Home Study

These past two weeks have been crazy busy as we have tied up all the loose ends with our final paperwork. It's nuts to think that we are only a little over a month into this journey and we are already preparing for our first out of three home study visits tomorrow. Our minds and bodies are tired as we have worked hard to prepare for tomorrow but our hearts are ready and anxious to get the logistics over with so we can meet the precious child(ren) The Lord has sovereignly chosen to live under our care...whether that be for 24 hours or 18 years.

Our hearts have been overwhelmingly filled time and time again over these past few weeks as others have unselfishly given of their material things, encouraging words, and most of all have lifted us to The Lord. We have received bags of clothes from friends whose children no longer need them, my sister has given us some baby furniture, a sweet lady whom we do not even know that goes to church with Aaron's parents has given us a crib and stroller.  It truly is overwhelming...in an incredible way.  I have been reminded so often these past few weeks of Ephesians 2:10 "For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."  The Lord always prepares a way for us to do good works in His name...and some of that preparation so often comes through others helping each other out.  Community of care is becoming very real in our lives and I'm not only thankful for it, but convicted by it. After all, it really is a concept that has been around for quite some time..."Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the Law of Christ." (Galatians 6:2)

Grandmother's Quilt

We have been working most of the weekend to begin preparing a bedroom for a precious little boy or girl that we will hopefully meet in the very near future.  Aaron painted and I began to visualize how I want to decorate it!  :)  It's actually been really fun thinking about how we might be able to decorate the room once we know the gender of the child - pinks, blues, etc.  A statement we heard at training a few weeks back has been at the forefront of my mind as we've worked this weekend.  "For whatever length of time you are with the child, treat them as if they were your own." Give them things you would give your own child, take them places you would take your own child, love them the way you would love your own child.

My grandmother loved to sew.  I have several blankets and quilts she made especially for me that I cherish.  I've always thought to myself that I would one day use those quilts in some way with my own children and let them be somewhat of a "discussion piece" that will provide opportunities to tell stories about her.  After my grandfather passed earlier this year, my Mom, sister and I found a couple of quilts stored away in a closet at their home that we had never seen before.  I won't even lie...as soon as I saw them I imagined how sweet they would be in a baby's room one day.  I was convicted yesterday as the thought ran across my mind that I would keep those quilts hidden away until I could use them with a baby of our own some day.  However, only the Lord knows if we will ever have a biological child to share these quilts and precious legacies with.  In the meantime, I do know that He is in the process of allowing us to bring a child into our home that He wants us to treat as if they were our own...to let lay their head on grandmother's quilts and tell them about her.  I have no doubt that she would be tickled to know that the things she made with her own hands might bring comfort to someone who needs it more than we could ever imagine.