fa la la la la ha ha ha ha!

What a week December 1-7, 2013 has been for the Shelton family! We celebrated the first Sunday of advent with a trip to get our Christmas tree, and wrapped up the week by selling Christmas decorations at a Christmas craft fair. But that doesn't even begin to tell the full story! Let me break down the highlights for you. You may recall that a year ago this week I underwent surgery to remove half of my thyroid. I wrote an emotional blog post a few days prior to surgery in which I detailed my fears and my hope in God, and ended with a verse from a Christmas carol which had taken on new meaning for me: Be near me, Lord Jesus, I ask thee to stay Close by me forever and love me, I pray. Bless all the dear children in thy tender care And fit us for Heaven to live with thee there. I come to the manger this year with a deeper understanding of the meaning of those lyrics, and unspeakable joy as I have regained the ability to sing, “Glory to God in the highest andpeace to men of good will!” Tomorrow, I will be joining the chorus of Mount Vernon Nazarene University's performance of “Messiah,” and I could not be more excited! My voice won't be flawless yet, but my heart is overwhelmed with joy and I cannot wait to sing, “Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace!” So after church last Sunday, I was beyond excited to be going to a Christmas tree farm with Steve, the boys, and my parents along to snap pictures. We were going to cut down a live tree. Trevor had been practicing yelling “Timber!” There was much discussion about who would get to use the saw and anticipation of hot chocolate afterward. We went to the same Christmas tree farm we had gone to a few years before where we had found a perfectly lovely tree. We read the sign detailing the color coding of the various types and heights of trees. We got a cart and started up the hill. Trevor and Trenton clambered up into the cart, whichTyler was attempting to pull up the hill to where we found the good tree the last time. He quickly got a lesson in physics and gravity and realized hauling his brothers up that pesky hill wasn't such a great idea after all, and they had to bail out. The elated Trevor traded personalities from a happy little elf to a grumpy old grinch and chaos threatened to ensue. But after a few reprimands, and a hushed discussion with Daddy, Trevor came running up the hill to catch up with the rest of us, laughing and back in the game. Tyler started complaining his legs hurt. We were walking forever. We would never find a tree! The trees weren't quite what we were looking for, and we did walk, and walk, and walk, checking out all of them before Steve finally found one that was passable, but not before Trenton fell asleep and Grandpa bailed on the searching party to go sit in the warm storefront with the sleeping toddler on his lap. Steve summoned me to the acceptable-ish tree. I knew immediately he didn't like it. I told him not to settle, so rather than cut down the tree, we headed back to the front of the lot to look at the precut trees. Steve found one that he and Mom agreed looked pretty. I cautioned him that, according to the color code, it was between nine and ten feet tall. He wasn't concerned; we have a high ceiling; he was going to cut branches off the bottom anyway, it would be fine. He paid for the tree, and while they bailed it up, Steve pulled the van over. It was only at that moment that he realized for the first time, we have no roof rack!!! The, oh so helpful Christmas tree farm people gave us twine and walked away without giving us any other advice. (I'm pretty sure they did that just so they could laugh at us.) By now, I have the giggles and can't stop. Mom and I get in the van with the boys. Dad and Steve are tying the tree to the roof. They pass the twine back and forth through the open windows of the van and secure it tight. And just when we thought we would finally get to go home, they realize they tied the doors shut! (I can't even contain my laughter at this point as the men untie the tree, open the doors, and retie the tree to the van.) We safely get the tree home, and after letting it sit for a little while, the men trim it a bit and bring it in. It is worth mentioning here that we rearranged the living room prior to leaving so that there would be room for the tree. Steve brings the tree to the designated spot, the boys secure it in the stand, and we realize it's way bigger than we thought! Trevor goes up to the loft and reaches through the spindle railing to pull the net off the top of the tree because it's to high to reach from the ground. This of course releases the branches to their full circumference and we have to re-rearrange the furniture to make it fit! The dining room table gets turned sideways and pushed up against the window, and the loveseat has to be pushed into the dining room, at least temporarily, so we can decorate. All the while, we're laughing out how ridiculous this is and what people will think when they come over. I affectionately rename the dining room as the sitting room, and we begin decorating. Steve strung lights. I placed ornaments on the upper branches, as high as I could reach, with the assistance of three kitchen chairs placed strategically around the tree to help me. The big boys add ornaments to the lower branches, and Trenton assists by un-decorating, throwing, and smashing things as best he can. We sent the boys to bed and I continued working on the tree until 10:42 p.m., at which point I decided to finish it the next day. The garland wasn't up, and the angel wasn't on top. I was pretty sure we needed candy canes to fill in spaced. Nonetheless, I put the tree skirt beneath it and went to bed. The next morning I expected Steve to come down and tell me that it looked nice. Instead, he came down and gasped. The tree had fallen overnight Ornaments were all over the floor and some had shattered. Yet more cleaning ! As it stands now, the tree still has no angel. That will probably require a ladder, but it is securely in place, and brightly decorated. I am just praying that it doesn't mysteriously cause any additional chaos – but I'm fairly certain that it will. :) The week continued with good news from our adoption agency, America World. Our initial contract agreement has been received and processed. We have been contacted by our family coordinator and the social worker who will conduct our home study. Some of the money we've been diligently working to save is now being spent, and things are on a forward-moving track. To that end, my Mom and I made our first foray into the world of craft fairs today. We have a bunch of Christmas gift baskets, and other decorations, along with my book, “Ablaze with Light,” ornaments and Christmas cards to go with it, and my CDs to sell. If you ever want to cause a splash at a Christmas craft fair, be sure to get assigned a table right next to the entrance to the gym, put up a sign announcing that you're fundraising for an adoption, and put your Seeing Eye dog in the only available spot, right next to the door, where every single person who comes in will make over him, and if you're lucky, talk to you. I would have made three times as much money if I only started charging to pet the dog! Thanks to a winter storm yesterday, foot traffic was light, so sales were down for everyone, but we did respectably well. However, during the slow times, I started amusing myself by keeping track of the most entertaining comments that were made to me about my unusual position of being an adoption fundraising blind woman with an adorable four-legged flirt at my feet! Today I was told by someone who liked my book and my CD that I am a genius. I was grateful to hear that since up until then I'd been asked if I was “buying my children,” and told by a dog lover she was just glad she didn't need a Seeing Eye dog, and I was a “poor thing.” (Both of these comments amused me). The people who said them didn't mean to be nearly as insulting as they were, and along with all the other gifts God has given me, a sarcastic sense of humor is near the top! So now I'm home, and decompressing. We're still walking the fine line of balancing enjoying the family we have and planning for the member we haven't met. And this year we are rejoicing in the wonder that God sent his son to earth, a light in the darkness, and we wonder at His incorporation of our zany family into his master plan. This year, as we give to others and prepare to celebrate the birth of an infant king, I find myself praying a few new things. I have ben praying, oddly enough, for the biological parents of the child who will some day be our daughter. I don't know if she has been born yet, or even conceived, but in order for her to need the Shelton family, her biological parents are going to face some trauma. I pray that God will comfort them, and be near to them, so that they will have hope of a future, and know there is light in the darkness. I pray that they will know we are humbled to be a part of their daughter's life, and that we will be honored to raise her as our own, but that we'll teach her about her heritage and will honor them. I pray for our friends and family who are ahead of us on the adoption/foster care journey, and I pray for a day when there will be no more pain, no more tears, and no more orphans. And I continue to pray the same hymn from last year: The cattle are lowing, the poor babe awakes. But little Lord Jesus, no crying he makes. I love thee, Lord Jesus. Look don from the sky And stay by my cradle 'til morning is nigh. “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light. On those living in the land of the valley of the shadow of death, a light has dawned!” Merry Christmas to your house from the Shelton`s! “Give thanks to the Lord, his love endures forever!”