Red lipstick+Walker=Love!

(Image from 123rf.com )

Last night my husband and I went out for a Valentine's Dinner (which involved asking my friend to give one of our kids a ride home from work, getting someone to hang out with the 8 yrs old and having to double check where the eldest would be AFTER work!). Whew...once we got that established we headed over to Olive Garden where apparently the entire city also chose to eat (so it seemed anyway by the PACKED parking lot, outside benches, and inside waiting area) When we walked up to the Hostess booth she smiled at us and after getting our information told us it would be an hour before we'd be seated. We were cool and decided to hang out near the couches (in hopes that someone would eventually get called and we could swiftly shift ourselves into position, without appearing like that's what we were doing). When a couple offered their seats to us we gladly accepted the offer and were thankful we didn't have to slip and slide our way into the seats. We "couple watched" as we waited and tried to figure out if people were recently dating,married or how long they've been married. It killed time for us and about 50 minutes later our buzzer went off! We quickly went to the hostess booth where we overheard the hostess tell a sweet little old couple (seriously they must have been late 70's/early 80's) that it would be a 70-minute wait. I looked at my husband who was already motioning me to follow the quick stepping server when I motioned him to come back to me. Before I tell you what happened next, first let me describe this couple. She was wearing a very appropriate Valentine's Day outfit with red accents on her skirt and a big red flower on her blouse; which matched her ruby red lipstick just right, all of which was framed in her silver walker. The gentleman wore a nice brown suit and stood tall over his thinly framed wife. So, when the couple heard how long the wait would be she said "oh sure I guess we'll go ahead and wait!"  I looked at my husband who by now was looking at this couple and offered our still flashing buzzer to them so that they could be seated in our place. The couple seemed happy to take it but, it was the server that was originally going to seat us who had now come over to us that really took it all in. She looked at this couple as she smiled at us and we went back to our original look out spot by the couch. We eventually worked our way back onto the couch and instead of "couple watching" we "couple pondered" this sweet elderly couple! I can't imagine how many Valentine’s Days they've already shared or how many they even have left. They were the best looking couple in the restaurant and I hope one day to look that good in my walker with my sweet old hubby by my side!

(participating in the Pour Out Your Heart Wednesday with Shelly check it out! Here

The best Wedding I never went to!

I'm here in Virginia because my dear friend was set to be married today.  I had my bridesmaid dress ready and was glad to be able to stand in my friends wedding, especially since she stood in mine.  This morning was the wedding date. Everyone got dressed and we drove over to a beautiful southern style home for the reception.  I walked in and saw beautiful yellow and blue flowers with nice wooden floors. The tables nicely set ,all arranged with wooden chairs covered in linen white. The Bride and Groom to be stood there together as they walked to the front and shared with their guest ( who had already been previously notified) how thankful they were that all who were there, were there. They talked about God's timing in their lives and how this day was "their" intended wedding day, but not God's. There were tears from friends and family, my eyes were filled to the brim as we solidifed this day. It was a day of rejoicing for what is to come and yet we felt saddness for what didn't come. The Pastor stood and spoke for a moment and acknowledged this brave couple. As the room was filled with worship, I suddenly felt as if I was witnessing a miracle. The glass windows shone the light from outside and the wind caused the trees to gently sway.  I sat and watched as the bride-to-be sat next to her groom-to-be and they worshipped with their eyes closed. I began to ponder todays events with a covering of God himself. I began to think about how sad it must have been for the disciples when Jesus died, because it represented to all those around an end to His life.  Yet that end was necessary in order for the beginning to take place. Letting go of what we really want is hard, it requires a measure of trust that God will provide. Today....they said no to the wedding so ,that in the future, they could say yes to the marriage. How beautiful is that!

My friend, my birth son's Mom.

The past few days I've been privileged and blessed with the honor of visiting my birth son and his family. It has been the most comfortable and completing experience for us all. My birth sons mom and I are friends first and moms second. I cherish her friendship and cherish her as my birth sons Mom. Earlier today she and I shared with my sister the story of how they came to adopting and how I came to placing my birth son for adoption. Just listening to each others stories and how beautifully we were intertwined left me in awe. I love my birth sons mom. She has an easy laugh, caring eyes and a warmth about her. She is an excellent mother and I appreciate her as a person. Over the course of this visit we have spent hours just talking about children, marriage, and life in general. This visit has definitely drawn us closer to each other. The friendship allows something in this experience that delicately upholds us all and that is trust. Trust in God first because without Him this would have never been, and trust in each other to uphold what has been so beautifully formed. Walking around this friendship is a young man whom we both love deeply. She said it perfectly today, for the love we both feel for him we gladly oblige, we gladly share, and we gladly love. It is perfect and I rarely use that word to describe anything, but in this circumstance it is appropriate. In fact, she and I have decided to write a book together about our experience and how this adoption has truly knitted us. Amazing? Yes.

a little loose tooth, a big revelation

So....Samuel (my 6 year old) started growing a permanent tooth behind all of his teeth and I panicked a bit. I wore braces for 5 years when I was little because my teeth were so bad and worried that Samuel may also have problems with his teeth. WELL, this morning he kept saying one of his teeth was hurting and when I checked it we found it was loose! Yes, that means this baby tooth is getting ready to get out and his other tooth will be able to move in. I'm relieved and yet this was an example of what can happen at certain times of our lives. Sometimes there are parts of our lives that are growing and developing without the necessary space alloted for that growth. It almost seems impossible for a change to take place and then it happens, room for that growth. Just like Samuels' little tooth, some things have to go in order for the more permanent things to stay. Let's face it, at times it can feel like " pulling teeth" ( parampamching) and yet I believe the key here is to allow things to occur in their time, rather than rush them. The bible speaks so much of God's timing and today in this sweet little mouth I saw a perfect example of that.