yeah, don't even know what to title this one...

Snow in our yard with the over-sized beach ball the kids were playing with only the week before.  Yeah, I guess that's pretty much Texas.

I'm more than half way through The Help.   Thanks for the comments, those of you who read it and shared.  It's fun to "share" a book together, huh?  I'm really enjoying it.  Wow.  It's really opening my eyes to even things about black culture today.  I didn't even really even know that this month is black history month.   I realized it sometime this week while reading this book.  I just think it's interesting that I happen to be reading it now.  It's really got me thinking.  Noel Piper has been observing black history month over at her blog.  Her writings on having a multi-racial family have already encouraged me so much (since that looks like what the future holds for us).

Dru had a dream a couple nights ago that we adopted 2 little black girls.  I smile when I think about that.

This may come as a shock seeing how I've recently done a lengthy post on our pursuing adopting from Haiti.  It looks like that isn't going to happen anymore...not the Haiti part anyway.  God has really just closed some doors on that.  It's a bit of a shock to us, too, yet, this whole time we have been begging God for direction so we are trusting Him that a series of recent events have been the direct answer to those prayers.  We thought the direction He'd give would be further assurance that Haiti was for us, but it has surprised us to see that He has really opened our hearts to the foster care system--something we hoped was in our future, just didn't realize that "future" may be so soon.

Haiti has our hearts in many ways.  And there are 2 ministries that we are partnering with to help Haiti (more on that later!).  We long to help Haiti.  It has been a painful but necessary and amazing experience to delve into all that is Haiti over the last several months.  I'm thankful for all we have learned and we hope that this really is just the beginning of our relationship with Haiti.  It just isn't doesn't seem to us anymore that that's where God has our babies.

We've always known that adoption will not just be about adoption but it will be very much about the journey. We know God has big things for us on the journey TO adoption and we know there will be big things on the POST adoption side.  We want to trust Him in the journey, even though, from our perspective, it looks a little crazy sometimes!!

Through various means, God has really opened our hearts to children in the foster care system.  It's a system that used to scare me.  It's something I never thought I could do, being a foster mom, because of the pain of being separated from a baby I'd come to love.  Yet, God is doing a new thing.  It IS wonderful to me.

We are working now with an agency to foster-to-adopt.  That means we will foster for a little while until a baby we get becomes adoptable.  We will then have first priority since the little one is already in our home.

I know this all sounds probably a bit out of left field.  Honestly, though, we are so excited.  I can't wait to share more of what I am learning and what God is doing.  We are humbled and thrilled to be on this journey.    

Thank you all for your KIND and AMAZING comments on my first adoption post.  It felt so wonderful to have a little "village" out there and to know we have so many friends who are supporting us.  I means a lot!