What have I been up to?

It's been a busy week!  I was at my clinical site on Monday and Tuesday.  Finals Wednesday and Thursday.  I had planned to get a little more blogging done, but time got away from me.  So... what other than the above, what's kept me busy the rest of this week?

Decorating the house for Christmas

Our family room has a snowman theme - it's also where my Precious Moments nativity is set up.

Friday was spent getting ready for Cookie Day. Each year, my mom and I host friends and family for an annual Christmas cookie bake.  We average at least 10 different kinds of cookies and other treats - and at least 10 dozen of EACH kind.  It's a fun way to visit and get holiday baking accomplished.

Yesterday was THE day.

Spritz cookies are Gail's responsibility

Mark is "supervising" Gail and Tasha as they make sugar cookies.

Just a few of the different cookies and goodies that everyone went home with!

Tasha and I at the end of a long day of baking cookies!

Thought I might take a day to relax, but the week is looking pretty full.  So... Mark and I decided to get a few things done in preparation for our annual Christmas open house which will be held next Saturday. 

I put him to work making meatballs - always a favorite!

We are looking forward to sharing our usual holiday traditions with our children

as well as making new traditions together as a family -

hopefully next year, I'll be here posting pictures of us with a precious gift from God - our "baby Hansen!"

Thankful Thursday

I meant to post some pictures and my Thankful Thursday earlier today, but our internet was down.  Now it's late and I am pooped out so this is going to be just a quick version - I'll have to save the pictures for tomorrow. 

#1 - Final exams are finished for the semester!!  I can't tell you how glad I am that this semester is over with.  Working part-time, going to school full-time, plus trying to get as many residency hours in has really been a challenge. There were definitely days that I had to pray for strength and determination to keep going.  Not sure how I did on my exams yet, but at least they are done. I will continue to work on my residency hours over the holiday break, but no classes until January.  YAY!! 

#2 - The comfy bed that is calling my name right now! 

Yep - that's about it for the night!  Have a good one!

Wishing

Tonight, I am just wishing that our little one was here so that I could be holding him/her in my arms right now.

How much difference a year makes

Last year (I believe it was summer or early fall), I noticed a beautiful little girl on Reese's Rainbow.  Her name was Darina and she just touched my heart. Mark and I had really not discussed adoption seriously at that time, but I wondered if she was meant to be our daughter. I began praying like you would not believe for Darina - praying that God would ready a forever family for Darina, that He would bring them to her and create exactly the right circumstances for her adoption.  I prayed that just as God was preparing her family, He would also prepare Darina to join this family - opening all of their hearts to this new phase in their lives. I had her picture in my office at work so I could pray for her throughout the day, I had picture on the desktop of our computer so I could pray for her while doing homework and on the fridge as another reminder to pray for her.

One day I was on RR and noticed that Darina's picture was no longer in it's usual place. As I kept looking, I found her picture with the caption, "My forever family found me!" I have to admit that while I was happy that she had a family, a part of me was sad that Mark and I were not meant to be her parents. Darina's mom has a great blog site and I have been fortunate to follow along on their journey. Michelle and Eric met Darina for the first time one year ago today.  It's hard to believe that she is the same little girl that I began praying for - does adoption make a difference?  You bet it does - the proof is right here!

Winning again? Trusting...

As I have shared, my friend Sarah has been doing a blog giveaway as part of her Christmas Warrior efforts for Duncan.  I was excited when I saw one of her weekly prizes that included some of her mom's awesome noodles and told Mark that I hoped to win that week's drawing. I am not one of those people who win things so I was thrilled when Sarah's blog announced that we had won the weekly drawing!

This week, Sarah has been doing a daily drawing as part of her "grand finale."  Yesterday, she was giving away a precious little tutu made by Olga's mom.  Olga is a sweet little girl with DS who will be coming home to Sarah's church family - mom is selling these tutus as part of fundraising efforts. They are adorable! I didn't give much thought to the giveaway because we don't have a little girl - besides, we had already won the other drawing.  But, I do have to say that there was a little "nudge" in the back of my mind saying, "What are you going to do with a tutu if you win it?"

Yesterday, Sarah posted a comment here on our blog telling me to check out her blog. Curious, I went to her blog and sure enough... we had won the tutu. My first thought was "Hmmm - is there someone we could give this to?"  I also thought that maybe I should tell Sarah to have an additional drawing and give it to someone else.  Neither of those felt quite right to me, but I wasn't quite sure what the answer was. This morning, I added Sarah's comment to our blog and really stopped to consider her words. "You just got something to put in your future daughter's room." The words "future daughter" echoed in my head and my heart!

I felt like God was asking me if I trusted Him or not. The title of our blog is "Trusting His Promise." All of a sudden, it was VERY clear to me that if I did not accept this gift from Sarah, I would be denying God's promise.  By receiving this beautiful present, I am again claiming the promise of HIS plan for our lives - an even more beautiful present - the child that God has chosen for us.

So yes Sarah - I believe that the tutu is meant to be in our future daughter's room - my heart is touched beyond words and I thank God for reaffirming His promise about our child through your gift to us!   

Thanksgiving - Thankful Thursday

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!

Mark and I are thankful for so many things..

Friends, Family, and YOU - Last night, Mark's parents came over for dinner (Mark's choice - ribs and oyster hot dish). It was nice to have some time together relaxing and visiting. Today, we went out for a turkey day feast with Jeanne, Ken, and Tasha. Life sometimes gets in the way of seeing them as much as we would like to so enjoying all the traditional yummy stuff along with their company was a special treat.  We'll celebrate with my family on Sunday (turkey is defrosting as we speak)! Our family and friends are an important part of who we are as individuals and as a couple. If you find yourself here on our blog following this adoption journey, you are part of the group - even if you are friends that we just haven't met yet!

What does today find you thankful for?

Get in on the giveaway!

Just a reminder that my friend Sarah is doing a blog giveaway party this week.  Make sure you visit her site by clicking here.  You can win some great prizes - it's easy and doesn't cost a thing!!