June Birthdays

In our family birthdays seem to pile up in certain months.


October has the most...Lily's comes first, then Aaron's, followed by our newest (and youngest...name coming soon!), and the month rounds out with Ally.


March also has several extended family member birthdays with Kevin only missing the month by 4 days.


June, however, takes second place for the month with the most immediate family member birthdays.


Anna Grace began our month with her 9th birthday and felt most pampered with a special breakfast, 

Good camera's battery died...had to resort to cell phone pictures!

Lunch with Mom at her favorite restaurant...Five Guys

...and then dinner with friends at our Chick-fil-a fundraiser.  Her birthday party is still forthcoming.  Poor girl...she didn't get one last year, so she got to choose any location this year.  Fun Land.  After another adoption fundraiser there last Friday, Kevin agrees it is F-U-N.  Kevin meet go-cart.  Go-cart meet Kevin.  Need I say more?

What was up with my crooked glasses?

Next, came my birthday.  Not a big year, number-wise, so spending it at a homeschooling convention and then Emma's ballet recital seemed like an okay way to spend the day.  Nothing says 'Happy Birthday' like buying your children's curriculum!  


Yesterday was our last June birthday.  June 18th is Luke's birthday. It was not as hard as I expected it to be as I watched the date creep closer.


A sweet friend emailed me her love and prayers.  Something about someone remembering really ministered to me.  Thank you, my friend.


The day was pretty quiet.  I had long wished for a memorial service for Luke, but that has not come to be and I doubt will at this point.  But the Lord gave me an idea a couple of months ago and spoke to my heart that yesterday was the day to begin walking it out.


Butterflies.


God had reminded me of the butterfly's beginning as an earthbound, slow-moving caterpillar...and of its eventual change into a free-flying beautiful butterfly.  But the change has to come through a burial or death of sorts.  


Luke, while here on earth, was like that caterpillar.  But through death he became what he was created to be...whole, free, walking with His Creator.


Yesterday, I felt like the Lord wanted me to order the caterpillars so we can watch their transformation...and their flight.

Picture of a birthday celebration at Luke's foster home in 2009

My sensitive Anna Grace made her brother a card and asked me what kind of cake we would make him.  It broke my heart that I don't know what kind of cake he'd like.  


However, I remembered how much I'd been looking forward to taking Luke to the places we love here.  One of which is Carl's.  Those of you who live nearby know Carl's.  Yum.  Not a man...but soft serve ice cream.  It is an icon here in the 'burg.  So, in honor of Luke we went and enjoyed Carl's...a place I had looked forward to taking him.

I love that the kids speak of Luke in the present tense and kept talking about how great a party Luke was enjoying in heaven...and how he is walking and dancing.  Loved that they were joking that the disciple Luke might walk up to our Luke and say something like, "Hi, Luke!  My name is Luke!"  I love that they know heaven is a real place and that they know that it will wonderful and that they are rejoicing that Luke is rejoicing in being there...even though we all miss him.


In Him,

Baby Step

Emma saw him...

...and fell in love and showed me.

Prior to this, our agency had given us space for many weeks, letting us know that they were there for us whenever we felt ready to venture back into thoughts of adoption.

My heart said I would never be ready, but the Lord was speaking, "through the Valley...not to."  Another time He had plainly reminded me that there were millions of orphans waiting for a family and that my pain didn't make their need vanish.

I told Him I wasn't ready.  And I sensed His Spirit whisper...you'll never be 'ready'.  If you wait till you feel better, you'll be waiting forever while another child goes without a family.

I knew He was telling me I was going to have to continue through the pain.

Our agency had sent us a file shortly after Emma "met" Jake.  Just the act of opening that little one's file felt like a betrayal to Luke.  My heart screamed, "I want Luke!  I don't want to look at other children's files!  I want Luke!" 

Betrayal...that was the emotion I was overwhelmed by at the thought of looking at other children's files.

Unless you are an adoptive parent, I'm not sure how to explain to you how very much Luke is our child.  He wasn't going to be...he is.  He can't be replaced.  And looking at another child's files left a bitter taste in my mouth and an ache in my heart that wanted my lovable Luke to know he was irreplacable. 


I know that the Lord was working on my heart as we prayed over that file.  He gave us both a peace that that little one was not ours and that her family was waiting for her.  Indeed, within a few weeks she was accepted by her forever family.

As difficult as looking at her file was, it was a baby step toward our third son.

I know I promised to tell you his name, but I need to explain why that name...and that's a little later in the story!

In Him,

Fundraiser Tonight!

Join us tonight anytime between 4-8pm at our local Southpoint Chick Fil A for a fundraiser for our adoption and our friend's adoption of 2 sweeties from Ethiopia (they are in Ethiopia now for court so please pray for them!).


You have to present the flier stating you are there for the Spirit Night in order for you purchase to count toward our fundraiser.


Leave me your email if you want me to sent the flier to you as an attachment!


Hope to see you there...


In Him,