Little packages

I mentioned to Ryan the other day while at Starbucks that I just loved this little bear.  As a little girl I loved collecting teddy bears, many of them I have passed onto B and others remain boxed up with other keepsakes from my childhood.  Ryan thought it was funny I was even interested in it.   I left with my non fat, no foam peppermint latte and no bear, forgetting about our conversation.

Ryan and I had both agreed not to exchange Christmas gifts with each other this year and to try our best to stay on budget....sorry kids no iPod's, "i" anything, game systems or heaps of toys coming your way.  Between pinching pennies for the adoption and plugging away at our Dave Ramsey plan, we were both fine with our plan.

Unfortunately, a few weeks before Christmas Ryan tossed his 2 nicest sweaters into our laundry basket which I then tossed in the washing machine.  Woops!  You can probably guess what happened to those sweaters, one now fits L and the other fits N.  I decided to break our little rule and take advantage of some super deals at the store a few days before xmas with my bday funds and replace his now extra small sweaters.  I wasn't expecting anything from him.   To my surprise he told me to check my stocking, in it I found the bear I had seen at Starbucks.  It truly was one of my favorite gifts I have ever received from him.   It wasn't expensive, sparkly or big yet it was packed full of love and hope.  This was truly a gift that blessed my heart, I believe the best kind of all.

This cute little bear will now be saved, in hopes that someday we will have a little girl to give her too.   What a precious reminder to me to not get so discouraged about the process (aka all those adoption fees) and know that He will lead us.

Hope you had a very Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year!!!

Prayer request: Please pray for positive news from the remaining grant organizations we are waiting to hear from.  May they feel moved by Him to assist our family in this journey.  We anticipate hearing in the next few months about the remaining ones.  

Giant THANK YOU'S to Village to Village for partnering with us.  Their encouragement and help means the world to us!!