Full of Change

     Wow!  I have been pondering what to type and share on our blog, since we have skipped over the last few months worth of our adoption journey.  I have noticed a trend in the last 9 months of our lives: There has been MAJOR change in many areas of our lives and in the lives of others!
     Of course it is very obvious that our family will grow from six to eight people!  I told Jason that we will never know what it is like to have five children, we will only know four and jump on over to six! Our house situation has all been changed or rearranged, too.  Now, Maggie and Elisabeth will share a room, Rebecca and Janie will share, and then Porter and Davidson will share as well.  We have brought in twin beds to accommodate more children. Also, closets have changed!  Moving in clothes for two extra children has required purging many items that are not needed anymore! Also, our car situation will need to change to carry around six children!! 
     Our adopted children's lives will change forever!  They have never had parents or siblings, now they will have to adjust to living in a home with us.  The changes in their culture will be really extreme.  Imagine all the new sounds, smells, and tastes!  And yes, Elisabeth has always spoken Mandarin and will be learning a new language.  Elisabeth will have so much change in her life and will be pulled from the only world she knows.  Please pray for all these changes in her new life.
    With all these changes in the past few months, my heart has felt a huge change as well.  It is unbelievable how God can change our hearts and open our eyes to see the same things in a new way. My heart has already changed so much and we do not even have the children back home yet. He opened our hearts to two children whom we love so dearly and whispered to me that He will provide all we need if we trust in Him alone. His word states over and over that Jesus loves his children, loves the needy, loves the broken and that it is our duty as Christians to step up and do our part.  My favorite scripture throughout this journey thus far has been Matthew 18:5, "And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me." How powerful those few words are to me! I want to welcome Jesus, don't you? So, yes! Jason and I and our six children are forever changed through this adoption, but mostly we are changed through our Lord and Saviour who loves us and is leading us through this journey that was planned long, long ago! I believe that THIS change is a good one!
    Please join us in praying for all of these changes.  I know that the changes will not be easy, but I do know we were called to this and we will continue to change and rely heavily upon Christ throughout each and every change.