God has been so good to me and blessed me in so many ways during the past year....
On the heels of my birthday last year, I began rehearsals for "Girls Only", which turned out to be my favorite on-stage experience so far. Not only was it pure joy to act in this fabulous comedy, but it ended up running for five months! A dream job, and one for which I will always be grateful!!!
After "Girls Only" came to a close in February and my pace of life began to slow down, I started to get antsy. I felt like I had cabin fever when I was at home during the day, so I planned a cross-country road trip. I had it all scheduled with many stops along the way all set up. We would be gone for three weeks in April.
Those plans came to a grinding halt when three things happened. First, I found out that I had to be in San Antonio for a meeting that got scheduled right in the middle of my planned trip. Second, my friend Sarah in New Jersey who I was planning to spend several days with on my trip, called to tell me that a baby boy had been born in Las Vegas, and she and her husband would be traveling there for at least 2 weeks to adopt him. And just one week after Sarah called me with her big news, we got some big news of our own...which brings me to the third thing: our adoption agency called us to say that a baby girl had been born who they thought would be a good match for our family.
So I think it's safe to say that God knew all along that my best laid road trip plans were not meant to be this year. However, I prefer His plan to mine!!!
Zoe has been the sweetest and most precious daughter I could dream of! She is beyond wonderful, and we all just love her so, so, so, so much!
As I look forward to the coming year, I have an immense feeling of satisfaction. Brian and I sense that Zoe is our last baby, and my focus is much less on family planning now and more on family raising. Now that my babies are all here, I'm looking forward to seeing them grow up. I also look forward to all of us growing closer as a family, as our bond deepens as a family of five.
Speaking of family, I would be remiss if I didn't mention two very special boys who live in Ethiopia named Ephrem and Habtamu, ages 19 and 11. They are my long-distance sons who live across the ocean. They melt my heart every time they call me "Mom". Although they have not taken up residence in our home (and there are no plans for that), they have definitely taken up residence in my heart, and I love them.
What a great year 38 has been! Thank You, God, for all of the amazingly beautiful blessings You have generously poured out on me!
