It's Possible...

...that I'll just be using this blog to show off pictures of the kid. He "helped" the church youth group at their Amazing Race and managed to charm his way into several of the photos.

Who's going to win this part of the race?

Joe had to make it look like he was giving Michael a handicap, but I think he was peeking under the blindfold.

It's a good thing this is a race, because I'm a fast runner!

We had a great day. I'm not quite wore out, but I'll take a seat anyway.

How Do We Get Where We're Going

I don't talk about adoption a lot on here. I don't want Michael to ever feel like he's defined by the fact that he was adopted. It is part of him, but it's not all of him. But I do want him to always know his story. I don't want him to ever look back and be able to pin-point the moment he found out he was adopted. I want it to just be a part of his reality--a reality that gives him comfort and confidence as he sees God's hand in his life. I want him to know his history and in case he ever associates in his mind what I feel about his biology and what I feel about him, I want him to know that I like the people that gave him life--that he comes from people who have their strengths and weaknesses just like any other family. I want him to be glad that he gets his nose from G'pa Mac, his musical ability from Melissa, his love for dogs from Darlene and his looks from Chris.
I worry that I'm not going to be able to communicate all of this to Michael. Like every mom I want to spare this amazing little boy every moment of pain and confusion that may ever come his way. But that's not how life works. And that's not how we develop strength. So I need to ask God to use every bump in Michael's road to grow him into a man who seeks after God's heart. To draw him closer and closer to the safety that exists in following God's path for his life.
I do trust that God cares about every hair on his head. And he wants all of us to come to him and gives us the best opportunity to decide to be his children. I believed that before I had a son and I believe it even more strongly now. This boy that I didn't give birth to has been placed in my family because for some reason, being raised by me is going to give him, not a better life, lifestyle, or family, but give him the best opportunity to grow into a person who will say "yes" when God asks him the question, "will you follow me?" And I'm so thankful I get to be here for this. And so thankful that I get to be his mom.
He's going to be 2 on Friday, so I'll write more about the boy he's becoming on his birthday.

Somebody Misses Her Dog

This is just a real quick post to give Darcy a Pepper fix. I imagine it's very hard to leave such a sweet dog behind. I can tell he misses his family, but he does enjoy hanging out and wrestling with his cousin Jorgie--especially now that he's had a hair cut and doesn't have to worry about passing out from heat exhaustion. I probably already posted this first picture, but in the spirit of "Before and After" I've included it again.

A Trip to the Zoo

Michael's Before and After

Want Some Bread with that Jam?

When I was a kid my very best friend in the whole world was Angela. I think we met very soon after she was born and we grew up knowing that we were friends forever. She was so funny--and so brave. She would always do the things that I was too afraid to try. She'd even pick up worms--and didn't chase me around with them because she knew I was scared. So, there's a story from when we were really young, and I don't remember the details at all--just a sense of what everybody was talking about at the time. I guess Angela used to suck her toe. Not her thumb--but her toe. And it could be that she only did it a couple times but the adults around us talked about it a lot because, let's face it--what adult wouldn't want to be flexible enough to suck their toe? Anyway, poor Angela got sick and maybe for comfort or maybe for entertainment while she was stuck in bed, she sucked on her toe--and gave herself strep toe! When we were on a road trip the other day, Michael seemed to think this was normal behavior--I decided to put this picture here in honor of Angela--in case she ever finds her way to my blog :)

WIP Tag

For anybody in manufacturing the term WIP is a necessary head's up that the product on the shelf isn't completed yet--it's a "work in progress." I feel like I've been using that term a lot lately. I get something started and have to move on to something more urgent before I get anything finished. It's kind of a frustrating way to work. Set this aside, come back to it later, work on this a while, set it aside, come back to it later. (In the football business later is October...) So tonight I took a look at poor Pepper and realized that I'd been intending to take him in to get a hair cut for a long time. And it's hot in Michigan this week. So I said to myself--what's the easiest way to save 40 bucks on a dog groomer? Well, getting out my handy clippers. So I started with his head because he was having a hard time seeing. Then, the back is supposed to be easy so I moved to that. Next, I started on his front legs, but that's when he got a little antsy. I only have one blade for my clippers (which means "one length fits all") so at that point I decided to let them cool off before I continued. On my best days I'm not very good at clipping, but when Pepper is a WIP, the temporary result can be downright scary. He made me promise not to take his picture, so I won't show you what he looks like right now.
But thinking about a work in progress reminds me of the cute children's song--"Kids under construction" that the Gaither sing (Darcy--am I right? Is it the Gaithers?). And about all the times people say, Oh--I'm not finished yet, God is still working on me. And while that's a huge relief--that God finishes the good work that he's started--let me just throw out a word of caution. I have a friend that I've been thinking for years, "if God gets his attention, he's going to be a great man of God" but instead he avoids taking his Christian life seriously. He avoids letting God work on his heart and avoids any situation where he might actually get moved along towards maturity. Let's not get complacent on the journey, thinking that where we are is good enough. WIP's only redeeming quality is that they will be completed eventually. And just ask Pepper--stopping 1/2 way there isn't pretty.