Celebrating -

As Dan and I celebrated 12 years together this weekend, we couldn't help but celebrate all the Lord has seen us through, all the good we are thankful for, and all that is yet to come.

Here's to a new phase of marriage that will be by far the most challenging - and the most rewarding!

Nothing new to report this week as we wait for a house inspection to be scheduled. But this weekend we wait with full, refreshed hearts, knowing He who has been faithful until now will continue to be!

Just waiting for the call...

Hi friends!

I've been a little off my Sunday blogging schedule, but I have time tonight AND exciting news. So here goes!

First, our application packet is ENTIRELY in! We got it all complete on Monday (here's to my hubby spending another day off of school doing "all the things")! We got a confirmation call that afternoon that our packet is now on the "adoptions" side of Serenity, and they will be calling us soon to book our home inspection. We also got the beds all rearranged this weekend to comply with the new rules. (see pictures below!)

Second, I am starting to get people tangibly asking us what we need or how we can help. (Hold the phone - I totally have to give a shout out to all of you who have already helped soo much! Mom and Nana and Papa with childcare, Christine - boy toys, Allison - the beds, the Vanas - more beds, the prayer over us - the list goes on! THANK YOU!) However, if you're still wanting to know what else, here's a few things:

- Once we get our inspection scheduled, we will have a Hawkins' house deep cleaning party. We will provide food, put on fun music, and hope that people think it's way more fun to vacuum behind the couch and wipe fingerprints off of everything with friends. :) We will keep you posted.

- We have to get professional pictures taken of the boys within a month of placement. Soo...I suppose gift certificates to Picture People would be helpful.

- Also, random, but if anyone is ready to pass on kids worship or Bible songs CDs, that would be helpful too. (I don't know how, but us music people literally only own two kids CDs for the car...)

And last, of course your prayers are always appreciated! If you could specifically pray this week that the last "30 days" of this process would be cut shorter than that, and we could get placed sooner rather than later. Thank you, thank you for continuing to read these silly little blogs of mine and walk with us through the process! We know we couldn't do it without the support of our family, friends, and community. It takes a village, right? Blessings on your week living into the truth of a RISEN Lord!

The Girls' Room:

The Boys' Room:
(Looks a bit plain still, but we thought we would wait to see what the boys like before we decorate!)

Quick Update -

Since I won't be blogging on Sunday, I thought I'd update you quickly on this week's development.

1. Our timeline has changed.

We thought after we had our packet in, we would have our home inspection and be certified. Well on Tuesday, when I turned in one of the last things we needed for our application, I got some clarity. Once our packet is complete, then it goes over to the "adoptions" side of Serenity, and they go through the packet again. Then they call to schedule the inspection, and then they have to do something called a home evaluation, which involves interviewing both Dan and I. She said once the packet is complete, it's usually another 30 days 'till we are cleared. 30 DAYS.

This means we definitely won't be placed the weekend of May 4th, which is what we were aiming for. Looks like it will be the middle of May at the earliest, if not later. This isn't a huge deal, but the later we get placed, the less time we have home with the boys in the summer.

2. Dan's birth certificate copy still hasn't come in the mail yet.

This is the last piece of paper needed for our application, and it was ordered quite a while ago. When it comes, of course, is completely out of our control. (And...why did they issue those abbreviated birth certificates in 1979 that don't "count" as real? Silly stuff.)

SO - would you pray specifically for two things this week?

1. That Dan's birth certificate would be in the mail TOMORROW!!
2. That the Adoptions side of the process would move swiftly, and much shorter than 30 days.

Thanks for being our prayer team and walking this journey with us! Praying you have a meaningful weekend, reflecting on our Jesus who conquered death for US! He is RISEN!

Almost there, but haven't even begun...

How is it half way through April already? Whew - time flies when you're having fun!

We are still waiting for a call from Serenity to schedule the inspection. I'm going to call them tomorrow to ask about the progress, but we are still praying the inspection will happen sometime in the next three weeks. It is my understanding that once the inspection is done (assuming we pass the first time around), we will be officially certified, and just waiting for May 4th to come around!

Dan has a long weekend coming up, and has carved out time to rearrange all the beds in the house. We also have an amazing small group who has committed to assisting us with a deep house clean once we know when the inspection will be. (Oh, you love to clean, too? You wanna help us out then, too? Come on over! We will keep you posted...) :)

And although we are so very close to being "done", we know deep in our hearts that getting certified isn't even the beginning. Actually going to pick up those boys and loading their things into our car and driving them to our home is when we begin. It feels a lot like having another baby - is there anything that can actually prepare you for such things? Yet we move forward into it!

My heart's reflection this week -

I have been asked three separate times this week "What If" questions.

What if these boys don't "fit" in your family? What if their birth mom gets pregnant again? What if they offer kids outside of your age range?

I understand why these questions are asked - they are legitimate questions and concerns. However, I find myself taking a deep breath before I answer. When we start asking "What If" questions about this or anything else in life, I think we are letting worry seep in. And it is my understanding that worry is a way to rob us of our faith - not fully trust the Lord to take care of us, not fully allow Him to sustain us. We can ask "What If" questions all day long, and it won't change reality one bit. So I choose to trust and not worry about all the possibilities. That may seem a bit naive, but honestly - we are not called to worry about tomorrow, we are called to trust and obey (for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus...) as my kids' worship CD reminds me every 14 songs! :) So if you are wondering about these questions yourself, I would ask you to lay those concerns before the Lord in prayer on our behalf. They are legitimate questions. No, I haven't thought about all of them...but I don't plan to either because no amount of question-asking will help us prepare for this journey. (And let's be honest - I don't have ANY answers!) But the good news is, we know the One with all the answers!

Again, sorry for the lyrics, but this morning we sang a song with the lyrics "You are the God who saves us, worthy of all our praises - come have Your way among us, we welcome You here, Lord Jesus!" And I am overcome with joy that He saves us! He has SAVED me from death! Doesn't that thought just overwhelm you sometimes? And if that's really true (which it is!), what would it look like if we all really, really said that He could "have His way among us"? What would we trust Him for? What would we do in His name? What would He do through you and me?

And now for prayer:
Praise: Chloe is officially potty trained! Woo hoo! We are out of diapers!
Prayer: Chances are we will be potty training again soon - patience and endurance for the future! (And that Chloe doesn't regress...)

Praise: Dan's musical is over and he has a long weekend off ahead!
Prayer: That he would catch up on sleep and have the energy to "do all the things" around the house.

Praise: The two year old is starting to really respond positively to discipline lately!
Prayer: She is SO two...there are some tough moments right now with her...we need patience and consistency to be in abundance...

Praise: We are only 3 weeks away from placement.
Prayer: We are only 3 weeks away from placement!

A reflective moment...

Perfect weather, perfect day.  Breeze blowing through open windows, birds singing, family working on the back yard garden.

Today, we wait.  The paperwork is all turned in.  Dan's musical is this week, which means we won't see him 'till next Sunday morning, which means not much progress will be made on the house 'till then.  The only things we have left to do are rearrange beds and do some deep cleaning.  This week is a strange place to be - just waiting!

And in this beautiful day and every other day, my prayer is to be present, enjoy the moment, and praise the Lord's faithfulness!  Isn't He good?  Isn't He trustworthy?  Isn't He faithful?  Every time He has whispered into my heart something new and scary He has also seen me through, and every time the leap of faith was worth it.  This time will be no different, I'm sure.  Is it the MOST scary so far? YES.  Is it the biggest leap yet?  YES.  Is this quite possibly the riskiest thing we have ever done?  YES.  But just for today...just for this perfect afternoon...just for now, I will be content and at peace.  It's a funny thing obeying the Lord - I think the spot of obedience is one of the most peaceful places I could ever be.

As we sang this morning,
This is my Father's world, O let me never forget
That though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet!

So because I don't have anything too exciting to report, here's some fun things to share instead...
- Every time the verse "He's got you and me brother, in His hands" comes on in the car, Chloe says, "MOM!!  We have brothers coming!"
- Katelyn has this light, thin row of freckles right across her nose.  They might be one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen.
- Dan the Handy Man fixed the dryer last night.  Then did ALL the wash this morning.  I'm so thankful I married a stud. :)
- Our church is having to expand because we're growing out of our buildings...sure thankful to be part of a body of Jesus lovers on the move for the Kingdom!
- This week Katelyn got curious about what Heaven will actually be like.  SO cool.
- Chloe is out of diapers!  

And most of these are repeats, but prayer requests for the week...
- That Serenity would stay on their timeline and call us soon to schedule the house inspection.
- That Chloe wouldn't be scared to poop in the potty.  This one has been tough this week. 
- That I would have extra strength and patience to get through the week without my right-hand man. (I'm so blessed to have what they call a "hands-on father" for a hubby!)
- And for those boys - wherever they are, that even now they would feel the Lord with them and His spirit speaking to their hearts.

Hoping you are enjoying this beautiful day as well!  And I just have to ask...what scary, leap of faith thing has the Lord asked you to do lately?  I am so encouraged by others' stories of trust and obedience!