life lately

Happy Easter. Happy Spring. It's almost May!

We had a great Easter weekend! Having both sides of the family in town makes for joyous holidays. I've been especially emotional with Easter this year and thinking about all that Jesus went through for me. I feel such a deep sense of thankfulness and love for all that He endured and SUFFERED for me. Me. Wow.

Little family photo at my sis's place. We were outside between the rain showers to do the Easter egg thing. A big thank you to my sister and bro-in-law for getting a new Golden Retriever puppy for their kids. Now, I can send my kiddos over to auntie's house and get their "dog" fix. Awesome.

Spring soccer is in full swing. This time around Josh is coaching Melia's team. To say that Melia loves soccer would be an understatement. She plays outside every chance she gets. On game day, she insists on keeping her uniform on once we are home and begs us to play with her for the rest of the day in the back yard. It's been fun to see her improvements from the fall when she first set foot on the field.

Running update!

Yep, still huffing and puffing away. Does it ever get any easier? I don't think so. Melissa is a good buddy that is running with me. She is a constant source of encouragement, fun, and most importantly accountability. I can't tell you how many times I have run in the cold, dark, rainy, windy weather with this chick. The plan is for Melissa and another good friend, Shannon, to run the half marathon with Josh and I for orphans in Rwanda. And of course for our little guy. We now have a TEAM that will be pounding the pavement to raise money and awareness. How cool is that!

How is the change collecting going? I am so proud of you. There are approximately 7,000 street kids who walk the streets in Kigali, Rwanda and have no place to go and no food! Try going one day, or even skipping one meal, with nothing to eat and see how you feel. It's horrible! 10% of whatever we raise goes directly to a program that feeds these kids. Thank you for all the coins you are collecting! I have a deep gratitude for each and every one of you. I pray that your family will be blessed by helping us with this campaign. You're helping me get my boy home. I can't thank you enough.

Just completed a 10 mile run. We just had to take a picture.

Action shot. There's no gym membership here baby. I think we were a bit loopy. :)

Well done. That was hard but we did it!

I would love to report something new and exciting about our little guy. There is no new word. Still waiting for our non-objection letter. We are at the 11 month mark! I can't believe it. The documents that they asked for after initially looking at our dossier have been in their hands for about two months now. Or maybe longer. I quit keeping track. Oh please let it be soon.....

blessings!

mammo-what!

The last couple of weeks have been a bit of a roller coaster. There have been highs and lows and yet, we remain. We've had two birthdays in our family. We've welcomed home our sweet friends with their daughter from Ethiopia (yes!). Journeyed alongside friends going through a hard time. We still wait to hear any word from Rwanda.....

I'm getting really good at answering questions with, "I don't know". I love being asked what's going on and if there is any new news. I feel so loved and honored that people would care enough and take the time to ask not knowing what they may be stepping into. My answer has been a solid, "I don't know" for many months. Kind of a weird place to be. Unnerving one moment and surprising peaceful the next, keenly aware that I've never had any control in the first place so let go and let God work it all out for His glory.

We keep facing waves. Upon my yearly (okay maybe it had been a year and a half) doctor's visit my doctor felt a "mass" in my left breast. I had been having pain and was concerned so you can only imagine when the doctor agrees that something is indeed there and needing further attention. She ordered an ultrasound and since I am over 30 it is required to have a mammogram as well. Talk about feeling old! I'm 32. Just barely over 30, right? My doctor said that pain was actually good, usually breast cancer doesn't hurt. However, my mother-in-law is a breast cancer survivor and she originally found it from experiencing pain.

Talk about scary walking into that appt. not knowing what you're going to find out. Ya know what I kept thinking..... God won't let me have breast cancer because I have to get my Jo-jo. Jo-jo is my son and I am meant to be his momma, along with my little beauties. One mammogram and ultra sound later, I am given the news that it is....JUST A CYST! Praise God. All looks good, no need to worry. Cue the mighty exhale.

Cheers to lumpy boobs and medical technology (got to lighten the mood). Puts waiting for my little guy into perspective. I don't know when I'm gonna get him but rest assured... I'M GOING TO GET HIM.

blessings!

cling

Just got back from a couple of days spent with Josh's side of the family at the Oregon Coast. What a great time we had. (pics to come soon when I download off the camera). It is always good to be with family. And, I am in love with the Oregon Coast. Sure, it's grey and wet and freezing cold. But, there is nothing like it. I love to stare at the sea... watching the waves crash, and the sea move with the rising and lowering currents. It is awe-inspiring! The sea is a wonderful, amazing reminder to me of the power of my Almighty God.

It's been almost two weeks since all our necessary documents have arrived in Rwanda and we have heard nothing. I am screaming on the inside. All I can do is pray. A good friend reminded me today about how cool that it is that we CAN TALK directly to Jesus. So, when I say all I can do is pray really I should be so thankful and filled with awe that I AM ABLE to talk to my Creator and submit my frustration, hopes, fears, joy, etc... to Him.

Will you pray with me and for my son? Pray that we hear soon from the government. Pray that I will calm down. Pray that I will find joy and peace in this lonely, quiet time. Pray that I will cling even more to the perfect timing of my Jesus.

Blessings!

8

I jogged 8 miles today. I like to use the term "jog" instead of "run" due to my speed. :) I won't be winning any races any time soon...but I will finish the 1/2 marathon race in May. Some of you reading this are thinking, what's the big deal running 8 miles? That's not very far. I can run that before breakfast. I am not one of those kind of people. I'm more from the thinking of , why would anyone want to go outside and just run? Run for no reason other than to challenge themselves and sweat like a dog? :) Now if you were to ask me to go outside and play soccer or volleyball, then I am your girl. But run..... no thanks.

Yet running is a discipline that I have come to enjoy. (Especially after my run is over). :) The focus, the determination, setting a goal, the cathartic breathing. I especially love running for my son and the orphans of Rwanda.

WE are doing something that is so important. In the journey of adoption I often feel powerless and NOT in control. We are all working together to do something that is SO POWERFUL. Yet, it is so simple. Help feed kids. I can't thank you enough for coming alongside us with this goal.

Since you're helping the kids of Rwanda, I thought it will be fun from time-to-time to share information about this wonderful country.

Have you found Rwanda on the map yet? Doesn't it seem small?! Rwanda's 10.2 million people live in an area smaller than Maryland. There is an estimated 1 million orphans in Rwanda. The high population density is due partly to a tradition of large families, and partly to Rwanda's highland location as a place of refuge for people fleeing the colonial-era slave trade.

French, Kinyarwanda, and English are Rwanda's official languages. English was added in 1995 to accomodate refugees from English-speaking nations. All Rwandans speak Kinyarwanda. It is a tonal language that has the same alphabet as English except for the letters q and x.

Hope you're having a great weekend!

Blessings.

almost

I didn't quite make the eight mile mark today. I jogged six. I think I could have done a couple more but I ran into a time crunch. I wasn't too sad that I had to stop either. :) Melissa (my jogging buddy) and myself are back on our schedule and will attempt (oh, I mean definitely get it done) eight miles this Saturday.

Maybe I should take up Melia's latest fixation: JUMP ROPING! What a great energy burner that you can do indoors or outdoors. This girl NEEDS a way to burn her energy when it's raining buckets outside here in the great Northwest.

Seriously, have you tried to jump rope lately?...... it's hard!

We heard that our documents DID make it to Rwanda yesterday and were hand carried by our in-country case coordinator to the PEEPS that need them.

As we go to bed, people in Rwanda are starting their work day and I am finding it hard not to lie awake each night and pray that they are processing our documents. If I wake up in the night for whatever reason, I find myself thinking about the people that hold my documents and asking for today to be "the day" something happens.

blessings!

runners are no joke

Are you a runner? I have a ton of respect for you. Running is no joke!

I've been training for my half-marathon for a little while now. IT.IS.HARD. (think a lot of huffing and puffing & sweating) :) Maybe the middle of winter is not the best time to start training for a big race. The great Northwest produces a ton of rain. I really don't mind running in the rain. Since, I do not have a gym membership, I've been doing a lot of that lately. It's the wind that gets to me! Wind and rain combo are killers.

I was suppose to run an 8 miler this weekend that I have yet to run. We've had storm upon storm... I keep looking outside and see the rain going sideways and think, I can wait for a break. And then the break doesn't come. Tomorrow I am biting the bullet no matter what.

wish me luck-

blessings!

spin cycle

Yesterday our caseworker called to say that the additional documents that we completed had been authenticated in Washington DC and are on their way to Rwanda. Yes. They are suppose to arrive within two weeks but our dossier, sent way back in May, arrived in one. I hope for a speedy plane. :)

Then she lowered the boom that I had heard rumors of amongst other (Rwandan mamas) blogs the day before. Rwanda has made a new rule: all adoptive parents must NOW be PRESENT in court to sign the formal act of adoption document. This document previously was allowed to be signed by our power of attorney. Therefore, parents became legal guardians of their children while still in the states and then traveled once they had an embassy appt. This new rule likely means that we will have to travel twice. The gov't is still working out the details.... so the questions that swarm in my head, (do both parents have to be present?, why this rule now?, how does that work with an embassy appt. in another country?, etc....) will hopefully be answered in the next couple of weeks.

I know God's in this but I'm kinda spinning.

blessings!

"Shout for joy, O heavens; rejoice, O earth; burst into song, O mountains! For the Lord comforts his people and will have compassion on his afflicted ones.... See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me."

Isaiah 49:13 & 16