Christmas Reflections

The house is scattered with bows and boxes, toys and clothes - evidence of delights that were under the tree yesterday. Today is our day to sleep late, stay in jammies, play games, watch movies, assemble toys, eat cookies, and enjoy being just the five of us.

This morning, I laid awake under the warm blankets for awhile, just reflecting on the joy of these past few days. My mind played snapshots of all the little moments that made up the past couple of days. It is these moments collectively that make my heart overflow:

-Whispers between sisters - knowing they are up to something

-Kevin and the girls heading to the store together - just daddy and his girls

-Holding hands with grandma and grandpa, cousins, aunts and uncles, brothers and sisters, as the pastor prayed a Christmas blessing over our family

-Seeing my teenage daughter skipping through the house with joy

-Singing Silent Night by candle light and really thinking about the scene at the manger

-Watching the kids having so much fun decorating sugar cookies

-Precious homemade gifts from each of my girls that brought tears to my eyes

-A Christmas eve call from a friend saying I was one of the best gifts the Lord gave her this year

-The figurine from Kevin that said "hope" - knowing without speaking that we both were thinking of our little ones across the ocean

-Family members that handed us envelopes to go towards our adoption fund

-A sweet friend in Ethiopia, who posted a few comments about being with our children on Christmas Day

-Watching it all through the eyes of a three year old

None of these moments could be bought or wrapped. And yet they are the gifts that will stay with me the longest. They make me smile outloud, when I'm thinking about them silently. These are the blessings that represent the spirit of everything I love about Christmas.

And though my heart is filled with joy and I can't wrap my arms around how incredibly blessed I am, it has been a hard few days not having our children home with us. My heart and my arms ache, and tears are just barely tucked away, surfacing at the tiniest of things. We are so ready to be "just the 8 of us". When I read about Josiah trying to stow-away on the bus with the families leaving the transition home, and Lydia calling one of them mommy and becoming possesive of her lap - I know that my kids are ready to be part of our family too.

Isaiah, Josiah, and Lydia - We are so grateful that this is the last Christmas that you won't have a mommy and a daddy and a family to call your own. God has already woven you into our hearts and we pray daily that He will begin weaving us into yours. We miss you terribly, and will be on that plane to get you, as soon as God determines it is time. We trust His purposes and His plans. He is for you and our family.

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know that plans I have for you. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans for a hope and a future.