My Overthinking

Philly Area mom, Life forever changed by adoption

No more white shoes, but…

The only reminders here of summer are a couple neglected hermit crabs, some unused ice cream store coupons stuck on the fridge, and a pile of dirty flip flops in the corner of my kitchen.

Labor Day, the classic last hurrah of summer, is history.

We may not be able to wear white pants or white shoes any more; but, apparently, we can still wear swimsuits with silver butterfly sandals to the grocery store.

If I looked this cute in my swimsuit, I think I’d wear it alone year round as well.
Maybe not to the grocery store, but I’d definitely be twirling around the living room.

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We’re bouncing the world around {giveaway winner}


53 waiting mamas commented about the wait on this post.

While some of these mamas are waiting to bring home their first child, others are waiting to bring home another to join a brood (like this mama waiting for her 11th). Adoptions of children from China, Korea, the Ukraine, Ethiopia, Bulgaria, Honduras, and our home country–these mamas are bouncing the world around. Regardless of how many children are already home and from what country their new children are coming to them from, all the mamas are in the same season of waiting. After all the ink is dried on the paperwork and your tongue heals from licking envelopes, you reach a point when there is nothing left to do but wait. I remember wishing that I would just have something to do while we waited so that I could feel like I was helping things along somehow, so I could feel like there was progress. But, all I could do was do what God had called me to that day and wait.

I read every single one of those 53 comments as they came in and then read them again just now.

Some made me smile.

I am pregnant with a Chinese 8 year old! My back is killing me!
–Mary

Honestly, what gave me encouragement recently…when I went to the grocery store the other day & I saw some chicken marinated asian style. I was trying the swallow the lump in my throat as I ordered a few.

The Lord will be with you every step of the way. When I am through throwing my little tantrum, He is there with a spiritual Kleenex.
–Pamela

Some made me sigh.

The waiting has been hard and each month encounters new feelings. Lately though, God has really been teaching me about grace. To be graceful as we wait for our little one(s) to come home and to grace to others who have approached us with some tough questions and criticism on why we’re adopting.
–Meredith

This is my first adoption. . . . my wait is going to be over 6 years.
–Fiona

I.Am.Not.In.Control. The first step is admittance, right?
–Amanda

Some made me bang my fist on the table with an “Amen.”

One thing we have learned through this waiting process is that we are capable of whatever God has given us. At the beginning of the process, it was so stressful and time consuming to get the paperwork done while still living life. Yet at every step, God has carried us through and made it totally evident that He will provide exactly what we need, when we need it.
-Jen

We are not waiting on Him or for Him but IN HIM!!
–Gretchen

I have spent 7 years waiting, on and off, to build our family. I’ve learned that I am small, but God is GREAT! And as we present our requests to Him, he fills our hearts and minds with a peace that passes understanding. Good thing.
-Abby

And, one won.

We are enduring the wait to bring our son home from China. I have learned to trust the Lord in a deeper, more sacrificial way as we wander through those 40 years in the wilderness! He is SO faithful!
–Carla

Carla – email me with your mailing address so I can get that new Crocodile Creek ball to you so you can go ahead and start bouncing it. That’s gotta be therapeutic, right?

Go back here and read the comments yourself, click on the the names of the ladies who commented, visit each others’ blogs and encourage each other as you all press on in the season of waiting.

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Family camping Young Life style

25 years ago, my parents started this thing called Family camp at Young Life’s Lake Champion. I remember years of watching Dr. Bados and Blockhead and other classic characters wide-eyed while sitting beside families instead of the normal high schoolers who filled the camp all summer.

In 1997, a few days after moving back into my dorm at Grove City College for my senior year, I drove myself to family camp to serve and be with folks there…and I met my husband who was there serving too.

These days, my sister and her husband run the whole deal. And, we still get the pleasure of being a part of it as do our kids.

This year, 5 of us did the ropes course together while Lydia obliged by sleeping in her stroller. Once I was up there, I realized a mama can show no fear 40 feet up in the trees while helping her 3 children walk wires and logs and other treacherous elements.

Though it may look like an incredible mini family vacation, there’s more to it than that.

Take families away to a beautiful place where volunteers serve them their meals and folks provide goofy entertainment and great kids programming, and something supernatural happens. Phones are turned off, distractions are cleared. And, in the midst of laughter, hearts open up to hear God speak. And, He always does.

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First week down

It’s a lot quieter when 75% of your children are not home all day. Definitely more than 75% quieter.

We’ve officially completed our first week of the new school year. Have had a few glitches here and there–my big ole talk apparently needs to slow cook a bit in their hearts (aka Drew’s heart). But, all in all, a good week for the 3 who being schooled 6 hours a day.

And, the other 25% ain’t doing too bad either.

It’s just the two of us now.

Walks are slower and a little less noisy (note: not slow and not noiseless).

Lunch time is definitely more manageable (i.e., I can actually sit and eat with someone instead of collapse in a chair after serving everyone else and try to quickly eat my meal before I’m needed elsewhere).

And, we have been enjoying doing some fun things together that are a bit harder to do with the whole clan.

(these tell a story, don’t they? A whisker got ‘er.)
All the one-on-one time is great…as is my clean house, pile-o-dishes-less sink, and shorter to-do list (not because less needs to be done but because I am actually able to do some of it). But, it’s going to take some getting used to for all of us. 
Lydia has said more than once, “I sad because Ashlyn left me” and “When the kids comin’ home?”

And, we’ve discovered that the hot dog game is really not so much fun with only 2 in the car (when we pass this gas station near our house, the last person to yell hot dog loses. The game is awesome when 6 people play–especially when our windows are open.)

Everyone is very happy about a 4-day weekend. In fact, they’ve been looking forward to this weekend since Labor Day last year. Young Life Family Camp, here we come.

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