Busy, busy, busy and an UPDATE!

We got another update from our agency!! Its been such a busy week that I haven't had a chance to post.  We had the kids at Camp Dearborn with Brians' family, and then had our kickoff retreat for the diaconate. It was nice to visit with the family for the better chunk of a week, and, in proper "Brian and Carrie style", come home and within the course of less than 24 hours, unpack.... wash... pack.... drop kids off at their respective "weekend getaways" ... and get on the road. The retreat weekend was really nice. We were gathered for the first time with all of the men that were also accepted into formation, and their wives.  These are the people that we will walk this path with... and its pretty exciting to look at the group and know that some semblance of them will be ordained deacons in four years!  We do not know what the future will bring, but are so excited to walk the path God has put in front of us!  We see only an open path.  And that's the thing, with life.... really, no one ever knows exactly what the end of any path will be... only the direction it is headed.  And the way you look at the path affects how you view the journey. If you start walking a path, deciding where it is destined to end... then every turn or fork in the road is viewed as something that is "wrong" ... something that "wasn't supposed to happen", and with your eyes focused so on your predetermined end, you miss your chance to absorb all the beauty of each step of the walk.  So, we walk :) As we do everyday, in faith and love of Christ, excited to learn and grow with each step of the journey....  And wherever it leads, praise Him!!  And of course, weekends like this also give us a great opportunity to be reminded of how blessed we are with the great support system we have that even makes it possible for us to venture out in faith as we do.  We have four kids... Four AMAZING kids... but four kids, and many people struggle to find  help watching even a couple kids.  We are so thankful to my sister and her husband, my parents and our great friend for watching our kids this weekend (and in many other circumstances Brian's parents other friends, church family) ... Not only did they volunteer to watch our kids, but did so much to literally make it a "Weekend getaway" for our kids.  They are such special people in our lives, and our kids lives that they truely celebrate these moments when they get to spend time with them!! We thank God often, for the beautiful, crazy lives He has blessed us with!!

NOW.. the update!!! I guess a long blog is what happens when I skip for a weekish LOL...   The Walkers are NUMBER:


Just a little movement since our "mid month" update... But movement none the less!! It's so exciting to inch closer and closer to referral day. We are hopeful for faster movement soon, as many many children will be returning home and a lot of space will be freed up for more new referrals at our agency in the next month or two. We know that God's timing is perfect, and we rest in that.  Doesn't mean I'm not starting to get very curious about our little one.  It's so crazy to think that we have a son/daughter that is already alive... on the other side of the world, and we don't know who they are yet.  I wonder what they will look like, when they were born... can't wait to see that little face in referral pictures!  For now, we walk the path (there's that path again!!!) and pray everyday for our child... and not only our child, but the people who are caring for him now.  And I pray not only for the care they give him/her but also for the caregivers themselves.  Right now, they are the only person our child can reach to..  We have all had a moment in our lives when we were "the" person that someone's world was centered around.  When we were the ones that were in such an important place in another person's life.  It is a huge responsibility but also a huge blessing.  So, for this moment, when they are the center of our child's world... when there is no known person, yet, that will be coming forward for this child... may they reap every blessing and grace, that comes with being the center of my son/daughter's life.  For I know as soon as our child is matched with us, in the minds and hearts of these people there will be mixed emotions.  They will be so happy to know this child will be loved in a family forever, but also, for them, a timeclock starts ticking... and their "moment in the sun" with this child is already starting to fade.  So I pray for them to relish and enjoy and bask in their moment in the sun, until, in God's infinite wisdom, it is our time to step into the rays.