So, the latest, huge decision is whether or not to merge the TWO blogs that I have created. I know. It's more than one person should have to endure (insert sarcastic look here). I have made the decision that I'm going to shut down my other blog and bring it all over here! Yay! A decision has been made and I'm sticking to it. One thing that I've learned over the years is when I try to do too many things, and do them all with excellency, NOTHING is done with excellency. So, I'm combining my two worlds into one. That should help.
Now that THAT is out of the way, we can get back to life. This is a busy season for our family. Well, actually busy is an understatement. CrAZy would be a better description. Here is a glimpse of what is going on: Calving Season, Homeschooling, Family Beach Trip, Adoption, Selling our House, Finding another House, Living on Farmer's Income, Children Outgrowing Everything, Living on FArmer's Income, Keeping House Spotless to Show to Prospective Buyers, Living on Farmer's Income. Did I mention that we are "learning" how to live on a farmer's income. And, through all of this CrAziNEss...I can say that our lives are more joyful and peaceful than I can ever remember. Yes, there are days that I think I'm going to completely lose my mind, but the Holy Spirit gently reminds me, "you are here for such a time as this." It is absolutely amazing to look back and see the events of the past year and realize that the Lord lined everything up so perfectly.
Last December, I walked away from my career as a Veterinarian. It was a hard decision, but one that I don't regret for one second. I knew that the Lord was calling me to walk away. At the time, I didn't know why. I just knew that I had been running from Him in this respect for about 8 years. I couldn't run anymore. I had to obey. It didn't make sense at the time. It makes perfect sense now.
For those of you who have been following my other blog www.farmfamof5.wordpress.com just go ahead and skip this paragraph. For those of you who don't know our adoption story, this should catch you up. One year ago, I began to pray for God to break my heart for what breaks His. Well, he did. He began to focus my heart toward adoption and orphan care. Perry (my husband, my rock, my everything) wasn't on board and basically told me that I was delusional. After talking with a wise "adoption friend" I chose, as hard as it was, to close my mouth and pray. For 6 whole months, I prayed that if adoption was something that He wanted for our family, that He was going to have to change Perry's heart. AND HE DID! Perry came to me a few months back and said, "YES" to adoption. We began to pray about who, where, how. The Lord led us to a precious child in China. The moment that we saw her face...WE JUST KNEW!! There was no question in our hearts, this was THE child that God had ordained from Eternity Past to be our child! We didn't know how, or when, but we KNEW the "Who". The days and weeks that followed were full of affirmations from God. Here are a few...
- Her file was already on hold by another family which meant that they had 2 weeks to either move forward or release the file. (Boy were we praying for confirmation during this period of time)
- Her file was offered to us even though there were apparently a "handful" of families ahead of us on the interested families list. We were just one among several.
- Part of her name literally means: "Land used for growing plants". (Have I mentioned that my husband and I both have walked away from our career this year so that we could concentrate on farming??)
- Every single time a payment has been due, we have had exactly that amount "extra" to pay it.
We submitted our LOI (letter of intent) this week. Because of a National Chinese Holiday, our Pre-Approval will take a little longer than usual. But, we are growing so much during the waiting. We are learning that the waiting period is where God is pruning us and teaching us and showing us that HE IS GOD and we are NOT. I am so thankful and humbled that He loved us so much that we refused to allow us to stay where we were...comfortable and stagnant.
In other news, calving season started today for Chatahoochee Ridge Cattle Company (that's us). We have a very BIG bull calf on the ground out of our bull. This is the first baby out of our bull so we were anxious to see what he would produce. He did a good job. I think we'll keep him. Here's a pic of the baby and his very protective mama:
I know he looks like a lump of brown stuff, but he really is a pretty red bull calf. What this picture really shows is that our family is about to put the B in Busy. Calving Season is an intense time in our lives. These babies are the future of the Cow-Calf part of our operation. To say that we are intense and busy and tired during this time is accurate. But, as with anything, farm related, the benefits of "getting" to live this life far outweigh anything negative. As my husband says, it's just a time when we all have to "cowboy up" and get it done. School will be on the road, in the truck, on tailgates, in the pasture, wherever life leads. Thank you, Lord for making our lives portable!
For those of you who have stuck with me through this extremely long blog post, thank you! Here's a little sneak peek at a photo session that we did with the awesome Ravin Farmer! She captured our family perfectly! Thanks Ravin! We owe you big time!
I can't wait to be able to add "S" to these pics of our family!!! What a glorious day that will be!
