I'm back...

I have been pretty MIA the last couple months.  There's so much I could write about, but I fear it would take days to even come close!  So much has happened in the last few months I could probably write a novel! 

 

The biggest thing that has happened in the past few months is that I became an Aunt!!  Bryson Kenneth was born on the evening of March 5th weighing 8lb 2oz and 21in long!  My heart grew and I learned to love that night in ways I never imagined!!  Seeing my sister become a mom gave me a new kind of love for her as well!  She has made me so proud!!  The day after Bryson was born was one of the scariest days of my life.  We found out that Bryson was born with a severe heart defect that would require surgery pretty quickly and he was flown that afternoon to Riley.  The next week was very scary for everyone involved! As a new Aunt I was so thrilled, and terrified all at the same time!  I felt completely helpless and out of control!  I can't even imagine how terrified my sister and brother-in-law must have been!  They were brand new parents who should have been home learning what it was like to have a newborn keeping them up at night, when instead they were spending day and night by his hospital bedside hoping and praying their baby would make it through a complex heart surgery.  My entire family began praying huge prayers for Bryson and his parents.  We all began to cling to the One who we knew created Bryson and is the Great Physician!  People all over the world were praying for Bryson and the prayers were answered in big ways!!  Bryson had open heart surgery on March 11th and made it through with flying colors!  He did better than anyone, including the doctor, expected!  Bryson came home from the hospital a few days before Easter (again ahead of schedule) and has done very well ever since!  He still has a long road, and will have to have another pretty major surgery when he's about 6-8 months old, but he is growing stronger everyday.  The way God has had His hand on this entire situation has been amazing!!  From the first morning when the doctor decided on intuition to get the test that found Bryson's defect and saved his life, to how well he did in surgery, and all the other little things He provided and continues to provide!  God has had His hand on this precious baby boy from the day he was born, and we are all sooo grateful for everyone who has prayed for him along the way! 

 

Some of the other things that have been going on in the last few months aren't as exciting as becoming an aunt, but I have been starting to settle into my new job here in Fort Wayne.  So far I'm liking the new job and already starting to get to know a few of the girls I work with.  I am also getting used to driving back and forth to Indy quite a bit.  I go back to my church in Indy as often as I can.  I'm praying God will lead me to a church here that I will be able to grow in like I have at Traders Point.  In the meantime I'm going to get as much out of TPCC as I can!! 

 

I continue to pray about an opportunity to return to Uganda someday.  There are a couple opportunities later in the year that I'm especially praying about, but waiting for God to provide some clarity and discernment!  In the meantime I still think about Uganda and all the people I love there all the time!  I never knew how much a heart could be torn in two completely different directions until recently.  Being home near my family, especially now with my nephew here, has never been so great.  But, at the same time, my heart is still so drawn to Uganda and I miss it so much sometimes I can't stand it!  I feel so conflicted at times!  I know God has a perfect plan for my life, and so I will continue to put my life in His hands and let Him lead me where He wants me to be! 

Please allow me to introduce...

BOBBY!!! 
The adorable baby boy I sponsor at Sangaalo Babies! 

 

 

 

Sangaalo is an amazing place run by an amazing woman named Damalie that currently is caring (with help from some other very nurturing ladies) for 17 babies right now. 

 

Me, Bobby and Damalie!

 

It is full of love that overflows the minute you step onto the grounds.  The babies are loved, and cared for very well!  The older babies come running as soon as you walk in the gate, and you immediately hear the joyful squeals of little ones, and laughter that is contagious!  I finally confirmed that it is ok for me to share about Bobby on social media so I just had so share about this sweet baby boy and what God has taught me through him!  Bobby is a sweet baby boy I absolutely fell in love with the moment I laid eyes on him when I was in Uganda!

 

 

 

 

 

  I still remember it as if it was yesterday!  I had stayed behind at the place we were staying that day because it was the day I woke up and couldn't stand up straight due to a mystery back injury.  The part of the group that had visited Sangaalo that day returned that afternoon and one of the girls was showing me some pictures she had taken that day and as I scrolled through them I felt something stir inside me as soon as I saw the picture of Bobby!  I knew I had to go to Sangaalo the next day regardless of how badly my back was hurting!  So the next morning, after a good nights rest and some answered prayer, I was able to go with the rest of the group to Sangaalo!  I saw Bobby right away and scooped him into my arms and immediately fell in love!  Being just two and a half months old at the time, he snuggled right into my arms and slept on my chest most of the morning. 

 

 

 

Then there was snack time and I fed him a bottle, and then it was bath and nap time.  During nap time Damalie, the amazing woman that runs Sangaalo, shared her amazing testimony and how God has worked in her life to create this amazing, loving, nurturing home for these babies.  She is an amazing woman and I wish everyone could hear her tell her story!  I could never begin to do it justice!  After nap time and Damalie sharing we had just a little more time before we had to leave.  The babies started to wake up and we were all able to have just a few more moments of snuggles and saying goodbye before we had to leave. 

 

 

Love that sweet face!!

 

 

 I never dreamt that morning that leaving that place would be so hard, but the moment I put Bobby down he began to cry and it ripped my heart out!  I gave him one more little kiss on his sweet cheek and left not knowing how on earth I had spent a mere 8 hrs with a baby, but had fallen completely in love with him.  I left Uganda a couple days later not knowing at all what God was doing in my life as a result of the trip, and not having any idea what I was supposed to do with everything I had experienced when I got back.  My heart was broken, and I knew that a big part of it was because I missed sweet Bobby.  I began praying for Bobby, and for God to reveal to me what His will was for me now that I had returned.  A month or so after I returned another amazing organization called Hope Grafted In posted a sweet picture of Bobby saying he needed a sponsor. Hope Grafted In partners with Sangaalo to coordinate and find sponsors for the babies to help pay for their food and supplies!  I knew immediately I HAD to find a way to sponsor him, even if it mean making sacrifices in other areas!!  I emailed them right away and I have been sponsoring him since!  He is such a part of my life now, and I pray everyday for God to continue to work in his life and mine.  I stay in touch with Damalie when she is able and with the people at HGI.  I get updates and new pictures of bobby every now and then and it always completely makes my day!  He is growing so fast!! 

 

Bobby-4 months old

 

 He'll be 7 months old this month!!  He's sitting up now and getting bigger everyday.  I know that somehow, someway, I will get back to Uganda and will do everything I can so see that sweet boy again!!  I don't know what the future hold for Bobby or I, but I know that I will always hold a very special place in my heart for him!  I don't have any children, but if I could imagine how it feels to love your own child, that is how much I love that baby boy!  I was telling a friend one day about how much I miss him sometimes, and she reminded me of Moses' mother Jochebed.  Jochebed, was only able to have Moses in her life for a short time before she had to watch her son go away forever to live and be raised by the Pharaoh's daughter.  How excruciating that must have been to say goodbye to her son forever!  What my friend told me has resonated in my heart ever since.  She said it is obvious by looking at Moses' life and everything God used him for that Jochebed must have prayed for that boy her entire life.  She wasn't able to raise him, or be part of his life in a physical sense, but she did something even greater!  She prayed for him and loved him from a distance through her entire life!  I have the privilege of being given that opportunity with Bobby!!  God has shown me through this baby boy what it is to love a child the way He loves us!!  I have gained a whole new understanding of my Savior and His great love for us because of that precious baby boy!!  His love is AMAZING!!

Happy Birthday Gràndpa!

Today, March 1st was my Grandpa's birthday! He died almost nine years ago now and I still miss him as much as ever! My sister found some old pictures and video on her computer today from Grandpa's last Christmas and she sent me one of the pictures on my phone...I teared up immediately!  I have so many wonderful memories of Grandpa!! I see him in so many places! Even twitter reminds me of him!! Let me explain...Grandpa used to make us cards (birthday, get well, Valentine's, etc) on his computer. On the back of every card he would write a personal note to us in one big long, run on sentence, with no spaces or punctuation. Our Grandpa made the original hash tag!! They were always so funny! So now...every time I see long hash tags I think of Grandpa!! He's been on my mind so much today so I just had to share a little! Happy birthday Grandpa!! I miss you SO much!!

Playing catch up...

There is so much I've wanted to write about lately, but I just haven't had the time.  My new job is keeping me busy, which is good, but it also has been hard to keep up with things too.  The new job is going well.  I finally got to work on the floor for the first time on Friday.  I think I will really like it!  Anyway...here is just a start to some of the things that have been on my heart that I've wanted to share.  There will hopefully be more to come later this week!

I have been starting to feel really overwhelmed at times by all the "new" in my life and the bouncing back and forth between Fort Wayne and Indianapolis.  I feel like my days off are just spent driving back and forth and trying to see everyone I want to see in my short trip and its all getting a bit exhausting.  Then my emotions get all mixed up in the process too.  I'm excited one day because I'm home seeing my family so much more, and then the next day I'm sad because I miss my friends in Indy and hate the thought of leaving my church in Indy when I finally do permanently move to FW.  I feel like I'm being pulled in two different directions for two very good reasons.  Fort Wayne has my amazing family I love so much, some good friends, and a new job, Indianapolis has my amazing church where I've grown so much, my cousin whom I adore, and a couple very dear friends who have blessed me so much with their friendship over that past year!!  I know it's not as if I'm moving across the country and I will never visit Indy again, but I also know it won't be the same as living right there and being able to just meet whenever for dinner or go hang out whenever we want.  I know God has brought me back to Fort Wayne for a reason, I just don't know exactly what that is yet.  I would be lying if I said there haven't been times in the past few weeks that I have been so overwhelmed and confused I was brought to tears.  I just have to keep pouring out my heart to God and keep having faith that His plans are bigger and better than mine!  The hard part is being patient while waiting for him to reveal that plan!  In the meantime if I seem a little overwhelmed at times, just say a little prayer for me cause I could always juse it!  Thanks friends!!

Peace...

The last few weeks have been a roller coaster to say the least. I have gone from thinking I knew exactly where my life was heading and where God's path was leading, to not even being sure if I was on a path at all! I've gone from confused and afraid, to excited and hopeful, then back to sad and then back to happy again, sometimes within the span of just a few minutes. I think I can say with certainty that I have experienced nearly every emotion in the realm of emotions in the past few weeks! The hardest part in all of this for me has been realizing that its ok if God decides to take you down a different path! It doesn't necessarily mean you did anything wrong, just that God has other plans! I read this in a devotion recently and thought it was written so beautifully!

"A lot of times things just don't go our way. The natural response to an undesired event in our life is disappointment...

If we say that we don't ever feel disappointment over things like this, we are probably trying to be too spiritual. Feeling disappointment is understandable and even accepted. But, it should be a stepping-stone on our path with Jesus; not the anchor that drowns us.

We all have dreams that we want to see transpire in our lives. But if they are our dreams and we have not consulted our Heavenly Father, then they often lack vision and purpose toward a higher goal. Our plans, even on our very best day, are nothing compared to the amazing plans God has for us.

We have to rest in the sovereignty of God and the fact that he will always keep His Word to us. The last time I checked, our Creator is never late in His promises to us!"

Today...I am resting in those promises and I have found peace! A kind of peace only HE can provide!! Peace that passes all understanding!!

As many of you know (and many have probably figured out by now) adoption is something that has been on my heart since before I went to Uganda! God started preparing my heart and leading me down the path to start pursuing adoption before I left and when I returned that desire and leading only felt stronger! I did a lot of research, talked to a lot of people, and prayed a lot about it and just before Christmas I had picked an agency for a home study and was ready to apply and start the home study process. I was so excited!! My dream of being a mother could finally be coming true! The only problem was I didn't have the money yet for the application fee and first part of the home study. So, I prayed some more and asked that God would provide. In the meantime things with my job were starting to spin out of control and I was beginning to realize that perhaps this job was not what I expected and was not the job for me. Then, between Christmas and my birthday I was able to save enough money for the application fee to get the ball rolling on my adoption process! I was thrilled!! God had provided!! I knew I should wait til after the first of the year so I decided to wait a couple weeks and then submit my paperwork. But, before I had that chance, doors began closing one after another. My job did not work out, no new jobs here in Indy were opening up, I had unexpected medical bills...and on and on. I began to feel completely out of control and thought I had messed something up! I turned to God and had to simply rely on Him to guide me down this path that I had no idea where it was leading! Through some counsel from amazing friends and family and God's leading I decided to leave the job here in Indy and took a new job in my home town of Fort Wayne! I am so grateful for this opportunity and that I will once again be home and near my family! However, because of all these changes and the fact that I will be commuting back and forth from Indy to Fort Wayne for as long as six months, I have also felt God closing that door to adoption...at least for now. There is just no way for me to pursue an adoption and start a home study when I won't really even have a steady home for several months. When I first began to realize what this meant I was completely heart broken, confused, and thought that my dreams of adopting were being shattered. However, as I have began to turn to God for strength and comfort he has given me amazing peace about this entire situation! Am I still sad its not happening now like I had hoped? Of course!! But...What God has taught me through all of this is that His plans are always better than our own no matter how great ours are! He's taught me that sometimes you have to take a step of faith even when you don't know where that step is taking you! I know that God is leading me back to Fort Wayne for a reason, but I have no idea what that reason is!! I've really enjoyed it here in Indy and I've been quite content to stay here for quite some time! I absolutely love my church here and it will be incredibly hard to leave it, but I am taking this step of faith and following God's leading back to Fort Wayne and I can't wait to see what he has in store!

As far as adoption goes...I am confident that adoption is still in my future! I may not know when, or what that will look like, but I know God has placed this desire in my heart for a reason and I can't wait to see how it all unfolds!!