Digging out of the boxes...

Well we are slowly but surely digging out of all of the boxes. I have to say that I'd forgotten how utterly exhausting it is to move and I'm kinda glad I forgot otherwise I might not have obeyed God when He led us! :-) Lily & I are slowly trying to get into some new routines and figure out our new schedules. I have to say that overall, we really LOVE our new location. It's much more peaceful and the people even seem a little nicer out here. Go figure! :-)

While we wait to see if this short sale goes through, God continues to remind me that He is our protector, our healer and our restorer. I have to depend on Him daily to even get out of bed, let alone get boxes unpacked, play w/my precious daughter - all of those things take extra effort because of how wiped out I am. Praise God that He doesn't let us go through anything alone. We felt forsaken by much of our church & small group and yet God was and is still here. Praise Him for that! Praise Him for leading us to a place of peace and I believe ultimately, restoration.

Adoption-wise, we just got our extensions back from U.S Immigration which is great! Now we basically just wait for "the call!" We'll start applying again for grants now that we're getting settled but for the most part, we are now waiting. June 20th will be exactly 1 year since we entered the Waiting Child program and it still looks like we could hear something any day! What's also amazing to me is to see how God is preparing Lily to be a big sister. She prays for Jasmine every day and talks all the time about going to pick up her sister. It's so cool to see God working in your child's heart and life! What an amazing facet of parenthood that I never really thought about before.

I've also FINALLY heard back from our former foster daughter and it sounds like things have settled down at her house for now. PRAISE GOD that she's safe! I was so relieved to hear back from her - we talked for about an hour! We're going to try and have her come and stay w/us some weekend soon (if it's ok w/her dad). She's trying to get a job (hard to believe she's 15 already!) and is trying to stay out of trouble. I made it clear to her that no matter how she behaves (although she needs to own up to her part) it's NEVER EVER ok for anyone to hit her. I guess the social worker told her and her teacher that unless bruises are left, there's nothing they can do to help her. Nice! I understand that from a perspective of not wanting to un-justly punish a parent however when a family already has a history of violence, it seems to me that allegations should be taken more seriously. The good news is at least for now, she is safe. I'm planning on keeping more closely in touch with her and appreciate your prayers on her behalf as well!

I'm still planning on uploading some pics of the house, hopefully soon. Thanks so much for all of your prayers for us! Please continue to pray for our healing and restoration as well as provision for our upcoming adoption. Pray for me as I work daily on forgiving and letting go. I'll try and update you all soon!