the 7th birthday redeemed

I had a pretty stinky 7th birthday.  It was absolutely NO fault of my parents.  They couldn't control the weather or the fact that I was sick.  You see, my birthday is in January.  Where I grew up in NC it snowed usually once a winter.  Of course the year I turned 7 that snow came on my birthday, and I got a little sick with a cold.  So, school was cancelled.  And my mom had made cupcakes for the 28 or so kids in my class.  What to do?  Make lemonade out of lemons.  My mom broke out the cupcake tree (yes she had a plastic one before they were cool :)  and I had a "cupcake tree birthday cake".  That part was fine, I was totally fine celebrating with my family.  I just remember being disappointed that I couldn't take my cupcakes to school for a celebration and that I felt pretty rotten.
Fast forward to the present time.  Today my oldest child celebrated her 7th birthday.  Call it living vicariously through your child if you'd like, but I was determined her 7th birthday wouldn't be "stinky".  We started early this morning.  I had a birthday banner up for her, I wrote a Happy Birthday message on the mirror in the bathroom and taped bright pink streamers in the bathroom doorway.  She was served a "peanut butter Birthday toast" complete with a candle, and we sang to her.  All of this transpired before 7am!  She had asked to have sprinkle doughnuts at school, so Scott and I took them and had lunch with her.  This evening we went to our local Japanese restaurant for dinner and paid the extra $5.50 for a song, cupcake, and photo.  Let me just tell you, that may have been the best $5.50 ever spent!  She was over the moon with excitement.  I even heard "this is the best birthday ever!"  I'm pretty sure, though, that next year will be the best birthday ever as well :)
So, mission accomplished!  The 7th birthday has been redeemed.  And I'm so relieved...it's been a 25 year wait for me to redeem the 7th birthday :)

Here are some photos of our fabulous day.  Enjoy!

  

continuing to learn that mercy triumphs

"God is the only one looking through every layer and at every implication.  He also looks upon the situation in context of what it is, what was, and what is to come.  His deliberations don't just involve immediate impact.  He sees our place and our positions amid carefully woven generations."  --Beth Moore, James: Mercy Triumphs


I love this quote, and I loved Beth Moore's study of the book of James!  I had the absolute pleasure of studying this book of the Bible over the summer...as we waited 78 days for our LOA (letter of approval) from Ch*na.  There were so many rich lessons to be learned through this short little book written by Jesus' brother.  Ask for wisdom without doubting God, man's anger doesn't accomplish God's righteousness, do not show favoritism, the danger of the tongue, the pitfalls of envy and selfish ambition, God's sovereignty, and waiting patiently for the heavenly "rains" were just a few of the sweet lessons the Lord had in store for my heart through the study of the Word.  As a matter of fact, the study made such an impact that I asked Scott if we could name Brennan after it.  I wanted it to serve as a reminder to me of the lessons I had learned and will some day be able to share with Brennan.  My sweet hubby obliged, so our boy will be named Brennan James.  I'm so thrilled to be able to talk to him one day about the significance of his name!

As we are finally nearing the end of this long wait to Brennan, I have been thinking back over the course of this journey and really the past few years.  I specifically remember hearing myself say at one point several years ago that "I didn't feel particularly inclined to adopt from Ch*na."  Wow.  Just WOW.  I am so thankful for a God who knows all the layers of every situation and sees every implication; who looks upon the situation in the light of what was, what is, and what is to come.  God obviously heard me make that statement, but by His mercy and grace worked in my heart because He knew that He had a precious little Chinese son planned just for our family.  God knew what was to come, and that He had chosen me to be a part of it.  That.is.humbling!

So here we are, awaiting the pickup of our Article 5 letter this coming Friday which will then trigger the wait for our Travel approval from Ch*na.  Two more steps in the process to hopefully get these sweet little arms wrapped in a hug around our necks.  We are hoping and specifically praying for a "gotcha day" of October 8th.  For one thing, we don't want Brennan to have to wait any longer for us.  Four and a half years without a momma and baba (daddy) is long enough!  Also, there are financial implications.  It is much more expensive and difficult to get hotel reservations later in October due to an international trade fair in Guangzhou.  October 8th CAN be done by our God who has intimately orchestrated all this process, so we are "asking in faith without doubting" that just 3 days after Scott and I celebrate 10 years of "wedded adventure" we will welcome another little one to our family.  We would so appreciate it if you would also prayerfully make this "gotcha day" request on our behalf!

Thank you, friends, for all your prayers, support, and kind words through the course of this adoption process!