Get thee behind me....

no....wait...not you...I mean the devil....

Every step to our little girl, as we have moved along, when we were about to move closer to our Pigtails, that evil one, moves in. He must feel a little threatened that another one will become one less orphan, one that will come home and be introduced into a world where she can learn about her Father.

If you think that Satan doesn't mess with you in your everyday life, I'll tell you you're absolutely wrong....you may think that kind of stuff doesn't happen or you're not significant enough to warrant messing with, etc....the stakes are high, there is an unseen battle that rages on while we live our day to day lives, one soul, two souls, three souls....

Each milestone we are coming to with this adoption, about a week out from each, things happen, stuff falls apart, breaks, maybe almost catches fire, we spend about a week feeling like something is trying to break us or more accurately our will, putting things of this world in between us and our her. As we approached today, we have had more things break, tear up, quit working, etc than normal. Both of us have come to recognize when we must be getting closer to bringing her home and how important it is for us both to stick together, turning inward to Him and not outward to the world. A year ago these mishaps(we'll call them that to save using adult language here) would have sent me into complete frustration....now, I know Satan is using what he has at his disposal, worldly means of interrupting a path, a path God placed in our hearts. I guess he hopes that God will forget about us in our troubles or that he can cause enough strife to turn us away from Him, distract us.

We've had batteries die...in carline, ugh....other vehicle's car window refuse to roll up and dealership keep said vehicle a week(after 5 days we asked for a loaner and thankfully they gave us one) and then returned it with broken parts and deep scratches....arghhh, upstairs air conditioning compressor just quit, and there are so many other things to list but I don't want to scare off anyone who might be approaching this part of their adoption walk. So, none of these things are life threatening or all that horrible, but in the space of less than a week, really are frustrating and feel like they could pile up on top of you...you know like you at the bottom of the dog pile when you're playing football. What has kept me with "eyes up" have been all the great friends and acquaintances asking about when we travel to get our Pigtails, reminding us, we are on a mission to our her and we are not alone in getting there!

This past weekend we held our second yard sale. It went great! Lots of people brought items by to put in the sale and also let us borrow tables. We even had some come to shop and bring items at the same time! It was so good to see friends I haven't seen in a while, meet new people, and see neighbors who have been more than generous and kind to us. Our neighborhood is so special to us. We have the best neighbors...they have cheered us on, given to our adoption, and been so supportive! There's never been a "why would you do this?" or other negativity...just support. Pigtails already has little friends waiting to play with her, littles her age that know her by name and her sweet picture. One of those littles has parents that have been our mentors throughout this process in addition to great friends. They have this amazing ability to make the hardest parts of this journey just a little easier and have been there every step. There are no thank you's that are enough to them! The other little waiting for some play time just came home himself. I want to say that I now understand the difference between happiness and joy....the light I see in this family and the humbleness and gratitude for Him choosing them as this little's mom and dad....ya'll...happiness is something I believe comes from this world...and falls majorly short of joy, that joy comes from following His plan and soaking in the moments where every wall that you could put up, every doubt you could muster, every reason hidden deep in your heart to not believe are shattered when you stepped out there on that water and let Him have your heart. I think the light we're seeing in them right now is that pure joy that only comes from a true connection to Him. I'm sitting here crying like a giant baby just thinking about seeing them with this little boy they've sought out after He placed him in their hearts....beautiful joy that just can't be matched...isn't that what we are all after? We seek it in so many other places...when it's right in front of us, grace abounding, and offered in love.

I got a little glimpse of things to come, bad and good....the boys came home today telling me about a boy making fun of one of their friends. The offending child was making fun of this little boy because of the shape of his eyes, telling him he must be basically blind since his eyes slanted that way and drooped on top.........I bit my lip....and asked what happened next? They both said they told that offensive little twerp(my words, not theirs) that their friend's eyes were perfect and how God made them and furthermore(my word, not theirs)....how would he feel if someone made fun of his eyes?? Not gonna lie...I teared up thinking about the little boy that is new to our country and how he must have felt. I am so relieved that the boys felt confident enough and convicted over right vs wrong to speak up for their friend. I'm not Pollyanna'ish enough to think that just because we live in a pretty diverse town,  they won't encounter meanies being meanies to their sister....but now I know that they will push back and speak up for her. The Kulavich princess need not worry!

Speaking of the Kulavich princess....we received our Article 5 last week and are now awaiting Travel Approval. Now if you ask me what an Article 5 is I'm just going to say that I really have no idea...I just know we had to get it, we got it, and now we wait again(grinning through the constant irony of this process). We aren't far from travel...I can smell the peanuts from the plane....so close!!!

So, I'll wrap this post up with the brand-spanking new information about our last fundraiser before traveling(namin' it and clamin' it). Blue Pants Brewery in Madison is hosting us as the recepient of their We Care Wednesday fundraiser October 1. With each pint sold, $1 goes to our LifeSong adoption account!! Woohoo! If you've never been to Blue Pants this would be a great time to go. It's a brewery and taproom, owners and staff are so friendly and engaging, they have a great outdoor patio area, and are very involved in our community!

So the deets:
Wednesday, October 1, 3-10pm
We Care Wednesday-Bringing Home Pigtails!
Blue Pants Brewery
https://www.facebook.com/bluepantsbrewery
$1 from every pint goes to our adoption Lifesong account, Kulavich/4568!

Come see us that evening!!!

kk