Decorating with Love

I know that I have referred to my excitement at the prospect of shopping "pink" AND of how I have had some very fun days doing just that, so I thought it would be kinda fun to share some of the neat things I've found while we have been waiting to bring Selah home! The room is getting close to being ready...I've been taking my time trying to throw all my love into getting just the right stuff. It's sort of like my way of loving on her when I can't yet have her in my arms. WHICH, with each day comes one day closer to a reality. We still don't know very much. We are waiting for a court date. Please pray with us that the court date happens prior to Christmas! If it doesn't, because of the December holidays, it will mean a January court date and then another 5-6 weeks until we can pick her up after that (if it is approved at the hearing). I think I may have mentioned it, but my prayers are getting BOLD! Join me? Please?



I sang this song in Selah's little ears over and over while we visited her. I pray everyday that she comes to know and understand the meaning of this message in her heart, her soul, and her mind...and that she already feels His love each and every day.

This little girl is not only chosen, cherished, and beloved by us, but first and foremost by our Heavenly Father!

One of the hutches of the bedroom set we purchased for her decorated with a few things chosen with the utmost love! The Disney Princesses were actually dolls I had purchased several years ago for my someday daughter! It's a miracle in itself that I now know that I will have a daughter...that I DO have a daughter!

Books...at the heart of every teacher (or former teacher in my case!). Also, this prayer book by Stormie Omartian is absolutely beautiful!

Could this outfit get any cuter?

A close-up of the SHOES!!! I can just envision her cute little feet in these!

A true statement. She already has him wrapped around her liitle finger!

I pray that someday our little Selah will come to understand the depths of our love. I pray that she will know how every step of this journey was taken with hearts absolutely full of love...from her mommy, daddy, and brothers Zachary and Landon.

May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

Ephesians 3:19

Thank You

Happy Thanksgiving! As this day of Thanksgiving has come and almost gone once again, I am reminded of all the blessings for which we have to give thanks. I want to be sure, though, that being thankful isn't saved for this one special day.

I feel that our family does a pretty good job of being thankful all the time and that we really work at instilling that sense of thankfullness in our children... but there is ALWAYS room for improvement! This year has been a test of that! There have been times I have been so thankful to our awesome God for something that has happened correctly or beautifully in the course of adopting Selah. BUT there have been the days I want to curl up under my covers- actually pull them right over my head- and cry my eyes out, or simply eat every piece of chocolate or ice cream followed by some kind of crunchy salty sort of thing that can be found in this house. SOMETIMES it HAS to be the Italian Nachos from Old Chicago! They have more calories and fat than I need for an entire month, but they sure do seem to ease the pain of self-pity. So, I think the picture is pretty clear....instead of looking to the One Who has it all under control, Who made it all possible in the first place and thanking Him for all the good in our lives, I often find myself under those covers, eating the chocolate, or having Italian Nachos at Old Chicago! Definitely something I need to work on!
This song by one of my favorite Christian artists, 33 Miles, kinda says it all! Enjoy! May we all find the way to our Savior when things are not going so well...instead of the way to the chocolate!

 

 
Lord, I thank You for loving me even when I am so unthankful. I thank You for being so patient with me when I drown my sorrows in tears and/or food! Lord , I thank You for all Your beautiful blessings and I know that You alone have made all of it possible! Thank You for holding our Selah tight while we wait to be together. Thank You for planning this all in Your perfect timing and for having a plan for us and a journey and a path set before us.

It's a New Day!

Light is sweet; how pleasant to see a new day dawning.

Ecclesiastes 11:7

Last week was the pits...nothing seemed to go right. Our NBC paperwork STILL had not approved, I woke up (on my birthday of all days) with a double ear infection, my son decided that on the day of my birthday and double ear infection he would have one of the WORST behavior days EVER, and then he ended up home sick the day after that!!! By now I should know that whenever my boys act particularly naughty, they are usually coming down with something!!! The week ended on Friday with one more request from our NBC officer for just one more document. Really? All I could do was cry.

This week, however, began "a new day dawning"! Bryan started our Monday morning with an attempt at 6:00 a.m. (4:00 p.m. in Bulgaria) to call Selah. We had been consistently trying to Skype, but we could never make a connection with the orphanage, so now we just try to call using Skype Calling (which is waaaaaay cheaper than regular phone) to their land line. My sweet husband now makes these call attempts on his own in order to protect my heart. After a few attempts that ended either with no answer, or a disconnected line, or being told in Bulgarian "Ne, Selah" (no Selah was all I could understand since my Bulgarian is almost non-existent), my heart would become so fragile and what felt like one more rejection. Now chooses to protect my heart (he handles the let-downs soooooo much better than I do) and makes the communication attempts. If he is successful, he then yells frantically for me to wake up and come downstairs to the computer!!! (I know...I am extremely blessed to have him)

So, Monday morning the call went through and then to Bryan's surprise, the director video called us back! Bryan was so excited he just started yelling for me in a crazy sort of frantic way that made me think something horrible had happened! I run downstairs in my pj's with my hair crazy wild and there on the screen is our sweet little girl! She was smiling and beautiful! I'm sure she would agree with the smiling part on her assessment of me, but the beautiful part surely she would not! She probably thought, "Wow, Mommy looks a little crazy!".

We still had one little glitch, though. We could not hear her nor the director, we instead heard a Bulgarian radio station of some sort! We still can't figure that out! Anyone have any ideas? But, she could hear us and that, to me, is so much more important. I want her to remember our voices and see our faces and recall the memories we made together so that she knows in her heart that we truly will come back and that we have not forgotten her. And let me tell you...memory? Hers was uncanny! I started singing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" and she immediately started doing the actions with me and I could see her mouth moving to sing with me! Then Bryan made his funny fish face at her that she had loved so much, and without missing even a single beat, she made the face right back at him and started giggling! I cannot even tell you how much that brought peace to my heart. It was as if God made this happen just when He knew my heart was at a breaking point....God is so good!

You would think that was enough good news...but, yes, I have MORE!!! Later that afternoon, we finally got our NBC approval! Thank You, Lord!!! It was such a weight off our shoulders to know that after so many delays, we had finally made it past that phase. Sadly, it didn't happen quick enough to get us back to Selah before Christmas (short of a miracle from God - which I do believe He is still in the business of doing!), but it still means that we are one step closer to bringing our baby home!

So, all in all? THAT is what I call "a new day" and I am so very thankful for that very needed gift from Above! Can I get an "Amen"?!! :-)