Number 62

Grayson Highlands Park, VA

We are a bit more settled now.  Gray and I took a spontaneous trip to Ohio about two weeks after moving to New Hampshire to visit a few family members that we don't get to see very often, his cousin Ava and Randy's sister and her husband were in from South Dakota.  So we made the trek south west, but this time it only took 13 hours instead of 19 because we are so much closer in New Hampshire.  We swung through PA to visit my brother and his family, continued through Cleveland to see my sister and her family, and then down to Dayton, Ohio to stay with Randy's parents.  It was actually one of my favorite trips so far and I am still trying to place my finger on why.  It was so filled with family, friends, hugs, and warmth...maybe that's it.  It is tough sometimes living away from everything that you are familiar with, even after four years of being "away" I still am filled with sense of being home every time I return to Ohio.  Sweet kinship I guess. 

Randy's folks then joined us for the ride back to New Hampshire so that they could visit our new home and hang out for a few days with the foliage.  It was a great visit.  We had some time at the farmer's market, a few dining establishments, and Randy and I even went out on a date, which was very nice.  We even held hands for a bit. 

So here we are on Monday...back to the riggers of real life.  Grayson is officially five today.  We did our time at Panera (schooling did take place), completed the grocery shopping, and finished up with the story hour at the local library.  He is now taking what I like to call the "no-nap" where he has some downtime on his own and I usually run around frantically trying to clean up.  But today is different, because we are getting some new kitchen cabinets, so here I am at the computer updating all of you on the happenings of our life while we wait to meet our little girl. 

You see, it is pretty much like all of your lives, routine moments making up entire days.  But, for me, while we wait, there is a longing.  It is similar in some ways to how I felt while I was pregnant with Grayson.  We were waiting for nine months, reading through books, studying how he was growing, what he was doing in there where I couldn't see him.  I would eat right, hike miles daily, and attempt to sleep comfortably.  I knew he was as safe as I could make him.  I prayed for him, for his health, for his future, for each moment as it presented itself. 

For our little one in Rwanda, there is this same longing to meet her, to know her, to hold her...but I can only eat right for me, I hike with Grayson daily, I sleep each night.  I have no idea what she is doing each day, who holds her, who feeds her.  I wonder if she is sleeping comfortably among the other children who are being waited for.  I read through books that talk about how our family will be, once she is with us.  I pray for her often, for her health, her future, and for each moment as it presents itself. 

We are on the cusp of month five of our wait and we were just notified that we're number 62.  I never thought that number would hold any meaning for us, just a six and a two hanging out numerically.  But what this means is that God is moving, that the ministry in Rwanda is moving, that they have thumbed through our dossier, (our papers that say who we are and how our family is waiting to meet our baby girl) and they have assigned us with number 62.  We continue to wait, with our hands raised with praise, knowing that even though I can't feel her growing within or read about where she is at this exact moment, I can be refreshed by turning to Him, who knows her already better than I ever will.