this and that

So it's been a busy week around here and I'm just not staying on top of all the posts I have in my little brain! My to do list grows by the minute and I've not been completely motivated to finish it. I'm usually pretty task oriented. However, not lately it seems. But tonight, the hubster and I did get around to changing the blog header...yay! I loved the New Year one but come on. It's a day away from March for Heaven's sake. And you know me, I embrace change in most things. So I snapped a picture of a fortune cookie and put my man to work on a new header. He sure is handy.

Life is flying by here. We are happy to see spring flirting with us. It's been a really mild winter in our neck of the woods. So I fear the bugs will overtake us in a few months. But these 60 degree days are giving me some serious fever for warmer weather. My flip flops and shorts and comfy tees are beckoning! The pool seems to be calling the kids too and well, they still have three long months to wait for that.

I'm still not completely ready to share some current {and exciting} adoption news. We've got a few things in the works and I want to wait until things are more tidied up before putting it all down here. Rest assured though, things are moving right along on the path to the little China prince.

An update would be really nice though. Would you all pray with us to that end? I know that the fall always happens the day after. The reality hits and it just hurts that your child is so far away. But as I was telling someone today, our last medical report for him was from early last summer. That's a long time, peeps. I'd just love to know he's doing well.

That sounded really dumb.

Of course I want to know he's doing well. But I just need some news. Something. Some answers to our questions. We did request an update a couple of weeks ago. So far, nothing. But I know of another family {different agency} who is able to request an update from our little guy's orphanage most any time and they get it within ten days. Nice.

We are also praying for favor with the two governments involved. It seems the Lord is honoring our prayers and that our will is lining up with His will so far. But we know that in our humanness, it's easy to get ahead of God and want things to be done on our timeline. We've learned an old lesson all over again during the last several months...

God's timing is irrevocable.

His hand is immovable.

His plan is unstoppable.

So we continue to rest in that knowing that in all things, our God is good.

In other news, 6th grade is really hard. :( Kennedy has been struggling with some friendships...as well as some other issues that we need the Lord to work on in her. I'm not sure how our sweet little girls, seemingly overnight, having trouble restraining their tongues! My goodness. I'm preaching to the choir here. But it's as if she's just become really angry over the last few months. I believe, in large part, because of Seth's death. She took it very hard and her grief manifested as anger and sometimes even anger toward God. Couple that with a smart mouth and some relationships going sour...you've got yourself a sad 11 year old. And it breaks my heart. I want so much to make her believe that her worth is not determined by friends. Or even by us as her parents. But that her worth and her value come from Jesus alone. Man, that's a hard truth to live in. Still, I want that so much for her. She has a long way to go in learning some of these lessons. But so do I. And so I'm sympathetic to her struggles and hurt so much for her.

That middle child of ours, that Sydney Baby, is now a actress in the making! Lol. Na, not really. She's just been cast though as "Fern" in her class's play, "Charlotte's Web" that will take place in April. Syd is beside herself with excitement and if I'm totally honest, I'm pretty stoked about it too. Sweet girl. She has so much life. So much confidence. I dare say that the things we are walking through with Kennedy right now will not be a problem for Sydney. She's her own person. Always has been. She's tough as nails and witty as can be. But she's got a softness too. Last week, she wasn't sleepy at bedtime and asked if she could read ahead in "Charlotte's Web".  I agreed because we'd be reading it the next day for homeschool anyway. But twenty minutes later, she came down sobbing.

She misses her Lucy Belle. 

It was the very first time she has cried since the night Lucy died. I kept telling Jase and my mom that she wasn't grieving enough and that it worried me. But something in that book, something she wouldn't share with me, triggered it for her. And really, I was relieved. I don't ever want my children to hurt. But that's not realistic. And so when they do, I want them to hurt in a healthy way. In my view, this was very healthy for Syd. Still, it broke my heart and I held her in our bed for a long time that night.

Joel is his normal, happy self. He's so smart and funny and silly. Everyday I think I can't love him more but he comes into our bedroom at 7am and kisses my lips and softly rubs my face to wake me up and tells me, "I 'hungy', mama. My tummy 'graw wing'". And I melt and think to myself, "how in the world can you have ever not been ours?" I love him more than life. Currently, we are praying about what is best for him next year with kindergarten. Please make that a matter of prayer as well, if it comes to mind. We need clarity and wisdom. I so want him to be with us at our school two days a week {and homeschool three days a week}. But we are also considering whether or not a five day a week setting is best for him. I hate the thought of him being away from us though. Especially with the little prince here this fall {hopefully!}. We are just not sure. And we want to be.

So, that is this. And that is that. Life these days for our little family.
Happy {almost} March everybody~