Praises To My God

I love to worship and sing praises to my God more than anything else.  I could sing praises to my God all day.  My favorite songs are about God's greatness revealed in His creation.  The song Starry Night (see video below) has a line about praising the One who makes the moon reflect the sun.  Have you ever thought about the details involved in this, the moon reflecting the sun.  Or what about the God who tells the oceans where to stop - Creator of the mountains, trees, animals.  God through His creation reveals so much of who he is;  mighty, powerful, creative, awesome and everything in nature we find so beautiful like the flowers in the ground or the butterfly so delcate and beautiful.  God is an amazing creator. 

Psalm 19:1 The heavens declare the glory; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.



PS - If all this is true about God's creation, let us not forget that our son Jed, as we all are with our perceived imperfectons, is part of that glorious creation.

God's Amazing Love

I recently heard this song by JJ Heller and fell in love with it immediately.  The truth of God's love expressed in this song is so  powerful and yet so simple.  The last verse expresses God's presence in our life and His desire to be with us no matter what we have or have not done.  He accepts us as we are.  However, we must first invite Him into our lives and be ready to listen.  Invite Him to change us, to grow us, to help us, to lead us and to love us.  We have to let go of our desire to be in control and let Him lead the way.  It is only when we fully submit our lives to God that He can extend His fullness on our lives. 
I know at times this can be a difficult thing to do but I can assure you that there is no better way.  Listen to the song and be blessed by the truth that God is waiting for you to open up to Him and all He has for you.
 


Enjoy

Online Courses Complete!!!

Although these courses were informative we are happy to announce the completion of them.  Our last course was about attachment issues kids have when they are adopted and it broke my heart.  To think that a child who does get attached to a caregiver will be so sad to find his forever family because they are taken away from the person they love.  We know that having a forever family is best but why do children have to deal with this at all. 

Josh and I have talked about how sin creates scenarios where there is no right answer, no right way to fix what has been done.  Yes we are forgiven by our Savior but our sin still leaves consequences and sadly those consequences affect more than just the sinner. 

I know God has everything worked out and so I pray that no matter what issues we may have to deal with that our son can adjust quickly and we would have the wisdom to help him do so.

P.S. For Last Post

I usually ask Josh to read my posts to make sure that they make sense etc.  After reading the last post Josh called me and said that the last line reminded him of the movie The Incredibles when Syndrome tells the Incredible family about his inventions and how he is going to let everyone have the chance to have one because "with everyone super, no one will be".  I got a good laugh out of this and wanted to share it with you. 

Online Adoption Courses

Josh and I are required to complete a 10 hour adoption training.  We have complete two courses already and I learned something that I think will be very helpful not only for our son but for all of our children.  One of the courses, Conspicuous Family, was really a guide in how to respond to comments that people will make about our son being a different race.  Josh actually thought we would get more comments about him having Down syndrome.  I am not sure what to expect.  So far I have not had any comments made to me about Hannah and so it will be interesting to see what people say, if they say anything at all.  From this course I learned the importance of paying attention to what the child is hearing, not only from the question or comment made by an outside source but also our response to the comment.  I had never really thought about this before.  I am not a quick thinker when I'm in a situation that requires a strong response.  Josh on the other hand is very quick and will make sure the person understands if their comment is out of line or not.  I just hope if we do face a situation where the comment is inappropriate that Josh will be with me. 

I think it's unfortunate that we have to learn these types of things.  I don't understand why people can't just be happy for other people and see the positive in the whole situation. 

I watched Extreme Makeover the other night and the family had a daughter with Down syndrome.  I love the show because there was no focus on this child other than one of the parents stating the obvious about their child.  She has Down syndrome.  There were no tears about it, no pity party, no focus on her at all and I loved it.  That is exactly how it should be.  This little girl was part of the bigger picture, the family that was struggling and was being blessed with a new home.  The show was about the family!  I want that for Hannah.  I want people with Down syndrome to be so much a part of our society that people don't even notice.  I walk through the store all the time and can't remember anyone I saw.  This is true inclusion, when no one stands out because they are different because being different is normal.

Blessings,

Blogging

Blogging has become very challenging for me.  I have so many thoughts, so many things I want to share but I just can't find a way to get them onto the computer.  It almost seems like it's not worth it, sitting at the computer trying to make sure I communicate everything I want to and at the same time trying to make sure it all sound good.  I talked to Gentry, a new friend who is adopting a little girl from Russia, and she understood me completely.  However, when I read her blog there always seems to be an update and something great to read about.  There is also a beautiful picture of their daughter.  Someone to have the passion to write about.  Someone to desire to hold and bring into your family.  Someone you know has stolen your heart!

And that's it.  I realized that even though I desire this child I don't have a face to go with him.  I don't have an age.  I don't know if he is skinny or chubby.  I don't even know if he is born yet.  Right now all I have is paperwork, training and a home study to wait for.  I want to look into our sons eyes, see videos of him (we will be sent videos of our son once we are matched with him), I want to have my heart stolen again!  I want to sit down at the computer and have 10 post waiting to be added because I have a little boy to share and talk about.

I am doing my best to be patient with the adoption process because I know the good reasons behind each form I fill out but it will sure feel good when the process stops feeling like its about paper and becomes about the sweet face I see daily.

Thanks for listening.

Happy New Year

It has been a busy New Year already.  We applied for another grant, we had our physicals and we got our 10 year driving record form the DMV.  YAY! It seems we are getting a little closer to having our home study done.  Even as we get things accomplished it feels like we are on this never ending plateau.  In the beginning everything was moving so fast that it felt like we would have Jedidiah home sooner rather than later.  Now it seems like it will be years until we get to bring him home.  I know that God's in complete control but it is hard to sit around feeling like nothings happening.  I am getting really excited about traveling to Hong Kong though.  I have checked out a few sites and it looks like a very busy city with lots to see.  I also checked out the area that the orphanage is in and it seems like a really nice neighborhood.  It's going to be so fun to see a new place.  So, it seems we have lots to do and look forward to in this New Year!

Bless You,