Auction success!

We closed out our facebook auction on Saturday, and raised just over $2,000 to help bring Tavin home! Can we just take a second to look at his sweet little face? In the words of our six year old, Tucker, "He's just the cutie-est baby!" I have to agree.

Tavin

Being that it's Thanksgiving and all, it's fitting that we feel incredible gratitude this week. The last 7 weeks have been a whirlwind, since we committed to Tavin on Oct 7. We have done most of the paperwork required in 7 weeks, that would typically take 6-9 months for most international adoptions, add in fundraising, and lots of long hours for Steve, and it's been a little crazy. But we have been so blessed in that short time as well, by friends and strangers reaching out to support, pray, encourage and cheer us on. We have met people we wouldn't have ever had reason to meet otherwise, and that is probably one of the sweetest parts of this whole process. 

It's been a roller coaster of emotions. Some days are like that scene in Cinderella with the little birds making her gown. The house is filled with happy boys playing sweetly, laughing loudly, running wildly, and I think "Of course, why would we NOT add a 3rd??" Then there are other days. Today was an "other day". Maybe it was the freezing rain, or the meltdowns, or just being plain tired. I stood in the UPS office feeling that the sweet cashier was being kinder to my sweet boys than I felt and I thought "How can we add a 3rd?" Funny how parenting goes like that. Comforting to know that plenty of parents have walked this road-to-more-children before and it all worked out. Through it all we have no doubt of God's calling and an underlying assurance that we are right where we should be. Obedience often looks much more like action and much less like a feeling. We are so excited to move forward towards our travel to Eastern Europe, to fall in love with the real little boy version of the little boy in our minds. It's days like today though when these words ring sweetly in my ear..

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

2 Corinthians 12:9-10

Happy Thanksgiving week! I hope you take a moment to not only be grateful for God's blessings, but to ask Him what He would call you do to with those blessings in the year ahead.

-Chrystal