Finally Official

After almost 4 years from the beginning of this adoption adventure, we are officially finished with paperwork and our sweet little lady is a citizen!! 

Count It All Joy

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.  Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." 

James 1:2-4

I have a dear friend who stated this phrase "count it all joy" often from the Scripture above. "Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy" (NLT) another version says. 

Our trials reveal a lot about us. They show our true character, the depth of our faith and our perspective. They also shape us. My phrase this last month has been something like, "these things will refine us, but they will not define us." We are not defined by the stuff that happens to us! But God will use our circumstances to mature us and make us more like Jesus. The question is, will I let Him?

It's a tough order to swallow - being joyful/peaceful during trials -  but the truth of the matter is, when hard things come into our life (and they will!), we have a choice. Did you hear that? We choose. And that's one thing this Scripture is telling us - CHOOSE. We can choose fear, worry and angst, which lead to despair and anger or we can choose trust, God's promises and peace, which lead to joy. We often think we don't have a choice because we FEEL a certain way, but in actuality our circumstances and our feelings do not have to define our attitudes and outlook. 

So, why the rant about this? Well, our family has been walking this out these last 6 weeks. We've stumbled. I've cried. A lot. We've gotten back to our knees and prayed. And prayed again. We've shifted our thoughts, our priorities and been humbled. There are some days when I am crying out to God in each moment for peace, another ounce of mental energy and simple patience.

At the beginning of September, Geoff and his long-time business partner split ways, and we started over. We felt early in the summer that he needed a change, but the way it happened and when it happened was a shock and frankly, it hurt. But my husband is awesome. He took the high road, he prayerfully made choices that would honor God but didn't make a lot of sense to the world, and he kept moving forward. I'm so thankful to be married to him. We are going to be ok, and we have been so humbled by the support we have received and the avenues God is opening up.

I also started homeschooling after a summer of prayer and telling God, "Please no. I said I would NEVER homeschool. I really cannot do this." Guess who has the kids at home? Me! We have committed to it for this year, and then we will pray again about what's best for our family. We are a month in. The first day I cried before noon and said to Geoff, "This was a terrible idea." Mind you, all the business stuff had just went down, so I was a bit emotional. Some days are good and some days aren't. But those days that aren't make the good days all the sweeter. 

And the moms ministry (MUMS) I lead at our church kicked off in September after a summer hiatus, which involves lots of planning, organizing and prayer (thankfully, I have a great team). My MUMS team and my pastor and definitely, my husband, have dealt with my "I'm at the end of myself and can't do anymore" tearful episodes.

I have had days where I've felt I had nothing left to give, and with Geoff working some very long days, I am being forced to recognize my limitations. They are real. I'm not super-mom, and God has humbled me and shown me that for a long time I wanted people to think I could do it all. I can't, y'all. And I think being at the end of my rope and recognizing my weaknesses is exactly where God wanted me. Because when you're type A like me, it's harder to recognize our need for God to intervene and harder to ask for help from others. 

This is not a post to list out my woes. We have many people in our lives we are walking with that are in the middle of much more challenging circumstances. I do want you to hear me say though that God is able and regardless of what has happened, our God is still the same. We ask for your prayers during this season of transition. Thank you!

Beach - Take 2

Two weeks at the beach in August?! Too good to be true! Yes, what a gift to see the ocean, hear the waves and feel the sand in our toes for 2 whole weeks. The beach is just a taste of heaven for me - one of my favorite parts of God's amazing creation. We enjoyed our second week at Nags Head with 5 other families from church. The kids were in heaven with all the other kids - 14 in total! Did I mention we were all in one house?

We enjoyed beach time, pool time, devotional time every morning for the men, airplane fun, fishing with one of Geoff's longtime friends from middle and high school and many other memories. What a blessing to be with others that love Jesus and are trying to live their lives honoring him and serving others on his behalf. It was a rich, sweet time.

We enjoyed creating a video throughout the week with highlights of our trip. Some pictures are below that.

Beach - Take 1

We thoroughly enjoyed a week in the town of Hatteras with Geoff's side of the family. Mike and Margi celebrated an amazing 45 years of marriage this year! It was a blessing to be together in a lovely house and in one of my very favorite places. 

Summer Fun

Ya know, just doing a little grocery shopping. Leila and MM took a step dance and gymnastics week long class, so we had to find something to do while away from home. Thank goodness, I had someone to protect me.

Pool date with cousins Colin and Caleb in Nonnie's new pool.

Great Mimi and her 5 great-grands. Very special!

We were caught in a rainstorm at the lake while riding on the boat.

Fourth of July fun at the lake with Poppy and Mimi.

Tubing fun!

I'm learning to do some new hairstyles.

I enjoyed a special birthday weekend with some very special friends at the Boars Head Inn in Charlottesville.

Getting ready for their VBS performance after a fun week of vacation Bible school at a local church.

No words, really...

We've been diligently summer schooling at home, and the kids have been awesome and learned a lot. I'm especially proud of my girls who are reading better and better each week.

A visit with our favorite Nana!

It's always fun to dress up in Momma and Daddy's clothes.

Pre-hair style.

Farm days with our neighbor and best bud, Addison.