30

Did you know that my birthday was on St. Patrick's Day?

I turned 30.

For as long as I can remember, I have had green pancakes on the morning of my birthday. It's a tradition and something I look forward to. But this year, since my birthday fell smack-dab in the middle of our trip to Russia, green pancakes never even crossed my mind. That is, until Adam handed me a small envelope on the morning of my birthday, filled with green construction paper pancakes that Isaiah made for me the night before we left for Russia.

I was told that Isaiah worked really hard on making my pancakes look just right.



I think that was one of the best birthday presents I have ever received.

As I ponder my 30th birthday, I can't help but want to share something very significant with you, because it shows how God's plans for us rarely turn out to be the plans that we set for ourselves.

When Adam and I first looked into adopting from China, we learned that China requires all adoptive parent's to be at least 30 years of age. At the time, we were in our early 20's, so we knew that it would be a while before we could start the process. It has been my dream since high-school to adopt a little girl from China, but 2 years ago we felt the Lord calling us to adopt from Russia instead, and as we researched Russia's adoption program, we learned that we were qualified. We decided to go for it, and submitted the required paperwork.

Fast forward nearly 2 years, and we are now completing the work that God placed on my heart almost 14 years ago. But here's where it gets interesting, because what I thought could not even be started until I was 30 years old is now being completed on my 30th birthday.

It's amazing what God does when we put aside what we think is in our best interest and submit to His will.

By the way, we had our third court hearing today and it went very well. We are happy to announce that we are the proud parent's of L. Hallelujah! We have to wait until Monday for the judge's decision to go into effect, and once that happens, we will finally be able to introduce her.

Oh, and I suppose I should also tell you that the 10 day wait period was waived!!

I must say, 30 is looking pretty darn good.