He is Enough

Lonliness comes

But so does Your presence

Battles come

But so does Your strength

Doubt overwhelms

But it's crushed by Your power

Fear surrounds

But it's calmed by Your peace

You are enough to satisfy

You are my shelter in the storm

You are faithful

And You hear my cry

Oh, Lord I trust in You

Oh, Lord I trust in You!

These are words of a song I wrote back in 2003, and I've been thinking about them a lot lately. As I stand on the edge, about to jump into this new adventure called 'motherhood', I must admit that there is a certain amount of fear that comes along with it. Changes, uncertainty, expectations, unknowns...the same thing everyone faces when entering parenthood, I know...but this time it is ME entering parenthood! As I have struggled with these fears, I have been reminded once again that the Lord is enough. He is stronger than my weakness, bigger than my questions, and can bring peace even to this anxious heart. I'm thankful for this time in my life that reminds me once again of my need for God, and I take a deep breath and remember once again that I trust in Him.

"The LORD is my strength and my shield;

My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped."

Psalm 28:7

Little Bit of This, Little Bit of That

More news on the adoption front today - Matthew has EP (Emigration Permit) as of August 3rd! This is one of the things that has to happen in Korea, so we are happy to know it has happened already. Come home, sweet baby!

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I have not been running at all this week and have been stretching and icing the knee as much as possible. I tried to make an appointment with the sports doctor I saw last year, but he had the gall to move out of state without letting me know. Imagine! Now I have to see a new doctor, which meant a referral from my family doctor, which means I can't get in to see him until Sept. 14th. Like I can wait until then to go running again - HA!

So tonight I went out sporting two knee braces and managed to do 50 minutes. I can't believe I'm saying this, but it was easy. I never imagined I would ever be able to say that. Afterwards my right knee (which is more painful) was swollen but after stretching and icing I feel great! So maybe if I keep up that routine I can hang in there for a few more weeks...

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Change is a-coming for my little sister, Sarah! She will be moving here in one week to start college. I can't wait to have her nearby!!!

The Process Keeps Moving...

It seems like, as we get near the end of this adoption process, I am more and more desperate for any update or word of any progress at all! Today we got some good news!

After receiving our I-600 approval, it was sent (by USCIS) to the NVC (National Visa Center) which is here in the States.

So today I called to find out if we had been "logged in" yet...and found out we are logged in AND were logged out today! That means our adoption paperwork was received (logged in) and checked over by the NVC (National Visa Center) and then was sent to the US embassy in Seoul, South Korea (logged out).

From what I can gather (it gets kind of confusing to me at this point) we are now waiting for the embassy to send a packet of paperwork (called "P3") to our Korean agency. The length of time it takes for the agency to complete the P3 is unknown and could take anywhere between a few weeks to a few months. There is also something else called "EP" (Emigration Permit) that Matthew has to have, but it seems to me that he may get that at any point along the way and it does not have to happen in order. I'm not sure if I'm right about that though!

I do not know if we will hear any updates from now until our travel call...torture, pure torture!

Please pray with us that things in Korea go quickly and Matthew is home soon!

I Made It!

Around 4pm yesterday I finally dragged my behind off the couch and headed out for my run. I am so glad that I did! It was an amazing run, possibly the best ever, and I made it through all 8 miles! That once seemed so impossible, but now I have completed it.

As I started out, I thought for sure I was in for a rough time. About 3 minutes into the run the battery on my mp3 player died. Oh dear. I knew that meant I had over 1 1/2 hours by myself to think. What was I going to think about for that long?

Well, I'll spare you the play by play of all that went through my head, but I will say that I did a lot of praying and a lot of reflecting on all that the Lord has done in my life. The blessings He has given are so abundant that sometimes I just feel overwhelmed by His goodness. His faithfulness and constant care for me, His forgiveness and patience with me...I so often take these things for granted. It was good to just have that time to think. I'm so glad my battery died :)

I'm having a hard time with my knees and had a lot of pain towards the end of my run, which is a bit worrying. I haven't ever done this before (obviously!) so I'm not sure if I should just "run through it" or what. I'm icing them and stretching but feeling a lot of ouch today still. Any and all suggestions are welcome!!!

Some Great Summer Deals!

In an effort to take my mind off the adoption for five minutes I thought I would share a few of my hot buys from the summer so far! I have been hitting a lot of garage sales this year and have found a ton of great deals.

I found this Noah's Ark lamp for just $2.00 which goes perfectly with Matthew's room! In all fairness, I did have to buy a lampshade and bulb for it, but still...!

A jacket that makes me really wish it was not still hot and humid...$3.00 (please notice that Brad could not stand the idea of not being in the picture with me...and had to sneak in his foot!)

Two sweaters that I just love...25 cents each! I can't wait for fall!

Some outdoor toys for Matthew for $5.00.

I love that our house is starting to fill up with kid stuff :)

Four books by one of my favorite authors for $2.65! I am working my way through the first one and loving it.

Good summer reading :)

Today I am trying to get up the energy (physically and mentally) to go for my 8 mile run...having some trouble getting going for some reason. But I am going to do it! And it will be good. It is a beautiful 65 degrees here today - perfect for a long run! Hopefully I will live to blog about it :)

Last night I started our adoption scrapbook. I am so excited to share some of those pages soon!

Happy Saturday!

USCIS Gives Us Their Approval!

Today marks two months...61 days...1464 hours...since we were matched with Matthew!

But really, who's counting?

And as if that weren't enough good news for today, we received our I-600 approval from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in the mail this afternoon!!!! Actually, it was dated August 13th, and only took them 10 days to process. If you have ever had to do any kind of paperwork with the government, you know this is pretty amazing!

When we received our referral, we were told that the wait until our travel call would be 3-6 months. From my obsessive frequent checking of the forums, it seems that 3-4 is the average.

Did I mention that we are now at 2 months????

Let's do some math...that means that it could be only one or two more months until Matthew is here! Four to eight weeks. I am screaming on the inside (a good excited scream this time, not a scream of terror!)

Of course I have to put my adoption disclaimer: with all international adoptions there is the possibility that it could take way longer than we think and everything under the sun could go wrong.

But we're praying for a smooth ride the rest of the way and hoping the days pass quickly!