Christmas in Pictures

Just a few pictures of what made this Christmas one of the best, most memorable Christmases ever.....

Cookie swapping with my mom and sister

(Not so much about the cookies as the company)

All three sisters together

(Jess, we miss you already.)

Chloe's idea to "make the table fancy" for the boys for Christmas dinner

(I'm hopelessly casual, and don't generally "fancy" the table)

Seeing this reaction when she opens "just what I wanted"

(a Dora doll from Aunt Melissa, Chloe's new hero)

Hearing him say, "You bought me this?"

(yep, and you're worth every penny my sweet boy)

Mimi who surprises our family with a W!!

(Who knew how much family fun could be had? We didn't.)

Two kids at the perfect age for all things Christmas!

And last, but absolutely NOT least........Be@tles Rock Band. My dad got this "family" gift for his XB0x, and just for the fun we had with it that day it was worth whatever he paid for it. We sang and played and laughed and had a really great time for HOURS with it. Everyone got in on the fun, and every time I hear "Yellow Submarine" from now on I'll remember this Christmas. Just a few highlights:

Chloe rockin' the guitar solo- she's no joke!

Mr. Serious on Guitar....he was GOOD too!

Dad, mom, Jess's uber-cool boyfriend (Ric),

my niece, and Sawyer taking their turn

My sisters, Scot and I after we announced it was "the adults' turn".

(When did we become the adults? Wasn't it just last year we were the kids?)

There were lots of great gifts given and received, but this year, those gifts were really just the beginning of really great memories...... we played "Dor@ dollhouse" for hours, rocked out to Be@tles tunes together for hours, chatted about the fun we had over dinner, laughed ourselves silly while playing W!! together, and we're on at least our 20th hours or so assembling Lego projects. I won't necessarily remember the "stuff" of this Christmas for the rest of my life, but with the help of some of the "stuff", we made memories that we will absolutely cherish for the rest of our lives!

Something About Mary- 2009

I'm up late Christmas Eve, and because I planned to plan ahead this year, I'm not wrapping. No. There's not one thing left to do, so I'm up late pondering things by the light of the Christmas tree.

I'm thinking about Mary.

Every Christmas since I heard James 1:27 for the first time and God spoke to my heart about adoption, God has used different parts of Mary's story to speak to me. The last two years God has used her story to speak directly to where I was at, and I figured I had worn out the comparisons.

I was wrong.

In 2007, I entered the month of December just two weeks after really hearing James 1:27, and listening to what God had to say to me through it. Adoption was on my mind, but I was trying to run away from the idea. That Christmas, our Pastor used each Sunday of December to focus on a different person involved in the Christmas story. One Sunday, he focused on Mary. In his sermon, he said that the basic thing God was asking Mary was, "Are you available?"

Mary had plans for her life. Ideas about what her future would look like. But, God had other plans, and He wanted to know if Mary was available to be part of His plan.....meanwhile giving up her own.

I knew the sermon was written just for me. Was I available?

In 2008, I entered December having begun our paperchase, but also having just heard about THE WAIT. The ever-growing, completely unknown WAIT. I was gripped with fear and doubt and ......well, more fear. I kept my poor sister on the phone for more than an hour when she called to wish me a happy birthday to tell her that I was really freaking out. But, two weeks later in December, our Pastor, preached about Mary. This time though, he focused on how afraid Mary must have been. (I couldn't make this stuff up. Seriously.) He reminded us of how the angels first words to Mary (before completely rocking her world with his news), were "Do not be afraid." But, more than that, the baby was to be called Immanuel- God with us. God is always with us- what is there to be afraid of? What can we not do if God is with us?

I knew the sermon was written just for me. God was with me. I didn't need to be afraid.

This year, I entered December in a totally different circumstance. I began December the way I have lived the last 8 months: in constant, fervent prayer for a little boy in China whose face is burned into my heart and mind. The boy I saw in a picture and recognized.

Yep, there. I said it. I recognized him. It makes no sense at all, but it's true.

Believing he is our son makes no sense at all. None. So much so, I have hesitated to say it to people, because I hate to swallow my words. But here's the thing: I BELIEVE it.

After seeing his picture for the first time, I started praying, and praying, and praying in a way that I have never experienced before- it wasn't just a monologue. It was a dialogue. Let me be clear.....God didn't speak to me, you know, out loud (lest you think I've gone and lost it). But, without a doubt, he has been speaking to my heart.

I cannot explain the absolute peace I have. We are waiting for his file to come up on the SN list (our request via our agency to have his file given to us was denied) and this wait should be pretty stressful. Every time a list comes out, I wonder if we missed him, has he been placed on an agency-specific list instead of the common list, or if this month wasn't the month his file was added to the list. But....in all of it, I really have complete peace. Beyond trusting in God's plan as better than my own (which I do whole-heartedly). More than just knowing "it will all turn out the way it is supposed to be". I have turned every aspect of this situation around and around in prayer, and discovered that God was speaking to my heart through it all- this is your son. I have peace because I believe God is going to bring this little boy home to us- against all odds.

I'm sure of it.

And, crazy as it is to say....and as scary as that is to say out loud (because I could look pretty stupid if it doesn't happen the way I think it will), I believe it 150%.

So....back to Mary.

This year I entered December with his whole-hearted belief that most people would think is crazy- even if I say that God has spoken to my heart. If you know China adoption, you know this is as close to impossible as it comes.

Last Sunday, I sat in church reading the story of the birth of Jesus again while the Pastor preached. (Sorry Ron....I didn't hear a word you said this time!) I started in Luke 1 reading about the angel appearing to Mary:

But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."

"How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"

The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God." (Luke 1:30-37)

I was interested to notice that the verse about nothing being impossible with God was in conjunction with Mary. I hadn't recalled that.

I kept reading though and read about Mary's visit to Elizabeth. When Elizabeth saw Mary, the Bible says she was filled with the Holy Spirit and then she says a lot of really wonderful things about Mary, but she ends by saying this:

"Blessed is she who has believed that what

the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!"

I read it ten times.

I want to be clear. I am not comparing myself to Mary. Not at all. That would be dumb....on so many levels.

But, what I do want to say is what I have come to know to be true over the last 2 years of this adoption journey. The Bible is called God's Word for a reason. It's alive and it still speaks today.

I'm SO glad it does. God used Elizabeth's words to Mary to speak to my heart right where I was on a typical Sunday morning in 2009.

I believe that what the Lord has "said" to me will be accomplished.

Just like Mary....I'm sure it looks really crazy to a lot of people. I think some people think I'm nuts. Others think I probably heard God wrong. Still others probably think it isn't about hearing God at all....do I get how adoption in China works? It doesn't work like that...who cares how much peace I have.

Yeah, I know all that. It feels risky to say all this tonight. I'll be honest, I've almost deleted this post at least four times. But, I cannot explain to you the assurance I have. So, maybe I'll look like a fool. I guess I'm ok with that.

I bet Mary thought that too. Again, I'm not comparing myself or my situation to Mary, but every year I get just a little bit closer to understanding what she must have been going through and pondering deeper questions about who she was and how she handled the responsibility God chose her for. I'm so thankful that God keeps using her story to speak to me and encourage me in this journey that has felt so challenging each year for very different reasons.

There's just something about Mary that I can relate to now in ways I couldn't before God called us to adoption. Something about Mary that makes me look forward to learning more about her every Christmas for years to come!

Merry Christmas, and may the new year bring you impossible blessings!

I'm sure praying for one! :)

Perfect Timing

"All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth!"

(Or my FOUR front teeth......if you want to be picky!!)

Perfect timing.....I'm sure we'll be hearing a LOT of that song this Christmas!! :)

An Anniversary to Remember

I said to Scot just this morning, "Wasn't it about this time last year when our kids vomited for almost 2 solid weeks?"

So, I checked, and some sort of internal alarm must have gone off because, my "12 Days of Vomit" post was EXACTLY one year ago today. Funny I would remember that today.

I can laugh about that now, because (knock on wood) my kids have been healthy since spring. I will state for the record though that I will happily take the 12 Days of Vomit all over again if I could escape the H1N1.

I may have to eat those words for Christmas dinner. I know!

Photography Classes Anyone?

I'm signed up for the latest Rawsii photography class beginning in February (thanks, mom!!). If you have a DSLR camera and would like to know what on earth to DO with it or how to shoot in manual and get something besides a BLUR, then head on over to this blog post. I just saw on Facebook that she just may have a couple openings!! I'd love to have "company" in class while I make a fool out of myself trying to take nice pictures!! :)

And the winner is.......

Congratulations, Tami! You have won $30 worth of Barefoot Books!!! WOO HOO!! Thanks for spreading the word!

Don't forget you can still go to Barefoot Books to shop with 20% of the value of your purchase going to New Day!!

As an added bonus....until December 15th you get 30% off your purchase AND free shipping on every order (Enter "SNOWY" at checkout)!!! In order for your purchase to go to the New Day fundraiser, you must use one of the links in these posts or the button in my sidebar. Thanks for helping kids who need it most with your holiday shopping!!

PS- Chloe is wearing earmuffs in the picture because we had a fire going in our fireplace and she's scared of the crackling.....ear muffs are the only thing that works. Go figure. :)

Adopting from China?

If so, here are some Barefoot Books you'll love having in your home:

Lin Yi's Lantern: A Moon Festival Tale: Meet Lin Yi — a little boy with a big heart and a talent for bargaining. Tonight is the moon festival and he wants nothing more than a red rabbit lantern; but first he must buy the things his mother needs at the market. This heartwarming story shows the rewards of putting others first, and includes educational notes at the end about the Chinese moon festival, life in rural China, and the legend of the moon fairy.

I have not seen many books at all about the Moon Festival, so I think this is a must-have for families who have children from China. You can check out the inside of the book at the Barefoot Books website.

The Great Race: The Story of the Chinese Zodiac: Race with the animals of the Zodiac as they compete to have the years of the Chinese calendar named after them. The excitement-filled story is followed by notes on the Chinese calendar, important Chinese holidays, and a chart outlining the animal signs based on birth years.

We're Riding on a Caravan: An Adventure on the Silk Road: Join the caravan for an exciting yearlong trek along China's ancient Silk Road. Following the rhyming, treasure-filled story are informational endnotes about the history of the Silk Road, the story of silk, important cities of China, and a full-spread map.

Remember: 20% of the value of all books purchased using this link or the blog button in my sidebar goes to benefit New Day Foster Home in China! You can give back by doing some Christmas shopping (and you aren't buying more plastic!).

Plus....spread the word to have a chance to win FREE Barefoot Books! To find out the details, read here. Time is running out to enter!

OH, and if you are adopting from Africa.....stay tuned, I'll highlight some books for you soon!!