Waiting

Serene I fold my arms and wait,

Nor care for wind, or tide, or sea:

I rave no more 'gainst time or fate,

For lo! my own shall come to me.

* * *

I stay my haste, I make delays,

For what avails this eager pace?

I stand amid eternal ways,

And what is mine shall know my face.

* * *

Asleep, awake, by night or day,

The friends I seek are seeking me;

No wind can drive my bark astray,

Nor change the tide of destiny.

* * *

What matter if I stand alone?

I wait with joy the coming years;

My heart shall reap where it has sown,

And garner up its fruit of tears.

* * *

The waters know their own, and draw

The brook that springs in yonder height;

So flows the good with equal law

Unto the soul of pure delight.

* * *

The floweret nodding in the wind

Is ready plighted to the bee;

And, maiden, why that look unkind?

For lo! thy lover seeketh thee.

* * *

The stars come nightly to the sky;

The tidal wave unto the sea;

Nor time, nor space, nor deep, nor high

Can keep my own away from me.

John Burroughs,

"The Best-Loved Poems of the American People" Doubleday 1936

* * *

As we are waiting for our new children, it is comforting to know that God will bring our own to us. He is in complete control, choosing where, when, and how.

* * *

"The LORD is my shepherd: I shall not want." Psalm 23:1

Introducing Our Friends

As you may have noticed, we now have links to several of our friend's blogs. Here's a little introduction to each of them.

We met the Parish family on New Year's Eve, 2006. We have spent the past several months (has it only been that long?) enjoying their wonderful, encouraging friendship. Since we met, Mr. and Mrs. Parish have celebrated their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary, their oldest son Dan and his wife Kendra have had a second baby, their second son Max has gotten engaged, their daughter Sally has graduated from high school, their third son Simon has broken his hip, and the little three (Jayni, Jacob, and Lily) have been adopted. Their fourth son, Jeremy, has not had anything very exciting happen to him, but we absolutely love him, along with the rest of the family.

We met the McCracken family in August of 2006, when we attended their church for about a month. Mr. McCracken is the pastor of that church, and Mrs. McCracken is a beautiful pianist. Their oldest daughter Jenny is engaged to Max Parish, and Kaylee and Connor are enjoying the family tradition of music, with great talent.

Aaron Telian is a thoughtful, energetic young man that we go to church with. He is the oldest of eight children. He works for himself as a carpenter, but makes time for much thinking, reading, and studying. He is also an incredible piano player, and an avid hiker. His blog is philsophical in tone, but easily accesible and quite thought-provoking.

Max's blog is also philosophical, but he tends to focus on love a little more these days. (I wonder why?:) His posts are usually quite deep, so they invite much thought and consideration. The quotes at the top of the main page are my favorite part of the blog.

We also go to church with Garrett Valdivia. He plays guitar very well, and he showed Jordan some of his techniques the first week we met his family. His blog is a little more random than the others, but usually hysterical. If you need a laugh, you can normally find it at his blog.

These are all of our on-line friends. We would love to introduce our other friends, but so far we can't. If any of you do get a blog, though, let us know, and we will update our links!

Basic Skills

http://www.popularmechanics.com/home_journal/how_to/4221637.html

I read this article and strongly agreed. It's about all people acquiring basic skills.

Jordan

Enjoying being sisters.

It's Fall!

With the nip in the air, slightly overcast skies, and a need for covers at night, it's official. Fall is here! Fall is our favorite season for decorating the house. Two days ago the little girls made a few new decorations to go with the leaves, corn, and gourds we have collected over the years. Their creativity is blossoming, and making the house more inviting.

Now we get to enjoy the oranges, reds, and yellows of autumn until after Thanksgiving, when we start to decorate for winter. The bright, lively colors inside will help to counteract the gray skies. And if it does happen to get hot again, the decorations will help us remember that we can pretend we have fall weather, even in central California.

Time for Children!

Daddy and Mommy went today to look for our children! Our home study has been signed off, so we are beginning the search for them. It will probably still be a few months until the children move in, but we might know who they are in just a little while. We are so amazed at all the preparation God has put us through in the last seven years. We are also thankful that He chose to prepare us and not throw us in blind. He has taught us so much, and done a lot of purifying in the process. We are looking forward to meeting the children, and seeing how God has prepared them for us!