Bigger on the inside

Not long ago a stranger stopped me and my boys in the park and felt the need to tell me how lucky I should feel to have healthy kids. I smiled and agreed graciously but as I walked away I found myself frustrated. Yes I feel so blessed to have my boys and thankful that they are not where they were. The frustration came with the fact that this lady had no idea how many sleepless nights we have or what a struggle it is to keep our twins growing. She doesn't know that every calorie must be counted, or every bite calculated meticulously. It's not her fault, we fight a seemingly invisible disease. Unless you know them you would never know that they are sick. The Lord used this to open my eyes a little. How many people do I see daily and I have no idea what they are fighting? How easily do I judge a situation without knowing the full situation? I bet I do it every single day. So this coming year I am going to pause and offer grace first, I am going to pray more and speak less, offering the smell consideration I would want for myself. Not unlike the TARDIS some things are bigger on the inside

She has a name!!!!

In October 2015 I called our local crisis pregnancy center and asked "if a mom wanted to save her baby from abortion through adoption, what would you tell her." They gave us the name of a local Christian based adoption agency that works with both foster care and pregnant mamas, I knew this would be the best place for us to start. Over the course of the next year and a half, we jumped through hoops and prayed, prepared our home, and prayed, said good bye to a placement that we thought would be ours forever, (cried) and prayed. At Christmas 2016 we got a call that would change many lives, a birth family had chosen us to adopt their baby. (More crying) And today, we anxiously pray for the safe delivery of Mia Joy. Mia means wanted child, for the rest of her life she will know that she is wanted. Wanted by a mom and dad and brothers that loved her deeply but couldn't keep her. Wanted by adoptive mom and dad and brothers that had moved mountains and waited and prayed relentlessly for her. And above all Wanted by a Heavenly Father that knew her before she was born, and gave her to a family that could love her completely and relentlessly. The Lord gave us the name Joy when we began this journey, obviously We didn't know what it would look like or how our family would change as we waited, but Joy isn't happiness, it isn't dependent on circumstances or situations, Joy is constant even amidst sufferings and hard times. Our prayer for her is that she would always be surrounded by a heavenly Joy, not tossed back and forth by circumstance but consistent and foundational. And that she would always feel wanted and loved!