Sunday, September 30, 2007

Elly is Coming!


Our good friends, the Haney's finally got their referral and Elly will be coming home from Vietnam in a few weeks! I am so excited for them....so excited that we had to celebrate at McDonald's tonight when they were passing through town. We're so lame...it's the only place that we could think of that could keep the kids entertained (i.e. awesome playground), so the parents could talk. Check out their link on my page to read their story. Say a prayer for them as they begin preparing for this part of their journey. They are an awesome family and Elly is so blessed to have them as her parents. We love you guys!

Snagalooga






We spent Saturday in Chattanooga, or as Connor calls it, "Snagalooga" and had so much fun! Knoxville needs a downtown like Chattanooga!

We rode the carousel, visited the "Culturefest", ate at Cheeburger-Cheeburger, played at the Children's Museum, visited the Chatanooga Choo-Choo, went to the model train museum, then had some ice cream and headed home.

Yes, we were tired, but we had a blast. Enjoy the pics! I could only post a few, but the whole album is on my facebook page, so you can check it out!

Monday, September 17, 2007

My Son the Comedian


This was a real conversation between Connor and Greg during bath time tonight.

CONNOR: Are there monsters in the sink?
GREG: No, why?
CONNOR: You know, Monsters, Inc.? Get it dad?
GREG: (laughs very loudly and for a long time here)

I love my Connor!

Sunday, September 16, 2007

My Big Weekend

I had big plans this weekend after a busy week. I was going to take it easy on Friday night, but the rest of the weekend consisted of laundry, cleaning, school work, and playing with Connor. I was determined to get caught up this weekend....those were my plans anyways.

None of that happened, but I did spend all of Saturday in the hospital with a ruputred ovarian cyst. Yes...ouch! You have no idea how much ouch!

I love it when you go to the ER and they ask you on a scale of 1 to 10, how bad is your pain? I looked at the nurse and said, "Delivering a ten pound baby with no drugs is my ten." He just looked at me and said, "Oh! Your perspective is a little different, huh?" I said, "I can't sit still or walk, so whatever you think that might be on your scale, write it down."

I am feeling better, a little loopy from painkillers, but better. I have slept for like 23 hours since yesterday, so I have definitely made up for only getting three or four hours every night last week. They said I should start feeling better in the next few days.
Another chapter in my little dramatic life....only me!

Monday, September 3, 2007

Faithfulness

We have six months until we can begin filling out paperwork for China. It kind of stays in the back of my mind most days because quite frankly it scares me to death. I have no doubt it is what we've been called to do, but I'm still terrified. I keep thinking of everything that could go wrong, everything that I have no control over, and when you're a control freak planner like myself, there is no worse feeling. I want Claire to be here now, healthy and happy, but it is such a long road, and lately I just feel like giving up.

I stay off of all the adoption forums. They are full of the worst stories. Parents asking for NSN children (non special needs) and getting all the way over there and their child will have had the first operation for something like a cleft palate or spina bifida, and the parents will explain that they don't have the means to take care of additional operations and they'll be told that they must take the child or lose all of their money. Now, there's rumors circulating that China is getting ready to close or that if you log in now, it could be a four to five year wait, etc., etc. etc. It's so overwhelming that last night, I just broke down and told Greg I didn't want to do this anymore. It was just too much.

God has put on both of our hearts that we are called to do this, but somedays I feel like he has asked the impossible. What if it closes, what then? What if it's a five year wait, do we really have to wait that long before adding to our family? I am so thankful that I had the week I did back in the Spring when God did everything He possibly could to show me this was His plan for us. It was so clear, that I couldn't run from it.

After searching for comfort last night, I was led two verses that brought me such peace. I know they were God's way of laying His hands on my shoulders and telling me that it was going to be okay, that He's taking care of it.

Ecclesiastes 7:8
The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride.

Colossians 1: 9-12 (The Message)

Be assured that from the first day we heard of you, we haven't stopped praying for you, asking God to give you wise minds and spirits attuned to his will, and so acquire a thorough understanding of the ways in which God works. We pray that you'll live well for the Master, making him proud of you as you work hard in his orchard. As you learn more and more how God works, you will learn how to do your work. We pray that you'll have the strength to stick it out over the long haul—not the grim strength of gritting your teeth but the glory-strength God gives. It is strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy, thanking the Father who makes us strong enough to take part in everything bright and beautiful that he has for us.

Back in April, Greg was having a few days feeling like I feel now. I was going out of town for a few days, and I was terrified I would come back and he would have changed his mind about adoption. I left him this note that I pulled out of a drawer last night :

"You, Lord, give perfect peace to those who keep their purpose firm and put their trust in you. Isaiah 26:3 Our purpose is to bring home a little girl from China named Claire. Trust in that."

I then found a message from a fortune cookie I receieved on the night we went out and celebrated our decision to begin this journey. It read, "The one you love is not as far away as you may think."

All this was just like God standing in front of me with a big smile on his face and saying, "Jessica, you can do this. Don't give up on me now."

I'm used to things coming so easy. My life has been so blessed. This is the biggest growing experience that I've ever had, learning how to remain faithful and not give up, and to most importantly remember that the reward will be worth it.

Recharged

The past two weeks have been beyond awful. Work is killing me. We have new programs this year, and I feel like I am a first year teacher again. I have not left work before 5:30 one night, and my head has not hit the pillow until after 1:30 a.m. It's been exhausting physically and emotionally. I feel like I am grumpy at school and short with the kids due to my lack of sleep and when I come home I am so drained, I feel like I have nothing left to give Greg and Connor. I justify being a working mother because usually teaching is a family friendly job......not so family friendly this year! This weekend I did nothing but lay around, take naps, watch movies, and admire how handsome and funny my little man is. We had great family time, laughed a lot, and cuddled a ton. The long weekend came at the perfect time. I think I'm recharged somewhat. I could use a few extra days! Hmmm....I do have a lot of sick days to take.

Something to look forward to!