Well Hello, 2015

Hi, kids. Happy New Year!

I don’t really have that much in the way of an update, aside from my new addiction to the show Reign (but don’t mention this show to my brother unless you want an earful about how historically untrue and slanderous it is. I already don’t make a practice of learning history from the CW but I did do some research to refresh my memory on the details of Mary, Queen of Scots to make sure I am not foolishly tainted).  And also, The Imitation Game was an excellent movie that had me completely immersed and on the edge of my seat even though I knew they would break the code.  This concludes the TV/Movie endorsement section of this entry.

We had a nice holiday season in which we got to spend good time with family and friends. We hosted my parents for Thanksgiving and were able to spend time with both my family and B’s during the week of Christmas.

We also got to spend an evening with some BFFs and I feel so grateful to have friends like them. Whenever I see them I leave renewed, affirmed, and my world is back on its axis. They are my reset button for life.

I don’t really do resolutions per se (and I avoid the gym until everyone else falls off the wagon), but I do try to pick a word or theme with which to frame the year. This year, I decided my theme is “Expect Miracles”. I recently had some friends go through some really tough health issues and their optimism and expectation that God would heal them really shocked me and made me realize I’d once again become lost in my bad habit of thinking that the big stuff is unattainable and I don’t deserve it so don’t bother asking; I tend to forego hope in order to protect myself from disappointment. Anyway, I was inspired by my friends and decided that I needed to embrace their outlook on life. I need to expect miracles and to ask, unabashedly, for what I want even if it the end result isn’t how I wanted it.

With that in mind, we are more seriously starting the adoption process this year and I’m expecting the process to go well and quickly. (See what I did there?)

After making far too many calls for my liking last year, we have found a placement agency to work with and have begun to fill out the application. It’s very involved, very intrusive, and it makes me sweat (and whine) but it’s exciting to feel like we’re finally taking some tangible steps toward starting our family. We have set a deadline for the end of February to turn it all in. Setting that deadline instantly made me feel unwanted pressure but after an internal debate I decided that the uncomfortable pressure was a better feeling than waking up in June only to realize we still hadn't officially started the process.

In conclusion, we would love your prayers. Here is what we are praying for:

• We need help staying motivated, brave, determined, and open-minded.
• We hope and expect that the process will be a good experience.
• We pray for the health and wellness of our child.
• We pray for the birth-mother, whoever she may be- I can’t imagine this will be a fun process for her either. I can’t pretend to know what it will be like for her but I can imagine it will take an inordinate amount of bravery, selflessness, and love. We also pray that she would feel peace about picking us to care for her child.

So, there we are. A small update, but an update nonetheless.

Happy 2015! May the Cubs beat Miami in the World Series.

And another, just because I feel like it: