Holiday Cheer!

I cannot believe we are 4 days from Christmas... and that 2009 is just next week!

On the adoption front, while we know our paperwork was submitted, we still have not heard anything on a court date... so we are waiting. We were hoping to hear something by the holiday, but it looks like we won't know anything until mid January at the earliest... so again, another opportunity to practice patience!!!

Todd and I went to a Christmas show at church this weekend and the production was amazing. There was one song though, sang from the perspective of a little orphan boy, that ripped my heart out. The song said "all I want for Christmas is a family" and "I need a family because I don't belong anywhere" and "I just want a mom to tuck me in at night"... by the end of the song I was sobbing... I kept thinking "I tried to get Alina home by Christmas, I tried really hard but it just didnt' happen"... I wish she would be with us over this holiday.

I had a very proud mommy moment this past weekend...
Last week a friend from High School wished me a happy birthday via facebook. Several months ago when I joined facebook he friended me. I haven't ever really "talked" to him via facebook, although I checked his page and found out he got married and has a really cute little boy...

So I get the birthday message and click on his page. The status says he is "asking for prayers his family was in a fire 2 days ago and while they are okay they lost everything... with no renters insurance." So I contact him a few times and find out his little guy is 4, wearing the same size as my Caleb and very into the typical boy things. His little boys name is Noah, so then all I could think about was what if my Noah had no clothes or toys on Christmas... so I boxed up 3 huge boxes of clothing an extra winter coat, boots, all sorts of stuff to send.

Todd and I told the boys the story at breakfast on Friday morning. We suggested they each pick a toy to send to him. Noah says "We will send him the good stuff, not the stuff that is scratched or broken... we'll keep those for us." Caleb agreed and they went to the toyroom and gathered a huge box of toys for me to send. It was all their favorites too... their best rescue heros, their best dinosaurs, their new football that Noah got for his birthday, a favorite big dump truck... all sorts of stuff. I kept telling them that if we sent the toys they would not get them back, that we were GIVING them away, not letting him borrow them. They said they understood and helped me tape the box all up and carry it to the car.

I am SSSOOOO proud of these guys. They often drive me crazy, but they are really sweet boys at heart...

Like last night was Meg's first night in her big girl bed. About 3:30 am I heard her awake and excited in her room... I went and crawled into bed to get her back to sleep. This morning we wake up and Noah says "I was going to go climb in with Meggie to keep her safe, but I saw you were already in there... so I climbed in with Daddy to cuddle with him instead."

Last night Todd and I wrapped the gifts and got ready for the holidays. We have so many blessings... a warm home, secure jobs, healthy kids, and the love and support of friends and family... God is so good in what he does for us!!!