Rest and Reflection

By this time last year, we had gone to a concert, sailed on a cruise ship to Mexico, bought a new house, I spent a couple weeks in India, and we were preparing for a week-long camping trip. 2012 definitely started off action-packed for us. Things began to slow down just a bit when I discovered I was pregnant, but Jeff still spent his month in Florida, and we travelled the country for two important weddings to attend. 2012 was an awesome year and this year isn't looking too bad either. It started out with a bang, with the birth of our first child, and we have some adventures coming up soon. For now, the last three months of "rest" have been a blessing. Just spending time with our almost three-month-old and watching him develop and learn each day is fascinating. I know it sounds trivial, but seeing him learn to reach for objects, finding colorful television shows mesmerizing, and waking up to his huge smiles each day, is a time in my life I never thought could be so exciting and rewarding. I sometimes find myself getting impatient for him to get just a little older so he can eat solid foods and won't be hungry all the time; or for him to walk or be potty-trained. I know those days will come quickly, so I'm just going to enjoy his dependence for now. He needs us to carry him, to feed him, change his blow-out diapers, and cuddle him to let him know how much he is loved. I may not be traveling the world right now as I had planned to do after college, but watching Bennett explore this new world is an adventure in itself. Jeff and I still have a long list of places we would like to go and we plan to make it to as many of them as possible. For now, the "place" of parenthood is our unexplored world we get to learn more about.

Next month, we will be updating our home study. We have to update it each year we are on the waiting list and we, of course, have to include our newest family member this year. We are still on the waiting list, and with all the adoption issues with government policies and corrupt orphanages worldwide, it looks like the waiting may be even more prolonged than anticipated. I am glad that we are going through a dependable agency that checks and rechecks family history for children who are relinquished or abandoned, but at the same time we can't wait to offer a loving home to one of the almost 200 million orphans that are in this crazy world. We did get an update on our wait list numbers this month. We are #121 on the girl list, #99 on the boy list, and #51 on the siblings list.

We do have some exciting adventures planned for next month. Jeff's brother and his family will be coming for a visit, then we head to Houston to visit my family. In May, Jeff will graduate from his Master's program, and June, we will be heading on vacation to Orlando for a week! And y'all thought a kid was going to slow us down...

With Easter coming up this weekend, I've been taking a little time to contemplate just what Christ did for us on the cross. First of all, I have a better understanding of the sacrifice our Father made by sending his Son. I don't think I could give my son up to save a bunch of strangers. God truly loved us. God truly LOVES us. John 3:16 has a new meaning for me. I am so thankful for that sacrifice, for the role Jesus plays in my life today, and for the new life I am promised because He lives. I am also grateful to his earthly mother, Mary, who gave birth to Him, raised Him, and had to watch as he was humiliated and killed. She was also there to meet Him after He had risen; and for that reason I praise Him with a grateful heart.

And He said to them, " Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts?
Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have." - Luke 24: 38-39