Me & Court Dates

I have a love affair with court dates. I have court dates at least 10 times a week. As a trial lawyer, it's what I do. It's why I went into the kind of law I practice. I'm good at court dates. We have a relationship. I set them, move them, work around them, breeze through them or belabor through them. This time next week however, there will be another court date. A first for me is that THIS court date is out of my control. I did not set it, plan it or design it to go my way. Out of all the court dates I've ever encountered, THIS one is the most important.

It's about my children and whether or not an Ethiopian judge thinks that I am ready to be a mom. This court date will mean Le and I can show their pictures, tell you their names and it means that for the first time in my life I will have to take more planning, caution and care when I plan future court dates. For those future court dates will be planned around, soccer practice, school functions and sick kids. I am resting in the knowledge that my Heavenly Father already knows when my kids will be here. There is no planning, preparation or paper work for me to go through. The only paper I need to review is sitting on my desk...it's opened to Psalm 16. Here's to prayer, hope and court dates!

PLEASE READ!

I read about this family this afternoon from a prayer chain email. They are in Uganda trying to get home with their adopted daughter and are stuck because of ridiculous rules by our government. Please read their story and forward it. If you know anyone who can help, please help! But most importantly, after you read this, please drop to your knees and lift these people up in prayer. You and I cannot fix this, but God the Father absolutely can.

http://james127family.blogspot.com/2010/02/devastated.html

COURT DATE!!!!!

We have a court date! Thank you Jesus. February 16th. We are elated, cautious and prayerful. We know that we may not pass this first time, but today we are holding tight to the fact that our Father is on the throne and HE knows exactly when our children will be home. And since I am always a "glass half-full" person, let's fill that glass with champagne and get ready to celebrate!

My CRAZY Shoe Obsession

If you are like me, I LOVE shoes. When given a choice, I would rather buy a pair of shoes than any other addition to my wardrobe. Looking at my shoe collection is a testament to where I've been, what emotions were felt on a particular day or what event occurred. I would be embarrassed to know how many shoes at this moment lie on the bottom of my closet floor.

Valentine's Day is never a big holiday around our house. I told Le when we got married that if he needed one day out of every year to remind him that he loved me, we already had serious problems. Usually gift giving is a card, a small reese's peanut butter heart (YUM!) and he doesn't raise his eyebrows when I buy a new pair of shoes that week. And this year will be no different, except that I didn't buy a pair of shoes, I bought FOUR! You see, Children's Hope Chest has partnered with Simply Love so that each t-shirt you buy before February 1st, an orphan in Ethiopia will be provided a t-shirt and a pair of shoes, probably the first shoes they've ever owned.

The original goal of this project was 400 shoes. But we've exceeded that number. Now the shoes provided will go to Kolfe, an all boys orphanage. Perhaps if we reach over the new goal of 600 shoes, HopeChest will look down the road from Kolfe and bring Kaleab a pair of shoes! Go here, look, shop and be a valentine to someone who will know you love them, by the shoes that are placed on their feet!

Crafty? Me?!

Since I'm officially crazy from the wait, I've needed to let loose some creative energy. The result, I now have my own Etsy shop. ME?!! I know right, craziness. It started because I made a hat for myself and people loved it, so I started offering them at church and I needed a place to display them online. So here I go. You can go here and look. Half of the profits will go towards our adoption travel costs and the other half will go towards Children's Home Ethiopia, which is where our sponsorship son, Kaleab lives.

I guess it is nice to have a hobby, but I am praying for a court date. Watching my kids grow up in photos is heart breaking. But I am relying on His grace and the knowledge that His timing is so much better than mine!

Kingly Stubborn and Back to Waiting

I've been reading through 2 Samuel in my reading plan. I have to admit, I've been getting kind of bored. Reading about King David having to endure trial after setback and each time running back to God, begging forgiveness and then returning to his old ways. It hit me why I've been skimming through these chapters~IT'S TOO PERSONAL. I see King David in every aspect of my behavior lately.
I thought that waiting for our referral would be the hard part. I tricked myself to believing that once I saw my children's faces, I could handle the rest! Ha! Watching my children grow up by picture has been one of the hardest trials of my life. I WANT a court date; I WANT my children to be home; I WANT to start our lives to together~does this sound like someone you know? King David. It's been about what I want and not about HIS timing for my life.
I believe that my life is defined by a series of songs that capture a period, a memory, a moment,producing a crazy fun soundtrack of music. I thought I had moved past this particular track, but as I drove home tonight, I cried out and sang ALL of the words and resolved, as King David to do better, until the next time I come running back to my Father. So while I'm waiting..."I'm waiting on you Lord, though it is painful...I will serve You while I'm waiting and I'll worship while I'm waiting." And part of my resolve is to trust that He has all of this planned out and I am just giving myself gray hair for no reason.

Exhausted

I have been working like crazy lately both at home and at the office. I am tired of spending long hours at the office, racing home to clean house and finalize little projects. But mostly, I am tired of checking my phone 50 times a day. I am tired of waiting for several of my fav blog girls to receive their referrals and I am REALLY ready for a court date.

So tonight, I went and ran 2 miles for the first time in a long time. I came home and just relaxed and let God soothe my exhausted spirit. I feel better already.