April 17th - Is no gnus good gnus?

     This is a question that I have been asking myself, maybe not these exact words but the bigger idea 'is no news good news?'
As far as our adoption process has been going there has not been much if any news in the last couple of weeks. Is that a welcomed break for us, or is that something that we should get frustrated about? There are many questions with this adventure and one of the biggest if not the biggest is around timing and frequency of information. It's not as if there has been nothing happening in our lives, we have come back to this fair land for 5 weeks now and in that space have moved out of and into a new house. That has been an undertaking and we can see that it has been the grace of God to not have a trip back to Indiana for adoption reasons during this ultra-busy time in our lives.
     We have had what could be a small piece of good news as we've found a charity that gives adoption grants to parents who are adopting newborns from the US. Many of the grants that are out there only service either international or older children adoption. The other way that they kick in is by matching what the parents/church raise individually. We have decided that doing personal fundraising is not the way forward for us in this process. It would be fantastic though to receive some grant money for this purpose, so the plan is to do the paperwork on our next day off and hopefully get it all submitted in time for the 30th April deadline. There is plenty to do with it, but to be honest not rivaling the amount in the applications and actual adoption prep paperwork, so we should be able to handle it.

   
      Back to the question of news and the frequency with which it arrives. In some respects it is easier to have space and not have new possibilities swirling about because if your hopes aren't raised they cannot be dashed either. With that being said though we have really enjoyed hearing about a couple of situations that we might be suited for, and it's in those times when hopes raise very quickly. If I had  nickel for the number of times I've thought 'if we were planning a trip to the USA now it would be so difficult' then I could probably buy a can of coke or something similar. We have been given grace for this time, this time of not having much news and not having to change our lives dramatically at this point. So I suppose that for now no gnus is good gnus, but when other news comes we'll be excited you can be sure.

April 4th - Settling in?

     Anytime that you move there is such an unsettling, it doesn't matter how much you look forward to it or dread it. The whole action of boxing up what you own, going through the stuff and taking bags to the charity shops or the tip (recycling place for you Americans) can be taxing. It takes time to figure out what to toss, what hasn't been used in a while, what is sentimental that needs special care or what is fragile which calls for some bubble wrap. Of course after all the boxes, furniture and other stuff have been moved then it all has to be gone through and placed in the new abode. This takes not only time, but also quite a bit of headspace and emotion. The excitement of an empty space, the picture hooks on the wall, and the oh so needed changeable lampshades all provide an opporutnity for creatively using our belongings to adorn the new house.

    Making a house a home is a task and it is one that simply takes time. The question that you get the most once you've moved in is 'have you settled in' I can't say that I totally know what that means. Does that mean having boxes unpacked, having all your picture hooks occupied or plans for unused space? Does it mean that over the course of a couple of weeks an area you had never called your own is all of a sudden 'home'? That time does come but not overnight, and we look forward to our new dwelling being a true home, it is getting there and yes we are settling in.
    So how much are we settling in with the adoption process? This is a question that we have wrestled with as there is a big difference between waiting with expectancy each day looking at the email, hoping that 'the email' has come which will drastically change our lives in a good way. Compared to waiting with expectancy knowing that at some point that special email or call will arrive and we'll deal with those implications at that time. I feel like we are settling into the latter of the two, probably a more measured waiting knowing that it could be a long time until our hopes are seen in the expanse of our family.

 Settling into some kind of routine of life has been really helpful to us since our return to the UK following our adoption process trip. It has allowed us to live 'normal' in a way (even though we've just moved house) and not simply eager for the next to hear good news.
     For us this waiting period is an important one, whether that be 1 month or 14 months or even longer, this time is truly in God's hands, we are the ones who are being asked to live it out.  For all of you reading this blog don't feel sorry for us as we wait, it is part of this adventure and we are settled in for the long haul, as a great band once sang nobody said it was easy.