Saying Goodbye

Our neighbors are foster parents and back in February they approached us about being relief parents for them. They had two foster girls and were expecting their first child in May. We would help them as often as they needed us to. These girls totally stole our hearts and we definitely formed a sweet bond with them. It definitely got us thinking about the possibility of adopting locally. In all of the time I've known Jeremy he always said he would never change a diaper unless it was his own child, well one time I walked into the living room and saw this...

Precious. Little did we know when we started watching the girls that they would be preparing us for our very own girl coming this year. All of this to say the girls were placed with a family today. Our neighbors had hopes of getting to adopt them but the Lord had other plans. We hugged and kissed them one last time today and it was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. These sweet girls didn't even live with me and I cried like a baby. I can't imagine what our sweet neighbors are experiencing. It's hard not to worry or be concerned about their new living  situation bu all we can do now is pray that they would be loved and taken care of. These sweet faces will stay with us for a lifetime...

Learning to Trust

Let me give you a brief background on Jeremy and I and our current situation. He is working two part time jobs- Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Bellevue Arlington Student Pastor. He had been with FCA for about 4 years and felt God calling him back into church ministry. He was very involved with the students at Bellevue Arlington and the position of part time student pastor was offered to him. He loves what he is doing but it is beginning to take a toll. I am currently working full-time in Bellevue's Recreation ministry and love it! Normally, our situation would not be a big deal.. but with the surprise God gave us in April that we were having a baby it is beginning to get interesting. I've always wanted to be a stay at home mom but at this point we are not sure that can happen at first. With all of these different scenarios running through my mind of what we are going to do come December (or whenever she decides to come) not to mention our apartment lease is up in November, I really have been worrying about what we were going to do. Jeremy just doesn't worry and has faith far greater than mine. He has been through some trying times in his life and knows that the Lord is going to take care of us. Being married to him has been so encouraging and seeing the faith he has, has only made mine stronger. With everything that has been going on, God has been teaching me to just let it go and trust Him. This past Sunday was no exception. 

Jeremy was sharing with the students about Moses and the Israelites crossing the Red Sea.  He talked about being in different stages in your walk with Christ. The first being the point in your life when you're up against a huge sea with your enemy on your tail... if you'll put all your faith and trust in Christ, He'll take care of you just like He did Moses and the Israelites. The next stage being when we get so bogged down in life and feeling like we're about to drown, we have to look at where we are, in the middle of the sea, on dry land, and He hasn't let the water cave in yet. We must surrender all that we have/are to Christ and trust that He's going to keep the water up until we've walked through. The last stage is being able to look back at where God has brought us from and what he brought us through and remember He took care of us...all we had to do was trust him.

Ouch. It was just the word I needed to hear. How many times in my life have I doubted that God is going to take care of me? Too many to count. And how many times has continuously taken care of me if I will simply trust Him? Again, too many to count. Our God is good and He will always do what He says He's going to do, all it takes is a little trust.

Summer

Dear Summer,

Please go away! I have enjoyed all of the fun you brought... trips, late nights, swimming, volleyball and of course the olympics. But I'm tired of sweating. At a little over 5 months pregnant, i'm not getting any smaller and the days keep getting hotter. Please go away soon and very very soon. If not then please bring some rain for me to enjoy from my window. I'm ready for cool breezes, football and leaves falling. I'm ready to experience the joy I get when I know I can walk outside to cool off. I'm ready for sweatshirts and toms..both of which I probably won't be able to fit in... guess that means I need to invest in some preggo fall clothing :) Summer, it's been fun but you are not welcome anymore. Time for you to go away and come back next year with much cooler temperatures.

Sincerely,
Sweaty Chubby Pregnant Girl