Wild Abandon

I saw two lives joined together this weekend. My dear friend Ryan found a delightful woman that puts up with him. Not only puts up with him, but loves him. With wild abandon! God is so good! For those out there still searching, have FAITH! Love is out there!
Everyone in attendance celebrated this momentous occasion. Some more than others. Ahem.. .ouch!
Sometimes joy can be as painful as sorrow. Still, I recommend grabbing joy where you can, and holding on for all it's worth.
Last week I had finished shredding old tax documents and the like and I had more than a bag full of shredded paper. Eli had been watching with the rapt attention that only a 2 year old can demonstrate. He was riveted not only by the noise of the shredder but with the paper itself.

I totally got caught up in the joy of watching him discover and experience life. Fueled by this I decided to let life get a little messy...

I turned his drum upside down and poured the entire contents of that bag into it. Eli was giddy! He jumped right into it. Um. . . It was not a well thought out idea. Paper went EVERY where. It clung to Eli's clothing and hair. It was stuck to the bottom of my shoes.

His laughter and whoops filled the air. . . .but did nothing to lessen the frown on dear Hubby's face when he surveyed the ginormous mess in the living room. I had to giggle anyways. Eli was having a fabulous time, incredulous that I was allowing this to happen, he wasn't about to squander a second of it! What was I to do at this point but join in!

WHAT A MESS IT WAS! Paper everywhere! In that lovely vent you can see in the last picture. . .in Eli's hair. I still find random bits of paper falling out of a trucks and toys . . .and it makes me smile.

In a nutshell, that is life. Right? It can get messy. But if you surrender to the joy and the mess that life can be, messy doesn't have to mean disaster and cleaning it up is infinitely more entertaining!

As I have been religiously following the children of Reece's Rainbow, I read about Sam. A lovely boy about to age out of the system. I will not go into detail about what it means to age out of the system in Eastern Europe, instead let us focus on and enable HOPE!

SAMUEL for the Morton family — Ridgeway, VA

Traci and Dave Morton have been married for almost 24 years. They have four children, ranging in age from 8 to 20. Although they had been supporting friends who were in the process of adopting, the Mortons hadn’t seriously considered adopting themselves…until the day that Traci read a blog post and found herself staring at the face of her son. She knew immediately that bringing him home was God’s plan for her family.
The Mortons are grateful for the still, small voice from God that has prompted the much anticipated additions to their family, and very much appreciate your prayers and support along their journey.

3/7/12—HOMESTUDY in PROGRESS

Follow the family’s adoption journey on their blog at http://eightmortons.blogspot.com

This is MESSY and so amazing that I literally cried when I saw he was going to have a home of his own. A family of his own. It took him 16 years to find. .. .

Adoptions are wicked expensive! Please visit the blog of the Morton family working to make Sam their own. It is a good read, a kick ass cause and worthy of a donation!! Look at that smile! And that was taken BEFORE he knew that a family wanted him. Can you imagine his joy now??

So, as I stated above, LOVE IS THERE. . . .you just have to be ready for it in WHATEVER shape or size or condition that it comes in. Where there is love there is joy. Seek it with wild abandon.