One Thousand Gifts (continued)

"Do not let your hearts be troubled.  

Trust in God" (John 14:1).  

I'm a bit of a planner.  

When we go on trips, I like to google everything possible and print off various maps, places of interest, restaurants, etc. 

So, this whole adoption thing is tricky for me.

The unknowns are very difficult.

Today was a bit of a big deal.  

Today was Seber's third Ethiopian court date.  If the results are favourable, we could get issued our adoptive family travel court date before the courts close mid-August.  This is our hope and prayer.  

Today we received update pictures of him.  He's simply adorable!  We long to meet him, to hold him, to love him, and to give him a forever family.  

I'm trying to trust in God and His perfect timing.  His thoughts are not our thoughts and His ways are not our ways, but I know that He knows what is best for us.  

I’m going to put it into God’s hands, start living on God’s plans

Going to do the best I can, that’s all I can do

I’m going to put away my doubts, somehow it’ll all work out

And I can rest easy now that I’ve put it into God’s hands 

("Put it into God's Hands" by Johnny Cash)

Continuing to give thanks... -His promises and His faithfulness -that He knows what's best for us -His perfect timing -a great get together with fellow adoptive mommies and children -the love and support from friends

-our precious daughter's grade 8 graduation

-the small, but tight graduating class

-her great valedictorian speech

-how she loved receiving a hug from her Uncle Harvey (board chairman)

-how beautiful she is inside and out!

-her supportive grandparents

-how proud he was of his baby girl

-how our hearts were swelling with pride and joy

-receiving the honours roll

-the honour of representing her class as the class valedictorian

-best buddies

-starting off the summer with a very fun family vacation

-early morning swim in the ocean (after Paul's early morning run)

-how she ran out to meet him for a swim early in the morning

-how delighted he was to play baseball on the beach with his dad

-enjoying the waves 

-best day ever (so much fun in the ocean)!

-enjoying the sand

-our precious children and how they got along (most of the time) on our holiday!

-celebrating 21 years of marriage and God's blessings

-having fun jumping the waves

-our family photo and the best that it gets

-how his silliness never ceases to amaze me

-seeing wild horses on the island

-up close and personal with a variety of God's creatures

-their non-stop energy

-enjoying their leisurely stroll together and spotting things in the water

-how she wanted her picture with the ice cream man

-his creative hobbies -the origami shark that he had to make to remind us of our exciting trip

-how she gets swallowed up in a good book

-early morning start to enjoying the waves

-another early morning swim

-planning our trip around one of our favourite restaurants

-our view from the balcony

-how she never tired of looking at the ocean

-a fun day out with amazing reclining seats at the theatre

-excitement on the beach as there was a shark swimming around

-that everyone was kept safe from the shark

-her highlight: being buried and burying others in the sand

-how we loved eating all of our meals on our balcony overlooking the ocean

-celebrating our anniversary and our awesome family

-enjoying various mini-golf courses and having fun at all of them

-how others are witnessing through sand sculptures!

-our shark memory of Maryland!

-getting knocked over by waves while posing for a family picture

-so many fun memories!

-our amazing balcony and view of the beautiful, majestic ocean

-entertaining themselves after breakfast

-his goofiness

-a good sport, by joining Deborah and Curtis on the high ropes, even though he thoroughly does not enjoy it! 

-safe travels and an awesome driver!

-remembering/celebrating Canada Day

-the fun that they had at the ball game

-our beautiful country and the freedom that we have

-relaxing in his new chair for Father's day

-enjoying a day out with the ladies

-Mom's first selfie and how she thought that was quite funny!

-how we all had a very fun, relaxing day, making great memories