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!