One late Thankful Thursday item

When I joined Mark's family, I was blessed with not one, but two grandmas. I was very close to my maternal grandparents growing up, my grandmother passed away in 1989 and my grandfather in 1996. So, this was a precious gift to me! I have special memories of time spent with Grandma Paulson - she passed away a couple of years ago. Grandma Hansen is 97 years young and recently was hospitalized after a fall. We found out last night that she has returned to her apartment and I am SO thankful for God's healing. I know that Grandma is happiest in her own space (as we all are) - she is blessed with a wonderful caregiver Joan who helps make this possible.

Thankful Thursday

I've written and re-written this post for the past hour and for whatever reason, the words are just not flowing right this evening. Grrr... but, there are things to be thankful for this Thursday.

1. All of you - Mark and I appreciate the ability to share our adoption journey with our bloggy friends and family. I'm always hoping for more "followers" so feel free to join us as we travel this path and share our blog with others. You may be instrumental in helping our dreams of parenthood come true! Hmmm - I've even been thinking about some type of contest along these lines. Still working out the details, but doesn't everyone like the idea of winning something?

2. Weekend plans with my hubby!! We are celebrating our anniversary a little late, but I am looking forward to time with this terrific guy that I am married to!


I know... nothing profound this week, but that's ok. Is there such a thing as blogger's block (like writer's block)? If so, I'm pretty sure that's what I have! :)

A Huge Thank You!

One of my projects for my gerontological nursing class this semester was to teach elementary age children about safety hazards for the elderly.

I contacted a private Lutheran school nearby and asked if they would be willing to have me talk to their students. I was thrilled when the administrator agreed.

So... today was the day and there are a few thank-you's to make!

1. Thank you to Grace Lutheran School and Patty for allowing me to visit the students today.

2. My co-workers provided some terrific ideas to incorporate into my teaching project and I am grateful for their input.

3. My wonderful husband and terrific mother-in-law were kind enough to be my assistants for today. Not only did they both do an awesome job with their groups of kids, it was nice to have a little "moral support," too!

This really turned out to be a fun project. We set up interactive stations for the kids to simulate what is is like to have vision and sensory impairments and talked about what they could do to help out their grandparents/older friends. I think they enjoyed the experience and I know I did.

So again, thank you to everyone who was part of this fun learning opportunity.

The Power of Prayer

It has really been an up and down week. We've been on "vacation" - doing things around the house, trying to catch up on school work (unsuccesfully), and enjoying some time together. That has been very nice!!

But, we've had some not so great things happen which have been very discouraging. It started out with the 4-wheeler and generator being stolen. A few other incidents occurred over the course of the week (won't go into specifics) and the final straw was yesterday. Mark had bought a replacement generator, brought it home, and it wouldn't work. He called the store Friday evening and was told bring it in, no problem - it would be replaced. Yesterday, he took it back to the store where he was told he could NOT exchange it. He called to tell me this and it really upset me. To spend $400 on a generator we can't use is not something we can afford right now. After hanging up the phone, I started crying and then decided that maybe instead of just crying I should pray. I poured out my heart to God, told Him that I was feeling so discouraged after everything that had happened this week. That I know Mark and I are very blessed in our lives and that I wasn't complaining, but that I felt like the devil was working overtime focusing on us. I asked God to intervene on our behalf.

No more than 2 minutes after I finished my prayer, the phone rang. It was the manager of the store calling to say that there had been miscommunication. He asked if I could reach Mark and have him to return to the store. They would exchange the generator!! :)

Now, this in itself was proof that God listens to our concerns and responds. However, something else happened that made it even more precious to me. Two of my classmates are experiencing some VERY tragic situations right now in their personal lives. I found out about these circumstances on Friday and Saturday evening and have been praying for them since then.

When I think about God, who cares for Audrey and Kerri (my classmates) - and meeting their great needs, mine seem very insignificant in comparison. They are not matters of life or death. However, God reminds me that every prayer is important to Him and that He wants us to come to Him in everything. So... when you question whether you should "bother" God with a small matter, I encourage you to remember that no problem is too small to take to Him. Even if He doesn't answer the way you hope, it doesn't mean that He doesn't care - just that He has a different plan for you!

Thankful Thursday

Today would be thankful Thursday. I am thankful that Brad was able to help me get the motorhome back from the cabin before the lines froze.

Oh one more thing. Today is our 4th aniversery, I guess that is something to be thankful for. That Melanie has put up with me for that long.

Mark

Melanie's Birthday

Tuesday was Melanie's Birthday. On Monday she wanted to go 4-wheeling. About 2 weeks ago I got her a new 4-wheeler but didn't let her know until she said she wanted to go use the wheelers. I picked up her new one (2006 Suzuki) and brought it home. My Mother made a nice red bow to put on it. As we were using them at Snake Creek (by Kellogg MN) she forced me to try it, she took off with the old one and I drove her new one through a big mud hole. Well maybe not all the way through. I got it stuck bad and had to sit there 'till she came back to get me.

Mark

Officially ready and waiting!

I've shared that we have been officially approved for our adoption, but we had been waiting for our profile to be posted on our agency's website. For me, things just didn't seem "real" without that last piece.

As of yesterday, we are now a "waiting adoptive family!" If you would like to check out the website, you can click here. A short version of our "dear birth parent" letter is there as well.

Just another step in our adoption journey - a little closer to holding our precious child!