Always on my Mind

Holiday season, here we come!   Every year I shake my head and marvel at how quickly the year has passed.  Once again, I can't believe Thanksgiving is just a few days away, and Christmas a month from now.   In my faith tradition, we begin the season of Advent this Sunday.  It is a time of preparation, reflection, prayer, fasting and anticipation for the arrival of you-know-who!   Our Savior.   Jehovah Jireh -God Provider.     I can't help but think about the parallels as we enter into the season of waiting.  As our family waits for news...any news, we continue to prepare our hearts and our home for our blessed baby.

I am somewhat surprised by how hard it's been for me to be detach from thinking about the adoption.    I thought that once the dossier was submitted,  we could just focus on everyday life and ordinary, no-waiting-for-the-mailman days.   I also thought the timing was nice, because I wouldn't be stressed about paperwork over the holidays.   It hasn't quite worked that way.  Every gift catalog that comes in the mail, I think of her.   Should we buy her a gift?   A dollhouse, a Barbie, a babydoll?   How old is she?   Does she know that this will be her last Christmas morning she has to wake up without her mommy and daddy and brothers?   This Thanksgiving too,  she will be missed around our table.  She is already a part of our family, born in our hearts and covered in prayer every day.      I have never looked a girl's clothing or toys before,  but it's impossible not to peek with all of the items on display for Christmas.   With 3 boys, my life has been Star Wars and swords and ant farms, so this is new territory.    I just wish when I felt more joyful about it, but instead I feel sad.  Is that normal?   I guess it's just hard with the combination of an unknown timeline, and few details.   We knew this was part of the process when we started though, and the payoff will be worth every waiting minute.   That is a gift I can celebrate!:)  

St. Stan's

Today we took a little road trip to visit a very special place.  In the heart of Slavic Village in Cleveland, is the breathtaking St. Stanislaus Cathedral.    It is the mother church for all Poles in the Cleveland area .   It's also listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and for good reason.  This church ranks up there with the majestic cathedrals in Rome (in my humble opinion) and is enough to bring a  person to their knees in awe,  upon entering.   

We arrived just as the Polish mass was letting out.  A little boy bolted out of the church speaking Polish very fast.  My kids thought it was the neatest thing!   Next time we will definitely attend a Polish-speaking mass.  I realized they also offer missal in English so we can follow along.  What a great way to learn.  

Before mass began, we lit a candle for our child (or children) .  We also prayed for all orphans in Poland, and around the world.  As well as the families who are considering, or are already on the journey of adopting.   It was emotional.  Here are just a few photos we took:

A mitre worn by Pope John Paul II, that he he donated to the church

 The Black Madonna.  Our Lady of Czestochowa.

 After mass we met a wonderful  parishioner who was so welcoming.  He told us where to grab a good bite to eat, and even shared his favorite Polish greeting with us.   I left in a puddle of tears!   I just felt like the Lord wrapped us in a warm blanket and I am SO PROUD to not only adopt a Polish child, but entire beautifully rich culture.    I couldn't help but think about bringing our child (or children) back to St. Stan's once our family is complete.  I have a lump in my throat just thinking about it.    Thank you Lord, for this day.

Hurry Up and Wait

We have had a very busy month indeed!   A lot has been going on in our humble little home lately.    We've been notarizing, aposotilling and driving to downtown Cleveland for fingerprints and paperwork.  To make a long story short, our dossier is in Poland!    We can now exhale.  It's actually been there for a little while and is in the process of being translated so we can go on the waiting list.   We learned so much as we went through the process, and our Government learned so much about us too.   Lol.   It's exciting to be in the phase, knowing that the daunting paper chase is behind us, and now it's just a matter of waiting.     I tend to become restless easily, so I am asking the Lord for an extra dose of patience as we anticipate news.  The focused intensity of collecting data has given way to a phase of calmness and peaceful resignation.    It could be many months until we hear something, but at least we are moving forward!