We received word late on Tuesday that we could come home. We've spent splendid moments together, as a family.
We are beyond blessed.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Here's Mica sleeping in his OWN BED! Isn't he sweet?
The first night at home, I couldn't sleep. Tears rolled down my cheeks (and into my ears; I was on my back). My joy was so palpable. Firework-light-up-the-whole-world's-sky-joy.
When I struggle
I remember what I love,
what motivates me,
feeds my spirit and
keeps me keepin' on.
Music is a salve, a balm and a connector, motivator and spirit-lifter. Sara Bareilles - Love Song
I've been away from home for four weeks. Thats 28 days. 17 of those away from Malia. 24 of those days I've been with Mica! Eight of those days with Kevin. We hope that Mica and I can go home sometime this week. Clock ticks slowly.
Sandy hawks perched on telephone poles,
brown harvested corn fields,
frolicking calves journeying home through fields and
laundromats comfort me.
(Yes, that is Mica helping me with laundry.)
I love how technology connects us, even while distance separates us.
I'm thankful for welcoming churches and inspired pastors. Grace Chicago has been an important, comforting landmark in this journey.
I'm thankful God transcends space. We humans are so impacted by space, those we are close to and far away from. Environmental space impacts mood. Warm, yellow sun rays stream brightly through window panes on balmy December days.
Museums are a God-send. Packed full of information, animals, fish, stories, data. Wearing Mica in a sling as he quietly, happily grunts with each step I take.
T-Rex skeleton,
Sudanese culture made real,
Egyptian tomb with heiroglyphics,
thousands of North American birds
Woodpeckers
Herons
awkward seahorses,
sleek dolphin skin;
all endlessly fascinating.
Help to occupy my mind and distract me from longingly, aching for Malia's chirping questions, bright eyes, silly sideways glances and endless laughter. Distracting me from longing for a dear friend's embrace, for Kevin's listening ear and comforting presence.
(Yes, that's Mica peacefully sleeping as I meet Sue the T-Rex.)
Grocery stores,
neatly organized aisles,
crisp displays,
exotic and mouth watering tapenades,
bright fruits and crunchy vegetables,
velvety chocolates,
yeasty bread and
creamy hummous
all bring a simple order to a unfettered existence.
Family and friends provide community. I was painfully reminded four short weeks ago that not everyone is blessed with this community: authentic, kind, supportive, joyful, listening.
Faithful.
Thank you God for unbelievably good people that make me want to be a better person,
tread more carefully on this planet,
support those in need,
show compassion, joy, love
and make me thankful to be raising children in this world.
Things are a little Upside Down, and we are doing really well!
Nichole, Mica's birth mother, signed a Designated Surrender of parental rights on Monday. (Designated meaning she named Kevin and me specifically, and surrender meaning she relinquished parental rights, pending any interaction with Mica's biological father.)
Mica, Kevin and I will be appearing in court this Thursday to acknowledge the Surrender and to begin the ICPC process, which allows us to take Mica from Illinois back to Michigan.
We thank you for your prayers for all paperwork to move expeditiously from and to whom it needs to flow, that IL and MI ICPC offices approve and pass on the paperwork quickly and that we get to go home sometime early next week.
I'm so excited to go home, hopefully SOON! In the meantime I'll suffer through exploring the city with sweet baby Mica! LOL!
Micah 7:7 (The Message)
7But me, I'm not giving up. I'm sticking around to see what God will do. I'm waiting for God to make things right. I'm counting on God to listen to me.
My cousin Dana is in Pattaya Thailand, and here is her blog named "Beautiful Feet."
Today she writes about this song:
You’re the God of this city You’re the King of these people You’re the Lord of this nation You are
You’re the Light in this darkness You’re the Hope to the hopeless You’re the Peace to the restless You are
There is no one like our God There is no one like our God
For greater things have yet to come And greater things are still to be done in this city Greater thing have yet to come And greater things are still to be done in this city
We are so blessed to share Russ and
Alessandra's apartment here in Chicago!
This neighborhood is awesome and walkable. The apartment is cozy. Russ' cooking is fabulous. We are enjoying the little (but big) things
in life: laughing at Mica's silly faces, making Play-Doh hotdogs with
M. Living in the present. And we will be taking a trip to Trader Joe's
in a few minutes with TWO children!
We still have no idea how long we will be in
Illinois. Mica's biological dad is
considering whether or not he is supportive of the adoption plan. So we wait.
Yet we fully embrace the present.
We pray for him. We pray for
Mica. We pray for M and her
comprehension of a thing as tough to "get" as this!
We give it up to God over...and over...and over. Which most of the time isn't hard to do with
a joyful four-year-old and a cuddle-bug eight-day-old.
Kevin arrived here last evening and will head
back home on Monday. So my world is even
more complete with him here. I breathe a
little easier with my partner close by.
When I feel afraid, want to pull-in and
protect, I breathe (sometimes cry) and sing this song:
Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord
We will wait upon the Lord
We will wait upon the Lord
Our God, You reign forever
Our hope, our Strong Deliverer
You are the everlasting God
The everlasting God
You do not faint
You won't grow weary
You're the defender of the weak
You comfort those in need
You lift us up on wings like eagles
We thank you, dear friends and family, for your
prayers of support, your emails, texts, thoughts, Facebook posts, likes, cards
and much more! Knowing you care and
support us makes this dichotomous situation more manageable. We love you all and are so blessed to be a
part of an amazing community. Thank you.
It is wonderful and comfortable to be at Russ and Alessandra's apartment. My mom and M arrived on the train today and are staying for 11 days. Kevin will be arriving on Friday to stay the weekend. My dad will arriving via train next week.
Mica is simply splendid. Little cuddle bug, eating lots, opening his eyes more and more. The cutest little sideways yawns you've ever seen.
Nichole is doing as well as can be expected, I think. My emails with pictures and little stories aren't getting to her, so I'm working on setting up an alternative method for us to digitally communicate frequently. I miss her a lot. She says she takes comfort in knowing how well Mica is doing.
After eleven days apart, M and I had lots of quality time today touching, hugging and kissing...and dancing, spinning and singing. My mom cuddled with Mica for hours on end, caressing, loving, praying.
We have heard hopeful news that our case workers and lawyers plan to finalize the adoption in Illinois within the next two weeks and then we wait for the ICPC paperwork to clear both IL and MI.
And in the meantime, we get to enjoy splendid time together in THANKSGIVING!
The not-so-great news is: We are running into some legal and logistical issues regarding his adoption.
We are overjoyed at his birth, but this adoption may likely be a long and potentially tenuous road. (Sorry, we can't disclose more detail.)
The plan as of 7AM today (Monday) is that I will leave the hospital sometime today with Mica and stay in Chicago at my brother and sister-in-law's home. Mica and I may be there for more than six weeks.
We hope and pray that today's paperwork process goes smoothly and quickly. We pray for strength and peace of mind for Nichole. We pray for my four-plus hour drive to Chicago with a three-day-old baby to go smoothly.
M and my mom are planning on joining us in Chicago this Wednesday; SSSOOOO excited for that! Kevin hopes to go back and forth as well.
We do trust that God knows whats best for Mica, and we hope and pray that his place is with us!
Please pray with us that all issues are resolved swiftly and decisively for his adoption.
Micah 7:7 (The Message)
7But me, I'm not giving up. I'm sticking around to see what God will do. I'm waiting for God to make things right. I'm counting on God to listen to me.
