Happy and Sad

Well, today I'm happy and sad....the Cooper Family left our house today about 2pm, bound for their final destination at THEIR home in Missouri. I'm so happy for them to finally be able to go home and be a family in their own home, after almost 2 weeks living with other people. But, I was really sad to see them go. I so grew to love this family and God connected our hearts in such a short time. It was not a 'bother' to have them here at all, it was truly, honestly, a joy and delight to have them as part of our home for about a week.

I had to work today and they came and said good-bye to me at work and then I fought the tears until I got off work about 45 minutes later. It's so wierd how God can connect your heart to someone in such a short amount of time. But, he did. It was so sad to come home and have them all gone. It was just 'normal' to have them here, and didn't seem wierd or uncomfortable or anything -- we truly loved it! :)

Anyway.......they are now gone and in their own home. We delight in that for them. :)

I'm amazed at how wonderful the last week has been. It's been kinda crazy adding in 3 other people to our home, but it's been so wonderful. Hmmmmmm.......let's see if I can back up a bit...

About a week ago, my friend Tracie (www.tracieloux.blogspot.com) instant messaged me one day about Steven and Kristi and told me the jist of the story and asked if we'd consider letting them stay with us. I said 'yes!' immediately......and then called my husband to make sure he was ok with it.....and of course, he said 'yes!', too! :)

That night, Kristi called and said 'hello' and we got to 'meet' over the phone! :) She was so sweet and I knew they'd fit in perfectly! So, I set out to 'prepare'. Since Steve was gone in Iowa, I knew it didn't make sense to put them in the guest room...I mean, what do I need the Master Bedroom/Bathroom for when it's just ME? It was a 'no-brainer! So, I quickly went through my clothes and picked out what I thought I'd need for a week and moved into the guest room. Moved all my toiletries and bathroom stuff to the hall bath as we'd be sharing with the boys. And, then I set out to clean! Our house was clean, but ya' know -- when someone's staying in your house, especially with a newborn, you want to make sure it's extra clean! lol So, I cleaned and then waited for them to arrive the next day. I was so excited!

Tuesday afternoon, Steven, Kristi, and little Shiloh arrived, and I instantly loved this family! Steven and Kristi are both so sweet and little Shiloh is just perfectly precious! They carried their stuff to our room, very grateful for the space, and got settled in. Slowly, visitors began to arrive that night and over the next 24 hours. People constantly apologized for 'intruding', but quite honestly -- I loved it. I love opening our home to others and it wasn't hard to have a bunch of people in and out!

This past weekend, Kristi's parents came into town, too, and spent the night. Steven and Kristi had planned to have them stay at their house in Missouri, but I was like, "What?! No way -- they can stay here, too, then you can spend more time together." They were very hesitant, not wanting to intrude, but honestly -- it wasn't difficult for me -- it just seemed like a 'no brainer'! So, they came and stayed and it all went so great and we truly had a great time with them, too!

So, our house has been a flurry of activity the past week! And, Steve was home all weekend, too, so we did have a house full! But, we had a ton of fun and truly enjoyed having a full house! :) We had a 'family' night last night and Steven got pizza for us all and we all played a game of Taboo together! We laughed a lot and had so much fun!

Brennan loved playing the Wii with Steven; Nate loved throwing his knife with Steven, too! And, I so had fun with Kristi! We got along great and laughed a ton! She is super sweet and super fun! She's so 'casual' and made herself at home, which I loved. She even threw a piece of cooked spaghetti against my wall to make sure it was done -- she says that if the spaghetti sticks that means it's cooked enough! lol I just started laughing! I loved it that she felt comfortable enough here to be herself! We got to workout once together, too, and she even watched me cut my own hair and grimaced the entire time! lol I enjoyed her friendship! :) And, we all loved snuggling with little Shiloh! She is such a beautiful, peaceful little girl! I enjoyed watching her move and we were all laughing at the little faces and noises she'd make! It was a delight to be around a newborn again!

So, we loved being with them. We are such 'people' people, that we loved the flurry of activity and having them in our home.

Here's what I didn't expect -- I didn't expect how much this couple and their little baby would touch my heart. I didn't expect for God to use them so much to reveal more of His heart to me. But, that's exactly what happened. You see -- little Shiloh, she was originally intended for abortion. Yes -- her birthmother originally wanted to have an abortion when she found out she was pregnant. But, through the encouragement/counsel of her parents, she chose life. I could not stop thinking of that whenever I would hold little Shiloh. I mean, here was this absolutely perfect little girl and her original 'destiny' by humans was death - abortion. BUT....God had other plans. Before she was even created, He had a plan and purpose for her....LIFE! I couldn't help but be in awe of this little miracle baby, and how God had chosen to put her in a new family who would love and adore her and show her the love of Jesus. It was overwhelming to see the reality of LIFE right before my eyes.

Kristi was so open with me about Shiloh's story and how God brought all them together. It was amazing! I sat and listened in awe as I heard how God has written her story. It was amazing!

I was struck by the depth of Kristi's passion for LIFE and adoption. By her conviction that the church needs to be doing more to promote LIFE. I was personally challenged. I mean -- the church as a whole says we're against abortion. But, are we really willing to stand behind our conviction? I mean, how many in the church are willing to take in a child and adopt them? Kristi said to me, "Debi, there is NO reason to have an orphan in a town where there's a church!" and that statement has gripped my heart since she spoke it. I mean -- it's so true. If we are against abortion, and believe in life, then are we willing to stand behind that and do whatever it takes to see that a woman that chooses LIFE has a place for her baby?

I was challenged about what we could do. For now, we're pursuing foster care and believing that to be God's next step for our family. That may lead to adoption, or it may not. We don't know what God has in store for us -- we're simply taking the next step and trusting His faithful leadership.

But, this I know for now -- we are called to come alongside those adoption and support them in any way we can. Be it financially, providing them a place to stay, or whatever. We want to undergird and support with love and encouragement and prayers, those that ARE adopting all these children who need homes. The Coopers are not rich -- they are sacrificing to give little Shiloh a home of love. We want to come alongside people like this and encourage, love and support them as they obey God's heart to love the orphans! We are not rich -- but, through God's grace, we trust Him to provide all we need to fulfill His heart for the orphans. However that means -- whatever that looks like.

Somehow as the Coopers were here, I felt as though we were a part of something so much larger than simply allowing a family live with us. But, we had the amazing privilege of seeing the "Spirit of Adoption' on display before our very eyes. God's heart was so evident -- His blazing heart of jealous love and zeal was lived out before us.

In this week, my heart has been enlarged with His love. The capacity of my heart to know and experience the Father's heart has been enlarged. I am overwhelmed by His heart for orphans. I gave all this 'lip service' before, but something has changed in my heart. It's becoming a deep conviction.

I don't know what all this means for us, but I know that we will never be the same after witnessing this so up close and personal. The Coopers were so real and honest with us and we are honored to have been a part of their journey in the Lord. We are honored to have been witnesses to what God is doing in their family. We are privileged to see Shiloh brought into a forever home. The tears fall freely from my eyes because I know we just witnessed something far deeper and more amazing than I can even put into human words.

And, now our house is so quiet! It was so weird to come home to such quietness! And, even the boys came home from school and were so bummed that they didn't get to say good-bye to the Coopers, and said they loved having them here.

Thankfully, we go to the same church and such, so we'll keep in touch, I'm sure! :) Plus, they forgot their cellphone charger, here, so guess what? We have an excuse to see them again! lol

P.S. I have photos, and will upload them in the next day or so. :)