Life gets back to normal....whatever that is

The sale is officially over. It was our biggest sale yet, we actually grew almost 20% over past sales which is amazing considering I definitely think people are more focused on their spending habits these days. We had an amazing group of workers, seriously amazing, that made this the most un-stressful sale I have ever had. I was actually able to leave a few hours early on a couple of days due to migraines simply because either my mom or Jonathan was there and we had such an awesome group of workers, I didn't have to worry. The sort was over in under 3 hours (another amazing thing) and pick up went as smooth as ever. There were no 1 hour waits for checks like there have been in the past. The rest of the checks were sent out today and now we feel like we are back to normal. Whatever that is.

I think I realized during this sale that many might view our family as abnormal. Not necessarily in a bad way, but I got quite a few comments like "how do you do it?", "FOUR kids and you are going to adopt another one?", etc. It's funny to see the world's view of us sometimes when I feel like we are as normal as normal can be. Don't get me wrong, I get from a color standpoint we do look different, but having four kids to me is very normal. Honestly, the idea of adding more is normal. And I do get that it is abnormal to some, I just sometimes wish that people would stop and think about the fact that having a lot of children shouldn't be so strange.

Many asked during the sale where we are in the process of adopting our fifth child. We have completed our part of the homestudy and our caseworker is writing that up. We are actively sending out our profile (a book about us) to agencies that may have a need for families. We have actually already been shown several times although I haven't talked about it on here. I haven't talked about it for several reasons. First, although I know this blog helps people in the process of adoption, we have been so busy that I haven't had time to sit down and actually type it out every time we know we are being shown to birthparents. Second, after the adoption of Ben in Ethiopia fell through, it was really tough being asked all the questions about what happened, etc. We just decided to keep things a little more private this time.

I do plan to update the status bar on the right in the next few days about our process this time. It's just going to take some time to go back through all my notes and pick out dates, etc. to post on there.

We are being shown today to a birthmom who is due in April. As far as we know, she is having a little boy. Being shown this go around has looked a lot different for me. Last time, I was a nervous wreck every time we were shown. This time I just feel like there is no point in getting all worked up over something that is completely out of my hands. I KNOW God is in control of this adoption. He already had this next chapter of our lives planned out before I was even on this earth. Even if that means we don't adopt again, I KNOW his will is perfect and I trust that. It has taken me 31 years to say that.

So that's the update on us. Everyone is healthy. The kids are glad to have us back home and as I type, M.E. is laying here asleep next to me. Our life is good.