Unchanged?

Today was a bit of a test. I made a "quick" run to Toys 'R' Us and found they are remodeling ... combining it with a Babies 'R' Us.  For a woman who loves to get lost in places like this, I wondered how my heart would react. Would I renig on the whole "waiting" plan? I mean, I'm doing so much better already ... surely I'll be fine in no time, right?! So, I walked through the aisles and even looked at the pacis (my personal weakness). I must admit I enjoyed every minute of it... but I did not for one second regret our decision. I did not feel compelled to quickly call Alison (our adoption specialist) and tell her to put us back on the COP list immediately. Instead, I was able to rejoice when I saw a pregnant belly walk by and I was able to rest in knowing that our time will come... just not now.

Then tonight I read some awesome news that my cousin and her husband have received and accepted their referral for 2 precious little ones from Ethiopia. Such amazing JOY it brings me to know that God has answered their prayers so faithfully. He IS faithful. ..

And He will be faithful to US. I have HOPE and FAITH that He will hear our prayers and will amaze us at His goodness when our time comes. And so we remain, unchanged in some ways and yet so very changed in others.

Not my plans.

It's been half a year already since my last post. We've been busy and full of LIFE here at the Witzigs.

Right now I'm able to blog because I recently had another surgery and finally have the time!  Yes, another surgery. One more organ gone... the spleen. It started last Christmas with getting sick easily, often, and having great difficulty getting over it (illnesses would last weeks instead of days). And it has ended (I pray) with this splenectomy. The spleen is part of your immune system and is like a large lymph node. Mine was growing cysts (like my dad) and it was necessary to remove it. We're hoping with the spleen giving its energy to the growth of cysts instead of doing its proper job helping my immunity that perhaps it was dragging my whole system down more than it could handle... so, maybe this winter will be better? I pray so.

In the meantime, the kiddos are enjoying being "farmed out" while I'm recovering. They have gotten to play with cousins and friends daily and are (sniff) LOVING it!! But in the evenings they come home and shower me with (gentle) hugs & kisses... and there is my silver lining :)

However, because of this lapse in my health and an unknown future, we had to seriously reconsider our current adoption plan. After MUCH prayer and counsel, we decided to temporarily remove our names from the special needs list the beginning of June. A referral appeared to be nearing (according to guesstimates) and I needed more steady health and strength before such a huge transition... and now that I find myself recovering from a splenectomy, I could not rejoice more in that difficult decision. But this was not my plan.

This appears to be yet another lesson in how it's not about MY plans. It's about GOD's plans. We just need to submit to Him. Something that's not easy for me to do. And I sometimes wonder if God takes me to the point of surgery just for this purpose. But I've been through this before ... I even thought I learned this lesson last time! And yet, here I am again ... sitting in square one. But even with someone as pitiful as I am, God is gracious and good... SO GOOD.

So until God's time for us to meet out little girl ... we will wait. Not in bitterness. Not in anger. But ~through His grace~ with patience. With serenity of heart. I never could have imagined how peaceful I could feel right now. I let go of what I wanted so desperately and He showered me with quietness in my soul. I can't begin to explain the amazingness of that transformation. But we're talking about God ~ not me. And He's in the business of the inexplicable.

"For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the lights."  Colossians 1:9-12

It is accomplished.

It has been a mere 12 months since the first piece of paperwork got sent off to our adoption agency and we have finally completed our dossier (i.e. mega-pack of paperwork requiring much government approval and re-approval in order to be accepted by China). We had been told to expect roughly 9 months to reach this landmark, but 2 more were added by DCFS "losing" some of our paperwork and another month ... who knows where. Anyway, it is finally done and I am elated! It is accomplished!!

Praise the Lord!!

More good news! I just learned from our adoption specialist that we aren't going to have to wait as long as we thought! We are going to be part of a special needs program which should grant us a referral in 6-8 months!!! I am very excited about this rather drastic change in our timeline (3 years to 1/2 of one!) and hopeful to see what God has planned for our family in 2010 :)

What's new??

Changes in the Life of the Witzigs:
1. We got a piano donated to our cause :)

(Thank you to Andy's parents are letting us borrow it!)

2. Sammy got braces and turned 9 in the same week!

3. Wil broke through both bones in his right arm Nov. 30th

(He fell off a Rubbermaid box ... who knew they were so dangerous?!)

4. Both boys got new beds ... car beds!! Charlie still has not gotten over the excitement. Seriously, he wakes up nearly every morning and nap and says, with secrecy and excitement, "I sleep in a car. It's so awesome!" -or- "I sleep in my very own car last night" :)

5. Wil had closed surgery Dec. 4th to set his bones and just got his purple cast taken off Jan. 19th.

And there is a little snapshot of some fun we've had in the Witzig household the past few months :)

Are you still adopting?

I know I've not been updating this blog, but outside of our extremely hectic summer (and fall) there hasn't been much news (or time to blog, for that matter). Anyway, one thing we hear more than anything else is, "Are you still adopting?". Sometimes that question makes me sad - how could we have changed our mind? But I know they are well-meaning and love us ... it's just a really long process and there hasn't been anything to tell. But, in case you're still wondering, the answer is "yes! Yes! YES!" ... and though we've already gotten a run-around from one government agency which has slowed our timeline up by about 2 months, we said from the beginning that we knew this would be long and difficult, and we're in it for the long-haul!

Another reason people may ask (outside of the complete lack of updates ... since there are none!) is that we may not talk about it much. This is not because I don't want to ... quite the opposite! It's because I want to so much (and would therefore scare off any nice person with a willing ear) that I dare not overwhelm someone unless they ask for it :) It's not because I'm really that non-chalant about this life-changing event that I'm dieing to have happen!!

There are times that it almost consumes me (like today - right now). The first time it hit me was going through customs last June in a US airport ... without our child. At that point, I wondered if I could make it another 3 years. I want my baby girl so bad there are days that Zoe prays, "Dear God, please help mommy be patient as we wait to adopt our little girl" ... she knows. She knows that there are times when talking about adoption with my children I get teary-eyed and can hardly explain why. She prays for her own patience too! We all want her home!! We are praying, we are hoping, we are planning ... but we are waiting. And we must continue waiting until God says "enough"... and let me tell you there will be dancing in the Witzig household on that day :)

10

June 13, 1999. What a beautiful day it was... the sun was shining... and so were we! I can hardly believe we've been married for 10 years!! Wow. So much has happened since then that it's almost a blur.

We have lived in 3 apartments and 2 houses. We have had 4 children and are praying for more! We have been on tops of mountains and in the depths of valleys (literally, and figuratively). We have been through some things that we wondered if we'd ever make it out un-scarred... but God! God was always there and through it all He showed us His sovereign hand. God brought us together in a way man could never understand. God changed us and molded us more into His image ... more unified ... more in love than ever before.

But let's not forget some of the crazy times in the beginning (for better or for worse)...

like Andy having lost his license during our engagement, leaving me to drive on our honeymoon and first 2 months of marriage...

like getting up before the sun did on the day after our wedding to go to court (trying to win back the afore-mentioned lost license)... and getting lost on a dirt road along the way...

like having a scorpion in our chalet or taking Andy to the doc-in-a-box on our honeymoon...

like Andy yelling "That's my wife!" and the little boy behind us yelling "That's his wife! That's his wife!" after I shot a hole-in-one playing mini golf in Gatlinburg...

like me driving nearly an hour to get to work every morning - even though we lived right across the street from the preschool (and yes, it was due to Andy's lack of license and my driving him to work in Huntsville first)...

like Andy totalling his truck after his license was reinstated (hmmm)...

like going through an unfounded work lawsuit that lasted over a year...

like moving into a different apartment every year until we finally found our sweet little house at 101 Silver Poplar in August 2002...

like having 3 children in 4 years! and 4 children in 6 years!!

Nor shall we ever forget the struggles which brought us closer to God and each other (in sickness and in health)...

like 3 pregnancies with months of bed-rest (each with their own unique struggle)...

more doctors visits, lab-work, hospital tests and surgeries than we could've imagined...

being cared for by our dedicated parents and wonderful church family at New Life...

flying out to Bend, Oregon - not for a getaway, but for yet another surgery...

and praying it was the last.

And now we look expectantly to the future (as long as you both shall live)...

I love you, baby! Happy 10th Anniversary!!!!!!!!!!

Celebrating in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic together :)

Did you know?

One of the many blessings of homeschooling ~ and having daddy work out of our home ~ is our lunch time discussions. Today, Andy started "quizzing" the children on where we live, our country, our planet, etc... which led to a quick intro to astronomy... which took a turn for the worse when Wil piped in very confidently to say ~

"Did you know that everyone knows that the moon is made of cheese?"

(Thank you, Wallace and Gromit!)