The Last 46,146 minutes

I'm not sure where to even begin...it's been a month since my last update. This is partly because we've been crazy busy, partly because I have had nothing "official" to report, partly because I don't know what details to share and partly because everytime I begin to write I feel this overwhelming sense to "be still."

Hearts for Hackleburg :)

In this one month we have witnessed great destruction in our "Sweet Home" state...we have reached out to those affected by the April 27th tornados and prayed with those that lost loved ones. We have offered our muscles, ears, shoulders and hearts to a small town no one had ever heard of (until Brett Farve decided to stop by:) ) in hopes that, just maybe through these small acts the love of Christ would be felt in Hackleburg.  We have cooked, shopped, loaded and hauled. We have laughed and we have cried with these sweet people. We have seen destruction on a scale only the majesty of God can explain but we have seen kindness and love just as majestic. Amidst all the craziness of this life we have also had much to celebrate. We have celebrated the many physical lives spared and the spiritual lives changed, we have celebrated the resurrection of our Savior, we have celebrated mother's day, celebrated a birthday, watched as other's celebrated the death of Bin Laden...and now we celebrate the discovery of an answer to a question I really thought would be a mystery to us forever....the answer is gallbladder. :) The question,

WHAT ON EARTH IS CAUSING MY SIDE AND BACK TO HURT LIKE THIS???  :)

I've been "coping" with aches and pains in my side since I was pregnant with Sara Kate and it's been driving me CRAZY! At first I thought the dull ache to sharp pain in my right lower rib was little feet wedged in my rib cage. But after those little feet made their entrance into the world, I was confused why it didn't go away. So I began to describe to my doctor what I called "phantom pain" because I thought my body was just "remembering" the pain from pregnancy. It would come and go and vary with intensity. It progressed from only upper abdominal pain to radiating to my middle back. Finally, in February of last year I got so aggravated with it I went to the doctor wanting answers. He did an ultrasound, blood work, CT scan ...everything looked normal. So I assumed at that point it was an annoyance I'd have to live with. Well, I have been living with it for over a year now and I'm at the point of wanting to do surgery on myself :)...just get it out! All the mommies can relate to this frustration...it's like at the end of a pregnancy you are so miserable all you can think about is GET THIS BABY OUT! I'm at that point but until last week I wasn't 100% sure of the cause of the pain. I finally had a HIDA scan done last week (I say finally because my own stubborness has been putting it off, as I was totally convinced nothing was wrong and it would be a waste of my time:) ) and it showed my gallbladder functioning at less than 9% and thus the source of my problem. I will have it removed on May 27th. Prayers are greatly appreciated although I'm quite certain the surgery will be no big deal and I'll be so relieved to feel "normal" again that I'll have very little down time. Don't you wish you got to be the person that had me as a patient??? :) Admittedly, I'm very hard headed and non-compliant! So pray for everyone around me as well! :)

Sara Kate turned two years old on May 15th. She may be itty bitty but she has a mighty two year old attitude. :) When I look at her I'm amazed...she is such a cutie and a miracle in her own way. Looking back to the season of life when I wondered if we would be blessed with another child seems like another lifetime ago. God is amazing! He is so faithful and now my answered prayer is two...



Blowing out the candles!



On a serious note, as I mentioned above, we have been busy this past month. Part of that time we were blessed to be able to serve in Hackleburg, AL. If you're not familiar with this area, it's a small town that was almost completely destroyed by a F5 tornado. Hopefully soon I can share some of our experiences from that time. God provided precious moments and testimonies is the midst of this tragedy. The spirit of the people in this town is so strong and one thing I learned after Hurricane Katrina is to look for the blessings in the "storms of this life." It's not always easy in that moment but on the other side you can see how perfectly orchestrated for God's glory something like a devastating tornado can be for a community, a life...an eternity. Hackleburg will recover but the efforts are on going. Please continue to pray for and support the people across this country experiencing great trials because of weather related tragedy.

And of course, please continue to pray for our adoption journey. Yes, it's still the "walk" of a lifetime. Definitely a marathon rather than a sprint. I'm totally convinced God calls only the most impatient people to adopt and then has a good laugh through out the process. :) We are pretty much complete with all of our paperwork that we can do. We are still waiting on clearances to come in from the FBI and state of Mississippi. Once those are here we will have our documents apostilled in Montgomery and sent on to the agency and then to Russia. We are still hoping to be able to adopt two sweet brothers and we hope to soon have more information. I'm "impatiently" waiting. :) Things are positive and on a good track to the successful adoption of two children:) So keep the prayers coming....