Life Unexpected

At the start of the Christmas season I heard Third Day's song, "Merry Christmas."  The lyrics are powerful and read as follows: There's a little girl trembling on a cold December morn Crying for momma's arms At an orphanage just outside a little China town There the forgotten are But half a world away I hang the stockings by the fire And dream about the day when I can finally call you mine It's Christmas time again but you're not home Your family is here and yet you're somewhere else alone And so tonight I pray that God will come and hold you in his arms And tell you from my heart I wish you Merry Christmas As I hang the tinsel on the tree and watch the twinkling lights I'm warmed by the fire's glow Outside the children tumble in a wonderland of white, Make angels in the snow But half a world away you try your best to fight the tears And hope that heaven's angels come to carry you here It'...

I've been avoiding blogging these past several weeks, because I honestly don't feel like words can do the thoughts that are in my heart justice.  For the past several Christmas seasons, I have only been able to imagine and dream about what having a child would feel like.  Last night, as I my family and I headed up to Hershey Park for a night of Chocolate World, Christmas lights and visiting Santa's reindeer, I felt as though I had to pinch myself...what I have been dreaming about for so long is now my reality, and in so many ways, it feels like of what I imagine heaven to be like. I watched as Biruk slept in his car seat, his little lips pursed in the cutest of ways, and felt teary-eyed again. This is our son!  Hope has come to us this Christmas season.  I watched as my Dad held Biruk in his arms during the Chocolate World Ride, making sure that he saw every little animation that was present, and listened to my Mom calling out in excitement making sure Biruk experi...

One of the greatest things about finally having Biruk home is experiencing all of the "firsts."  This weekend was definitely a weekend filled with first time experiences.  For starters, Biruk and I experienced our very first "Mommy/Son Morning Out," this past Saturday.  As crazy as it seems, Biruk and I haven't really been anywhere by ourselves since we have been home, other than the grocery store.  We tend to do A LOT as a family...me, Nate and Biruk (which I LOVE)...especially now that Nate is a stay at home Dad.  Saturday, Nate had decided to go out with a friend for the morning, so it was just Biruk and I, and I decided that it would be a good idea to take him Christmas shopping with me.  Let me just say, shopping with a one year old is no easy task!  The first couple of shops were great.  And then he had his first meltdown.  Sometimes when I push him in the cart, he just wants to hug me...which I love...the meltdown included a few brief ...

Throughout our journey, some of the most challenging days have come around the Holidays.  I come from a family where traditions are huge and family time is priceless.  While Thanksgiving and Christmas are two holidays that we can't wait to be with our family for, over the past several years of our waiting process, they became holidays that we longed to have our own child to share in the celebrations with.  Last Wednesday, as we loaded up our car to travel to Bel Air for Thanksgiving, it was almost surreal that we weren't just taking our dog Al with us this year!  We had an actual child in our car...a son that we had not only dreamed about but prayed for as a family over countless holidays.  That reality in itself set off the flood works of gratitude in our hearts. Our Thanksgiving was amazing.  From driving in the car with Biruk (ok...that had it's amazing parts and not so amazing parts, let's be honest!), to watching the Macy's Day Parade, to eating Th...

It's hard to believe that a year ago today, in Adama, Ethiopia, God brought a little boy into the world that would change our lives forever.  He was given the name Biruk, which means "blessing."  No one could have imagined just how much of a blessing he would turn out to be.  This morning, as I held our little guy in my arms, I couldn't help but feel overwhelmed with gratitude.  I attempted to post a Facebook status that spoke of the joy and gratitude I felt on Biruk's birthday, but instead found myself weeping at my computer.  Nate had just run over to church for a few minutes and walked in on me in the middle of my meltdown.  He said, "What is wrong?"  I replied (in between sobbing and sniffling), "Do you know how lucky we are?  Do you know how blessed we are to have Biruk in our life.  And it's his birthday.  And we get to celebrate.  I am just beyond thankful."  My heart was beyond full, and words, once again, couldn't do...

As we neared the end of our adoption journey, Nate and I made the decision that one of us should be home to take care of Biruk for at least the first several months.  After a lot of prayer, we decided that Nate would be that person.  After 12 years of teaching, he gave up his job and chose to embrace a new job, that of a full time stay at home Dad.  It has been amazing watching Nate take on his new role.  He has always had a gift in working with kids, but watching him care for our son each day has given that a whole new meaning.  I am so proud of him and beyond grateful for him.  The night of Biruk's dedication, Nate shared a blessing he had wrote for Biruk and gave me permission to share it here.  I am beyond blessed to call Nate my husband and I know without a doubt, Biruk is blessed to call him Dad. A Blessing for Biruk Wow, words can hardly capture the joy your we felt when we first met you, and realized that you were our son.   ...

They say that a picture is worth a thousand words and this past Sunday I would have to agree.  Several months ago, Nate and I began talking about hosting an Orphan Sunday Event at our church.  While we were in the beginning stages of brainstorming ideas, my Dad said, "Hey...it would be awesome if you did Biruk's dedication in conjunction with Orphan Sunday."  As soon as those words were out of his mouth, we began dreaming about what the event would look like.  We had no idea the kind of response we would get, but our hope was that people would catch a vision for how God is calling us to look after orphans all over the world, that a passion would begin to stir in the hearts of God's people, and that through our story of adopting Biruk, people would understand the faithfulness of God. When we walked up to the platform at six o'clock that night, we were blown away by what we saw.  The church was jammed packed, with standing room only.  I looked out over th...