Blessed

That sums up how my friends have made me feel today...blessed beyond measure.

My day started crazy and chaotic. We were supposed to be presenting for 10 minutes today at church about our adoptions, Haiti and effects the hurricanes have had there. Next week, we're taking a love offering for several organizations in Haiti and this presentation was setting the stage for that offering. I had put together a presentation on my computer and even made a special trip to church yesterday to make sure it worked, which it did. We got to church earlier today to set out our display table and get our presentation up and running. It would not work. I worked on it. Our associate pastor worked on it. No go. D was ushering so he was busy getting the supplies for that plus two ushers cancelled on him Saturday night so he needed to find two more ushers. So we weren't even really able to discuss a plan b before the first service started.

As people started arriving and I knew we would not be able to use our presentation, I was in panic mode. I had no idea what we would say to fill that 10 minute slot. I left the sanctuary in tears, looking for someone who would listen to my frustrations. I walked over to my friend, Ann, who promptly prayed with me. Then, as I started trying to figure out what the new plan would be, my friends Daneda and Jeanette saw me looking frazzled and offered encouraging words. By this time the music was playing for worship in the santuary and I was a bawling wreck. I went in and found D sitting in the back with the bulletins and I quietly started talking to him about what we could say since our presentation was not working. Then he started to get teary. I knew if he was crying, that I wouldn't stand a chance of not crying. I was worried about what we would say since we hadn't really practiced anything. We were both frustrated at our kids not being home. We both were bummed because we hadn't (and still haven't) heard any information about passport processing on Kenson. It was starting to look like our presentation was going to be a tear filled mess.

But what can you do? So when it was time, we got up on stage with tears in our eyes and no real words in our heads. I started to apologize for being teary and said something like "I'm sorry we're both a bit emotional. I think we just miss our kids." Then awkward silence. And my friend Daneda who was standing in the back pipes up, "Tell us about the kids." And so we did. We talked about our kids and Haiti and the 3 ministries we want our congregation to support. Was it perfect? No way. It was discombulated and messy. But it was honest.

Then during the last part of the sermon during the first service, our associate pastor came over and told me he had gotten our presentation up and running. He spent the entire first service working on it. Not because he had to but because he cares for us. Second service went off as we had planned, with less tears.

Then after church I went to Lincoln with my friend, Lisa. We had already made plans to go do some shopping, just us girls. We had a great time of honest talking about life. During lunch, she wanted to know if she and some others could do a baby shower for us. We've already had one other person ask but I kind of beat around the bush because we really don't need anything. But I also recognize that by saying no, you are taking away an opportunity from others to serve and love on you. So I said sure.

We started our shopping and as we drove, she asked if we could go to Target so I could register for gifts for Kenson. We had a wonderful time completing my baby registry. (She's also pregnant with her first so she got some ideas for her own registry as well.)

All in all, I spent the day feeling blessed by friends who have held me up and loved on me, supported by friends who truly care for us. I've just been blessed. So if you're reading this and were one of those friends, thanks. My heart was really touched by your thoughtfulness.