Christmas Cards. A Blubbering Mess. Adoption.

I am a mail junkie.  There you go.  Confession just from the very beginning let's get it out there.  It's the first thing I do upon arriving home every afternoon.  If I am home when the mail lady comes--I go straight out to check it.  Some (like the hubs) may call it an addiction.  I say it's like getting a mini gift each day.  You just never know what you are going to get.  I love good mail days.

I love December which makes mail days that much more exciting.  It may be the fact that I grew up an Air Force Brat which meant I grew up in a family that mailed Christmas cards and letters each year and we received letters and cards from around the world with updates from friends that my family made from those 18+ years in the service.  I still love visiting my parents house at Christmas time and seeing those familiar faces that were a part of my childhood.  It's a beautiful thing.

On Monday I opened up our first Christmas card & letter and came completely undone.  To be honest I've never had those emotions before over a Christmas card or letter, but inside this letter contained pictures of kids I have grown to love and have a deep place in my heart for.  You want to see me come undone---send me a letter from Costa Rica with 16 beautiful faces smiling back at me. Undone, sobbing, blubbering mess.

I was able to pull myself back together knowing that I will see them again come late May.  I'm so thankful that my very first mission trip almost 12 years ago sent me to the beautiful country of Costa Rica and now for three years in a row I just keep getting to go back to these beautiful faces.  To love on them and hug them.  Who knows one day God may open the door for one (or two or three...) to become permanent fixtures in our family, but for now I'll take what I can get and that is a yearly trip to Costa Rica.

So there you go--there's my mail addiction.  There's my heart for 16 beautiful Costa Rican children.  And here is what is on my heart today that I want to share with you and what I personally would like to do something about.  A family that I have come to know and love dearly in our church is raising funds to finalize their adoption of their sweet Elijah.  You can read their complete and beautiful story by clicking here...really go read it.  Please.

So what would I like to do about it?  I wish I had $7000, but I don't.  But I do have an etsy shop.  I open it from time to time and God uses it to provide for mission trips to Scotland for the hubs and to Costa Rica for me...and/or wherever else in the world Jesus calls us to from year to year.  He uses it to provide when my little fam of three just needs a little bit of extra finances (like Christmas time!) and I'm so thankful for the way He has just used it and blessed it.  I've opened it up again this year for the holidays and I would like to use it to bless the Koeppen family.  A minimum of 20% of all proceeds from my Etsy Shop this season will go towards their fundraising efforts.

I know you are presented with lots of things to give to during this season--but I would like to ask that you would pray about giving towards this sweet family.  What a sweet Christmas present this would be to officially make Elijah a Koeppen.  Whether you choose to do so through my Etsy Shop or give directly to them--either way is beautiful.  Read their story, pray for them.

Adoption.  It's a beautiful thing isn't it?
Only 174 days till I can wrap my arms around those 16 babies that have my heart....

Labels: adoption, Christmas, Etsy, family

posted by Kristin @ December 04, 2013 0 Comments

December and a few things on my heart...

December.

December 3rd at that.

Last time I wrote a blog post was June 21.  Not sure how that happened.  Actually well I do.  In the life as a Youth Pastor--Summer is well Mission Trips, SUMMER SCHEDULE, Summer Camp, then Fall...trying to catch your breath.  This Fall didn't exactly present that for me this year--but all for good reasons and all things I feel thankful to be called to---but here we are---December.  We've had the Christmas tree in our house now for twelve days.  It was finally graced with beautiful white lights 48 hours ago.  Progress People.  Tonight Aunt Mia will come over for dinner and the tree will finally get it's proper dressing.

A few things I've been pondering as we enter this Christmas Season....

I want to be Present.  I want to put my phone down when I'm in the presence of my husband and son and I want to be present in our conversations.  Jude is full of sentences these days and I want to make full eye contact with him.  This month I'm making a concentrated effort to put the phone down.

An off season.  This was an ongoing debate in our house that started two months ago when I started googling "gobble jogs" around where my in-laws live.  I couldn't handle the thought of not running on Thanksgiving Day (my reasoning---Fall 2012 I trained for my first race the Gobble Jog 5k Thanksgiving Day that then led to three half marathons for 2013.  Kind of a big mile marker in my "running career"  (in my opinion) and I just wanted to run on Thanksgiving Day.  I digress...)  The hubs asked me to not run on Thanksgiving Day and spend the day with family.  I'm being completely honest in this post to tell you I really, really struggled with this.  Which put a whole nother spin on things I had to deal with in my heart:  priorities, etc.  I submitted and did not sign up for a race.  (Every one say, good girl :)  Day before Thanksgiving 2013 I found myself in the doctors office being diagnosed with a sinus infection and bronchitis.  So there you go.  A forced off-season.  I'm dreaming big and praying through what God has for me in 2014....but for right now....I'm going to take a step back and breathe deep of all that this down season has for me.  And at the same time make sure my priorities are always where they should be.

Jesus.  Christmas.  Jude.  Little man is 2.8 this year. ...and a whole lot of fun.  Every morning he comes downstairs, sees the Christmas tree (the bare one with nothing on it), and asks if Santa has come yet.  He is for the first year grasping this whole Christmas thing and with that I feel like there is a whole lot of pressure as a parent.  I so want him to get it.  I trust Jesus that he will.  Experienced parents out there---what do you do to make sure your kids don't miss it????

Those are just a few things I'm pondering at the moment.  Goals, Dreams, 2014....there's a lot more going on in this heart.  What about you?  What are you pondering on today?  For me it's on a rainy Tuesday afternoon in a coffee shop.  Praying for you that your heart is full (even if it is pondering!) wherever you may be.

posted by Kristin @ December 03, 2013 1 Comments