Unexpected Reminders

The last few days have been quite interesting and I just had to share the joy with you. Of course, we're seeing more signs of spring. (Yay!!) I went outside to "play" basketball with our son yesterday afternoon and although I missed more baskets than I made, it was wonderful to enjoy the warmth of the sun, the fresh breeze...and the grass that is gradually becoming green again! The trees are beginning to bud, there is new growth slowly emerging around us...and the hope of spring is tangibly displaying its promise. The winter seemed especially long and now the changing of seasons is definitely upon us. What a blessing.

As I shared in my last post, the waiting time in our journey to our little girl/s in China has seemed quite lengthy lately. But we continue to trust that God's plan remains and in His perfect timing, design and leading, we will definitely see the "winter of waiting" turn into "spring of promise." Later this week, we will reach the twenty-three month anniversary of our Log-In-Date and as long as that sounds, we know we are that much closer to seeing our sweetie/s and bringing JennaBeth (and maybe EmmaKate) home with us. But there is never a moment we don't miss her/them. There is never a moment we don't love them. There is never a moment we cannot pray for our sweet baby girl/s and all the care that others are so unselfishingly providing for her/them. Although we've yet to hold her in our arms, our hearts have held a very special place for her for a long, long time. And we miss her.

Yet...as He so perfectly orchestrates, God knows what is on our hearts and He sends just the right reminder into our lives. We are then encouraged to keep holding on and cherishing each step in our journey. The past several days, we have been blessed with the love, prayers and interests of many friends at Church and in our community as they ask about our journey. Oh, how that touches our hearts! Thanks to all of you for caring and continuing to walk beside us.

There are even other friends we stay in contact with by email and Facebook who continue to encourage us. Each word spoken, each prayer lifted up and each thought extended touches us beyond words!! Thanks to each of you. Another dear friend of mine has been so thoughtful lately. She has reached out so graciously several times in the past few days to remind me that we are never alone. Thank you, Kim, for all you are doing to walk this journey with us, too. Just when our hearts ache the most, we are blessed abundantly. Truly, we are never alone...and neither is our baby girl in China. The very same God who holds us together in friendship is also holding our baby girl/s in His arms as well. How incredible is that!

Thank you...to all of you...for caring, praying, smiling, hugging, loving, walking, sharing and encouraging our journey. Always, always know that there is joy in the journey because of the blessings along the way...and that includes each of you who are so near and dear to our hearts. Thank you, God, for the unexpected reminders. May our dear friends, family members...and our baby girl/s in China....always know that we love them and are praying for their journeys each day.
Cherishing each one beside us,
Terri & family