Lost, But Holding Hands

I am fortunate to work on a team with some of the smartest, kindest, most genuine people I have ever met.  In a profession that is too often thankless, they are a bright spot in my life.  Yesterday, we attended a workshop downtown together and seized the opportunity to catch up over lunch.  Of course, most of our conversation was related to work and our never-ending to-do lists.  But eventually we began sharing about winter break plans and upcoming holidays.  While I was listening, I began to notice the amount of angst holidays can cause.  During a time that should be joyful, we spend a majority of our time trying to prove ourselves worthy, appease our family, and simply survive. I think one of the greatest choices we make each day is who to surround ourselves with.  Our friends and family can should help insulate us from the sadness and difficulties of the outside world.  They should celebrate with us and for us. It's our choice.  The peo...

In April, all signs began to point towards finalization for our family of 3.  In fact, we left one of our court sessions so full of anticipation and so sure of God's plan that we moved forward with our plans to celebrate.  We drove straight to our travel agent and began planning our trip to Disney World.  We didn't have an exact adoption date and we knew we didn't want to go on our Gotcha vacation until all was official.  So, we took a leap of faith and picked November.  We began reading guide books, blogs, and gathering tips from anyone who would share.  We dreamed of our perfect vacation...to the point where we began to worry about the possible disappointment.  How could The Magic Kingdom really be that  magical?  Would these lists and plans come to fruition in the ways we imagined? We were incredibly blessed to find that our adoption process, while emotionally draining, did not draw itself out.  We celebrated Gotcha Day on September...