REFERRAL!!!!!!!!

Today Le and I accepted referral for a 6 year old girl and her 18month old little brother. We are beyond delirious and full of joy! Thank you to all of you who have prayed, laughed and cried with us up to this point. More later, getting ready to praise my Father for his absolute perfect timing.

Perspective of a Big Sister

I am the oldest of three. My sister is two years younger while my brother is five years younger. I've always been protective of them both, not only because I'm the big sister but because we've always been so close. We've never lived more than twenty miles apart. Today, for the first time, that changed. My baby sister pulled out of my driveway and headed for Phoenix, to start a new chapter of her life. And while I am so proud of her and excited for her future, the selfish side of me has cried all afternoon. A piece of my heart is missing and I am filled with sadness. I love you Sissy and I miss you already!

Wasted

What is defined as a wasted day? A wasted hour? A wasted moment? Is it where you get nothing accomplished? Or maybe you didn't get to spend it how you wanted? Or did you not forgive someone or ask for some one's forgiveness? Tonight I watched helplessly as a group of people wasted moments, hours, memories. Memories that will never be re-lived and hours that are only filled with pain.
I am at a loss for words and can only pray. God forgive wasted moments.

A Really Great Gift

On December 10th, Le and I will have been married for 5 years. I have wondered for awhile what to get him. 5 years is a long time and is deserving of a really good gift; however, with work, the upcoming holidays and preparing everything for the adoption, I have been out of ideas and I know that Le has been too.
During the past few months we have been gearing our church up to sponsor 600 orphans in Uganda for our Christmas project. Yesterday was the first day that our church heard the announcement of the project and they got to watch this video. I am usually a very emotional person, but yesterday watching the Holy Spirit move through 700 people as they watched the video was almost more than I could bear. I was shaking and as I looked over at Le, I saw that the tears were not just flowing from my face but his. I've always known how passionate I was about this project, about orphans and I knew that Le was supportive, but the best gift that he could possibly have given me this anniversary was a front row seat to his heart! I love you sweetheart!

I Have A Question

As the holidays approach, I have been thinking about how to make gift-giving more meaningful, holidays more special and spend more time focusing on the real meaning of Christmas. Le and I's anniversary is on December 10th and having it so close to Christmas makes the holidays a little stressful. So I want to ask all of you. What are some cool gift-giving ideas, party plans or family traditions that you have that you want to share?

The First Gift of Christmas

Almost 5 years ago, Le and I were married on December 10th. The movie The Polar Express had just been released and Le had taken me to see it as our last date before our wedding. On our wedding day, as Le was walking down the aisle, he was carrying a bell and attached to that bell was a golden ticket which said "Lindsey, you are my first gift of Christmas." Ever since then, buying the first gift of Christmas has been a big deal for me. This year, it's a big deal for a number of reasons. I thought about buying something for our child(ren) but since they won't be home for Christmas this year, I thought no. But what about giving a gift to someone that I will never meet? that I don't know? that I may never meet? I LOVED the idea. So this year, the first gift of Christmas will be for an organization called "Water For Christmas" which donates the money directly to charity:water (which was my birthday gift from so many of you.). For only $10 you can give one person clean water for 10 years!

Today, right now, before you finish reading this, go here and give $10 and make your first gift of Christmas something that will be remembered forever.

A New Theme Song

I have a new theme song this week. I've heard it before but it has never held the same meaning that it does now. I know that I am to be patient and WAIT, but I really want my kids. But while I am waiting, I will be obedient and I will worship and praise my Father. He knows the desires of my heart and they will come to pass and it is not going to be on my terms. And while all of that drives me crazy, I wouldn't have it any other way!

Getting On Base

When I was a child, my dad coached my softball team. I played from the time I was in t-ball until high school. Having your dad as your coach was a love-hate relationship for me. He knew my weaknesses and accentuated my strengths, but MAN he pushed my buttons. I was never a powerful player. I usually always played because I had a real knack for being able to get on base. My dad was amazing about being able to read a pitcher, the field, a situation and then tell me where to hit the ball, bunt the ball or simply try to get the pitcher to walk me. Because my strength was being on a base. I was as skinny as a rail but fast. My dad knew if we were going to win, I had to get on base. I never remember scoring a home run, or being the victor for my team and I often lamented about my inadequacies but my dad always said he would take fifteen players just like me instead of fifteen who may strike out or may hit a grand slam. He said what was important was learning to listen to his instruction and getting on base.
I remembered that today when I was lamenting to my Heavenly Father about my inadequacies about being a mother, an advocate and doing my part in this crazy game we call life. I softly was reminded that it isn't about who God calls to do what, it's being ready when He does.

My Angel is a Warrior

I've always been fascinated by angels. When I was little my mom use to sing the Amy Grant tune "Angels Watching Over Me" to us and tell us that we each had our own personal angel. And if angels are sent to protect, watch over and guide us, I've always been curious as to what they look like. Most pictures I've seen are fat, bubbly cheeked men in diapers with wings. If you know me well, there is no way that my personal angel could keep up with me if they were overweight or easily lost their breath. I need a warrior. When we were on vacation a few weeks ago, we walked into the lobby of a hotel for dinner and in the foyer was a statue of a twenty foot tall angel, regaled in war attire and carrying a ten foot sword! Now that is my kind of angel! I couldn't even take a picture of it because I was so enthralled.
Last night as I led my 9th grade girls small group, we talked about being Jesus to other people and to define ourselves as Christians as simply "Christ followers". I told them that they needed to be advocates for others, show love in all situations and stop focusing on others' sins and focus on loving them. Advocate for the orphan, the widow, the poor and oppressed and be some one's angel. Not a fat cherub who looks cute in pictures, but a warrior, someone who will fight because they love another. I know my personal angel was smiling.

A Perspective on Waiting

This process has taught me so much about myself. Who I am, what I want out of life and what I want for our children is more clear to me. Waiting for the call has definitely been the hardest part. Le and I program every day of our lives around it. Before we leave the house, we know where we are going to be all day, we check and double check our that we have our cell phones. My legal assistant knows my schedule to a tee and I don't go anywhere without telling everyone that if Gladney calls, the whole world stops. My clients know why I carry a cell phone, almost every Judge I practice in front of knows why I continually check my phone and their office staff knows about the adoption and are always asking me if we have any news. You would think that having everyone you know ask you about the adoption process would ever get old, but we are like to magpies who can't shut up when asked. We love the opportunity to talk about Africa, Ethiopia, adoption, or kids, travelling, etc.
But the other day I got to feeling really guilty. What if Le and I spent as much time planning for Jesus' return as we did for getting our adoption call? If we took every opportunity to talk about Jesus, watch every action and plan out our day around being Jesus's hands and feet. Forgive me Father, for again thinking more about my plans than yours. Help my heart be drawn to those things that break yours and give me the strength to be obedient. I am broken for my children and I do want them home, but I need to remember that we are ALL your children and you long for each one of us.

Pics From Cabo

Here are some pics from our recent trip.


This was the view from our room:

He is just the cutest!

While the weather was perfect, the water was beautiful and the time off was much needed, I spent a LOT of time thinking that hopefully our next international trip would land us in Africa, instead of Mexico. But Cabo was definitely amazing and we were so grateful for the opportunity to go.