The Wait...

For the last several years of my life I feel like I have been in a "wait".  From our first adoption until now we have waited.  Some times patiently, and often impatiently.  I have always felt God's presence in the wait, but have not always understood it or agreed with it.  I have tried to embrace the wait and enjoy the time in the middle of it so that I could possibly get a glimpse of what God had for me in the wait.  I have learned a lot and grown a lot in these past several years.  But for now, the wait, I must say is driving me a little bonkers.  What are you doing Lord?  We have had our house on the market for a 1 1/2 years...we have someone interested and we have gone back and forth on offers for the last month and are currently still waiting to hear back from them (so not typical, right?!??!) , we have been wait listed for a referral from Ethiopia for 10 months....only expected to wait 4-5 months for a referral and now we are currently waiting to hear back from Liam's surgeon regarding his surgery...which should have happened the beginning of last week. 
In my desperation, I searched the Internet for answers...Why does God make us wait? How can I be joyful in the wait? What is God trying to teach me?  I found this quote and it really spoke to me....

Many of us may seem to hit a pause button somewhere in our lives. It is a waiting point, and here our faith and patience is tried. Here He says, “Wait on Me.” He will show you the joys of waiting and the blessings you will receive!

That is where I have been...the pause button has been pressed.  So, I must find joy in the wait and know that what God has promised will be fulfilled and, oh, the blessing we will receive. 
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On another note, Mason turned 10 years old on Saturday.  I can hardly believe it!  He received the IPhone for his birthday.  He was sooooo excited.  Ten years old is a big year in our family.  So, we celebrate it BIG.  Fred will be taking him and his cousin to Virginia next weekend and they will go to one of the largest water slides around and to Busch Gardens.  He is really excited!

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On Saturday, Morgan, Lily and I headed to the barn to finish painting all the jumps for her riding teacher's birthday.  It was really hot outside, but Lily was a trooper and got right in there and helped us paint.  Check her out!

She was covered in paint!!  Morgan is still getting paint out of her hair.
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Friday was Morgan and Mason's last day of school.  On Thursday, Mason had is end of year party.  It was great to be able to go and have that time with him.  Thanks Dawn, for watching the little ones!!!
Each year the teacher gives out awards based on the child's personality or things they have accomplished during the year.  Of course, Mason got the "funny bone award".  I really shouldn't have expected anything less.

Next year will be Mason's last year of elementary school and Morgan's last year of middle school.  I am so proud of the hard work and dedication both of them give to their school work.  They both pulled out straight "A's" all year long! 

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On Monday (Memorial Day) we hung out around the house and had a nice quite day to ourselves.  Morgan spent her day at the barn and Fred and I and the rest of the kiddos hung out at our pool.  It was really a great weekend!

Mother's Day

My first Mother's Day with Liam!  Hoping next year I can celebrate Mother's Day with Miles.  It definately is a little nerve racking knowing we could get the call any day and we will finally see our son's face.  I just can't wait!

My goodness, it's hard to get a good picture now a days!  This is the best shot Fred was able to get.  I really wanted a great shot with me and the kids on Mother's Day, but I will take what I can get. 

I hope all the mothers out there had a blessed day!

A Weekend of Birthdays!

This weekend we celebrated my niece Olivia's 6th birthday and Lily's 3rd birthday.  We started out with a "Glamour Party" for Olivia on Saturday.  The girls dressed up, got their nails done, hair done and then it was off to the red carpet for a fashion show.  It was just adorable!  I have been at a loss without my camera (left it at the beach), so until we head back down to Daufuskie and am stuck with my little old point and shoot camera that is falling apart...yuck!  Thank goodness a friend of ours is a photographer and was at both parties taking lots of pics!!!  Thanks Layne...your the best.  Check out some pictures of Olivia's party....

On Sunday we finally celebrated Lily's birthday at Build a Bear.  She was so stinkin excited and has been waiting one LONG week for this day to finally come.  It was so cute to watch how every little thing made her squeal with excitement and joy.  These pictures don't even begin to describe how she felt, but they are still adorable.