Natalie loves to compare things that we do or wear or eat. If there is the slightest chance that they may look alike, she joyfully claims, "We match!" Friday we went to the mall to do some clothes shopping. It has been interesting to see how friendly she has become since her language skills have really increased. She will say hello to people in WalMart, in church, in the mall, etc.
So Friday night I am checking out at JC Penney's. She proceeds to tell the cashier that she has money at home in her piggy bank. BUT, her mommy has lots of money. Now I do wish she was right, but there is no way she can comprehend the value of money right now. She loves to cut out things. I give her the Sunday sales papers and she just so enjoys cutting out the different pictures. She will often tell me that she is making money for me. Ahh, if it was only that easy to have money:)
But I digress from my original purpose in writing this post. As she is charming the cashier with her tales of money, the sweet lady tells me how beautiful she is and how sweet she is. Then the cashier goes on to tell me how much she looks like me. My heart just melted and I could feel the tears start to build up. But I held it together and smiled and told her thank you. She had no idea how she had just made my day. I looked at Natalie and said, "We match!!"
Monday, November 17, 2008
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Unanswered Questions
Every night I lay out the clothes that Natalie will be wearing the next day. The idea is that she can get up and get her self dressed while I am getting a shower and getting ready. For the most part it does help save time in the morning. Tonight I laid out a sweater that I had taken with me to Russia for her. It is the one she wore when I picked her up from the baby home, the one her passport picture was taken in, the one she wore in pictures for other documents and the one she wore often during our month in Russia. She immediately expressed pleasure at the sweater and I asked her if it brought back memories. She nodded yes and I asked her what they were. She said that it was what she wore when I came from far, far away to get her. I nodded and she immediately flew into my arms and said how much she loved me. What a special and precious moment, especially in light of the battle of the wills we have had the last several nights. She has also been sick with the flu, a sinus and ear infection and an upset stomach due to the antibiotic. God has so knitted this child into my heart and truly my love for her continues to grow daily.
I started out with this post with this story because not that long ago, I can remember agonizing that the day would never come when I would get a referral and then five long months of waiting to go back to Russia to bring her home. Even though she has been home for over seven months now, the pain, the disappointment, the frustration and the heartache of those 3 years is still fresh in my mind. So often during the wait, I would cry out to the Lord expressing my emotions, my pain and my desire to understand the unanswered questions.
Yet today I can see the results of those unanswered questions and I can say honestly that it feels so good to be on the other side where the answers are and the pain has dulled. I share this because in the last 3 weeks so many people close to me are experiencing the unanswered questions. A is experiencing major medical problems and the doctors cannot figure out what is wrong; B has seen a marriage fall apart; C has lost a job; D is dealing with a wounded child; E is desiring marriage, F is preparing for major surgery; G is battling cancer; H has been looking and looking for a job; and I could go on.
Why is there so much pain, heartache and disappointment in life? Why do people have to suffer so much? Because we live in a fallen world. Yet there is hope. God does love us and he does hear the cry of our heart and he does answer the unanswered questions. Most times the answer doesn't come immediately and sometimes it is 3 years down the road before we see the answer and sometimes it is a lot longer. Yet God is here now and loves us now and is walking with us now through these very hard times. He does give us grace and faith to move on even without the answers. For all of my friends and family who are dealing with the unanswered questions, please know that I am praying for you and I look forward to the day when I am rejoicing with you on the other side and you have the answers to the questions.
I started out with this post with this story because not that long ago, I can remember agonizing that the day would never come when I would get a referral and then five long months of waiting to go back to Russia to bring her home. Even though she has been home for over seven months now, the pain, the disappointment, the frustration and the heartache of those 3 years is still fresh in my mind. So often during the wait, I would cry out to the Lord expressing my emotions, my pain and my desire to understand the unanswered questions.
Yet today I can see the results of those unanswered questions and I can say honestly that it feels so good to be on the other side where the answers are and the pain has dulled. I share this because in the last 3 weeks so many people close to me are experiencing the unanswered questions. A is experiencing major medical problems and the doctors cannot figure out what is wrong; B has seen a marriage fall apart; C has lost a job; D is dealing with a wounded child; E is desiring marriage, F is preparing for major surgery; G is battling cancer; H has been looking and looking for a job; and I could go on.
Why is there so much pain, heartache and disappointment in life? Why do people have to suffer so much? Because we live in a fallen world. Yet there is hope. God does love us and he does hear the cry of our heart and he does answer the unanswered questions. Most times the answer doesn't come immediately and sometimes it is 3 years down the road before we see the answer and sometimes it is a lot longer. Yet God is here now and loves us now and is walking with us now through these very hard times. He does give us grace and faith to move on even without the answers. For all of my friends and family who are dealing with the unanswered questions, please know that I am praying for you and I look forward to the day when I am rejoicing with you on the other side and you have the answers to the questions.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Halloween
It is hard to believe that I have been back to work for 2 weeks now. I am feeling good and readjusting to being a working mom again. It seems like our lives have been pretty full in that time. This was Natalie's first Halloween and we celebrated the holiday twice that day. Once at Day Care and again at night at the church for Trunk or Treat! She loved getting all the candy. I am not sure how much she understood about the concept of dressing up. We had also carved our first pumpkin. Check out the pictures!
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