Step One and a half....

Well, today, Dec 27th, we took step 1.5 on our adoption journey, sending in the registration form and fee to the chosen adoption agency. (Step 1 was deciding to adopt.)

yea...the journey begins!

I told the kids today...over toast and sausage....they were so excited. Mary Beth said..."and she" (their new sister-to-be) "can sleep in my bed! Two boys in your room, two girls in my room!" (Although both the kids rooms have bunk beds, my two boys choose to share a bed. Mary's room is equipped with bunk beds too, but she wants to share a bed with her sister....hope her sister sees it the same way.)

So I am excited...as they are...realizing, yea I am a bit crazy...and boy is God going to have a lot of fodder to build my character!

......already thinking, what am I going to do about the orphan crisis when I am too old (and too broke) to be able to adopt? ....

I am reading and awesome book about Ethiopia. It is called "There is no me without you" by Melissa Fay Greene. And the crisis is just staggering. I know, like the starfish poem, my endeavor will not fix the problem, or even make a dent...but it will make a difference to one....and to all of us.... A family of four will become five.

I am "collecting" names of single mom's who have four children. So far I have two. Know any? If so let me know.

Once upon a time there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work.

One day he was walking along the shore. As he looked down the beach, he saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself to think of someone who would dance to the day.

So he began to walk faster to catch up. As he got closer, he saw that it was a young man and the young man wasn't dancing, but instead he was reaching down to the shore, picking up something and very gently throwing it into the ocean.

As he got closer he called out, "Good morning! What are you doing?"

The young man paused, looked up and replied, "Throwing starfish in the ocean."

"I guess I should have asked, why are you throwing starfish in the ocean?"

"The sun is up and the tide is going out. And if I don't throw them in they'll die."

"But, young man, don't you realize that there are miles and miles of beach and starfish all along it. You can't possibly make a difference!"

The young man listened politely.

Then bent down, picked up another starfish and threw it into the ocean, past the breaking waves and said -

"It made a difference for that one."

----- My children are my starfish....and yet, I am theirs. They have rescued me! God puts the lonely in families.

first posted Dec 27, 2007 at my other blog: http://360.yahoo.com/lvglvk