Looking younger, Showers, and planes!

I am trying to combine several posts into one. It is late and I have to get up early so if things don't exactly make sense or are cheesier than usual, that is why!

1. I am looking younger every day friends. What is my secret? Eating junk food, getting little sleep and plenty of stress, and not drinking enough water! How do I know I am looking younger? Well, my face has acne like a teenager from following the remedy above :) It can't be helped, it is just sad that the most stressful times in my life are the most documented with photo and video :) Actually, I am glad that I am not too young as I just couldn't handle wearing skinny jeans. Honestly, I am NOT a fan of things which are tight fitting on my legs and I am thankful that my age makes it more socially acceptable to wear boot-cut!

2. While traveling over Christmas Brandon's family had a gift time for our son, not exactly a "shower" but we did get many great things! This week I got to experience TWO amazing showers. The first shower was at our church. It was a special night of fellowship and food, of laughter and of tears and of prayer. I was blown away by the generosity and love of our church family. Our church has walked this adoption journey with us with joy, excitement, and plenty of patience. I was stunned the whole night. It was very surreal and almost felt like an out of body experience.
I just got home from a shower with my friends from our time while Brandon was in seminary. As I drove down today I was listening to some wonderful music and praising God. I was crying A LOT as I reflected on our upcoming trip, motherhood, and God's abundant blessings through Christ. This shower was LONG awaited. This group of women walked with me through those years of longing and infertility. This group of women is... well... for the most part... VERY fertile :) and I attended many baby showers for them. Then, because it was just too emotionally draining for me, I missed a few baby showers too. It was easier to send gifts and make excuses. I know that sounds silly, but it was just so hard! Another part of the women at the shower were those who I ministered with for youth group. They all ministered to me with encouragement and love through the hard times and together we poured into amazing young women! There was a time of prayer and a time of introductions. That intro time was one of the most special times I have ever had (sort of like Senior's Only encouragement circle). What a gift! I also got to see 2 sweet boys and Gideon! I don't have the right words to convey how thankful I was for the day or how cherished I felt, but the piles of wet tissue from tears of joy tell you that it was special!
3. We are leaving for Ethiopia SOON! Actually, we are leaving in just a couple of days! We are beyond excited to see our little man again. I want to try to post from the country since I don't think I will have 10 hours to devote to trip recap when we return as I did last time :) Everything is in order with the embassy and we will be able to land in the US with him on the 16th if the Lord wills it of course. We will be cocooning for quite a while, but soon we will emerge and will be excited for park dates, trips to the area I was today, times at church, time with family etc. It will all come... but first we will just focus on M learning who we are.
4. Last night I re-read Sarah's posts about M (Keller's Miracles) and cried and cried and cried. God's faithfulness and His care for the bigger picture is so clear. I am just in awe of Him!

5. We had a great time traveling over Christmas. We spent about 33 hours in the car, but got to see lots of family and create wonderful memories!
Well, it is almost 1:00am so I better get a few hours of sleep before another REALLY busy day!