Life without Amy and Anna...

I am especially "introspective" today - as I think about what my life would be like today without Amy and Anna. NOT that I wish they weren't here, but GOD has just struck that thought into my heart and I am wise to heed it. There are certainly moments in my day when I think how nice it would be to have some real quiet and not be actively correcting a toddler and a preschooler ALL day. So, as I sit here, a list develops...

-my two big kids would be at school right now (since the reason I am homeschooling this year is directly tied to our adoption of Anna)

-I would be typing this in my office instead of at the kitchen counter (office is long gone after all the "extra" rooms have been made into bedrooms)

-I could be driving the Dodge Charger I have been dreaming about (orange) a lot lately (I wouldn't need room for four kids/two car seats)

-we wouldn't be planning a penny pinching vacation for 6 right now (but could be planning a trip where we FLY somewhere, rent a car and eat out the whole trip)

-I would be wearing some new, trendier clothes (of course all four kids are quickly outgrowing shoes, clothes and such)

-I wouldn't be looking at dirty sippy cups on the kitchen counter, baby dolls on the floor or a puzzle on the floor

-my grocery bill wouldn't be $50 higher because I had to add formula and diapers

-leaving marbles on the floor wouldn't be a choking hazard

-my heart wouldn't be in China... somewhere yet to be determined

-the family picture on our family room wall wouldn't be outdated (taken 3 years and two little girls ago)

-I wouldn't have a finger painting and a,b,c magnets on my fridge

-places like Yangjiang and Guangzhou would never have been part of my life (and now they are forever in my heart)

and a few more...

-I wouldn't have had the most amazing moments last night when 1) Chris came home and Anna said "DadDY!" and ran and hugged his leg and 2) When I got home from the chiro and Anna heard my voice and said "Momma!" and ran full force to throw her arms around me and kiss me

-I wouldn't have a picture on my family room wall of the saddest little 17 month old orphan named Yang Guo Hui - that still brings tears to my eyes when I consider who GOD has made her to be today - Amy-Hui Carmichael