Bless Us All

As I'm preparing for Christmas Eve, crafting last minute pieces for our church play, wrapping family gifts and stirring meatballs I'm seized with moments of complete thankfulness as I watch my family interacting with one another.

This Christmas finds my family together, happy and healing. How amazing is that? God took all the broken parts and through many events He put us back together. I'm grateful that the One who sent His Son to redeem us is also the same One that makes all things new in lots of ways, both big and small.

"But I am sure I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round -- apart from the veneration due to its sacred name and origin, if anything belonging to it can be apart from that -- as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time: the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys. And therefore, uncle, though it has never put a scrap of gold or silver in my pocket, I believe that it has done me good, and will do me good; and I say, 'God bless it!'" ~Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol

Decade: a post I've dreaded for a long time

**Disclaimer: I have piecemealed (?) this post together over several days. I'm way too lazy to change the tenses for it to make sense....enjoy!!**

On Monday, my boy is turning 10. He's going ahead and doing so despite my protests. I've tried to bribe him with money, vacations (Peyton, how would you like to go search for the Loch Ness monster instead of turning 10 this year?), groundings and trickery all so that I wouldn't have to come to terms with the fact that my baby is not really a baby anymore. And, if we're all being honest, he hasn't been for quite some time. Double digits really hits that home for this momma.

The circumstances leading up to December 26, 2001 were anything but picturesque and romantic. I don't remember where I was when I first felt him move inside my womb. I didn't do the fun watch me grow pregnant pictures. I spent most of my pregnancy dreading what was ahead and hadn't given much thought to anything after that. Details are in the past, but if I fail to mention it, in my mind, it won't be understood how such a rough start turned out to be the reason for the beautiful decade that has followed it.

From the moment he was born my life had changed completely. The selfish, self-serving kid that I was had to take a backseat (and eventually leave altogether) because he deserved all of everything that I had to offer. I hadn't prepared myself to be totally and utterly smitten by this little guy:

2001-Meet Peyton Alexander Porter

Raising him has been a dream, that's not to say that there aren't days when I want to crawl under my bed and hide for a year or three, but it's been such a wondrous decade. One very vivid moment I remember from a few hours after he was born found the two of us alone for the first time ever. I was so afraid of this sweet little gift that had just been placed in my care and I whispered to him "It's just you & me, buddy". And, for ten years, he's been my buddy. I'm still as in love with him now.

In honor of Peyton's 1oth birthday I'm going to list ten (among thousands) of my favorite things that I've learned from this boy who has held my heartstring for ten blissful years.

1. Hats are always appropriate and there is always time to run back to grab one before leaving the house.

2009-Celebrating Lincoln's 200th birthday in Washington, DC.

2. Imagination is important. This is one quality that he has to this day. He creates things out of junk and I love his excitement when doing so.

2004-Using Mia's bassinet, toy goggles and my scarf to reenact Snoopy's red baron.

3. Little boys require a lot of weapons. A. LOT. Nerf guns, water guns, marshmallow shooters, slingshots...

2006-Backyard fun is not complete until someone gets it with the water gun!

4. Cookie dough was made to sampled. Often.

2011-Making cookies on a lazy Saturday.

5. The bond between a little boy & his great-great-grandmother transcends words.

2009-Nan's last Thanksgiving with us. She and Peyton had an amazing bond.

She called him her buddy. <3

6. Watermelon is a food group. :) This kid will pick watermelon over almost every other food. And, he thinks it's always in season.

2005-Kristin's college graduation menu made Peyton very happy :)

7. Sisters are annoying.

2007-This picture makes me laugh! I'm sure Peyton (or someone else was annoying her...)

8. Trucks are cool.

2003-Peyton driving his first big boy truck.

9. Dads and Paps are built-in best friends.

2010-Peyton & Wayne in Mexico on a mission trip.

2001-My dad & Peyton the day after Peyton was born.

10. Mustaches are always in style. And, who can resist a cute kid who can whip out a variety of mustaches on a moment's notice?

2011-Showing off one of his mustaches for Aunt Becky in Disney.

Then...

And 10 awesome years later...

I'm so thankful that God saw past all of my junk and allowed that little boy to be mine. He was the start of this amazing family that we have now and I'm ever grateful for everything that Wayne and I had to go through to get here...ten years later madly in love with each other and these two beautiful kids.

Signing off here, officially the mother of a 10 year old. Sigh.

Psalm 127: 3-4 "Lo, children are a heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. "

I want (enter random As Seen on TV junk here) for Christmas

Last Monday started off to be a very bad day. As in scrubbing the wall's in Peyton's room because he got sick early that morning bad. Emilia had crept over complaining of a "hurty belly" earlier in the morning and I was snuggled up with her before it all hit the fan. So, it was a sick day for the two little ones and a lazy day for me.

I baked some cookies, registered for my FINAL semester of grad school, put a Playmobil school back together, cuddled kids and watched a lifetime's worth of Hallmark Christmas movies. Even on a bad day these kids bring such joy to my life. I'm so blessed to have been chosen to raise them.

Along with said Hallmark movies come television commercials. And, like other kids, ours always NEED most of the junk being advertised. Ha. So Mia and I are on the couch and she is yelling "I need this, I really need this. Look Mom!" She thought in her sweet Mia mind that Dragon speak & type software would enhance her life in some way. Mom and I were laughing and she looks at me and says, "Well, Mom, I don't type very good."

The very next commercial had her wishing for this beauty:

Who knows what she saw in this bathtub chair assistant but her delight in it had me in tears. She is such a sweetheart and I love looking at life through her eyes. Even if she may very well be endeavoring to become the laziest person ever. :)

It's L-O-V-E

I'm sitting in the waiting room of same day surgery waiting to hear that my mom is finished (she's fine) and I'm trying to write the last paper of the semester on universal preschool. I've got my resources lined up and ready, my name's on my paper and that's as good as it gets. Did I mention it's due Friday?

My thoughts are wandering around Christmas presents left to buy, things that need wrapped, baked, made or cleaned. And love.

Love is these two turkeys:

Writing this paper has also become difficult because I'm captured by the 87 year old man who's also been waiting for his wife to finish her testing. Speaking loudly, like older men do, he's telling the man beside him that she's taken care of him for sixty years. She's back now, he's stroking her hair, fussing with the blanket covering her frail legs, holding her hands. That's love. I'm blessed because I know I've got that same kind of love with him.

I'm thankful for early morning snuggle sessions with my boy who has been constantly reminding me that he'll be ten in a mere 18 days. The past ten years of his life have flown by so quickly which makes me hold on a little tighter.

I'm blessed by this crazy little girl that I'm happy to call mine. She makes me laugh on a daily basis. Yesterday she was all into learning the heritages of our family for a school project and asked in all sincerity if "all of our family are African Americans, or was it just us?" I love her innocence. And for these little reminders that I'm loved:

It's L-O-V-E

How can I yell it her for using my phone when she leaves little surprises for me like this? :)

Lucky

I often joke about how Emilia is our crazy baby. She's goofy and silly. Carefree and cuddly. She will climb up in my lap and ask for a "holdy", still wants to hold my hand and is constantly by my side. She's precious and all mine. However, there are days and times when it is so hard to remember all of these sweet qualities.

Days like Monday. She spills stuff. A. LOT. We know it, she knows it, anyone close to us knows it. I also like to leave my laptop sitting around. More often than I should. So, I'm upstairs trying to get some cleaning things done and I hear commotion from the little ones downstairs. Then quiet. In my mind, they've already worked out whatever problem that was taking place. WRONG. I go downstairs to find several dishtowels placed strategically around my laptop. Emilia says that there was a "little spill". I rush over lift up my precious baby (my Mac, not Emilia) and water pours out of it. Cue sickening feeling. I yelled. A. LOT. I saw tears well up in her little eyes (more pronounced thanks to her new glasses) and stopped momentarily. It kills me when my kids cry and more so when they're crying because I yelled or am in the process of yelling. :( I was able to power through the sad little tears and continue on my mission of expressing to her how angry I was. Not my most shining parental moment. Happily, my laptop is almost fixed. I say almost because oftentimes the screen just goes black and then it's a fun game of did my computer just die or do I need to just open and close the screen a few times. :)

Days like last night. When I was washing up the last of the dinner dishes. The kids were cuddled in our bed watching a movie before bedtime and I hear the commotion again. I go up to find Peyton frantically scraping popcorn off of my bed. Emilia had spilled popcorn, not once, but twice in my bed. It was everywhere. In the sheets, on the quilt, under pillows. Ugh. I quickly cleaned it up, changed sheets and saw that hundreds of tiny pieces of popcorn and kernels were sticking to my quilt (that had just been cleaned). I put on the furniture attachment and started to vacuum it all up. And there she was at my side in her jammies holding her blanket and she started smiling at me and said, "You're lucky to have me, huh?" "You had to do that anyway, huh?" It reminded me of her favorite lullaby song from Dumbo, "Baby Mine" the line that says "All those same people who scold you/What they'd give just for the right to hold you. "

There are days like those and then there are moments when I'm reminded just how lucky I am. I am so grateful to to be given the great privilege of raising her:

Be still my heart.

Wordless Wednesday (on a Thursday) Take 2 :)

The thing about a year...

In a year's time one can read the entire Bible, make a new friend, find their favorite pair of shoes, or channel Julia Childs and cook their way through The Joy of Cooking among many, many other things.

One year ago (yesterday) Wayne and I were sitting at The Cheesecake Factory in Baltimore waiting for White Chicken Chili and we saw the sweetest face. I cried because I knew that he was going to be ours. I told Wayne that I felt like we just saw our son for the very first time. And, of course, I cried some more. I knew I couldn't wait; that evening on our way home I sent an email to our agency requesting information. Thank God for smartphones. For real. What followed was a whirlwind of emails, telephone calls, late night Google searches on things like 'malnutrition, neglect, brain development', PAPERWORK, constant prayer and did I mention waiting and tears already? Good things happened then too, I met this friend and she drew me into a network of families that have been a constant support for Wayne and me. I LOVE these ladies and cannot believe that I haven't met not even one of them (yet).

The week before Thanksgiving (11.17.10) we were told, after weeks of waiting, that we selected to become the parents of one of the sweetest little boys I've ever seen. In. My. Life. I wish I could have bottled that feeling so that I could have it for times like now. Times like tonight when I'm trying really hard to trust in The One who carefully crafted out this plan for our family.

And then I saw this:

a stack of Bibles on the leveled remains of someone's home in Joplin, Missouri. A team of us had traveled there this weekend to serve the city as theY continue to rebuild and restore. I had been so focused on documenting what we were seeing for our church family back home and for the other members of our group that I was looking but not fully seeing. I was present but not processing. Going through the pictures this evening I had really looked at some of them to see exactly where in the Bible the pages had turned to. Ironically, it was turned to Exodus, the chapter that our Bible study group had touched on recently. And although I was too busy taking pictures during our time in Joplin to really fully process a lot of it I was blown away tonight when I realized that my waiting is so small in comparison to Moses'. Moses waited for the the moment of his vision to be the deliverer of Israel to come to fruition for FORTY years. So, tonight I'm thankful for God's perfect timing and for the knowledge that I will not have to wait for years for this season to pass.

Will you join me in praying favor over our process? Currently, Megan is waiting to travel again TO BRING HER BABY HOME while Tracy & I are still waiting for reports and affidavits.

So as I continue down this journey, I'm learning and growing and trusting and waiting.

It goes together like Peyton & chili

The following paragraph was written by Peyton this evening as a class assignment to write his favorite dish. I'm convinced that each year this kid writes about chili in at least one of his assigned prompts.

"Chili is my favorite dish. When I eat chili I eat it as fast as I can so it's so hot. When I eat the first bite it's like a bomb of delicious fire. Then I can taste the blend of meat, beans and tomato. I also like crackers in my chili." ~Peyton Porter aged 9

Seven years in LOVE

For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you,when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.

~Psalm 139:13-16

Seven years ago, in two minutes exactly, our beautiful Emilia Elizabeth came into our lives. Ever since that moment she has provided us with so much joy. Her laugh is infectious and her smile lights up her entire face. God has blessed us immensely...

Late last night I started going through photos of "Mia" and couldn't believe where our lives have taken us thus far, the things we've experienced together as a family and the greater things that are to come. God has blessed us immensely...

Emilia is our cuddle-bug and quite the homebody. I love that she still wants me to hold her all the time. The way her little hand finds mine, the sound of her voice and her heart for others are a few of my favorite things. God has blessed us immensely...

Emilia Elizabeth August 2004

First birthday party September 2005

Carving pumpkins with Aunt Beppy & Uncle Matt October 2006

Baking Valentine's Day cookies February 2007

September 2008

Christmas dance recital December 2009

At Peyton's baseball game May 2010

July 2011-Lincoln Presidential Museum

Wordless Wednesday (on a Wednesday)

Remembering ( a not so wordless Wednesday)

Nan and Emilia meeting for the first time. I love the look on her face here.

Nanny & Peyton: kindred spirits. I love the way she put her hand over his. Sigh.

One year ago, my nanny-the woman in whom I confided, spent lazy summer days with, danced with and experienced life with-left this earth. Even typing those words put something likening a ball of sawdust right in my throat 365 days later. My family and I spent the nine months leading up to her passing caring for her as she had cared for all of us. She was always quick to come take over with the kids whenever I had a migraine when they were really little, quick with a phone call or a card, and even quicker to tell me to "take care of her babies" any time Wayne and I took the kids anywhere.

I miss her. I miss the smell of her house. I miss the way that I felt as I laid with my head in her lap in the glider on the back porch. I miss her voice. And right now, at this moment, I am missing the feel of her hand and how it fit in mine perfectly.

Three years and 7300 miles

We received an update on our little guy yesterday and were thrilled to see a new photo of him (and sad because he looked like such a big boy)! After I was finished drinking in his sweet smile, every little detail of his surroundings and was satisfied with the fact that he really looks so joyful, I sat down to read the report that accompanied his photo. It really hit me yesterday that his life there is so much different than the life of his brother and sister here. I'm resting in the fact that he's happy and that he's very well taken care of at the centre where he is staying, but I want him home. I want to baby him like I did (and still do) with our other two children.

At three Peyton was getting ready to welcome his sister into our family, spent his days drinking root beer, playing with blocks and being read to constantly. He was starting to pick out his own clothes, wore his bug boots with EVERYTHING and had no worries or responsibilities.

At three Mia had her first big birthday party with her friend Laci, met her favorite princess, Belle, and experienced the Caribbean for the first time. The only thing she worried about was having her blanket "Busy" at her side.

At three our sweet little guy takes goats out to graze, feeds and waters them, draws water from a well and washes clothes. I know that this is just a fact of life there and that he's so well taken care of but it just makes me want him home that much more!!

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday (on a Thursday)

Baby got bike (ie. stopped being stubborn and tried to ride without training wheels). FINALLY!!

(Thanks, Aunt Beppy!)

While we're waiting...

With paperwork completed and grant application avenues exhausted we find ourselves struggling. At least, I'm struggling. I feel like Wayne handles things much better than I and this, too, seems to be no exception. The kids are even feeling the weight of waiting with questions ("When is he coming?") and statements ("When he's here we're going to do x, y, and z. I can't wait!") that are so sweet but a reminder that we're not all together yet.

I found this video on youtube as this song has been my anthem for the past two weeks...we're waiting but we're also trusting that God's got this under control and that all things work together for good for those that believe in Him. However, I'm a stupid human and while I'm trying to hard to lay my worry and anxiety down and give it to Him, I find myself picking it all back up again and walking around with it. Ugh. We're waiting. Waiting to see his face in person. Waiting to hold him and hear that laugh that's been so sweetly described to us. Waiting to kiss him and bring him home. Waiting.

Will you join with us in prayer this week for the two things that need to happen so that we may be granted a court date happen? Will you pray that my friends (she HELD and HUGGED my little guy and then told me all about him. It was probably the one of the most meaningful moments of this process!) waiting to travel for the second time (this time to bring their baby boy HOME!!) get that information soon? Will you pray for peace and a court date for another sweet friend (and who happens to be the first person that I connected during the early stage of our process) who is ready to GO; and yet another wonderful friend (who offers me constant encouragement and support and walks through this season along side me) for their dossier to arrive and be processed? I love these women! We have been delicately knit together and our friendships have grown out of emails, Facebook chat, wall posts and our shared desire to meet our sons. God is good and they have blessed me so much these past few months!

Be blessed this week!!

Wordless Wednesday

Pennies from Heaven...

I love seeing my kids develop their own personalities and I especially love their hearts. Their school participates in Pennies for Patients each year which allows students to bring in spare change and money that directly benefits The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

One day last week I came home from a substitute teaching job and found Mia's little red piggy bank on the floor and empty. I panicked because there had been quite a bit of money in her little bank...our tooth fairy pays pretty well, plus she had lost a tooth on Christmas and at a Jonas Bros. concert and she made out like none other on those ones! Anyway, I instantly felt angry that it was all gone. Our rough estimate was thinking that our six year old had socked away the better part of $100 in that pig and I wanted answers!

When I called her into the room I asked where the money had gone and she answered sweetly that she wanted to send it in for sick kids with "that word that has my name in it". She has such a love of others already and I have prayed for my kids to have the hearts of servants and here I was being gently put in my place by our baby girl. I felt so proud of her and so ashamed at myself that I instantly went to irritation over $100. How sad.

Matthew West has a song out right now that include the lyrics "I throw a twenty in the plate but I never give 'til it hurts." How often do I give only what I can spare rather than all that I have with my time, money, encouragement, etc? I'm reevaluating for sure and grateful for yet another lesson given to me by one of my children.

So long, paperwork...

First, let me start by saying that I am the worst blogger ever. There, I said it. Stating the obvious makes me feel better somehow! :)

Last week, Wayne and I said goodbye to our dossier!! For our family and friends who have no idea what that is...it's simply a huge compilation of documents about adoptive parents. I have been carrying around this huge accordion style file folder thing that Wayne and I call "the adoption box", creative, right? Anyway, after a wild tour of Prince George's County Circuit Court and the Dept. of State in Annapolis, we were able to get all of our paperwork in order and ship that baby to Oregon!!! A monumental step for us, indeed.

Now, the wait begins and we've got a lot of things that need to get worked out, but God is faithful in providing. He's shown that to me time and time again. I hate that I have to be reminded so often.

Two of my friends that are also adopting received really great news this week and are literally just waiting to hear about their travel dates. This makes me SO excited!! I cannot wait to hear about their travel plans and trip details. I'm also selfishly happy because I know that in no time at all they will be able to give our little guy a hug for us. God is good.

Will you join us in praying favor for each of our individual situations and for peace as we all wait at varying stages of our adoption process?

Thank You!!

Thanks so much to everyone who ordered candles for our travel money fundraiser! We were humbled by your notes of encouragement and your support. We love you guys!

We are so excited about things that have been happening with grants and fundraising opportunities. Will you please join us in prayer for God's favor in the funding? We are committed to bringing Peyton and Emilia along with us to Uganda for lots of different reasons, but mainly because we want them to be there to experience the first moments of us becoming a family of five.

Adoption is not for the faint of heart. But, I know that the joy that will follow the process is priceless. I had been struggling with the lack of activity while we were waiting for our USCIS fingerprinting date and felt that God had been urging me to pray for the other families that are also waiting. I'm holding fast to the hope that we'll soon be holding our sweet boy.

Faith Creek Candles!!!

UPDATE: Due to the problems with the commenting section please email me with your order! jenn@alleganycomputer.net You can still use paypal when paying by clicking the paypal button at the bottom of the post! THANK YOU!!!

Hi, all! I'm so excited that my favorite candle

company has partnered with us to do a fundraiser for our travel costs to Uganda. You can find out more about them here and also see the candles that I'm talking about. The candles available for sale are:

16 oz. Jar Candle-$14.00

(this is my fave! I stock up on these to give as last minute gifts...they're great!)

Scents available are:

Hansel & Gretel Maple Syrup

Cinnamon French Toast Grandma's Kitchen

Pecan Pralines Raspberry Cobbler

Harvest Orange Chiffon

Gingerbread Cookie Banana Nut Bread

Blueberry Muffin Pumpkin Pie

Bag of 5 Tarts-$4.00

Scents available are:

Hansel & Gretel Maple Syrup

Cinnamon French Toast Grandma's Kitchen

Pecan Pralines Raspberry Cobbler

Harvest Orange Chiffon

Gingerbread Cookie Banana Nut Bread

Blueberry Muffin Pumpkin Pie

Flameless Candles-$18.00

A yummy smelling electric, yet primitive, grubby candle. In various scents and colors, it has white icing dripping down the outside of the shell and comes with a homespun ribbon tied around it. The shell warms when the candle is lit, which releases the scent! The shell does not melt, so no more worrying about running wax or burns. The flameless candle comes with an on/off electric cord plus a 5 watt silicone dipped bulb. Makes for a great gift! Fluted tin dish included.

Scents available:

Grandmas's Kitchen Red in color

Cinnamon French Toast Brown in color

Pecan Pralines Brown in color

Hansel & Gretel Brown in color

Gingerbread Cookie Brown in color

Scented Bears with Light-$30.00

Scents available:

Hansel & Gretel

Cinnamon French Toast

Pecan Pralines

Blueberry Muffin

(For my local friends, you can add a school hoodie-Allegany, Bishop Walsh, Fort Hill, Frankfort, Keyser or Mountain Ridge)

As you may (or may not) know, travel costs are huge and we're just trying to find ways to come up with the costs of lodging, airfare, and necessities that are required of such a long stay in country. Our little guy turned 3 last month and we want to make sure that another birthday doesn't pass without us. I would show you his sweet face, but we aren't able to until he's legally ours. But, I can tell you....HE'S SO HANDSOME!!! And, he's got the sweetest little cheeks that you just want to kiss on!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

To make it easy, you can comment your order and just click on the donate button to pay. I'll contact you as I receive orders and will either ship or deliver to you in approximately 3 weeks!!

New look!!

My new friend Mary from Bright Sunshine Designs hooked me up with this fabulous blog design. The moment I saw it I knew that it fit 'us' perfectly. I'm so excited about it and I just log on to look at it! Please, check her out!!

On the adoption front: Our home study finally arrived! Currently we are waiting for another piece of the puzzle to fall into place along with some potentially really great opportunities to raise funds for our adoption.

I took a break from paperwork today and went to the mall in search of Valentine's day goodies for Wayne and the kids. I am a sucker for Hallmark cards! I want my kids to remember the little cards that I taped to the bathroom mirror, the notes in their lunchboxes and the small gestures that I made regularly to make them feel special. One of the fondest childhood memories involves a gesture like that made by my mom. She would come home from work sometimes with little treats and surprises for us, nothing grandiose. We were always so excited for her to come home anyway, and the prospect of some neat little trinket was an added bonus. I vividly remember her holding out each of her hands to my brother and I so that we could pick the surprise. She slowly opened her hand to reveal a tiny cube that when placed in water became a washcloth with the picture of a dinosaur on the front. At some point in my life I decided that I wanted to be that kind of mom. The one with spontaneous little things that said 'I thought of you today'. So, I write notes and I leave dollar store prizes outside their bedroom door. What's one thing that you want your children to remember about you?

Udates!

Author's note: I'm pretty sure that no one actually reads this thing anymore, but I thought that I'd update it simply because I feel that I need to do a better job at documenting things that are going on around here. Other friends of mine have blogs and I'm so envious at their super great posts and their little adoption time lines running along the side! Readers of this blog will get neither super great nor timelines, but I think that's okay!

Lately, I've been struggling with the lack of happening in our adoption. In November (11.17.10) we received a call from our agency stating that we were matched with the sweetest little guy. Our prayers had been answered. I kept telling Wayne that I'd feel better and that it'd be easier for me to wait once we'd know for sure if we were able to adopt him or not. NOT. TRUE. The fact is that it's been excruciating at times. Two weeks ago he turned 3 years old. So, on bad days I think about the fact that my child was 8,000 miles away from me. He doesn't know any different, but I do. That kind of waiting is hard. Not to say I'm the only one that has ever felt this way before or had to deal with it...but it still is yucky sometimes. We are also waiting on our home study to be sent to us so that we can start waiting on other things to get finished. God is using this down time to really draw me closer to Him and that's time well spent.