Life Unexpected

The Thanksgiving season has come and gone fast, and now we are entering the Advent season. It's crazy, because this time last year, I was still pretty bitter about not being pregnant. It was really hard for me to deal with the disappointment. Now, a year later, I have to say that I love the way that God stretches us, challenges us, molds us, and shapes us into the person he wants us to be. He is a Healer of the heart, and I am so grateful for that. He doesn't just give us what we want, but he gives us exactly what we need. This advent season, I hope to post some songs that have spoken to me throughout my journey (there are an awful lot!). I don't know who is reading this blog, but I wanted to post this video with a song that has continued to speak to my heart every time I hear it. If you are feeling broken, disappointed, or even abandoned by God, know that He walks with you every step of the way, He is all you need, nothing is impossible for Him, and He is healing yo...

Last night we attended an event called "Orphan Friday." Our friend Jeromy was in charge of it, so when he invited us to come down to his church, we invited our friends Matt and Alicia who are also in the adoption process. We didn't really know what to expect, but were excited to check it out. The night was amazing! We watched a video simulcast (I think that is what it is called), with Francis Chan, Steven Curtis and Mary Beth Chapman, Mark Schultz, and a whole bunch of other people who care deeply about the orphans around the world. Jeromy had told us that he hoped that we would be inspired, but something more than inspiration happened in my life last night. The past several years, as I have found myself struggling with the pain of infertility, I have always found myself saying, "Maybe God knows that my body can't physically carry a baby. Even though we are "unexplained" in our infertility...he probably knows something is physically wrong that I c...

I had wanted to post about this over the past couple of weeks, but coaching volleyball kind of had my life! Several months ago I read a book called "There's No Me Without You," by Melissa Fay Greene, as part of our adoption training. The book left my heart full of excitement for the adoption, and completely heart broken for the number of orphans in Ethiopia. After reading the book (at which every turn of the page I think i cried!) I just wanted to hop on the plane and go collect as many children in my arms as possible! The book is amazing, and I would recommend it to EVERYONE! My Dad loves to read, so I recommended the book to him. He finally purchased it and slowly got into it (it's like 500 pages!). Well, the other night he called me and said he was reading it on the plane ride to Boston. When he began to get off the plane, he said he started thinking about Nate and I getting off the plane with our new children and he just started crying! He became really e...