Christmas

This Christmas has been truly crazy... always in the chaos there is a pause to reflect on the Lord's blessings of the year and to look at what God is doing in my life going into the new year. This pause has been so different than in years past.

Celia is here. She is the new light in our lives and though sometimes she is hard to truly understand, she brings so much joy and pleasure to each day. Her case plan has not changed and there is still no certainty of how long she will be here. All we can do is love her and pray each day for more days to hold her and hug her. It has been 4 months and 2 weeks now. She told us last night that it seems like so much longer. We have just done so much together and really have gotten to know and love one another. It is amazing how quickly a family can be bound.

And of course, there are Abby and Lexi. Visits with their bio dad have resumed for now, pending the court hearing toward the end of January. These new visits have come with big backlash and the children that I had refused to acknowledge as foster children, I am once again living with the awareness staring me in my face.

Africa. The lessons and awarenesses brought to me through my trip to Africa have forever changed me for the better. The trip brought me so much closer to the Lord and to doing what it is that God would have me do in my life. I have some friends in Africa now, bringing home their children, and I am just biting at the bit to hear all about it.

So to sum up the year as God would have me see it- Back to the Basics. Faith, Family, Friends. These are honestly all I need. I do not wish to attain more than that. I actually wish I could get rid of so much of this "stuff" that society has taught me to value. So many thought I was crazy when I recently shut off my cell phone. It was so liberating. We have given our time away... our time in the car. Our time running errands. Our time on the toilet. Honestly... you all know what I am talking about. Technology robs us of our ability to just be. It robs us of our time to just pray and ponder. Doing is so much better than having. I cleaned out our garage earlier this year and intend to do this throughout the house as time allows. Is it purposeful? Is it prudent? If not- let's find someone who thinks it is and let them have it. I don't need stuff. I need God and people. Not stuff.

ANyway, I know you all have had your awakenings this year as well and hope that when you look back upon this last year that you will see a new found excitement in your life with what you have learned, too.

For this next year, I am prioritizing two trips. I want to go on a trip with my grandma and hopefully my mom. I don't care where. It is something we have been wanting to do and the opportunity hasn't worked out as we had hoped. The other trip is to Africa. I love the kids there. I feel very connected to them. I want to go back and continue to grow in those relationships. Other than a simple love for them, I am not really sure why God has me feeling so pulled back. I do not understand why it can't just be a great memory from a past trip- but it isn't. I am saving up to go back and hope to take Jason and perhaps, Celia, too (she has to be adopted first). I wish to serve at the orphanage and just love on the kids.

As for my family, I am desperately praying for the girls' adoptions to go through. I would be honored to be their mom forever. I also am working to get more ME time at home. Wish me luck on this as I have never been good at carving that out!

Love to you all. God Bless and MERRY CHRISTMAS.