Sunday, March 23, 2008

Tales of Easter Muffins

Happy (actual) Easter! We just got home from our wonderful holiday in Lawton with Laura, John and the little muffins. My great sister had a super lunch fixed and had a fairy princess birthday cake for Moi! Admit it–we all have an inner princess. I just like to let mine out more often than most. The kids played in the moon bounce and enjoyed the bubble machine and you couldn’t take two steps in the yard without stepping on several Easter eggs. It was a glorious time all the way around. I got so many special hugs and kisses from Aidan, Zach and Brody…I’m still smiling!

On Saturday Abby, Bobby and I made Easter eggs. We had zippo cracks. I think that’s a record for yours truly. Things got interesting when the eggs were finished. Bobby looks at me and says, “How about we tie dye some stuff?” Sometimes I am fun so I reply, “Okay, like what?” Well, two undershirts, two pairs of underpants, a tee shirt and pair of socks later my son is eyeballing the white shirt currently on my body and says “I see you’re wearing a white shirt.” Unfazed by my refusal to surrender the shirt off my back my son issues this statement: “I know you have white underwear.” Yup, and they still are, thank goodness we ran out of dye.

I think I’m ready to return to work tomorrow. Vacationing is good until you have to clean it up. I got my sewing done (all of which was for the nursery) and did a lot of laundry but working keeps me out of the pool hall and more importantly from obsessing about “wait times” and other things over which I have no control, besides, I’ve missed my co-workers. I’m counting down the days until the 15th of April, when the Places Everyone e-mail comes out telling us the status of our dossier, and the 17th of April which will mark off month number 4 in our wait to bring Maisy home. We are so blessed.

The first day of Spring has come and gone. The days are getting longer and I am reminded of something Meredith said on one of my dark days, “The winter doesn’t last forever. There is always Spring.”

May You be granted that Peace that Passes Understanding. Love to All, Amy

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Happy Easter!!

I have a sneaking suspicion that about two people read this blog, otherwise it’s just me rambling on for my own edification… . Anyway, happy Easter!

I love Easter, mostly because it is a celebration of the Resurrection and the Salvation offered by my Lord and Savior to me and the rest of mankind every single day. Can you imagine Mary Magdalene in the garden weeping; being confronted by the man whom she believed to be the caretaker only to find out who it was when He called her name…Awesome. I am so blessed, a realization I come to over and over again; thankful that His power and blessing are not reliant upon anything over which I can claim control. There is so much power in surrender and my prayer is that God will increase and build my faith and willingness to surrender to Him.

We are not ”Lost in Translation,” (which is a very boring movie) in fact, we are out of Translation and in Pending Review. China is really stepping up its game and many steps are being taken to bring families together as quickly as possible. Our little Maisy will be with us in God’s time and, thankfully, He is not affected by things like Time, Governmental hoo haw or the Olympics!!

I’m on vacation until the 24th and have yet to really “vacation” but the house is clean! I hope to get some sewing done and I’m really looking forward to planting all kinds of flowers and shrubs in my yard. I bought tons of stuff at www.farmerseed.com you should check it out!

Ben and I will be getting our first 2 of 10 required Hague training hours on the 5th of April. Our regional director, Paige, will be presenting the information in Yukon. If you are interested in Chinese adoption check it out at www.gwca.org.

As of Easter Sunday we will have been in the entire adoption process for one year–it’s actually gone pretty quickly–minus the bawling, squalling, snot-sucking bad days! We have been logged in for a little over three months–3 months and 6 days to be exact (as of Easter Sunday). I really want to get Maisy an Easter bunny. I may not be able to keep myself from doing it. Sometimes I am weak. I offer the baby’s closet as exhibits A-Z (it’s pretty bad.)

I have no other news. Congrats to Meredith on her pending aunthood!

Love to All, Amy

Saturday, March 8, 2008

Learning to wait…

Our regional representative with Great Wall, Paige, told me that most people who want to adopt have thought about it for so long that once they make the committment they’re ready for it to have happened yesterday. We are no different. Waiting is so hard for us–I can just imagine holding Maisy for the first time and it feels as though my heart is going to tear in half. In the midst of all of the anxiety and sometimes, I admit, anger I am determined to learn something. The Lord knows how hard waiting is for me and all the other adoptive parents out there and He has never had His people wait without a purpose. I certainly don’t believe this waiting is punishment, but I do believe it has a purpose. Perhaps it is so I can see the Grace and Mercy in every action that comes out of the will of God. I catch myself frequently acting like Jacob in the Bible–trying to bring about and devise his own blessing only to learn the hard way that blessings come only from the hand of God. So I wait. It is so hard–but I will say it–I am thankful for the wait because I know that it is God’s will and All things really do work for good for those who love the Lord and are the called according to his purpose. Over a year and a half ago I prayed that the Lord would either remove the desire for another child from my heart or open the door for us to adopt. He heard my prayer and Maisy will come in His time and will be the perfect little girl for our family. On one of my very dark days when the waiting was bearing down on me so that it was almost a physical presence I asked my friend Carol to pray for me. Carol is a prayer WARRIOR. She e-mailed me and said, in response to remarks I made about my inability to see the end and how very dark it felt, “Rest in the darkness for He has hidden you in the cleft of the rock and covered you with His hand.” I don’t need to see the end. He sees it and is protecting Maisy with the same hand. What an awesome God I serve.

This month marks one year that we have been in the adoption process. We made our first agency payment on my birthday. So, happy birthday to me!! We have been in the referral stage of our adoption for three months–Yup, I’m waiting but I’m still counting down, Kids! In just a few days I will be the mother of a teenager! I cannot believe it either. Bobby is such a sweetheart and we are very proud of him. There are lots of exciting things happening in my family but I’ll let the responsible parties tell when they are ready. I really, really want to tell though!

Speaking of waiting…sometimes, as parents, we feel like we are the only ones waiting but the kids are waiting too. If you have ever considered adoption and don’t necessarily want a baby consider the following:

Out of the 513,000 children in foster care in the US 114,000 of them are waiting to be adopted.

The average child waits for an adoptive family for more than 3 years. 21% spend 5 years or more waiting for a family (24,395 children).

The average age of children waiting for an adoptive family is 8.5. Approximately 51,000 children are adopted from foster care (18% of the foster care population).

24,407 children reach the age of 18 without ever having a family.

You can access the children available for adoption in Oklahoma at www.okdhs.org or for children available for adoption nationwide www.adoptuskids.com.

May you be richly blessed, Amy

statistics taken from the US Dept. of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families Administration on Children for FY 2005