Just stuff...

Well,spring break is over (bummed), I really enjoyed hanging out all week with my kids especially with NO agenda! It was nice to sleep in and (well until 7:15 anyway) sip my coffee in the morning while the girls played Polly's. We all need a break from the daily grind once in awhile. During the week, we baked cookies, colored Easter eggs, cleaned, unpacked/organized all of their books, started pulling things together for our upcoming garage sale. We also started getting ideas together for Madelyn's bedroom. I can feel the time is getting closer to her coming home. I know we're a couple of months away yet but from where we were in the fall (denied by USC!$) we are moving along nicely. I have no guess to when but my friend Vickie just received her LOA after 43 days...Oh wouldn't that be a treat!!!! Linzhi's came at 55 days, that would be sweet too! We are roughly at 32 days... No matter, I know she'll be here sooner than later and that's such a sweet blessing! Spring has been AMAZING here this year, nice and warm with lots of sun and some rain which I love too.

I've also dedicated time during the day to really dig into my bible, not just a few chapters but really digging deep, it amazes me how the bible is so relevant even after 2000+ years, it still just speaks to our hearts and guides us for everyday life. I absolutely need to know how much the Lord loves me/us because let's be honest, the world can be very mean and can make us feel inadequate and insecure. To know how large and ever present our God is that He can crush the enemy with a snap of a finger gives me so much peace...Although, the closer you get to the Father the more the enemy attacks. I have had some T.E.R.R.I.B.L.E. nightmares involving my children (CJ had one too) lately. The other night I could feel it coming on while in bed (anxiety, fear, worry...You know all the stuff he uses to steal our joy), Well, all I could do was pray with my hand on top of my bible and before I knew it, I was asleep. I often think of people who don't know God/Jesus. I pray for the lost. I can't imagine life without God/Jesus/Holy Spirit, I remember my life before totally committing to Him and it brings me to tears because I was SO LOST and my spirit was completely broken and I felt unlovable, hopeless and abandoned. I see people daily who look lost, maybe they aren't but have you ever met someone that broke your heart because you knew they needed the peace of Jesus? I have and it stays with me for a very long time and many times I engage with the person to see where I can help and sometimes I feel the Holy Spirit guiding me away. I feel as though our hearts are being prepared for our journey to China. I want to be broken for the things that make Jesus cry. I want to be His servant and I pray He asks us again to give a home to a homeless child. I pray He's not finished with us in that department yet. Secretly, I pray there's a paper ready kiddo in Madelyn's orphanage that some how, some way we get to bring him or her home too!!! (I daydream about that because it happened twice while we were in China for Linzhi) All things are possible with God...You just never know!!

I'm going to start working on Madelyn's website through http://www.myadoptionwebsite.com/ I'm soooo excited to get this started, I have purposely waited until we were awaiting LOA before I got that set up, I'm just trying to pace myself, I don't want to get too excited then I get impatient with the wait. Still working on getting her 7th (yes, 7th) care package ready to ship. I bought a recordable book at Hallmark this weekend. CJ and I are going to split the book and send it to her so she can hear our voices (Thank you Mandy for the idea). I also want to try and find a recordable picture album, Hallmark is coming out with them at the holidays but I need it before then...Anyone know where I can get one?

As I type this, CJ is on the computer taking Mandarin lessons through Rosetta Stone. We have a talking translator but we also want to get some basic Mandarin down before we leave. I laugh as I type that because it's not an easy language to learn! =)

Thanks for reading my ramblings...

Hope you all have a wonderful, blessed week.