Blogger Slacker

This blog title pretty much sums up me in a nutshell.  I just can't seem to blog lately.

Part of it is that nothing seems to be happening out of the ordinary worth blogging about.  We are having a wonderful summer.  Lots of good times with great friends.

But I feel like life is so stagnant right now.

Our adoption is moving sooooo slowly. Our fingerprints are sitting at some dumb courthouse somewhere in AZ.  Who knows how long it takes the dumb government workers to process those. Seriously.  How hard can it be??  They certainly did not waste any time cashing my $64 check for the process.  In the meantime, I am trying not to think about all the babies that are being born that could be ours.  But, in the end, I know the Lord knows who that baby will be and if HE could, HE would get those dumb fingerprints done today. Really, He could.  But for whatever reason, He is choosing not to, so we wait.

On the other area of our lives that has been in process for forever it seems, nothing has changed.  Those of you who know us intimately know the details of this.  We are still waiting for clarity.  Still waiting to see heart change.  Frustrating.  Very frustrating.

In the meantime, I struggle with looking at other's lives that seem so easy.  Things just seem to fall into place.   I am trying really hard to not look at them and say, "why not me?  why not us?"  What are we doing wrong??

And then I remember that HE is in control, not ME.  Ohhhhhhhh, ok so He knows what is better for us than I do??  Right. I forgot that. :)  I am daily on my knees asking Him for guidance.  I guess that is where He wanted me all along. :)

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Adoption

We have some big news that we have been waiting to share for a while now....

We are pursuing an infant domestic adoption!!

Many of you know this already, but I wanted to officially announce it!

God has been working on us in this area for quite a while now.  We began with doing foster care, thinking that maybe we would adopt this way.  We quickly discovered that, for now, foster care was not a good fit for us.  We had a hard time with the thought that these kids that we were loving on like our own, would one day leave us.  And leave us, they did, and boy was it painful. We are still missing them and wondering how they are.

We took a break from foster care, thinking we were "done" for now...but we could not let go of the fact that God was not done growing our family.  And adoption has been something we have always talked about...so......

in the meantime two of our dear friends have brought home babies through Christian Adoption Consultants and had great experiences.  We decided to find out more and when we did we realized that this was a good fit for us.

So, we are currently getting our adoption liscense completed and then we will begin applying to agencies who will then (Lord willing) match us with a birth mom!! We are beyond excited to see who God has in store for our family!  Please pray with us if you would.  Pray for the birth mom and the baby.  Pray for our family as we prepare for this new adventure.  Pray for the finances that we need to get this done.  We covet your prayers.

If you feel led, I have set up an etsy shop and am selling crocheted dishcloths.  All of the money will go towards our adoption.  If you live locally, I am also planning on selling my homemade wheat bread, made with fresh ground wheat.  I will be selling it for $6.00 per loaf.

Thanks for your prayers and support!

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A long blogging break

So I have taken quite a break from blogging.  I have had writers block.  It seems that there were some people reading my blog without me knowing it and then using some of the stuff I have written against me.  I didn't know quite what to do with this. So I just quit writing.

But I think I am ready to come back.  I have gotten past the fear that they will do it again.

I use this blog as a way to express myself and share about what is going on in my life.  I never mean to hurt anyone in any way.

So I am going to try and come back.

We have some exciting things to share in the months to come and I would love for this to be a safe place to share those things.

I hope you will join me!

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movement

God is moving in our lives right now.

We can feel it.

It is hitting us in many different aspects of our lives.

We are feeling hopeful, yet still discouraged in some ways.

We are anxious to see how it all unfolds.

We are seeking and asking.

We are trying not to get stuck in the "whys?" and "why nots?"

We desperately want HIS will for us, and yet our flesh wants to take over at times.

It is hard and beautiful, all at the same time.

It makes me long for heaven, but also feeling so blessed by what we have here and now.

Stay tuned for more details on what this looks like for the Thompsons!! :)

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God is there

We truly are "between a rock and a hard place" right now.

We have some huge hurdles to overcome in regards to Bruce's job.

We have relational issues that seem overwhelming.

We have financial issues that seem to keep coming.

We have issues at church that seem like they will never end.

We are feeling under water on all fronts right now.

I know in the midst of it all that God is there, somewhere....

He just seems so far away.

We have asked for Him to show us where He wants us.  We have pleaded, in fact.  But He has seemed to remain silent.  We wonder what He means by the silence.

We are stronger than ever as a couple right now, and honestly that is the only thing that is getting me through this.

I know I need to rely on God for my strength, but sometimes in my flesh it is so much easier to rely on someone who I can see and touch.

Plus, he's pretty cute to look at. :)

But, I know, in the end, I need to press closer to God.

I am going to try in the days to come, to find God in all of this and seek His will in all of it.

I know He is there.

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This old house...

Sometimes we feel like we are living in an episode of the show "This Old House", only our house is not one of those quaint New England style houses that has lots of charm.....

Ours is a circa 1979 ranch style house with zero curb appeal.

Now, it has come a long way since we bought it 8 years ago.

We totally redid the kitchen and it seriously rocks.

We have painted the entire inside and literally made the whole house 100% usable.  We use every square inch of this house.  It is the perfect size and we would not want it any bigger, even if our family grows.

The backyard was beautiful from the get go, which is what sold us on the house.  It really was the only thing going for it at the time.  The fact that it sits on an acre didn't hurt either.  I know for some of you that doesn't seem very big, but here in AZ, that is a big!!

So, now we are trying to beautify from the front.  We have stripped the yard of all the lovely cactus that we hated.  We have a fresh coat of paint on it.

Now it's Brucey's job to turn the front yard into an oasis!  I can't wait to see the outcome!


Our house has truly been a great "party" house....

We have (with the exception of this year due to our construction) had a huge Super Bowl party here for the past 8 years.

We have had more kids' parties than I can count!

We have had kids' sleepovers in the backyard in a tent.

We have had baptisms in our pool.

We have had many dinners in the backyard.

Bruce had my 40th surprise party here!

We have hosted many church parties.

And on and on....and we hope it continues! We love entertaining!

We prayed that the Lord would use this house and He has!!  We look forward to see what else He has in store for us at this house!..who knows, maybe a wedding one day??????  :)

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"Patiently" waiting

Patience seems to be a theme in our lives right now.

Today we heard two separate lessons about being patient and waiting on God for HIS timing in our lives.  Not trying to take control and doing things our way, but instead waiting on Him, because His timing is better than ours.

I am not overly patient.  I like to see things completed.  I like to "fix" relationships that are broken (if I can), I like to finish projects and tasks, I like to get our school work done for the day so we can move onto other things.  I do not like unfinished projects, relationships, books, or anything.

We have several areas of our lives right now that are in limbo.  That we are awaiting answers from the Lord on. I should have put the word "patient" in there, but I don't think I am being very patient.  One of them has been in process for a very long time..years now.  The other ones are newer, but I already am tired of waiting!  We are weary.  We are tired of trying to be patient.  We are tired of not knowing.  We are tired of guessing what God wants for us in these areas.  We feel alone and forgotten by God at times.

Heath (our pastor) reminded us this morning that in the waiting, God grows us.  I know that.  I have lived that in fact.  I have to say that when you are through with the waiting, it is really sweet to see what you learned, how you changed and to be able to minister to others as they face similiar challenges. To encourage them that it IS worth the wait.  That God always has something better in store for us than we could even imagine.

But, for now, I am weary. I do not see the beauty in the waiting.

I rest in the fact that someday, I will.

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Friends, encouragement

Jill, Janna and me and Pita Jungle

It seems that I have a theme here on my blog...friends.  It's just that I have so many awesome ones that I have to tell you all about them!

Today I had lunch with Janna and Jill.  Jill is my friend whose daughter Emma and I hung out with at Phoenix Childrens Hospital a few weeks back.  Janna is my amazing friend whom I have known since Emma was a baby...I will get back to her in a bit.

Now onto Jill....she has five beautiful daughters.  3 of them are teenagers and then she has Isa who is 6 (she used to be Eli's girlfriend until we left SBC and she moved on!:( )  and Anabel, who is the one in the hospital.  Jill is such an amazing woman!! She has such trust in the Lord and I just know that she is such a joy to all that come across her at the hospital.  She did not say ONE negative thing today about dealing with Anabel's leukemia.  She only talked about the positive....the positive of Anabel having Down's Syndrome AND the positive about their leukemia journey.  I am pretty certain that she would say that this journey has changed her family forever, for the better.  That's because Jill's faith has not only stood strong, but has grown stronger through this experience.  She is such an encouragement to me about the power that the Lord has to get us through those tough times that we are promised in this life.  She gives Him all the glory for her strength and for carrying her family through this.  She spoke of all the people who have come alongside them in this journey.  It is amazing  to think about all those who have cooked meals and come to the hospital to sit with Anabel so Steve and Jill can have some time with their other children.  I am in awe of her...but even more so of our GOD who is always so faithful!!

Janna....my other dear friend in the picture.  Janna and I have known each other since Emma was about 2.  We met at MOMS at our church.  Janna is my rock friend.  She is the one who I can vent to about anything and she is ALWAYS ready with an encouraging word.  She always speaks truth to me...but always in a loving way.  She is eternally optimistic and always thinks the best of people.  She is a light to all who know her.  Our kids are dear friends now too and I am so grateful for that.  Her husband is my hubby's "wing man" (accountability partner) and I know that he encourages him in so many ways as well.  I know that Janna would do anything for me. In fact, the night before Bruce and I ran our first (and only!) marathon we heard noises out in front of our house...we went out and there were Matt and Janna with a huge poster that they had made for us and a picture frame to put our marathon picture in!!  These are "friends to ride the river with"...to quote my husband (I think it's from a Louis Lamour book!)  Love you Janna!

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Friends

 I know I have talked about my friends on this blog alot.

It's cuz they are such an important part of my life.

Janna and I at the Dodger game in California

 Having lost my mom and not living close to alot of family, our friends have truly
become like family to us.

Lisa and I on Easter at the Otto's

 We spend holidays together.  We vacation together.  We walk through life together.

Our friends have proven to us time and time again that they love us, no matter what.

This week my friend Kim Klassen was in town.  She moved to Colorado a few years ago.  I miss her and her family so much.  Our time together proved that distance has not changed our friendship.  We pick up right where we left off.  Our kids are the same way.  They love the time we get to spend with them and they also pick up right where they left off.

This is how the family of God works.

We love each other.

We serve each other.

We support each other.

We pray for each other.

When we move away, our hearts are still bound together.

I am so grateful for the "family" that God has given us in our friends!

P.S. I apologize if you are a dear friend of mine and you do not have a picture on here....unfortunately, I don't have alot of pictures of my friends on my camera! Most of my pictures are of my friends' kids!!  So know that I love ya!! :)

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Things I love today

#1.  The sun shining, but also looking forward to rain this weekend!
#2.  My hubby being back in town after a business trip
#3.  Looking forward to hanging with precious friends tonight
#4.  My first book club meeting this afternoon.
#5.  Doing laps around my backyard and catching up with a good friend on the phone.
#6.  Anticipating the birth of a baby boy that will be coming home soon to his new family :)
#7.  Waiting on the Lord for Bruce's work situation (really, it is good for us, I know!)
#8.  Seeing the outside of our house in shambles, because it shows we are making progress on our        remodeling project!
#9.  Listening to my daughter play the piano
#10.  The fact that my nephew is ok after being injured in Afghanistan
#11. The sand on my bathroom floor...cuz it means my boys have been outside being creative :)
#12.  The smile that comes onto Eli's face whenever he is reminded that tomorrow is his first day of tball!

That's it for now...looking forward to a great weekend!! Hope you are too!

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