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| 4/27/2006 Hello to any and all reading! We have just returned from Lauren's preschool's program...the Circus. I do think we had one of the prettiest tight rope walkers there. When Hunter went, he was a clown. I found myself wondering what Maria will be. Just as I was thinking about it, Lauren piped up, "I think Maria will be a tight rope walker too, Mom." Just shows you that we are all thinking about her and hoping she will come home soon.
Okay, a verse...Psalms 16:9, "Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will rest in hope" I have been thinking about hope today. I have felt little glimmers of hope in my heart that maybe, just maybe, God is working in the our case. I don't really have anything to back that up, no evidence. But I feel it just the same. (Of course, tomorrow may be a different story) I have really been praying today for His hand to be upon this case and that we will get some good news soon. My mom called a little bit ago and said she saw a little girl who looked just like Maria...Please, God, fulfill that hope in our hearts. Even though I typically don't care much for weekends from the adoption standpoint (no work/progress then!), I am looking forward to the weekend from a wife/mom perspective. Tomorrow I have a workshop to attend in Tulsa. It is always a joy spending time with coworkers. We don't get many opportunities to just sit and chat. Well, we will early in the morning. :) Then as soon as I get back, we are heading to one of our favorite weekend getaways. Branson. We hope to go to Silver Dollar City, but the forecast is rain all weekend. Not just rain. Thunderstorms. So we will see. Thankfully (and this is a little blessing from God), we decided to stay in a hotel with an indoor waterpark. So it should be a fun time for the kids no matter what. Hunter is pretty set on going to the Titanic museum (newly opened). I am pretty set on Shorty Smalls, a chocolate malt from that little ice cream shop, and outlet malls. And I am not sure what Lauren and Mark are set on. It will be a fun weekend together, even though in our hearts, we will be missing one. Please keep praying! When two or more are gathered in prayer... |
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| Daddy with our favorite "tightrope walker"...and that is the last time for makeup for a LONG time... |
| 4/30/2006 Guess what? There are actually hotels WITHOUT Internet service. Or motels I should say. Yes, I was roughing it this weekend. No Internet. (I could check e-mail by phone at least :) And I did survive. But it sure was tough to not be able to hop on the Internet for a minute or two... We had a wonderful family time in Branson. We did get to eat at Shorty Smalls which was good, but once again, my favorite item on the menu was taken away. (Happens to me alot...) We also did a LOT of shopping. I went into it saying I was too sad to buy anything for Maria. Mmm, that lasted about one store. I did find a few things for her. And if for some reason God is closing the door on our adoption of her, then we will pass her clothes on to someone else who need them. (That comes across as much stronger than I truly feel...I tremble when I type those words...) We went to the Imax theater and watched "Titanica" about underwater exploration of the Titanic ruins. (As you may or may not know, Hunter has a HUGE interest in anything about history, particularly the Titanic.) We had a most delicious lupper (lunch/supper) at Landrys. In fact, one of the best meals I have had in a LONG time. (And the kids devoured the calamari again, even knowing what it was...) Then we enjoyed the "indoor waterpark" that was our whole reason (AND ONLY reason) for staying where we did. It was a lot of fun for the kids, though Maria was on our hearts and minds the whole time...Oh, and it did rain all day. So no Silver Dollar City on Saturday. We ended the day with our TLC shows and eating my favorite ice cream from a dessert shop down the street. It was a good day. Today we started off with breakfast at a waffle house type restaurant. There we saw a little girl, probably Chinese, about Maria's age. She walked by me and just stared at me with these big brown eyes. And I cried. "And the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces;" from Isaiah 25:8b pretty much sums up where I am right now. Letting Him wipe away the tears. And there are more and more of them recently. Our hearts are breaking without Maria. And I keep getting reminded about how important these years are in her life, her development...hurts even more. Our case is not progressing, and I am beginning to wonder if it is anybody's priority for it to move along. Plus, I am having a few issues with our son...He seems a little hostile to me (more of an underlying hostility) which I think may be due to a little envy about the time (actually very little) and resources going into the girls' room. It has been a tough week. And I do continue to believe in God, even though I don't feel Him so much right now. But I am thankful He is wiping away my tears. Oh, we did get to go to SDC for a little bit before heading back for church. Tomorrow is yet another holiday in Guatemala. Please keep praying for something this week... |