a wedding, a trip, and a few yummies

Took a little hiatus from the internet and to be honest, it was quite nice. I think I'll be doing less internet browsing, fb, pinterest, blogging, etc. When consumed by the internet, you just miss more "real life" and "real people". Though I'm not disconnecting totally (I've got too many online adoption friends!), I'm making a conscious effort to spend significantly less time online. After all, I've got life to live :).

Here's some fun things we've been up to this summer:

The hubs preached another wedding of some friends from church. He did an awesome job and the wedding was beautiful. Lucky for us, a photo booth was involved. Get us in front of a camera and there's no holding back. Yes, my husband is a pastor. Yes, he has a cigar in his mouth.

If you didn't read in this post about our exciting news, we are now the first family on the wait list for any child over 24 months within our parameter range. It's so exciting to know that a referral could be around the corner! Praying fervently for our child as he/she could be going through some major life changes this summer.

We went back to Eagles Nest in Guatemala last week. Couldn't have spent the week with a better group of people. What an awesome time we had in service, fellowship, and partaking in God's creation. As I observed beauty in nature, in others, and in a different culture I couldn't help but praise our majestic God. 

When making the switch to real food, I thought finding recipes was going to be tricky. Man was I ever wrong. I have found some of the best recipes (thank you pinterest) using fresh, "real" ingredients. Wanted to share a couple of our current favorites. They won't disappoint.

chicken and roasted broccoli salad

A twist on your traditional broccoli salad with no mayo and yummy roasted red peppers and goat cheese. 

grilled eggplant

Always wanted to try eggplant but never knew what to do with it? This recipe is phenomenal. Eat as a side or as a main dish. Hubby asks for this one all the time.

spinach salad

The dressing is the best part. Don't worry if you don't have every ingredient, just throw in what you've got and the dressing makes it all work. This will be a go-to salad during these hot summer days!

Linking up my favorite things today at finding joy.

faithful God

Journal entry: 6.5.12

The Lord is so good. He cares for His children. He cares for me. The last couple of weeks have been marked by struggle. Trying. Wrestling for answers to many questions. Often crying out to Him wondering if He is listening.

But He proves faithful...yet again. He doesn't have to prove Himself faithful. He already has. Hebrews 10:23 tells us so. But what grace shown when He gives us real life glimpses of His nature. He knew my wondering heart needed reassuring.

His faithfulness proved through a prayer uttered from an individual who didn't know what we were going through. During a prayer timed not specifically aimed at our situation. A prayer that only the Holy Spirit could have orchestrated. And oh, what refreshment it brought to my weary soul. A renewal of strength and trust in His perfect timing. An answer to my "help my unbelief" cry. 

God hears. He knows. He is working it together for my good and His glory. Faithful God.

Then late last week, even more grace displayed. Because of a referral, we are now the first family for a child over 24 months old fitting our parameters of 0-54 months. A glimmer of hope. Another healthy dose of refreshment. 

While we could still be waiting more than 6 months from now, and while there a still many unknowns surrounding our adoption and future, we are once again renewed by His love. Whatever you are going through and whatever you are waiting on our faithful God cares. And He is working all things together for good. His good.

may adoption update

...or lack thereof :). Writing posts like these are pretty tough because there hasn't been any movement since last month. We are still #17 for a boy and #24 for a girl.

Many people have asked why it has taken so long and why referrals are slowing down. I thought I would take a little bit of time to explain the best that I can the reason for the slowdown. The U.S. Embassy and the Eth. government are tightening down and making sure all adoptions are completely ethical. A great thing! A much needed thing! A thorough check must be done on each child to determine their orphan status and all their paperwork must be in order.

Our agency cannot take in any children at their children's home (to be referred to families) who are not paperwork ready. This means that all the I's must be dotted and all the T's must be crossed making sure that every child can without a doubt complete the adoption process without any hiccups. If something is missing in the paperwork, that child cannot be referred to an adoptive family, and our agency cannot accept them into their children's home.

Although we know the reasons for the slowdown logistically speaking, we know ultimately it is because God hasn't seen fit to bless us with a child...yet. We are doing lots of praying and seeking God's face, begging for His will to be done in our lives and in this adoption. 

We know, read, and believe that He is faithful. We trust Him with all our hearts. But trying to navigate the day-to-day not knowing when or if this adoption will actually happen is just plain tough. We are being refined by the day and want to give Him glory in the good, the hard, and the unknowns. So very thankful that He already knows the outcome and looking forward to the day when it will all make sense to us!

"Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful." 

-Hebrews 10:23