5-ish Things On My Mind...

1. Christmas hasn't been quite the "to-do" that it usually is. In fact, The Husband put up one of our trees and...well....that's it. Yah, you heard me. No ornaments. No Christmas village. No nativity. No lighted angels. No stockings. No decorative bowls. No candles. 

Nada. nothing.

Just a tree.

There are many logical reasons why this happened to someone who typically adores this season. I have outlined a few of those in attempt to explain away this atrocity:

1. My last two classes in graduate school.

2. Thinking about my baby being halfway around the world kind of took the fun out of it.

3. Sewing. I have been blessed with a steady stream of orders. And not-so-blessed with a finicky sewing machine. One that only gives me trouble when I'm in a time-crunch. Of course.

4.  Full-time employment limited my actual "home" time greatly. See also #'s 1 and 3.

But I have big plans for Christmas next year: Advent, Polar Express Night, special ornaments and a beautiful winter wonderland for my little guy or gal =)) I will be redeemed! =)

2.  I am under strict orders by The Husband to "not get my hopes up" about much of the adoption news I have heard lately. For instance, one thing I am supposed to "stop dwelling on" is the fact that we are probably...maybe...but not officially in the top 5 families on the waiting list. FIVE!!! er..I mean that's cool. If you like that sort of thing.

Please pray for God's continued favor. We believe He desires to get the glory in adoption and we intend to continually give Him the glory in ours. And if He intends for us to have an early-spring referral, He alone can make those things work out! We are holding Romans 8:28 close to our hearts:

We know that God is always at work for the good of everyone who loves him. 

^[a] They are the ones God has chosen for his purpose. (CEV)

3.  I am a big "Christmas bow" person. I get this from my mother. And, yet, this is another thing I have been banished from until we get to AR...Apparently, it makes gifts "difficult" to pack into the car when there are ornate bows all over the place that can't get "squished". So Christmas eve will be a mad-dash through white chocolate popcorn balls, butter rum brittle and BOW-MAKING!! Ugh! I am already getting an ulcer just thinking about it!

4.  Literature Review due 01/03.

5.  For a split second, my messy house was on my mind, but I quickly turned my thoughts back to #2 and all was well, again.

I leave you with a verse of hope in the midst of adversity and trial. It stirred my heard and I hope, if ever you feel that pain of tribulations, that it will stir yours too.

Lamentations 3:19-30 (CEV)

¹⁹Just thinking of my troubles

   and my lonely wandering

   makes me miserable.

    ²⁰That's all I ever think about,

   and I am depressed. ^[a] 

²¹Then I remember something

   that fills me with hope.

    ²²The LORD's kindness never fails!

   If he had not been merciful,

    we would have been destroyed. ^[b] 

²³The LORD can always be trusted

   to show mercy each morning.

    ²⁴Deep in my heart I say,

   "The LORD is all I need;

   I can depend on him!"

    ²⁵The LORD is kind to everyone

   who trusts and obeys him.

    ²⁶It is good to wait patiently

   for the LORD to save us.

    ²⁷When we are young,

   it is good to struggle hard

    ²⁸and to sit silently alone,

   if this is what

   the LORD intends.

    ²⁹Being rubbed in the dirt

   can teach us a lesson; ^[c]  

³⁰we can also learn from insults

   and hard knocks.