345 pieces funded 655 more to go!

Thank you to the study school at church for donating $200.00 dollars to the Pitcher adoption! I will update this post with puzzle pieces and names as soon as I get home from #operation feel better.

Idina Menzel Sings It Best

LET IT GO! Who knew that these three words strung together could be so hard to live up to? Even singing the “song of the year” is easier than actually doing it. I, Greta struggle with control. But I am walking a path called #adoption and after doing everything I can (perfectly) I don’t always have control on this path. Tim is better with giving it to God and trusting the path than me.

 When I think of control, I think of the song Control by Janet Jackson.  Janet was singing about taking control of her life and making her own choices. Sing it with me now! But control is also knowing when to let go and give it to the Man Upstairs. I am learning to trust this journey even when it doesn't always make sense.

When you adopt some things look promising and then they fall through. It’s kind of frustrating, this roller-coaster ride. But after a while you have to trust that the Lord is watching out for you and fighting your battles. He wants the best for you, Jeremiah 29:11. That verse always gives me peace and peace is what I have now. Some doors have closed in my face not because of my pride or incapacity or arrogance but simply because I knew they no longer lead anywhere. Just like what Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your path.” That is so hard.

But like a dork I actually did what this woman in this picture is doing. I threw my worries up to God and said you can have this. Me, Greta, let it go finally! What peace I finally feel and how fun it is living one day at a time; enjoying one moment at a time and accepting hardships as the pathway to peace.

#deepbreath

Thanks for being on this crazy beautiful journey with me!

NO puzzle pieces funded.

There are 675 pieces to go! You can click on the donation button on the right of my page, if you were wondering.

The Bamboo Tree

I love this story. Yet, all of this requires one thing – faith. The growers of the Chinese Bamboo Tree have faith that if they keep watering and fertilizing the ground, the tree will break through. Well, you must have the same kind of faith in your bamboo tree, whether it is to adopt children (me), win a Grammy, raise well-adjusted children, run a successful business, find a good man/woman or whatever it is. You must have faith that if you keep making the calls, honing your craft, reading to your children, reaching out to your spouse that you too will see rapid growth in the future. Now I’m in the midst of this and I know I will see growth. There has been too much blood, sweat and tears that has gone into this journey.

 This is the hard part for most of us and it’s the hardest part for me. We get so excited about the idea that’s been planted inside of us that we simply can’t wait for it to blossom. My biggest problem is I have to let go of what I think it should be. Therefore, within days or weeks of the initial planting, we become discouraged and begin to second guess ourselves, or worse, quit.

But sometimes, in our doubt, we dig up our seed and plant it elsewhere, in hopes that it will quickly rise in more fertile ground, in the pursuit of greener pastures. More often than not, we are greatly disappointed when their Chinese bamboo tree doesn’t grow any faster in the new location. Other times, people will water the ground for a time but then, quickly become discouraged like myself. They start to wonder if it’s worth all of the effort. This is particularly true when they see their neighbors having success with other trees. I have told the Lord on numerous occasions that I didn’t think my heart could take anymore. He always reminds me that I am worthy and He’s got this by putting in front of me encouraging loving people. So we keep watering and fertilizing our dream, it will come to fruition, just like the Chinese Bamboo Tree. It may take weeks. It may take months. It may even take years, but eventually, the roots will take hold and my Chinese bamboo tree will grow. And when it does, it will grow in remarkable ways.

 I truly believe that our dream will come true and will be more beautiful than we imagine. We all have seen this happen so many times. Look at Bill Gates. Gates didn’t seem very successful after dropping out of Harvard and starting a failed first business with Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen called Traf-O-Data. While this early idea didn’t work, Gates’ later work did, creating the global empire that is Microsoft. And what about, Harland David Sanders perhaps better known as Colonel Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken fame. See Sanders had a hard time selling his chicken at first. In fact, his famous secret chicken recipe was rejected 1,009 times before a restaurant accepted it. Well, I have to remember I have a Chinese Bamboo Tree inside of me and you have a Chinese Bamboo Tree inside of you just waiting to break through.


I have a prayer request. I will be undergoing surgery in St. Louis for issues regarding my Endometriosis. Please pray for a successful surgery and healing. Hopefully this will be one of the many breakthroughs for me and Tim. Tim's always by my side. What a blessing that is.

L-O-V-E

I asked my friend and sister in law Laura to guest post. I’m coming down with a bad case of writers block. I appreciate her willingness. She talks about my love for my dog, Louie Dog Pitcher. Did you ever notice that dog backwards is GOD? Louie has been a little piece of heaven for me and I feel God sent him to us while we wait for our human children to arrive. You can ask my mom I never was a dog person but I've always been amazed with animals. So a couple of years ago I really had a sense of wanting a dog maybe because I the children thing come easy. So there I was at one of Tim’s football games and someone came up to me with a lab puppy. I held him and I was in love instantly. I took him home. Put him in the bath tub ran to Walmart. I bought a kennel and all the dog necessaries and came home. There was a moment in that hour or so where I thought, what did I just do? But he really is a pretty good dog, we really lucked out.

 There are times I get frustrated with waiting and I will be sitting and crying and Lou comes and snuggles with me. Really. It’s the sweetest thing. He’s taught us a lot about how to take care of a living thing other than ourselves. Tim always jokes that when Lou passes away we are going to stuff him and put him by the fireplace. Don’t worry that won’t happen. First of all we don’t have a fireplace.:) Our love for our dog runs deep but I know it won't even compare to the deep love we will have for our future children. I can only imagine. I know Louie is just a dog but gosh he brightens even our darkness days!

Here's Laura's debut:

 Greta asked if I was willing to be a guest blogger this week. Honestly, I thought 'geez Gret, have you read anything I've written?It is the last week of school and Keith is on nights.' I don't have the gift of writing or expressing my thoughts in an eloquent manner. (Crazy-because I am a counselor-thoughts and feelings are my career!) I am going to set myself up for laughs and embarrassment. Sunday evening as I was in the shower, something came over me. For the last weeks in church my pastor has been speaking from the book of Colossians and emphasizing the"we over me" It hit me. I am putting my busy days and fear of embarrassment before we. By “we” I am referring to the community of Christ followers and above all. I then thought, really Laura, you are worried about how your poor writing will be perceived? Greta puts her heart and soul into expressing her journey with grace. Needless to say, she is a tough act to follow.

 So, it here goes...

Greta is one of my dearest and best friends. We share a lot of things in common, like; photography, importance of education, the value of a good nap, great memories and even boyfriends! (I am married to Gret's high school boyfriend) As a friend, I hope I am able to empathize with his or her struggles by listening and imagining myself in their shoes. Being a friend to someone with infertility struggles is a helpless feeling because I am not able to relate to her pain and mourning. My husband and I have two children and I had two healthy pregnancies without problems. I feel like I don't have the words to support when all I have to do is listen and validate. Once again, it isn't about me and what I feel comfortable or used to doing, but about we and above all Christ first.

At night, Ava and I pray for Aunt Greta and Uncle Tim's family. We pray the Almighty will be with their journey and have His light shine even during the darkest and toughest moments.One thing I am so excited about sharing with Greta is being a momma! I do this already! Louie dog and Ava are surprisingly on the same wave length-especially with their listening skills! We share with each other discipline techniques. I am not always able to use them because Ava can not go into a kennel! But we share laughs about being mommas, like when Louie Dog hides under the bed after chewing all of the toilet paper and when Ava may hide under her bed after chewing her books, or pulling all of the toilet paper off the roll. We also share the neat and new things we notice Louie D and Ava and Luca do. We talk about the transition our husbands go through when you anticipate an addition to the family. I don't have to be afraid to share with Greta anything about the world of motherhood because she is one!I can't wait to meet my niece or nephew. I am curious to see how much Louie dog is going to be pushed to the side to make room for the baby(babies). The love Tim and Greta have that dog is amazing, the love they have for their child(ren) is going to be outrageous and overflowing.

NO PUZZLE PIECES FUNDED THIS WEEK.

;(