Just Sweet

"I love you so much, you are the greatest mom. You are the best and sweetest mom I ever had."

love,
micah

"Today is a giving day, so today I give my love to you. I love you and want to spend all my time with you.

Love,
Eli

The boys have been making cards lately, and a few weeks ago they dictated these to Aaron for me. Our days are definitely not all sweetness and love, but we do have moments that are. And these I want to remember. :)

Hallelujah!

Glory, glory hallelujah we have a court date!!! The boys and I went to the library yesterday morning, and I left my phone in the car. Of course that would be when our caseworker called! I checked it when we got back in the van, and saw the red blinking light and the 817 area code, and listened to the message that we had a court date! For some reason I couldn't call her back with the same number, so we hightailed it home. I hurried the boys inside, put on the Pippi Longstocking book on CD for them and called Gladney. Our caseworker was on the phone when I called back, but we finally connected a few minutes later.
Our court date is February 4, which is a Friday, and we need to be there January 30. Our first scheduled visit with Hope B will be on Monday morning, and we will have 1 or 2 more visits with her throughout the week. I just feel like I sighed a huge sigh of relief with that date. What an amazing blessing to have this piece of the puzzle in place and be able to really move forward.
So, the research about plane tickets and accommodations has officially begun! Aaron has been looking here and there at ticket prices for a couple of months, but he is in full on research mode now, trying to find the best deal/time.
We also received another update and picture, which seriously almost made me fall off my chair it was so cute. They had done her hair in little hair ties! So can not handle it!! And just today I got more pictures and a sweet note from another family who had gone to Ethiopia, and offered to visit Hope. They held her and took the above picture of her little feet, which I had never seen before and think are to die for. :) So much to be thankful for, THANK YOU LORD!!!

*He brought in this entire pile!

This little guy stole my heart yesterday. Well, he has had it for a while, but every so often I am struck by just how sweet he is. Eli and Isaac were still sleeping, and Micah decided we needed to stock up on some firewood. So, he pulled on his shoes and marched out the door and made probably about 10 trips, his arms full of wood. He was so cute, running down the sidewalk to our wood pile, and then staggering back inside with rosy cheeks and a huge smile. I could hardly handle how he looked, and love him so very much! ( I have posts on Eli and Isaac coming up too! :) )

And the waiting continues

We have still not heard about a court date, and this week will mark the 3rd month (average wait for a court date is 2-3 months). I have had some pretty rough days feeling so down about things, and Friday I finally wrote our caseworker and just asked if she was getting concerned that we hadn't heard anything yet. She was awesome and so encouraging and said there is nothing to be worried about, that some people hear before 3 months and some after.

Saturday morning for my quiet time I read Isaiah 25 (not planned, I am doing BSF and that was one of the passages for this week), and the first verse I read was, "O Lord, you are my God, I will exalt you and praise your name for in perfect faithfulness you have done marvelous things, things planned long ago." God knew we would be on this journey before it ever even crossed our mind, He knew B would need a family, and He has been there through every decision and moment that has brought us to this point. I was blown away by how this verse spoke so completely to just how I have been struggling. Perfect faithfulness, marvelous things, things planned long ago...

And then this morning I read Isaiah 26 3-4, "You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast because he trusts in you. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD, is the Rock eternal. I also read Philippians 4:6-7 (both passages again through BSF) "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. "

I realized over the weekend as I thought over these last almost 3 months of waiting, that I have not been praying as fervently or expectantly for a court date as I think I should be. I have prayed, most definitely, but more in a vague-if this is not the day that's okay- sort of way. Sort of like I am trying to protect myself from getting my hopes up and then being super disappointed when it doesn't happen. What I realized is, I can lay out my hopes and trust and expectations fully for God every day, because who better to leave them with?! Certainly not myself. In trying to protect my heart from disappointment, I have missed a closer relationship with my Savior. If things don't go as I hope, than it will be Him who will be my comfort and strength and give me what I need to do it all again the next day. And He knows exactly what that is, as I think He was maybe trying to show me through those verses. I don't have to hold back with God, I don't have to measure my words, or check my emotions, He can handle it.
I'm not sure if that makes sense, but I feel like I have overcome something in my heart. At least for today. :)

Christmas time!

As seems to happen every year, suddenly it's December and Christmas is just a few weeks away. I absolutely love this time of year, really from October until about March when the weather starts to warm up again. I love the cold, I love winter clothes, I love cozy houses and fires in the fireplace, and hot chocolate and snow.
We put up our tree and decorations Tuesday and it was by far the best time doing that since we have had kids. Really not stressful, and only 1 ornament casualty. We listened to Christmas music (Sufjan Stevens Holiday and Sara Groves Holiday on Pandora are awesome) and had popcorn and hot chocolate. Eli and Micah especially were so excited to decorate, and super excited for their "activity." All morning as I was bringing up Christmas bins to decorate that night, they kept talking about this "activity." I could not figure out what activity I had promised to do with them, until finally I realized they meant their nativity. My mom gave them the Little People nativity when they were just babies and it is the most loved Christmas decoration we have. It stays packed away until we decorate for Christmas, and it is just so special to them.
They also love their stockings and this year I hung up Hope's stocking. She obviously won't be with us physically this year, but she is constantly on our minds, and it is such a blessing to know her little face.
On another note, suddenly the boys act like they believe in Santa Claus. We made the decision not to make a big deal out of Santa, neither one of us grew up believing in him, so last year we told them he wasn't real. Either they forgot, or never heard us or something, because they have already drawn him like 20 pictures and have plans for letters and cookies for him. And now I don't have the heart to remind them he isn't real! This is exactly what I was trying to avoid. Whatever, I tried, they just better not blame me when their little hearts are broken after they really hear the truth. :)