I am such an blessed girl! I don't say that with a prideful attitude, but rather with a humbleness that can truly only come when you realize how undeserving you really are of all that is in your life. It's the kind of gratefulness for the life you have that words are really not able to express. I am literally brought to tears when I realize how much grace and forgiveness I have been given to go so far beyond "you are forgiven" to "you are favored of God". Wow, stops me in my tracks! Praise God I AM favored of God and I willingly except all he has for me (at least this is what I am determined to keep telling myself until I KNOW that I believe it deep down in my soul!) Even when those blessings don't initially seem like blessings - and often the biggest blessings don't - I am going to be grateful and remind myself to stay humble. Many times what is going on in my life isn't for my benefit at all, but for his plan and in order to bless someone else. When I sit an ponder all that is going on in our lives with the adoption I begin to feel so very blessed! Blessed to have a husband that is supportive and also wants another child - and not a child that is biologically his. Blessed to have the financial ability to adopt a child - something that seemed like may never again be the case after the financial stresses that we went through in both our business and personal life just a couple of years ago. Blessed to have such an incredible support network. However, when I look beyond me and my families blessings I feel God's heart for one of his children. A child that without a family like us to adopt them into their home may never know him or know what it is to be loved and nurtured. Could we possibly even begin to be as blessed as the little girl that he has set aside for us? She doesn't even know to dream for a family or pray for God's provisions and yet He will bring them to her all the same. He will use my family, my friends, my church, my neighborhood, my city to bless her life and her eternity. He will surely use her to bless many others throughout her life, as well. We will be able to witness God's work first hand. Yes, I am a very blessed girl!
As I write this I am looking at a Christmas tree with many unwrapped gifts strewn about underneath. Just waiting to be distributed to their rightful places in our home. Since returning home from visiting with family yesterday we have been busy putting things at home back in order. The last of those things will surely be many of the new gifts we received that have remained under the tree.
I think that this was one of the best Christmas I have had maybe ever, but certainly in recent memory. We did less because of "tradition" and more based on relationships, family and fellowship. We were blessed to be able to spend Christmas Eve celebrating with my husband's cousins, their children and his mom. It was something we haven't done in at least 15 years! Chaotic, loud and down right perfect! We had at least 15 kids here with at least that many adults. Eating, laughing, talking, playing games and not one present was exchanged!
This year for Christmas day we celebrated in the morning with my Dad and 3 of my brothers and then headed to church to celebrate with our church family. What an incredible blessing it was to be able to worship and celebrate as a church body the birth of Jesus!
As soon as church was over we headed out - entire family in tow, including the dog- to McKee, KY. It's a very small town in the hills of Kentucky about an hour south east of Lexington - just outside of Berea. It is where my mom's side of the family originated. As a matter of fact, my grandma and grandpa live on the piece of land (in the old footprint of my great grandparent's home) where I used to visit as a child and see my great grandparents. My mom lives just behind them where you look up the hill and see their home. It really was special to share that with my kid and Derek, who had never been there before (my mom just moved down there a couple of years ago).
Things have changed over the last 30 years since I used to visit as a child, but many things had not. The very fact that my children can even visit any of their great grandparents is such a blessing! They will be visiting my Dad's mom in April who lives in Florida and is doing well. We are a blessed family indeed!
These are the things that make life so rich. It is not the gifts or the perfectly decorated house or tree that make Christmas such an amazing time of year. It is coming together with the people that you love and love you. The people that make you who you are for better or for worse and sharing in the celebration of our beloved Savior in an imperfect but utterly thankful way!
At any rate we had to draw up a non-traditional owner financing agreement to purchase our home which further complicates the paperwork that China wants to see. We needed the seller, Daniel, to write up a letter stating that we are indeed the owner's of the home and are just doing non-traditional financing through him. We have been ready to refinance with a bank now with the great interest rates for some time, but we now have to hold off on that until this process is over since changing things now could hold up our process and cause us to have to submit updated paperwork. None of that really matters I guess....again we know how blessed we were to find the right house owned by the right person to help us make all of this happen. There are no coincidences....God had a plan for us! We will wait until the right time for everything to fall into place :)
Anyway, we got a phone call moments ago from Daniel saying that he will have the ownership letter ready for us this evening and we can stop by to pick it up. Since I completed the financials this afternoon that means we will have EVERYTHING complete on our end!
And in perfect order, in the mail today arrived our USCIS appointment confirmations! This is a very important step in our process since this step alone often holds things up (waiting on the government, imagine that! ;) and ours seems to have arrived in record time. This is the appointment where we must appear in the USCIS office at the downtown Federal building to be fingerprinted and receive permission to be able to adopt internationally.
My first thing to do after the New Year is to meet up with my notary and have all these documents notarized. It will be the first step in this new year to what very well may be the best year yet! To what I know will be a truly AMAZING 2012!
Thank you all who are reading this for your continued prayers and well wishes. It means so much to us...having support is paramount as we go through this process. As I look over the gifts I am about to put away I notice 2 little books that my mom gave us in a package marked "Granddaughter" at Christmas. I know soon she will be here with us and I will be reading her those little books....that is the kind of support that pushes us forward and gives us the hope we need to continue forward expectantly! :)
"For I know the plans I have for you says the Lord......" Jeremiah 29:11
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