Monday, May 7, 2012

Blessings

Hi, I'm Kendra. Nice to meet you! ;)

YIKES, it's pretty dusty around here these days.
Even this post was in my drafts since....jeepers, over a month ago. Blech.
I have school to blame for that.
So I blew the dust off this post, changed a few tenses, and here we are! ;)

FIRST THINGS FIRST ---> SCHOOL IS DONE-ZO! My first day of NO CLASSES and NOTHING to prepare for and a my last week before I start nannying 50 hours a week. EEK!

Anyway, I decided this could be a great time to share about how God has been blessing Mr. Beau and I lately. I really have to be intentional about SEEING what God is doing, because I have been more than overwhelmed and bogged down by the BIGGEST work load of my four  five year college career to date. Its been ridiculous. (Beau would also tell you, and I know this because I overhear him telling people, that it's also been HIS most stressful semester as well....Get it? har. har. har.) love him

So to start, we have been blessed by new friendships. Like the Scotts! Bobby and Maria are a couple years older than Beau and I and have two adorable, polite, well-behaved, hysterical little boys that they added to their family last year. We've had the privilege of running into Bobby and Maria at church here and there, and then I started dropping major hints that if they ever needed date nights, last minute sitters, etc etc, that Beau and I would totally do so as Pro bono. ;) Well, they took us up on the offer and now we have two more little friends that we absolutely LOVE spending time with. Whenever we/I leave, I can't thank them enough for letting us get to know their family, letting us watch their boys, and of course, for Maria's Martha-Stewartness-but- way better cooking. (Seriously, she's got mad skills in the kitchen) I'm serious, I FEEL BLESSED walking out of their home each and every time we are surrounded by them.

Anyway- here's a bunch of cuteness. :)
the boys with my boy ;)

Mr. Gibson at the park!
Owen, the jammie monster! ;)
These two are best buds whenever they're around each other. Owen always checks for new games on Beau's phone when we're over there! 

On the topic of Africa- a family that is so very near and dear to my heart have also recently added to their family in February. The LELAND's! Lisa is so so so so so special to me, she's known me since diapers....and she's just one of the absolute most genuine, caring, loving, patient, Godly woman I know or have in my life. (longest 'sentence' ever, i know) She in so many ways is a mother to me. I have learned/am learning an IMMENSE amount from her all the time! Her boys are getting to know the greatness of a mommy that they have- so neat to witness. Knowing that she's expending her everything into them lately, I wanted to offer her anything and everything I could do for her and her family. A few weeks ago I was blessed to be able to spend the morning with her little men while she caught up on some things she wanted to do at home without two little shadows for a few moments. Which totally equaled memory games, legos, potty breaks, playdoh, long walks, construction sighting, big-wheeling, and chasing two toddlers for me. Today I was able to lend some extra hands at the dentist with the three of them as well! :)

And I LOVED LOVED LOVED EVERY MOMENT OF IT!

on a walk with Jayden and Tate!

"CHEESE"

ahhhhh, breath of fresh air- aren't they? Can. Not. Wait. for Beau and I to be mom and dad. :) Oh yaaaaaaaaaaa!

Speaking of Kendra and Beau being "mom and dad"......(NO, not THAT) We've been going through major adoption fever lately....I mean, can you blame us? Look at those cutie-patooties up there! Well, in order to be a mom and dad, it takes a lot of these -----> $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ and I started my jar a few years ago, where I put all my change and extra dollar bills I'd come in to, and then our dollar dance at our reception added to that, and my tax return last year added to that, BUT THIS YEAR...Beau had his first post-graduation job which was a bit different than most jobs, and I hardly worked with being in Africa over the summer....long story short--we thought we would have to pay IN rather than get any kind of refund BACK to add to our adoption account this year. Sadly, it sat at the same number for a really long time, and I was getting really discouraged. AND with student teaching in the Fall, I can't have a job. I'll be at an elementary school M-F from anywhere from 7:00am-5:00pm, not getting paid, and lesson planning in all of my free time. OUCH on the bank account.

To our surprise, we got a call from my grandpa/our CPA and he was the bearer of GREAT NEWS! We WERE getting a tax return back, and that means our adoption account would have little + signs adding to it....just a little. THEN on Easter afternoon when we went to my parents for dinner, my mom tosses me this envelope. I asked her what it was and she said, "Just open it and see!". So, I obeyed ;) and to my elatedness (I make up words, I know) it was a savings bond check from my GREAT GRANDPA. He's been in Heaven since I was a wee girl, but that man loved the Lord and I so wish he was able to know that him thinking ahead for his little-Hawkeye-fan-favorite great-grandchild, would mean getting closer to a great-great-grandchild someday! We're going to let it grow a little longer but will use it towards our adoption in the future!

I love reading other adopting family's stories of how God provides for them one dollar bill, one check, one unexpected Christmas present at a time....and it's SO NEAT seeing God already do that for us. (even before we've officially started the process, it's just started in our hearts a loooong time ago). I just want to give PoPo a huge hug and kiss in my Hawkeye gear and tell him how thankful I am for his financial faithfulness that is blessing us soooo many years later, no matter the size of the gift.

Seriously, SO blessed. I'm excited to see how God will provide for our adoptions in the future. I can ONLY boast in Christ. I'm so thankful for my life IN HIM.

(for other adoption fund amazingness- read Janel and her family's incredible experience! MIND BLOWING)

I'm promising to be a more committed blogger! Till then....thank Jesus for all the blessings in your life. Big n small! :)


1 comment:

Abby Johnson said...

Kendra, you are a great writer. I could sit here all night reading your posts. I am inspired by all of it. I have always wanted to adopt too and reading all of this gets me revved up about it. :)