so overwhelmed with how sick I feel. Last night was one of those times and I just cried.So, things are good with the baby. I go back to the doctor on February 29th. And the appointment after that is when we find out the sex of the baby, I think. And yes, we are definitely finding out!

Saturday, January 26, 2008

January Pictures

Samuel

Noah

Here are our pictures of the boys for January. Samuel looks like he is really blossoming as he seems more and more willing to share his smile with the camera. Noah looks like he has his arms opened up, ready to share a hug.
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Today is one of those days that I just CANNOT believe they are still in an orphanage in Haiti. January 19th marked 2 years since we committed to them.
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We are still not yet in MOI. Unbelievable.
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Some days are harder than others.

Friday, January 18, 2008

Prayers for a Friend, Please

If you're a praying person, I'd like to ask you to pray for my friend, Laura.

Laura had a double mastectomy last Friday. I visited with her today and she is still in A LOT of pain. Please pray that God relieves some of that pain for her. She's just so surprised by how much it hurts and pain medicine isn't really touching it.

Also, please pray that there is no cancer in the lymph nodes that were removed. She had some pretty aggresive cancer in her breasts and it would be fantastic to learn that it hadn't yet spread to her lymph nodes.

Laura loves the Lord and is trusting Him in all of this. She's an incredible person and a dear friend.

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Longing

This morning I'm overcome with thoughts that I want to share. Hopefully they will make sense.

The life I have is not one that I imagined I'd have. Growing up we rarely went anywhere and most of our family was relatively close by. I never even went on an airplane until I was a senior in high school and I bought the ticket myself. I always had a yearning to go places and do things, but the resources were just not there. So I stayed close to home for the most part.

When I got to college, I slowly began to travel. At that time in my life, I was really just wanting to go anywhere to get away from me. Does that make sense? I was running, but ultimately I was running from myself.

It was on one of those college getaways that I met Chuck. My relationship with Chuck required travel since he lived 4 hours away. Marrying him meant moving away, which I gladly did. I was still running from myself, but didn't know it.

When I met Jesus in 2001, everything changed. For a few years already I had been working on the things about me that had me running from me. I thought a relationship with Jesus was bound to be dull and boring and I couldn't have been more wrong.

No longer running, I found that God was calling me on a wild adventure. I have traveled more as a Christian than I ever did before. We also travel a lot to see family, and we like to do that.

So now I'll finally get to why I'm sharing all of this. Along the way in our travels, Chuck and I have met some awesome, awesome people. It always saddens me greatly to realize that I'm probably not going to see most of these people very much in this world. There is something about mission trips that fosters strong relationships between mere strangers. Some of the people I have come to love the most are people that I've only spent a handful of days with in a third world country.

This morning I was reading in 1 Thessalonians about how Paul longed to see the people in Thessalonica. I have friends all over the country whom I seriously long to see. I have joked with some of them by saying, "We are for sure hanging out in Heaven." It's kind of funny to think about, but I'm serious. I won't even pretend to think I have any idea of what Heaven is going to be like. Yes, the Bible talks about it, but I just don't think our little minds are capable of wrapping around what Heaven will be like. Perhaps you disagree, and that's okay. It's just my opinion.

This morning I find myself longing to see some of these friends, some of whom I've completely lost touch with. And I draw comfort from knowing that one day we will be in Heaven together. Unfortunetly, there are some special people in my life that I'm not certain I will see in Heaven. I'm just gonna lay it out there - not all people go to Heaven, not even all good people. The Bible is absolutely clear that you get to God and Heaven through Jesus and only through Jesus. If you disagree with that, I beg you to check it out for yourself. Don't just trust your own ideas or things you've heard somewhere. Look for the truth. It's out there.

Well, I didn't mean to go all evangelical, but I guess that's what's in my heart this morning. If you're reading this, I definitely want to see you in Heaven. In fact, I long to see you there.

Monday, January 07, 2008

I Have Joy in My Heart!!

Why, you ask? It is simple. American Gladiators is back on TV. I loved American Gladiators back in the day and I was ecstatic to learn that it was coming back. I watched the season premier last night and I'm about to rev up the Tivo to watch tonights show.

Oh, yes, Jesus loves me!

Saturday, January 05, 2008

Yup, Grandma's Here!


My mom couldn't resist getting these rocking horses for the boys tonight. They were super on sale. She has officially been put on toy purchasing restriction, but we allowed these purchases to be the last for a while. We can't wait until the day we can post pictures of the boys playing on them!

Friday, January 04, 2008

Mom and Herb are Here

That's right. My mom and stepdad are here visiting until Sunday. So far we've eaten out, shopped, slept in, and hung out. On today's schedule we have hanging out, more shopping, and eating out planned. Fun!

I'm sad for them because it's FREEZING here. It's only 45 out right now, and tonight it is supposed to go down to 24. Now I know you northern people think I'm a whiner, but I've lived in the tundra before and I know what that is like. I don't live there now. My blood has thinned out and cold weather seriously hurts. It is painful. Poor mom and Herb thought they were going to be visiting the south and it is FREEZING. They aren't whining like I am, though.

The good news is that tomorrow is supposed to be 56 and Sunday is supposed to be 60. Maybe I will thaw out. Maybe.

Thursday, January 03, 2008

Lemon is Amazing!

It's just amazing to me what a few wedges of lemon can do to a boring glass of water! I'm pretty much just drinking water through this pregnancy. I refuse to drink anything artificially sweetened and I don't want to drink a bunch of sugar either, which leaves me with water. Well, by two weeks into the pregnancy I was already tired of water. This is not good since I have 31 weeks to go. But then, I had an idea. I will go buy some lemons. And I did and they are good.I swear, if anyone tells me something bad about lemons I'll flip. So don't do it. I NEED them.

Wednesday, January 02, 2008

How You Can Pray

So many people have prayed for our boys to come home. I know that prayer is what is keeping their paperwork moving. An acquaintance told me Saturday morning that she had given up hope that our boys would come home. Thanks. I guess she's not praying.

For those of you who do pray, I have a specific request. The next timeline of four months or more can't get started until our paperwork is submitted to MOI (the minister of the interior). Our update last night said that legalization of the abstracts of the boys' birth certificates needs to obtained before their files can be submitted to MOI and the files need to be reviewed. Please join us in praying that these things happen quickly so that the files can be submitted to MOI. Our God is a God who answers prayer. I believe strongly in praying specifically. Please help us flood the gates of Heaven with prayers for our boys to come home.

Noah and Samuel are nearly 26 months old now. They have lived at the orphanage for nearly 2 years. Yes, selfishly I want them home and I've wanted them home since I saw their first pictures. However, for their sake I want them home. Two and under are the prime years for bonding and attachment. That's not to say that they can't or won't bond and attach to me and Chuck, but it may be more difficult for them. I want them to have every opportunity to do well in life, and there's not a thing I can do about them still being in an orphanage.

Last night I dreamt that I went to Haiti, which is kind of funny since I'm not invited. I was outside the orphanage with some of the American staff and I was holding Samuel. I was telling the staff that I was concerned about him because he was not gaining weight and was feverish. That is exactly how I found him when I visited briefly in September. He was noticebly lighter than Noah and he was burning up. In my dream I was asking them about getting him home on a medical visa or if MOI could process his file more quickly since he was sick. In my dream they were uninterested in pursuing that.

My dream left me realizing that I just wish that those who have the power to move the adoption process more quickly would feel the urgency that I feel to get kids home. I wish differences in culture and ideas didn't play into things. I wish they understood the love I have in my heart for these precious boys. I wish they understood that EVERYTHING Chuck and I do is weighed against how it would affect the boys and the timing of their arrival home. I wish they knew Jesus because that would change everything. Not know of Him, but truly know Him. Because Jesus changes everything. And He is why I have hope that our boys will be okay no matter how old they are when they get home.

The dream about Samuel happened in the moments before waking up this morning. I found myself willing myself to go back to sleep so I could hold him longer, yet so disturbed by the dream that I wanted to wake up. It was upsetting to dream that he was sick, but I don't dream about the boys very often, so I wanted to soak up holding him in my arms.

Lord, please work to get the abstracts of the boys' birth certificates legalized and the files reviewed and submitted to MOI quickly. Lord, I pray that MOI would notice how long we've been waiting and process our files more quickly. I pray in Jesus' name, the Jesus who changes everything. Amen.