Tuesday Randomness

Okay, so I know some of you think it is wrong to dress your dog (Gavin) but usually she likes to put on her clothes. Ran across this picture on the computer today and thought I would share. Maybe it would draw a comment out of some of you who Lurk around the blog but never bother to post a comment. I ask you people, why not? How do I know your reading if you never comment?

Anyway, the adoption business is slow on our end. All our requirements have been met. We are just waiting on them to call us and set up interviews. With that said, you will have to just read about our everyday lives until then. I should warn you...we are not that interesting.

I want to go...now!

So I was sick last week. So-so over the weekend and home sick Monday and Tuesday! Lung Funk! Gross! Bored to tears but feel too yucky to do anything! Trying to improve my page but nothing seems to be going my way today! UGH!

The news business is slow!

Well friends....what can I tell you? There's not much news to report in our adoption journey. Not outwardly anyway. God's working on our insides all the time but things are generally slow. I figured I should post something or you all might quit reading this - if anybody is still reading!?!?

I can report that we recieved our "completion of training" certificate last week. So we are all official on that. We've attended all of our classes and our meetings but we will still go to all the meetings that we can even though we have met the requirements for those. They are invaluable!!!

We have bought a few more baby things. Everybody keeps saying that there will be nothing left to buy us for a shower! Not true! We will need boy/girl specifics and diapers and wipes and gift cards for formula and something for 3 months and up! So far we are just gender neautral in 0-3 stuff. So all you who say there is nothing left - please don't worry!!! We will leave you things to purchase should you desire to do so.

So...my heart has especailly been heavy with a friend of mine that' s in a bad situation. It's obviously bad. It's red lipstick written on white walls bad! The kind everyone knows is bad without even knowing the details. You know how you just get those feelings and you just know. It's a look in someone's eye across the room and an understanding that - Hey, things are not what they seems here are they? I'm not mentioning names here. So friend, if you are reading this you know who you are and I want you to know that I am praying for you. God knows every need be them spoken or unspoken. So I will keep it between me and you - unspoken - just please remember not to be afraid to ask your friends for help, support, etc. We are here for you and we've got room for you both in our hearts and our homes if need be. Distance is irrelevant!!!

Reflections from my favorite book.....

So I was writing notes to all the people in my grapevine ministry tonight and I was looking in some books for inspiring thoughts to share. I pulled out the book that has meant the most to me on my spiritual journey. It is Messy Spirituality by Michael Yaconelli. I love, love, love this book!!! This book was partly responsible for my profession of faith and so I thought I would share some highlighted passages with you. This has nothing to do with adoption news because there is none to share right now! We are just waiting for everybody to get in their letters of reference! :) Anyway....hope you enjoy!

"I don't want to be St. John of the Cross or Billy Graham. I just want to be remembered as a person who loved God, who served others more than himself, who was trying to grow in maturity and stability."

"Spirituality is not about being fixed; it is about God's being present in the mess of our unfixedness!"" Amen! I love that! So true!

This next one spoke volumes to me. It told me I was "ready." I didn't have to get it right. I didn't have to figure it all out.... "We talk our way out of the spiritual life by refusing to come to God as we are. Instead, we decide to wait until we are ready to come to God as we aren't. We decide that the way we lived yesterday, last week or last year makes us "damaged goods" and until we start living "right," we're not "God material."

"Churches are not only awe inspiring; they are odd inspiring, attracting an earthly assortment of Jesus' follwers. The stained glass is extraordinary, but it is also covered with ordinary fingerprints. Dirt from the fields is scattered on the glistening marble sanctuary floors. Hanging in the air throughout the cathedral of Christ is the heavenly smell of incense mingled with the piggy fragrance of sweaty, commonplace messy disciples. - ....."Oddness is important because the most dangerous word in Western culture is sameness. Sameness is a virus that infects members of industrialized nations and causes an allergic reaction to anyone who is different. This virus affects the decision-making part of our brains, resulting in an obsession with making the identical choices everyone else is making. Sameness is a disease with disasterous consequences - differences are ignored, uniqueness is not listened to, our gifts are cancelled out. Life, passion and joy are snuffed out." Amen and Amen, people!

"The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock!" Psalm 18:46

Afternoon Shopping @ Baby Depot

I would first like to state this disclaimer: If David is not in attendance with me for my baby shopping trips I can not be held responsible for what I come out with!!!!

So I went to a super great class today about Autism. Lots of good info I can use for my trainings. The kicker was that I got out an hour earlier than David can leave work. So I find myself staring literally across the road from my parking space and what should appear - BABY DEPOT sign! Oops! I'm probably in trouble.

So I go in just to look and come out with 2 shopping bags of stuff for baby. Mostly super cute cuddly toys and a few practicals, too! It seems the only thing missing is the baby!!! :)

Where have I been?

I have not written in about a week so if there are any regulars out there reading this...forgive me. We were just crazy busy last week and I had to work this past weekend and I threw my back out Sunday morning while coughing!!! Don't laugh! It sounds strange but that's really what happened. I am sitting in my favorite chair nursing my back with a heating pad. David sends you all his best. He is outside working on the alternator in my car. We think it's bad and needs to be replaced.

Well, let's see...what kind of baby things can I update you on??? I know! I bought a car seat today! I know - I know! There won't be anything left to buy us for a shower but look...we have to have a car seat day one. As you all know adoption is not predictable. We may get a call one day to come the next day for placement so you just don't know. I don't want to be out scrambling around for the car seat at the last minute. If you haven't ever looked at car seats I will tell you that there are many choices. David and I were perplexed so I called on the Calvary!

My buddy Ashley is certified in car seat stuff. I don't want to make light of her knowledge but I just don't know what her certification is exactly so I can't be detailed in my description. Anyway...we went to lunch and then we went to Babies R' Us and she handled the situation!!! She was grabbing those seats and turning those things around. She was inspecting handles, looking at bases, checking out the harness, etc. She just took charge and she helped me pick out the perfect one. A bonus is that even though the one I bought is not one of those combo things with the stroller in tow you can turn it into one. So that's cool because I couldn't decide what I wanted so now I can decide later!

Our letters went out last week and I know several of them have been returned already so that's a good thing. We found out today that our pastor's was "m.i.a" somewhere so we are doing a resend on that one. Other than that things are moving right along. We are just anxious and excited and nervous and happy and baby crazy all rolled into one right now!

I was thinking yesterday about where our child is right now. Have they been conceived? Are they growing in a mom's tummy right now or is he/she merely a glimmer in our eye and a long way from coming home? I look out the window at the world and wonder where he/she is and how much longer before they come home to us...everyday!!!! Please keep the birth mother, the baby and David and I in your thoughts and your prayers.

I met the sweetest lady today!

So I decided I had enough of my desk today. I took a little trip to target on my lunch hour just to get out for a little bit. Well...you know where I ended up...the BABY aisle! No big surprise! But I met the nicest lady there today. She and I keep passing each other in the baby department. At one point she just looked at me and said..."I am having too much fun." Come to find out, as we met in the diaper aisle, she is a grandma for the first time. A little grandson who has some kidney problems. Anyway her husband is an OBGYN and she was asking me how old my baby was. She assummed I had one I suppose since I was buying diapers. So I tell her our adoption story and she got tears in her eyes and told me how happy she was for me and how wonderful she thought it was to adopt. She then proceeded to hug me. Before she left me she asked me my name and said that she was going to pray for me. How cool is that???? So Meg...thanks and I'll keep your grandson in prayer, also. Maybe we will meet again in Target after baby comes home...that would be the coolest!