Encouraging Winks

When you least expect it, life sends you encouragement in the most unique places.  
Notice, listen, and celebrate those small moments.


A watched pot never boils, nor does a watched phone ring.

Since Sarah's country is seven hours ahead, our submission emails and our future travel date emails would appear in the early morning hours.  By noon, if we had not received any word, we'd need to wait until the following morning.  Monday and Tuesday am, I was checking my phone for messages at every available break I had.  Like counting down the days until Christmas morn.  No ring nor message came.  I wasn't discouraged, but filled with anticipation, waiting to kick my game up to the next level as we prepare to leave.

As I went about teaching, I wanted to try a website we had been given access to use in our district.  When I entered my initials and last name, another teacher in Oklahoma came up, with the same initials:   

SARAH ARCHER

How about that little God Wink for encouragement!  Our travel date is coming, soon. 
For now, patiently we wait. 

If what I say resonates with you, it is merely because we are both branches of the same tree.  W.B. Yeats

Inch by Inch...

Encouragement comes in small increments, which is way better than hearing nothing.  This afternoon, we learned our state clearances should be finished within the next two weeks.  Yeah, us!!!  Then, hopefully our home study will soon be notarized, sent to us, and then on to USCIS!!  On the USCIS front, we learned an officer will soon be assigned to our case. 

Unless you have traveled the adoption journey, whether stateside or international, you most likely will not understand the happy dance I am doing inside.  After school, I had to share this with my closest friend at school immediately.  This small moment for some, is unbelievably huge for our family.  We have waited for some news, a reply back from emails and phone calls, since the end of October.  A glimmer of light shining through as a beacon on this journey. 

Other celebrations, we finished Addy's video diary to Sarah about her country.  Completely adorable!! We read books, wrote notecards, and then she dictated the speech while I typed it on the computer.  Andy fabulatized it, adding pictures and graphics.  Tomorrow is her presentation day!!  Once Sarah comes home, I'll post it. I am so proud of her.

Austin brought home the sloppy copy of his first published book of first grade, titled Our Family.  He writes about our journey to Sarah, preparations for her arrival, and more.  We are looking forward to seeing the illustrated final copy of his book.  Both kids are anxiously waiting the day our family becomes a family of five.

Another small moment, I had a few errands to run and stopped in the store Tuesday Morning, which I rarely shop.  Meandering through the book area (drawn to like a magnet), I found a treasure and plopped it in my basket.

Another book of inspirations...little snippets of happiness through words.  A few favorites that I've embraced:

Enjoy the little things, the small moments, the memories.  The glass is always half-full!!

Gratefulness

 

It seems we all share how busy we are and how fast the days go by.  A constant reminder to celebrate the good, the beautiful, and the happiness.  Driving to work, the sun was beaming through the bare trees, listening to some new tunes I found.  My gaze looked to both sides, and not to only the road.  I noticed, I saw things I normally would not see.  A deer laying in the grass, his head turning back and forth, like he was watching a tennis match.  Christmas decorations beginning to appear, that are lighting up the evening.  Teens waiting for their bus, some days in coats, other days in hoodies.  The last few survivor trees hanging on to their leaves with a stubborn, defiance to the wind, rain, and sun.

 We've been in the week-end craft mode lately.  I found some cute cards, some wonderful sayings, and made an encouragement treasure bucket for my friend.

For my other friend, I painted a glass jar, wrote quotes, and sayings on individual colored pieces.  Her Jar of Hope. 











Addyson's birthday is coming up and we are planning her first large birthday party.  Today, we made invitations, fabulatized them, and took our "Invitation Walk" around the neighborhood, passing out said invitations to her friends.  She'd ring the doorbell, hand her friend the envelope, and then she was off to the next home.  She's into the whole peace, flower power look, so we're gonna rock the ice-skating rink out in flower power fashion.

Austin is absolutely lovin' his cub scouts.  He's sold popcorn, visited the police station, been to Super Games, and is so stinkin' cute in his uniform.  He's my "follow what's on the calendar" guy!  I forgot to write "Brunch for Lunch" on the calendar this week.  So, when he got to school without his lunchbox, he was totally upset.  When I got home, he made sure to inform me that I needed to write it on our calendar.

 

I've had my out of control moments with conferences, field trips,  gradecards, holiday shopping, home stuff, and completing our paperwork.  We've completed all we can until our state clearances/home study is here.  Then, only two more steps and our part is complete.    It's getting so close, yet still far away.  There's been much chatter about upcoming Eastern European issues.  While it could affect us all, it is what it is but it will become what we make it.  I am choosing to continue focusing on the good, the beautiful, and small moments that make every day a celebration.

I am looking forward to Thanksgiving.  Fabulous food, family fun, and time...time to listen, time to talk, and time to celebrate our gratefulness for the lives we've been given.  I'm grateful for so many things.  What are you grateful for these days?

Encouragement

To Encourage, Be Encouraged, Feel Encouraged...

When I began writing here, my sole purpose was to share pictures, small moments, and daily happenings with our family far away.  It was also an outlet for me to explore and tweak my blogging skills.  Then, it became a place to share our journey to a shining star, named Sarah.  While it continues with those messages, encouragement and gratitude are common themes.  That's why I write.  I want you to feel encouraged, inspired, uplifted, and motivated to pass it on.

My parents are the BEST encouragers.  My mother has this AMAZING gift of sending out encouraging cards weekly.  I"ve asked her how she keeps up with it because I barely can keep birthdays straight.  But, she has this gift.  Every Sunday afternoon, she sits down with her calendar and church bulletin and makes a list of all the cards she needs to send out.  Birthday, anniversary, get well, thinking of you...one by one, she writes them out and sends them on the appropriate day.  AMAZING!  My father will listen, like no other.  Never offering his opinion unless asked.   Many have used his ear as a sounding board.  Both gifts take time, no money, no power, only time.   They learned this gift from my grandparents, who even this week sent me a newspaper clipping in the mail about encouragement   (By the way, they have over 40 grandchildren and great-grandchildren and they continue to encourage, each and everyone!)

To encourage...

Driving home, I was thinking about my friends who are hurting.  They are traveling a path, I've never walked, nor experienced.  I have wept with them, encouraged them, written notes, but I can't take the pain or uncertainty away.  It's there gripping  every part of their being.   I wrote the other day on Compassion and graceful is the tear of the sympathy.  It is necessary to feel the compassion for those hurting.  We should never be at a place where we stop feeling these emotions.  Those hurting need encouragement the most.

 But, it is an absolute MUST to continually be filled with gratitude for what we see, what we are given, and what we have.  There are so many things to be filled with gratitude.   Waking up daily, thankful the sun is shining,  your kids are smiling and happy, you are loved,  the vibrant hues of the falling leaves, the holidays approaching, an extra hour sleep this weekend, ...

Stuff happens and will happen. It's inevitable.  But, take time to encourage someone.  Lift someone up.  Embrace your journey.  I hope when you stop by, you are encouraged.  Your demeanor is a little brighter.  You are uplifted. 

Adversity is like a strong wind.
It tears away from us all but the things that cannot be torn,
so that we see ourselves as we really are.
-Arthur Golden,