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

"One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked Him" (Luke 17:15,16).

When we're going through difficult times in our lives, it is so difficult to remember to say thanks or to feel thankful.  Yet, it is during those low moments in our lives that God is holding our hands and carrying us through our struggles.  He provides our every need through the good times and the bad times.  I need to be reminded to always give thanks for the many, many things that God has done for me and continues to do for me.  His love never fails and He promises to go with us wherever we may go.  Every day, He showers us with gifts and His never ending love.

Progress.
I love that word because it has such optimistic connotations.  I was reminded by a very sweet, compassionate adoption therapist, to focus more on progress.  We have seen so much progress in many things in our lives and in our children's lives.  I need to remember to say thank-you to God for the progress (in all areas of our lives) that is being made as we run this race and learn to live more Christ-like.

Continuing to give thanks...
-celebrating early Father's Day with my in-laws
-news from Ethiopia that our adoption is continuing to move forward, slowly, but it's moving!  Progress!!
-the love, support, and encouragement from my fellow adoptive mommies
-progress with some challenging behaviour
-progress as I gain renewed hope and encouragement
-progress with our children as they complete another year of school and grow academically, as well as spiritually

-learning the beatitudes throughout the school year at the monthly assemblies

-concluding the assemblies with a tribute to the graduating class
-the challenge from the principal to the graduates to be peace makers and to continue to be positive Christ-like examples to others

-his humours grade 8 slide show/description of the students and grade 8 skit
-how he is a godly example to his students

-having fun presenting their skit in front of the school

-the hard work and enjoyment Nicole had making the graduation slide show

-having a picnic outside, and enjoying a fun day in JK (although every day is a fun day with her awesome teacher)!!