No Passport News Yet...

But I'm so hopeful for this week. Today is Jim's birthday and what an awesome gift it would be - to find out that the passport had been printed! He did get part of his gift two weeks ago, though... a bike. And somehow, I'm benefiting from the anniversary of his birth, as well, because he got me a bike so we could all ride together. Now we just need our precious three year old son here so we can get one of these for long family rides on the lovely, Florida bike trails:
We're trying really hard to stay busy and enjoy each day. There are a few activities coming up in the next couple of weeks, including a conference at our church with Gary Chapman (author of many wonderful relationship books including the Five Love Languages series). We have a some get-togethers planned with friends and a few home projects we'd like to complete. Hopefully those will be enough of a distraction to help get us through the final stretch of this wait.

Once Asa comes home, our plan is to give him plenty of uninterrupted time alone with us, to lay a very firm foundation of attachment and healthy bonding. So, while I'm still having those impatient feelings of wanting him home NOW, I'm trying to embrace this season of our lives as an opportunity for growth and a time of joyful anticipation. It's hard to make that attitude shift because my arms ache to hold my son and I just want my family together. But I've been doing a study on waiting from different Old Testament passages and am learning (and being reminded of) the benefits of fully experiencing "tough" times and trying to appreciate their ultimate purpose. This is so much easier to talk about that to actually do but we are working on it! And now the little kids and I are off to wrap their gifts for daddy.