A new year...

a BIG year.


I have given the blog a new look. For starters, my kids' pictures were a year out of date, but there are other reasons.  This year will usher in a new look for our family as well.  There are many unknowns at this point, but by the end of 2011, it is looking quite certain that a fourth picture frame will be added--a sixth family member, a fourth child, a second son, a new baby of the family.


No, I am not pregnant.
Yes, we are adopting.


Adoption: It is not a word that had crossed my mind too many times before last year. Now it is a word that enters my mind over and over throughout each day. It is something the hubs has always had a desire to do, but after our third was born, he became used to the idea that our family was complete likely because I had a tough adjustment to three. I was overwhelmed for a while, and some days I still wonder when it will all get done.


God had a different plan than I did....as He often does.  He began stirring something in me mid year, and it was something I could not just dismiss or ignore. I prayed that He would "stir" someone else, but He didn't. I wanted to be done. Life was just starting to get easier around here!  After a time of this, I had the nerve to bring it up to the hubs. I knew once I voiced it, that we would have to pursue the issue further.  The hubs reacted as I thought he would. He smiled and looked at me through excited yet cautious eyes, possibly realizing that sometimes my "great ideas" are fleeting.  He readily admitted it was something he'd thought about for quite some time.


And so it began. We spent many evenings discussing all aspects of it...domestic vs. international, the time frame of it all...this list is exhaustive really. What we finally came down to was this; Why would we NOT go through with it? God obviously placed the desire in both of our hearts, and it became clear that we would trust Him on this journey.


The verse I have chosen to banner the blog for this year will be my biggest challenge yet biggest comfort.


In Proverbs, it says "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.....and in ALL your ways acknowledge Him, and HE WILL make your path straight."  We set out on this journey September, 23rd if you want to track the paper trail.  I am acknowledging now that I'm not doing this out of my own understanding. It is in my understanding, that this is CRAZY. God, however, is not crazy. He promises that He will make our path straight. He does not promise that the path will not be very curvy and bumpy along the way though.  I am expecting some bumps this year.


Thank you Lord for stirring our hearts.  Because of you, a baby boy around the world awaits us.  Son, we anxiously pray for you and think about you every day. Our kids are excited to have another brother, and they don't even sound surprised that you come to us this way. We cannot WAIT!

(For the sake of the child's privacy, I cannot blog any information regarding him! sorry! He's super cute, and the girls have affectionately named him "chubby cheeks")


So with that said, HAPPY NEW YEAR!