Blessings and Raindrops

seeking joy in the midst of the ordinary

Archives for September 2013

a video thank you message.

Sometimes, words aren’t enough. They simply fall flat. Lacking the right emotion and depth. They suffice out of necessity but they don’t quite paint the picture the way you’d really like to.

It’s then that you need photos and videos and a little music. And, Voilà! The pain and sadness depicted alongside the joy and the hope allows the truth to shine through, even when words fail. 
Exactly what my Congo trip recaps needed. 
I made a little video from our time with S that I have watched approximately 5.5 billion times yesterday alone. I cannot, absolutely cannot, wait to share it with you. So, until I can share her sweet face and you can hear that silly laugh, I thought I’d share another video I put together from our trip. 
This is a Thank You for everyone that stood beside us as we followed God’s path to the Congo last month. Donors. Prayer warriors. Fellow adoptive mommas. Every single person who linked arms with us as we headed to serve and love on these precious little souls. We were immensely blessed by this trip. 
To each of you, I send a heartfelt Thank You. 









a weekend in brugge.

As we were booking our trip to the Congo, a friend recommended we stop on the way home for a long layover in order to give us time to take a deep breath and reflect on all that happened during our stay. {And, to rest before stepping back into the busyness of life}.

This was the absolute best advice. Originally, we were really worried about extending our trip…it meant more time away from the boys and more money spent on a hotel room somewhere else. In the end, the flight cost was the same and we found a great deal on a hotel from Priceline and we were so thankful we decided to stop. It was completely worth the extra few days away.

Our layover was in Brussels but we decided to take the train and spend the weekend in nearby Brugge. We chose Brugge because it is smaller, quieter and more quaint than Brussels {& ridiculously charming, in our opinion).

When we booked this trip, we knew that the last thing we would want to do is sightsee or spend time in a crowded city.

Brugge was perfect.

After a long morning getting really sick in the Brussels airport and passing out on the train to Brugge {it was as lovely as it sounds, trust me}, we made it to our hotel and I mercifully took my first hot shower in a week. I then proceeded to soak in a hot bath. I have never felt more pampered in my life.

Let me just stop now and give you a full recap of our weekend …

…we ate, we showered, we slept, we cried, we laughed, we reminisced and shared our favorite memories of S, we walked on every road in the city, and we ate some more. The end. 

See? Perfection.

Photo proof of the perfection …

Coffee? One of my favorite things. And, who knew that, in Brugge, serving coffee is an art form…and,  it is always served with chocolate. Amen and amen.

Italian Food? Another one of my favorite things. I really, really wanted this layover to be in Rome {my favorite city on earth} but, alas, Brugge brought a little Roma to me. Grazie, Brugge! 

Evidenced by the above, Dave enjoyed his Belgian beer while I cried tears of joy into my pasta…



Chocolate? Do I even need to elaborate, here? We were in BELGIUM. Belgium = Chocolate. I felt like I was in a living, breathing version of Willy Wonka’s factory. I kept glancing over my shoulder looking for little orange guys singing creepy songs.

Waffles? I had the misconception that “Belgium Waffles” were sort of like “French Fries.” I honestly have no idea if french fries have anything to do with France. {I could google it but I’m just too lazy to go through the effort}. So, I was beside myself to find waffle stands everywhere in this city. And, not just any plain jane Waffle House waffle. These waffles were light and airy and sweet… it felt like I was eating a cloud topped with sugar and chocolate.

Waffles in Brugge were the equivalent to Gelato in Italy or Crepes with Nutella & Banana in Paris for me. As in, I ate them all day, every day. I would argue that I ate my weight in waffles {but only took photos of Dave eating them, so there really isn’t evidence. Bahahaha}.

Laundry? Never in my life would I think that I would cry at the sight of a washer machine. Or, that I would put my head in the dryer to soak in the smell of freshly laundered clothes. I just never saw that one coming. But, I had never smelt clothes like ours after leaving the Congo before. I will not elaborate on the smell but I will tell you that this laundromat was a happy place for me.

Incredible scenery? Beautiful old buildings? Gorgeous cathedrals? Church services that brought tears to my eyes even when I couldn’t understand a word? Check and check. Brugge delivered. 




Spiritual moments? Love letters from my Savior when my heart was suffering? Absolutely.

Sitting at dinner on our first night in Brugge, I couldn’t hold back the tears as we dreamed about what S was doing thousands of miles away as we sat there at a little table in a little cafe in a little town in Belgium. I felt the urge to look up through my tears, and I saw this rainbow. A sweet reminder that God will bring beauty out of this pain.

Sweet note in Dave’s Bible {The Message translation} …

All in all, it was a perfect weekend for our aching hearts. We were able to breathe deeply and grieve together before heading back to life at home without our daughter.

And, another surprise was in store for us on our way back to the US. Remember Joyce? Somehow, she found a way to get us upgraded on our flight to Chicago! It was INCREDIBLE. We felt like royalty and laughed the entire time at how obvious it was that we didn’t really belong up there. We thanked God for loving on us… in the form of lay-flat seats and gourmet meals with wine pairings and a little toiletry kit and comfy socks and a quilt {that I really wanted to stuff into my backpack but didn’t – Dave said it would be embarrassing}. Truly, I almost forgot about my fear of flying. You may think I’m crazy to think that God arranged this upgrade but I know He did. He loves us that much. These details…they are reminders of how lavishly we are loved by the King of Kings.

 What a trip! {And, I kicked myself the entire time because I didn’t bring my “good” camera…note to self: just bring it next time} :).

NWA Mini- Created for Care Retreat

Recently, another local adoptive momma contacted me and asked if I’d be interested in helping her plan a mini-Created-for-Care retreat for the moms in our area. I enthusiastically agreed without a moment’s hesitation! {Y’all know I LOVE Created for Care retreats…}

I had actually attended the mini-retreat planning break-out session at the Atlanta retreat earlier this year and wanted to come back and host one a weekend but felt overwhelmed by the idea because I thought S would have been home by now.

But, alas, here I am still waiting {and waiting and waiting} for our daughter to come home. So, I have to say that this retreat planning has been the perfect distraction for my anxious heart. Preparing a weekend of restoration, encouragement and spiritual nourishment for fellow adoptive mommas has been an incredible blessing.


Local mommas- find all of the event details and the link to registration HERE.  {I know there are many of you anxiously awaiting this post this morning so you can snag one of the 30 spots!}

I am so, so excited about this weekend. I hope everyone in our area that has adopted, is thinking of adopting, is a foster momma or is in the waiting stage with me will be able to attend.

Ladies – you can read more about my C4C experiences HERE and HERE. And, get excited for what God has in store for us this November!!