Streaming. . .

Hi.  My name is Shanda.  I'm still alive and kicking. :)  Let's get caught up.

Simon and Noel began piano lessons.  They love it and I'm enjoying hearing plunking over and over. . . well sometimes I'd rather not hear a things.  Their teacher gives lessons, so they just stay after school one day a week.

I've lost 25 pounds since January.  I'm doing different work-outs and getting stronger.  I've also signed up to run a 5K.  I won't guarantee that I'll run the entire time, but I never thought at the beginning of January that I would be able to even enter let alone look forward to the event.  I can run a mile and a half without stopping--granted it is slow, but I'm doing it.  I'm struggling a bit with motivation in the staying-within-my-daily-calories department, but I can do it.  I CAN DO IT!!  I have some more weight I'd like to lose. . . and I'll get there. :)

We are weeks away from traveling to China.  It feels so good to write that.  It was one year ago that we officially decided to adopt Michael.  I know that our lives are going to be topsy turvy over the next few months, but I also know that God has led us to this path and asked us to walk on it.  I'm eager to praise Him for all of his blessings in bringing Michael to our family.  I'm eager to get our exact date so that I can make some plans for meals and childcare and buying tickets.  My mom will be staying here for the two weeks we are gone to give consistency to the girls.  Again I praise God for His goodness in providing this for us.

My kids continue to surprise me every day.  As our life ramps up with China plans and with spring activities (Garrison is on a baseball team and I am in Dutch Dance), my prayer in the morning has included a request to God to help me enjoy moments with my kids.  I can get into the jobs of the house and miss the relationships with my kids.  I treasure them and learn from them.  I'm blessed by them and exasperated by them.  There have been so many stories I should have shared on the blog. . . but they are gone.  I know they were great and funny though and I'm glad that I get to live with these little people.

Gary and I have begun to have a meeting once a week with each other.  Inspired by friends of ours, we schedule a get together and share with each other prayer requests.  I enjoy telling Gary how I've seen him show his love for me (getting the newspaper for me almost every morning) and it is good for me to hear from him how he sees me loving him.  I enjoy having specific things to pray about for him during the week and I like following up.  There are so many wonderful ways to enrich our marriages and this is working great for us in this season.  We end each meeting in prayer together.  I'm so thankful for him and how he works so faithfully for our family.  He has also done the bulk of the adoption paperwork (which has ramped up again).  God knew I'd do well with a "with it" husband.

Right now Gary is at the kitchen table rolling coins with the kids.  We have a little machine and they are taking turns cranking it and sending nickels and dimes into tubes.  Gary began throwing his change in a huge glass container many many years ago.  I've added to it over the years.  We thought that we'd cash it out sometime when we wanted to take a vacation. . . and we are in a few weeks.  I don't have an official count, but we have over six hundred dollars in coins.  What a gift.  The kids are loving looking at the coins and taking turns at different stations.  We are practicing adding and learning about Canadian coins.  They have each stumbled upon a dollar coin as well which they have been allowed to keep.  Good times.

Bible Study wrapped up this week and I'm feeling a bit lost.  I have another study to do and I have a conference presentation to prepare.  It is hard though to say good-bye not only to my wonderful group of women, but also to Nehemiah.  I was so surprised at this study and thoroughly enjoyed what God taught me.  I'm different today because of this book of the Bible.  It is good to be done though. . . I'm ready to enter into a new study.

I'm struggling a bit with summer, but this is good.  It is good for me to let it be and see what God will give to us.  Because of traveling, I haven't been able to enroll the kids in summer activities.  In the past I've worked to see that they each were able to do something they wanted.  Not this summer.  We don't know what the family dynamic will be like when we come home.  Instead, I need to trust that we will be o.k.  God is in control and we will be o.k.  The summer of 2014 won't be like the ones before it, but our family will never look the same either, so we will just be together and bond and celebrate and sit if we need to. :)  I know it will be a great summer.

So this is life.  Packing lunches, getting groceries, making lists, creating meals, giving kisses, sending to time-out, exercising, washing clothes, snuggling on the couch and covering it all with prayer.  I love it.