And on a deeply personal note....

Admittedly, part of me doesn't want to share this at all. I just want to fly under the radar and let it go without a mention. But then I can't do that because we really want to shout our news out on the rooftops! Mostly - this is what we want to declare today, with all my exclamation points included:

"COME (!) let us sing for JOY to the Lord; let us SHOUT aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before Him with thanksgiving and extol Him with music and song. For the LORD is the great God, the great KING above all gods. In His hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to Him. The sea is His, for He made it, and His hands formed the dry land. Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our maker; for HE IS OUR GOD and we are the people of His pasture, the flock under His care." Psalm 95:1-7

Two and a half years of waiting and yesterday we were able to see a serious answer to our prayers. Our adoption was finalized. Even as I type this, tears are streaming down my face, because this has been an unimaginable journey full of every single emotion you can fathom experiencing. I am humbled. I am blown away. I am elated and I am sorrowful in parts as well. Adoption is a beautiful thing but we've had our struggles because some people do try to make it an ugly thing.

Today though we get to say that God has taken a situation that looked broken, and healed it. He brought a dimpled little boy into our lives who we love fiercely - and who loves us fiercely back. We've bonded and blended as a family. Every day we learn something new about each other and we're all growing and learning. This is a good thing - a God thing - that I really must declare. He is good. He is faithful. He is merciful. He is loving. He is compassionate. He is faithful. He is a strong tower in the midst of the most violent storms. He comforts His people in their distress. He binds the broken hearts. He is faithful. He is good.

You know how they say it's easy to say, "He is good" when things are going right? That's not always the case. It's very hard to publish this. But I feel that I simply must because He is SO GOOD that He lets me trust Him even in telling you all that we are officially the parents of two amazing sons.

We are singing and there is a melody in our hearts, not easily heard or easily won by any means. But He is faithful.

There is a particular adoption book I wanted to highlight today which, when I saw it at the Book Expo a month or so ago, it reduced me to tears. There I was, standing next to the Barefoot Books representative, and I was wiling the tears not to fall. Motherbridge of Love tells the story from the perspective of a mother who has adopted a little girl from China but the sentiments are ones I share today.

"Once there were two women who never knew each other . . ."

"The first one gave you life; the second taught you to live it . . . "

"The first gave you a need for love; the second was there to give it . . ."

The story is based on a poem that was written by an anonymous adoptive mother. It explains to the child that they are part of two worlds, really, but both come together to make them who they are. It is a story of affirming love. I appreciate Barefoot Books giving me the opportunity to read through it.

Adoption is a precious and delicate thing and we've discovered it involves a whole lot of people. We're grateful for the journey, grateful for the opportunity to have a little Bookworm2 who has the most amazing smile, is developing a cheeky little sense of humor, who adores dogs, and mimics everything his older brother does. He is a joy and a delight and we are cognizant of the responsibility involved in raising him. We pray for him daily - that he would grow up believing in the blessing of adoption and, more importantly, will know the God who made him.

To our son - we love you more than words could ever possibly say. You are a treasure (I do not say that lightly) and we thank God for you!

If I had to pick a song that I thought would best fit where we've been on this journey, I'd have to go with this one (by my favorite Steven Curtis Chapman, of course!):



P.S. I know there's kind of been a deluge of posts these past couple of weeks (but did you SEE my nightstand!??!) I promise this will even out a bit in the next week or so. I'm going to offer an (extremely tiny) apology for one more post that is coming up today with a nice giveaway attached, sharing some of the books that our littlest guy has really been enjoying lately, in celebration of him and to share a little bit of our joy with a few of you.