Camping and Persevering

We are finally done with our renovations....(a BIG sigh of relief). You know when women get to the end of their pregnancy and get into a nesting mode?? Well, mine was extreme nesting!! We updated 2 bathrooms, the kitchen and got the boy's room ready. With the extra work came the girls having a hard time with the fact that we had to put some of our attention elsewhere. We tried to explain that all this would take a family effort, including them. They did so well and helped us count the days until we were done. We promised them something special at the end if they persevered with us!!
We tried to think of something that they had never done before. This is what we came up with!


We went to Wal-mart to get some "fun" food. Each of them was able to pick one thing. Gracie picked triple choc pudding cups. Allie picked string cheese. We added smores and hot dogs and juice. Let me pause right here and say that Allie adores her marshmellows. She carried them all over the store, in the van and around outside until she was able to open them and roast them. When we got home, all I could here was giggle and sqealing over the idea of camping out in our backyard. Luckily it was cool last night and perfect weather to "camp"(I hate sweating in a tent with no air movement)!!
Both of the girls have perfected the "art of roasting marshmellows". I personally like mine slowly roasted with a golden crust on the outside and melted all the way through. Gracie likes hers that way as well, but Allie is a different story. She quickly pokes her marshmellow down into the fire and waits for it to catch fire, while she is smacking her lips. She gleefully watches it burn for awhile and then blows it out. It doesn't take her very long to stick it in her mouth. She doesn't let it cool down at all. And then she is back to begging for more. I decided to be the "yes" mommy last night and let them eat anything and everything to their heart's content. Needless to say, by the end of our campfire celebration, they couldn't even finish their pudding cups and declared themselves to be so full that they could hardly walk.
The girls slept pretty well last night and Jason and I did our best to get what we could. We were all up by 6:30 this morning, which I thought wasn't too bad, given all the outdoor sounds and the loud birds that decide to start their day's at 4:30-5am. The above picture was taken this morning after they woke up.





This week as been harder than most with waiting to hear something on our case. There seems to be more questions and no answers. My heart is so heavy and I feel like there is a rock weighing it down. Both Jason and I are feeling discouraged and wondering how long this process can be drug out. We should have had them home a long time ago. Things seem to be changing in Ethiopia and it's hard to figure out what kind of waiting period people are having to go through. The courts are taking a lot longer and there is no one to even give us a estimate. This is the first time that Jason and I are both feeling discouraged. Usually one is down and can encourage the other. Our hearts are bursting with anticipation, and love and with missing them. Maybe that is where the weight comes from. I feel like when I do finally get to meet them for the first time or when we bring them home, the flood gates of emotions will erupt. There are already cracks in the dam and I am about ready to burst. I am not sure what is going to come forth though, tears or frustration.
I am reminded of a qhote that says: "we spend too much time listening to ourselves, than preaching to ourselves". I am trying to quench my own doubts and preach to myself the promises of God's word and bathe it in prayer.....Lord give me strength and help me to finish this waiting well.