God is in the Details

Today, I had the privilege of witnessing God bring to fruition the beginnings of a homeless man's dream.  It really is an amazing story and I can't wait to share all of the details within the next month.  But for now, I'll share this about it.  The very thing that was just a wish of this wonderful man is becoming a reality even down to the details.  What's so wonderful is that the donor had no idea about the homeless man's wish.  The donor simply sent an e-mail to me and another colleague out of obedience for what was stirring in his heart.  When I got the e-mail from the donor about the specifics of what he wanted to do for someone, I was floored.  It was so specific and matched up exactly with the homeless man's wish that I thought for a moment this must be a scam.  After doing a tad bit of Google research and probing, I quickly realized that no...God had seen this homeless man and was into the details of his life.

You know what that made me realize?  If God is in the details of this man's life, then surely He will be into the details of my daughter's life.  Where will the remaining $6K come from for her adoption?  I have no idea but God does and He's into those details.  When will I lay eyes on her for the first time?  God knows and is into the details.  Why is this process taking so long?  I have no idea but God does and He's into the details about why it can't happen today.  How this brings me such peace.

I'm trusting that God is into the details of my daughter's life in the same way that He is in the details of this wonderful man whom He also call His child.  

For you Zion Church folks who were wandering....yes, my daughter who I am adopting from Ethiopia is my Lazarus on the back of my puzzle piece. (smile)

What's the Scoop??? ....and I'm Not Talking Ice Cream.

So...here's the scoop. The adoption process has been taking so long that we were informed by our adoption agency we'd have to update our home study. (insert tears here). Basically, this just hurt my heart because out of the entire process thus far, the home study was the hardest for us.  Last July, I remember so clearly how tough the back and forth was with our background and medical records....ugh!!!  It was tough to say the least.

So now that I've sat a week in shock that the reality is that we have to do the homestudy update, I'm now ready to move full steam ahead this week and knock this right out!  Let's get it!  There's a little girl on the other side of the world waiting for me.

My Name is Michelle and I'm Addicted to Adoption Videos (smile)

Yes, I have a sickness....

I love, love, love finding new adoption stories on YouTube and Vimeo.  To be honest, in these slow-moving adoption days, it's one of the things that sustains this mama.  Here are a few recent ones that I stumbled across.  What are some of your favorites?  (Of course this addict would love you to leave the links in the comments section...LOL)

Be Still My Heart....Tiffany's Story Will Blow You Away!

I first heard about Tiffany's story (okay...I know it's really God's story) from my DC/MD/VA adoption buddies over breakfast.  When I got back home, I wanted to read it for myself.  Now that I've read it for myself....I have to share it with you.

Tiffany and her husband had been matched with this precious little boy and were all geared up to go get him and bring him back home.  But then Tiffany uttered a small prayer to God:  shatter my heart.

So God did...in a MAJOR way.  NOT by coincidence, Tiffany meets Habtamu who becomes the catalyst for her prayer to God to shatter her heart...(read the first part of the story here: http://amomentcherished.blogspot.com/2011/01/my-answered-prayer.html)

In the sweetest way, Tiffany finds that she is also 'mother' to this amazing, young, handsome little boy as well....(read that part of the story here...http://amomentcherished.blogspot.com/2011/03/rich.html)

As if my heart can take any more of this story, Tiffany now fights likes any good 'mother' on behalf of her other boy who is thousands of miles away.  Follow their story and intercede in prayer on behalf of Habtamu and the many other children who find themselves living on the streets.  (read this final part of the story here...http://amomentcherished.blogspot.com/2011/03/other-boy.html)

So love how God is into the details of our lives.

Breakthrough: Two GREAT AHA Moments About Our Adoption

Friday morning I was feeling a bit down but as I journeyed to my favorite Ethiopian Cafe in Silver Spring, MD, I received a great breakthrough of understanding about our daughter from a stranger.  It will forever ring deep in my soul...a local's view of Ethiopian international adoption and changing your adoptive child's name....some things to consider...

Adoption....Not Some Half-Baked Decision

I was hanging around Vimeo looking at adoption videos and stumbled across this one....



Did you hear what she said at minute 3:13? She says,

 "What it means to me to think that his mom gave him up so that he could have a better life is that I better not drop the ball.  I better be the mom that she wanted to be but wasn't able.  I take it as a huge responsibility."

Enough Said.

4 Months DTE with NEW Focus on Celebrating!

Hey Friends!

I am so excited to share that as of May 7th, we are 4 months DTE baby!  That's right, 4 months ago our dossier (stack of adoption paperwork) made its way to Ethiopia to share our intent with the ET government that we would like to apply for adoption!

Because many families celebrate their DTE anniversary each month in a special way, I decided that our southern-fried, Paula Deen lovin' selves would try one new healthy food option each month.  The first month we tried Kashi cereal.  The second month it was a milk taste test (almond vs. coconut vs. our regular vitamin D).  The third month, we jumped way out of the box and opted for sushi.  This was great but as I become more and more challenged to think outside of my own little world, I realized that I needed to change things up a bit.  Instead of trying new things to implement in our diet (I can do that any old time), we needed to shift our focus back to why we're adopting in the first place....the need to serve others and get uncomfortable.

Beginning in May, as we celebrate our DTE anniversary, I will begin finding new ways to serve others through volunteerism.  There was no better way to get things kicked off than yesterday --- Mother's Day!  Yesterday, our Pastor, Keith, and his wife, Vicki gave away over two thousand roses to all of the women who attended.  The lavender thornless beauties are her favorite flower. We knew we would have leftovers so I asked Pastor Keith if I could identify a couple of places to deliver them.  He shared he was thinking exactly the same thing about donating the remaining flowers.  So....while my honey and the kids were preparing Mother's Day dinner for me, I decided to spend my time delivering flowers.  With the back of my truck full of flowers, I was off.

My first stop was to a women's and children's homeless shelter.  What a blessing!  As I dropped the roses off, I was able to talk more about ways that I can further assist the residents in this transitional home.  In fact, today, I've started collecting disposable diapers and shower shoes for the residents.  I'm hoping that this is just the beginning for what my hands will do at this shelter.  So excited!

The next stop was a rehab nursing facility where a friend's mom once stayed.  I remember this particular facility always bothered me because of the condition of the facility and the lack of care I 'felt' the residents received.  In fact, we moved her from there after the first couple of days.  No greater opportunity to serve than a place where I thought there was a problem.  (See a problem? Be a contributor to its resolution and not just a nag.)

So in I go with the buckets of roses.  First reception...not so warm but that's okay, I was determined to keep it movin'....I had residents to see!  Imagine my surprise when I found out there were over 100 female residents divided up in the facility on two floors.  (Mind you...this chica had on heels today with a fresh pedicure.)  I quickly got over myself and loaded my arms with tons of flowers.  I had a ball as I went into each resident's room, greeted them, shared why I was there and then presented them with the roses from Zion.  I quickly made friends and then it was off to the next beautiful resident.  They were so appreciative and my heart was full.

Now one of the funniest moments for me was when I hit one area of the second floor and the nurse said, oh there are more patients back there...enter the code.  (The fact that I needed a code to enter should have been my first clue.  *chuckle*  She never told me that this was the wing of the hospital that houses elderly patients with mental challenges.  Actually, I'm glad she didn't because I wonder if I would have been apprehensive about going....honestly, yes.  So picture this....me, sandal high heels, an arm full of roses....and my unawareness of peas or something green sloshed on the floor...boy do I hope it was peas!  LOL.  As I stood in the community room trying to figure out who to serve, while walking aimlessly, I hit the glop but was somehow able to keep my balance and still serve the residents and enjoy them all.   

Throughout the course of my visits, I came upon some really sweet people and the one who sticks out is Ms. T.  We spent a little time together and she commented on how much she loved my nail color (they're a bright green...yep, I'm experimenting y'all --smile).  She said if she had a camera, she'd take my picture with my arms full of the roses.  I told her, I had one better...I had my camera on my phone and I'd take a picture of me and her together.  Bingo! We enjoyed our cameo together and I promised to come back to bring her a printed copy.  What a day! What a day!  Probably one of the best Mother Day's I've had in a really long time. Happy Mother's Day to you all!  (Sorry...I blocked out Ms. T's face a little to protect her privacy.)

Smack Dead in the Middle!

How do I begin to articulate what I'm feeling.  I'm not in a rut because I'm definitely not experiencing sadness or frustration or anything like that related to adoption.  Perhaps I feel disconnected because I've just been so busy at work.  Perhaps my disconnection is because I have been out of the loop with my adoption buddies via our Yahoo Discussion Group, Facebook, and Twitter.

or...Is it just that this journey is just such a long one that I feel like a kid in the back seat with her parent in a dialogue like this:

me: Are we there yet?
parent: No.
(few minutes later)

me: Are we there yet?
parent: No.
(few minutes later)
me: Are we there yet?
parent: No.
(few minutes later)

After a period of time, the child just stops asking.  Maybe I've just stop asking, "Are we there yet?" in this land of the in-between.  Ya know...the land where we aren't in the very beginning exciting stages of the adoption filled with lots of action and we're no where near our referral yet.  So...I busy my hands to other things....and we wait.  Hopefully, I'll snag some time soon so that I can get plugged in again soon. 

I'm Back!!!! Gotta tell you where I've been....so exciting!

Hey there friend!  I'm so sorry I've been gone so long but I just finished being a part of the most amazing thing at work/church.  Pastor Keith has been teaching on the poor, in fact, the main point in each of the past 4 sermons was "God is for the poor." 

For Easter Sunday, my boss/pastor decided to break us off into 5 teams, each with a budget.  The mission:  help a family in need resurrect a dead situation in their life.  The families were pre-chosen by our staff and it was a tough process to get down just to five but it was really as if God just stepped in and helped us wiggle it down.  Each family would be totally surprised by their blessing at the individual services.  Of course, the tricky part was making sure they came to their designated service.  I served as project manager for all 5 projects and also worked on the specifics of the 7am service.

Here's a profile of the families:

7am service: A third grade public school teacher who became homeless and was living in a shelter with her four children.  Our resurrection moment for them:  Among many other blessings, we purchased a home for her and her family and told her that morning that they no longer had to go back to the shelter.  The home was fully furnished.  Words cannot express the feeling when we showed the video of the home to her, the children, and our congregation. 

8:30am service:  A family where the husband needs a  kidney transplant and is unable to work.  They have been temporarily living with the one income with their two children and really just need a helping hand to get them back on their feet and moved into a new place.  Our resurrection moment for them:  Among other things, movers showed up at the service announcing their move at no cost to them, 6 months rent paid in advance, and a $1500 gift card to Costco to get started in their new home.

10:00am service:  A single mother with a 1 year old with 3 congenital heart defects and down syndrome has been struggling financially as she fights for her daughter's life.  The state medical assistance she receives for her daughter now helps to take care of most of her medical needs but it leaves her in a state of poverty as she still struggles to pay the rest of the bills.  (She's only allowed to make a certain amount of money each month to keep the state assistance -- in her case, it equals out to 4 days a month).  Because of all of the needs of her daughter, she had given up all that she needed. She was down to one pair of black pants that she rotates tops/blouses with and hadn't been to her favorite hairdresser in a while.  Our resurrection moment for them:  Among other things, a gift of $10,000 and after telling her story to her hair dresser, she donated 1 year of hair services to mom.  Simply beautiful.

11:30am service:  A man who needed a double lung transplant which cost $980,000.  He would need to pay $180,000 of that costs.  He's not a rich man by any stretch of the imagination but needs the transplant because the doctors have estimated that he would only have 2 more years left on his life without one.  He's on public assistance and was just on the verge of having his utilities turned off because he couldn't pay.  The bulk of his family doesn't live in the area so he deals with much of this on his own.  When the team first started working on this one, God kept stepping in ahead of us.  The week before Easter, the government decided they'd go out of policy and pay for the transplant at 100 PERCENT!  Our resurrection moment for him: where do I start...among other things, 6 months rent paid, 6 months utilities paid in advance, 7 months of groceries delivered, a like-new donated car to replace his old car, maid service while he recovers from his transplant, and to surprise him even further, his family was brought in from out-of-town to share in this celebration moment.

1:00pm service:  A single mother with six children wants nothing more than creating a better environment for her children.  The car she did have died and left them most times confined to having to ask others to get them to where they needed to be, including church.  Getting a ride with someone else as a family of 7, is no easy feat.  Most times when she was able to get a ride, although the children wanted to come to church, she had to pick which ones would get to go because they all wouldn't fit inside the car.  Our resurrection moment for them:  among other things, a like new Toyota Sienna mini-van!

We were so blessed that we had the opportunity to partner with God to help resurrect what seemed to be dead situations in the lives of our 5 families.  Awesome experience for each of us and we witnessed some unbelievable God moments as we worked on-behalf of the families.  Our work isn't completely done, we will be walking alongside these families to help them sustain these resurrection moments.  If you're curious about what the families still need, take a look here.

Wanna see it for yourself, check out the service here:  http://zc.sermon.net/sermonid/2669121
The sermon setting up the moments is phenomenal!  You have to take a listen to it but if you're pressed for time and want to hop straight to the 5 epic moments, place your cursor over the video and drag the time lapse bar to minute 21:40

So here's a question for you:  Are you willing to partner with God to help someone receive a resurrection in their life?  Who is it?  What can you do?  Don't be afraid to move.  I'm a witness that God is for the poor and will work alongside you to advocate on that person's behalf.

Sisters By Adoption

No...perhaps it's not quite what you're thinking.  I'm not speaking about two girls joined and united into a family by adoption.  Instead, I'm talking about grown women, some many miles away, who have been united by a common thread that has deemed them as 'sisters'.  This common thread is adoption.

Along this adoption journey, I have gained many sisters, many of them also my 'sisters' in Christ.  They are adopting mamas at all stages of the journey.  I simply just can't bring myself to just call them friends because these women are simply incredible.  Some of  them I've met, some I have not, some I have chatted with on the phone, others we have talked through facebook statuses and late night facebook chats, and of course, the wonderful blog post comments.  Yet, no matter how we communicate, they are my sounding board, prayer warriors, and have become additional aunties to Selah.  (Woo! When this little girl finds out how many aunties she has, she'll be blown away!)

No matter what you do in life, I think it's so important to have a strong support system.  Ya know, people who are walking your course or have walked your course.....been in your shoes.  I have grown LEAPS AND BOUNDS with these wise women in my corner.  They pull me up and help me to blossom into my best....God's best.  What they have exposed me to has been simply beautiful.  They are too numerous to name but I'll just share a couple flicks of a few of them that I've recently met for some quick socials.

The picture on the left represents the ladies from DC and VA who have adopted/are adopting through the America World Ethiopia program.  We met bright and EARLY last Saturday morning in Tyson's Corner for breakfast.  There were lots of laughs, hugs, and of course we had our share of tears as we relished in God's love for these amazing journey that God has allowed us to be a part of.

Then there's one of my sweetie pies --Melissa.  Since she's on the west coast, she and I can be caught in the middle of the night chatting on Facebook about what's happening in adoption and life.  Our pic above is meeting each other in-person for the first time at Dulles Airport.  I was so excited they were stopping on the east coast before Ethiopia that I got up at 4am.  I needed to leave home at 5am, beat the traffic, and meet them for their early morning arrival at Dulles Airport.  Told you I loved these women! (smile)

So clearly, these are not all of the beautiful 'sisters' in my life.  They are numerous and I'm so thrilled to call them family....all connected by adoption.

Three Months DTE.....The McKinneys MEET Sushi!

Three months! Three months!  Three months!  Woo hoo.  That's right baby.  The 7th of every month, we celebrate the date our dossier (official stack of adoption paperwork) landed in Ethiopia.

....and you know how we do it over here in the McKinney household!  We kick it healthy-style....LOL.  So today, we thought we'd stretch our palettes.  We decided to trade our fried croakers in for Tuna Tataki Nigiri.

Let me be honest here.....I purchased it around lunch time.  Each time I'd go to the fridge to try to eat it, I'd look at it and put it back.  Raw fish?  Who does this????  The almost good thing about this piece is that it is seared a little...might I say VERY little.  The rest is well you  know......sushi.....raw.  eek!
I was SHOCKED when it was video time.  "C" in his usual form played the camera man but "MJ" decided he wanted to actually try it.  So he did.  I was such a baby about it. (You'll see my half-enthusiasm at the beginning of the video and how long it took me to respond after I started chewing.....smh at myself!)  So check it out.....but first can I get a WAHOO! for THREE MONTHS DTE?!!!!

One Day Without Shoes: Out of Our Comfort Zone

Wow! What an amazing day!  I'm going to be really transparent in this blog post so if you can't take some of it, please skip this particular post.

This was a huge stretch for me.  Especially considering I have had 'feet issues' since I was in high school.  I never had ya know what men would call 'pretty feet'.  I don't know about other cultures but I can definitely say that in the African-American culture, many men have a thing about women with pretty feet so for years I hid them. In fact, I remember during a summer break during college, I had foot surgery done to get rid of the extra long bones in my toes and to get rid of some corns....yes, I said it.  LOL.  For years, I wouldn't wear sandals because even after the surgery, I didn't like the way my toes looked.  They still weren't 'pretty' enough.  Yep, my own hangup.  It wasn't until I was at DSW shoe store with a girlfriend who also had some feet issues.  She simply did one of those girl please.  I wear my sandals.  Who cares!  As simple as it was, that 'Girl, please' and her encouragement got me over my 'feet issues'. 

Fast forward to today, TOMS One Day Without Shoes....how freeing to be able to participate in a great cause and not be hung up on my own insecurities about my 'appearance'.  But you know what....I discovered that there are still others, not just me, who have had/do have 'feet issues'.  Yet, although they had 'feet issues' they gave up their own will to be the voice of those who really do have major 'feet issues'.  Ya know, serious 'feet issues' like podoconiosis because of the lack of clean water and proper shoes to protect the feet.

So take the journey with me and my colleagues from Zion Church, even our Pastor, as we participated in TOMS shoes One Day Without Shoes.  A real good eye opener!

BTW:  Are you a TOMS shoe lover?  You can still get $5 OFF your pair of TOMS shoes through their online site when you enter ZION in the discount code at checkout.  Each pair counts towards Zion Church's April shoe campaign....we're collecting 4,000 pairs for local and international distribution!  Join the fun and make a difference!

$5 Off TOMS shoes!!!

You know I love TOMS shoes and my church.  So this is a super sweet deal!  It's almost too good to be true but I promise it's not!

Our church has partnered with TOMS for the month of April in an amazing effort to help us collect over 4,000 pairs of shoes.  Not only will we be collecting brand-new and like-new shoes BUT if you love TOMS and all that they do, you can now receive $5 off your TOMS on-line shoe order through the month of April if you put the code ZION in at the checkout.

The Benefit for Zion: each pair purchased using this code will count towards our shoe goal of distributing 4,000 pairs of shoes. But wait there's more (lol...I sound like an infomercial...sorry.)  This is really a three-fold win:

1. You get a $5 discount off TOMS shoes.
2. A child will still gets a pair of shoes donated through TOMS because of your purchase.
3. Zion gets to count your shoe purchase towards our goal of collecting 4,000 pairs of shoes.

Please note: While our church's goal is to distribute shoes in targeted areas (DC/MD/VA area, Haiti, Kenya, and the Dominican Republic, we are leaving it to TOMS to decide where they will distribute the donated pair provided thru your purchase).  In the grand scheme of things, it's still a huge win, because a child somewhere will be served in an amazing way.

So here's your chance!  Share, share, share this with your friends and family!  If you'd like to donate your new or like-new shoes to Zion Church, feel free to e-mail me at michelle365@me.com OR hop on over to the TOMS site.  Remember, you have to put ZION in the discount code at checkout.

BTW: Our family has committed to collecting 100 pairs of shoes in this effort (new or like-new).  If you purchase on-line through TOMS because of this blog post, I'd love our boys to be able to add your shoe count to their goal thermometer.  The boys are excited and so am I as they try to change the world one pair of shoes at a time.

goodbye 39......HELLO #34!!!

Perhaps you remember back on March 21st, I posted that we were #34 on the unofficial waiting list for a girl in the birth - 12 months category in our agency.  (details here) .  Well there has been quite a bit of movement since then and guess what, we have a new number.....yep, yep!  Even 'C' is thrilled!

Women Around The World Amaze Me!

No matter if you're in the United States, Africa, India, China, or wherever.....women simply amaze me!  No matter what our conditions, we have a way about being resilient.  Although this video was recorded in 2005, I'm not sure that much has changed.  Whether you are an adopting mama or have birthed children, there's just this God-given thing we have to be nurturing, compassionate, strong, and adaptable to our conditions.  Yes, we have a long way to go to ensure that every woman and every child counts in receiving adequate healthcare.  Today, I celebrate you because you're YOU -- PHENOMENAL!

Did You Know I Had A Twin?

Yep, a twin!  Well, at least according to the lady in the grocery store, the one in the doctor's office, the man on the street, my hubby, and.....you get my drift!  My twin is many years younger than me....and at least a foot shorter than me.  My twin.....well.....he's none other than my 10 year old son, MJ.

Today was MJ's bday and we had a ball!  This year, I took a queue from my Pastor and his sweet wife who use Christmas as a time to celebrate Christ and serving others instead of slathering their kids with gifts.  Instead, they make their kids' birthdays a really big deal.  We honestly had done just the opposite in years past.  Christmas was 'their' big deal day more so in terms of gifts, not necessarily in making memories.  Birthdays were cool but just not really thoughtful.  By making this switch, in the words of both boys (the other's bday was last week), "This was the best birthday ever!"

Early this morning....about 5:30am, we decorated the outside of MJ's bedroom door with red and black streamers serving as curtains as you enter the room.  We got things shaking by waking him up singing Happy Birthday, followed by 3 surprise cans of silly string and 3 of those large punching balloon balls!  Fun!!!!  He received his bday gift which he went WILD over and then it was off to school.  The boy was all smiles.

I picked him right up after school....no aftercare!  He got some 1-1 time with Mom at McDonald's while big brother remained at the aftercare facility.  We had so much fun talking and posing for the camera!  Afterwards, we came back home and then picked up his brother and other friends around 4pm and the impromptu party with a few school friends was on from there....yep, on a weekday!  I would have NEVER done this before.  They played ball in the backyard, ate pizza, cupcakes, ice cream cake, and drank root beer and tea.  Fun times!

I so enjoyed planning their birthdays this year.  They were a lot less stressful but jam-packed with memories that will last a lifetime.  I savor these moments because I really believe Trace Adkins gave the best advice in his song below..."You're gonna miss this.  You're gonna want this back. You're gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast.  These are some good times so take a good look around.  You may not know it now but you're gonna miss this." 

As bad as I want baby girl here right now, I can't rush these present days with "C" and "MJ" because each day they're growing into amazing young men.  I'm such a blessed mama!

Have you had the "ADOPTION" conversation with your spouse yet?

I dare you to pray and ask God if He'd like you to open your home up to a child.  Do you have room for one more?  If not a physical room, what about just a spot for another bed?  Whether you consider adopting domestically or internationally, there are over 147 million reasons why you should pray and be open to perhaps what God might say to you.  I triple dog dare you.  (smile)

I remember how afraid I was to have the 'talk' with Tony about adoption, especially, when I felt God was leading towards international adoption.  We were getting older and into our middle-class 'rhythim'.  Ha! Are you serious?!

What's interesting is more and more, I end up finding wives who are the first to feel the initial prompting. Some husbands end up being on-board right away or over a shorter period of time and others need some time to digest it and allow God to lead them to that place.  Each couple's story is a little different.  Regardless of the difference, someone needs to initiate the conversation to see if this is where God is leading your family.

Perhaps if you're concerned about your current age, you'll decide to adopt an older child.  Maybe you don't feel called to adopt but you can pray about whether you should be a foster parent on some level. 


What's your hold-up?  What has you shaking in your knees?  Who/what has you fearful?  Trust me, I understand the questions.  We've had hundreds ourselves.  Maybe after seeking God, you'll get a 'No'.   BUT what IF, a 'YES' is waiting on the other side of your prayer?

Let's talk about it....you just may be missing out on one of the greatest opportunities of your life.

Much love!

We Were Featured On Mama's Got Moxie!!!

Hey there!  Check this out.....we were featured yesterday on Mama's Got Moxie's blog.  In this blog, niki (yes, that's all lowercase baby) celebrates women she admire, creativity that inspires her, music that moves her and things that just tickle her fancy.  It's a cool spot so hop over to take a peak:  http://mamasgotmoxie.com/2011/02/14/about-niki-the-mama-with-moxie/


....and if you love her funky style and you're really in for a laugh, you have to visit the Dutch Files on her other blog "Bees & Things & Flowers".  It's truly a hilarious adventure of life with her son, Dutch....and I do mean HI-LAR-IOUS!  But be careful because in her words, "don’t dare call me a mommy blogger or i’ll cut ya."  Love her....she's really got moxie and I'm honored that she thinks I have it too!

 

Number 39!!!

A friend of mine, Katie Seevers, shared with me this weekend how to tell where we are in line for our daughter.  While I surely knew that we were some kind of huge number, Katie pointed out that we are NUMBER 39 in line for a girl in our age range!  39!  39!  39!  Can you tell I'm thrilled?!!!  (I'm still secretly hoping that she'll be home by this Christmas....guess it's not a secret anymore, huh?  smile)

Basically, this is an 'unofficial' list in that it is not put out by our adoption agency.  It's a group of parents that compile the list based on each of us disclosing our DTE (dossier to Ethiopia) dates.  There's always the chance that your number can increase because new parents may pop up on the scene who hadn't disclosed their adopting plans; however, as a really sweet adopting mama, Debb Marquez, pointed out, the upside of your number going up is that an additional family just means one less orphan in the world!  Love that perspective in the grand scheme of God's plan for the approximately 147 million orphans in this world.

....and I love lookin' at this sign on my desk.  I'll keep ya updated as it changes.

Soundtrack of My Life....what's yours?

I love music! It helps me express my joy, sadness, excitement, and a myriad of other emotions.  I often like to think about what is the current 'soundtrack' of my life.  When I say my life 'soundtrack', I mean what's the theme in my life in that season.  I thought I'd share mine with you and I'd love to know.....what's yours?

Point of Grace.....How You Live (Turn Up the Music)