One No And A Whole Lotta Yes

We had such a lovely Christmas this year! I'm amazed at the peace and joy God gave us. Although, I guess I shouldn't be, because we prayed for it. God also gave us an answer to our prayer for a baby by Christmas. The answer was no. However, it has been my experience that God gives us exactly what we need. Sometimes I don't want what I need, but I need it just the same, and He always provides. Even so, this Christmas we got one "no" accompanied by a whole lotta "yes!". We were blessed to spend Christmas Eve at Josh's parent's house. My parents and brother joined us. It makes me so happy that our families enjoy each other. More than enjoy, I would say they love each other! I love my in laws, Josh loves his in laws, and all the in laws love each other. Amazing! Josh's brother and sister in law were able to drive down from Washington as well. While Josh and his brother are technically step siblings and physically could not look more different, they were raised by the same kind and gentle father whose loving example has rubbed off on both of them. I thoroughly enjoy Josh's brother and his sweet wife. Our families completely filled the house with noise, laughter, and good food. It was a wonderful day. It was followed by another wonderful day. Josh and I enjoyed a quiet Christmas morning together. We made waffles, opened gifts, read the Christmas story out of Luke, and made our way out to open gifts with family. After stopping for a bit at Josh's parents house again, we joined my family at my parent's house. I love my family. So many different personalities, beliefs, and life stories. We are a diverse and yet well matched group of people. God is so good to give us such close relationships. They love us, they support us, and they stretch and test us just like family always does. I can not say enough about how much I love each one of them. Each person is tangible proof of God's grace and love for us. Our families are a huge "yes" from God.

This next part I hesitated to write about because...well just because. However, I believe in sharing answers to prayer in order to bolster the faith and hope of others. I mentioned briefly a few posts ago that finances have been on my mind. It's no secret that adoption comes with a hefty price tag. Totally worth it! It can just get a bit stressful. We have prayed about fund raising and I've even researched doing advertising on this blog. We just couldn't get peace about it though. This confused me because, I know God wants us to adopt, but the idea of draining our savings entirely and going into debt as we started a family just didn't seem right. God is un-clenching my grip on every aspect of this adoption. Our second year of waiting and our third time going through the home study process (it needs to be renewed every year) is approaching in a few months. Along with the home study renewal comes fees, lots of fees. This has been in our prayers for awhile and on Christmas day we got our answer. I won't go into detail but we were given enough money to cover another home study renewal. It was just handed to us! Out of no where! No strings attached! I want all of the other waiting families who read this, who are overloaded with paperwork, overwhelmed by fees, and stretched thinner than you ever thought you could be, to know that God will provide for you! He will give you exactly what you need. If I had my way, we wouldn't need the money for a third home study renewal because we would have a baby already, but God is making our difficult path smooth. And really, now that I think about it I'm the one that makes it difficult. God has always made it smooth.

Here are a few pictures from our wonderfully blessed Christmas. 

 

It's tradition to do English poppers on Christmas in our family. If you're unfamiliar, poppers are small packages filled with a toy, a paper crown, and either a joke or riddle. The package makes a loud pop (like a party popper) when you pull it apart. Everyone enjoys reading their jokes and wearing their crowns.

 

We play the white elephant game every Christmas and every Christmas it gets funnier. Exchanging gifts that no one wants can get kinda crazy. Above, Josh's aunt proudly displays a gift from my parents. A pinup calender of woman posing with their accordions. A CD of accordion music was included. The laughter was painful. (Love my cousin's facial expression in the background!)

 

It's also tradition in our family every Christmas to light the figgy pudding and sing. Josh gets pretty into it.

 Love the way my mom personalized our gifts (Doodle is my nickname).

I hope you all had a blessed Christmas as well! I'm looking forward to seeing what God has for us in 2014.