It’s that time of year again when we settle into our routine of a school schedule – which means EARLY BEDTIME for kids – and I feel as though I have a little more brainpower left at the end of the day than I do during the summertime! I have always had the best of intentions when it comes to keeping up with our blog, but intentions do not always come to fruition!
Back-to-school this year finds our family with a fourth-grader, a second-grader, and as of tomorrow morning….a PRESCHOOLER! A strange sensation came over me as I hung a third backpack in the mudroom this evening in preparation for Sydney’s first day of school! A year from now, FOUR backpacks will hang. Three years from now, FIVE backpacks???!!!!! YOWSA!!!
Yes, we will be welcoming our fifth child into our family in the near future! We are in the middle of the adoption process, praying to bring a little boy from the Philippines into our home. This little guy will be two years old in November. Of course, we can’t get him here fast enough; but we know there is no such thing as ‘fast’ when it comes to adoption, and so we just pray daily for him as we patiently wait for approval from the powers-that-be!
Some of you might be asking what spurred us into the realm of adoption. Some of you have a few choice words for our decision! Some of you think it’s great but still don’t understand why a family of six would choose to add another. We’re prepared for such reactions, but not by our own power. I can tell you that one person has suggested to Kevin that I am forcing him into this because I must be regretting not having anymore biological children, and that he should put his foot down and let me know what’s what! Okay, so those of you who know me well probably take a step back when you read that and expect to hear that my reaction was explosive slightly negative…but it wasn’t…which is WEIRD for me! There’s no other explanation, other than it’s a total God thing! Not only has our family been called to walk this path and expand our family in this way, but I have also been called to tolerance and peace for such assumptions. Wonders never cease, I tell ya! This is sooooooo not me! But I am loving *this* me — the peacefulness, the assuredness, and the knowledge that it only comes from one source — my God!
Hale, Addi, Sydney & Reid are all excited at the prospect of a new brother – most especially Hale, as you can imagine! Sydney & Reid giggle every time we talk about what John Mark (yep, that’s his name — isn’t it sweet?!) will call me….”Mommy,” I reply. And thus begins the giggling! Sydney wants to teach him how to play with stuffed animals and all about Jesus! Reidie wants to teach him how to go pee-pee on the potty (yay! I’m all for that one!). Addi wants to introduce him to our dogs & cats and show him how to play nicely with them, and read bedtime stories to him. Hale wants to teach him everything he knows about Nerf guns and video games! John Mark is going to be one lucky boy to have such amazing siblings to teach him everything he needs to know (and then some!); and we are all going to be very lucky blessed to have another son/brother who will undoubtedly give more to us than we could ever hope to give to him!
“And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me.” -Matthew 18:5