Favorite Things: Pedal Spin Studio

I LOVE SPINNING!!!

My brother and sister-in-law (Hi guys!)  introduced me to spinning at 24 hr fitness last August.  I liked it.  It was definitly a great workout.  When Groupon featured Pedal Spin Studio, a local business dedicated soley to the art of spinning, I decided to try it out since it was such a great deal ($5 a class) and I needed a boost in my workout routine.  You can burn from 600-1000 calories per class!!!  We let me say it only took one class to hook me.  When we arrive we all climb on the bikes and start spinning to warm up our muscles.  Then our instructor walks around and greets us and the lights dim, the stage lights and music turn on, and the work begins.  Every class is different depending on the type of class and instructor.  My favorites are race day (where we simulate a bike race going up hills and coasting down winding roads and then "passing" each other with breakaways) and pedal party (where we spin to exciting dance music and do all sorts of muscle toning moves).  I've been going 1-2 times per week since the middle of March and I look forward to every class.  I've never been very big on group exercise so I was kind of surprised that I love it as much as I do.  For those of you who are having a tough time picturing what spinning is, here is a picture of my spinning studio:

I am making progress!!!

Disappointing News

Dan and I received a call from Snowflakes this morning.  Our coordinator told us that our donor family cannot bring themselves to sign the contract and they have called the adoption off.  They know they don't want more children, they know they want to adopt the embryos, they know Dan and I would be great parents but signing the contract is too emotionally difficult for them right now and they don't want to hold us back any longer. 

We are sad.  We are sad that we will have to wait even longer now to be parents, sad for our donor family who is in such an emotionally difficult situation, sad that they can't bring themselves to do what their heart knows is right, sad for their four embryos that will have to stay frozen even longer.  I praise God that our hearts are not bitter about this bad news and please join us in asking God to continue to protect our hearts from that awful dark place.  Every time something painful like this happens it gets a little harder the next time something good happens to be fully happy. 

I have asked our coordinator to let us know if by some miracle our donor family changes their mind and in the meantime she is going to look for a new family to match us with. 

Two Kinds of Waiting

Who ever said "silence is golden" has clearly not waited to hear from their donor family for three weeks!!!

Wish I had exciting news to share with you all.  When Dan and I attended Grace Caring (the adoption ministry at our church) on Monday night it became glaringly obvious to me in hearing the stories of other adopting families that waiting is one of the most difficult parts of the process.  It is one thing that we all had in common.  The hardest kind of waiting is waiting for the unknown.  As a marathon finisher I have known what it is like to push through difficulty.  I understand well the meaning of the word perseverence.  The difference in our infertility/adoption journey is that we don't have a finishline.  In the marathon you know you are done at 26.2 miles and you will be able to stop running and rest.  I always finish my hard workouts really strong because I push for that finishline.  (This is how I know I am an athlete deep down inside.) 

With adoption I've had to alter my approach to waiting.  I can't set a finishline because someone or something will just move it.  I have to keep moving one day at a time trusting that God is leading us closer to where we are supposed to be.  There is this poem that I teach my American literature class by Emily Dickinson that speaks of this type of waiting.  It is nice to know that Dan and I are not alone in our waiting.  Emily D. and all of you are sharing our experience through your own waiting.  We are all waiting for something at some point in our lives, right?  Thank you for walking with us in our seemingly never-ending period of waiting.  Who knows, tomorrow may be full of good news and bright hope!

If you were coming in the fall,
I'd brush the summer by
With half a smile and half a spurn,
As housewives do a fly.


If I could see you in a year,
I'd wind the months in balls,
And put them each in separate drawers,
Until their time befalls.


If only centuries delayed,
I'd count them on my hand,
Subtracting till my fingers dropped
Into Van Diemens land.


If certain, when this life was out,
That yours and mine should be,
I'd toss it yonder like a rind,
And taste eternity.


But now, all ignorant of the length
Of time's uncertain wing,
It goads me, like the goblin bee,
That will not state its sting.


-Emily Dickinson

Quick and Uneventful Update

So. . . we are still waiting for our donor family to sign the contract which must be notarized.  They have had the contract for two and half weeks so we are hoping we can move on to shipping the embryos soon!

Signing the Contract

 Yesterday we were able to stop by AAA to sign our contracts with a notary.  They charge a nominal fee for members and the notary was so happy for us that he waived his fee for us.  How nice!  We sent the signature page with our fee in the mail immediately and are just now waiting for our donor family to do the same.  We are so glad this part is done!  Yea!

Happy Resurrection Day!

Only when our eyes are opened to the depravity in our own hearts will we recognize the need of a savior.  Resurrection Day (aka Easter) is a celebration for me because it is the day I remember that God has provided that savior.  One who paid the ultimate price so that my fallen heart could be whole again.  The perfection of God's plan in Jesus' life, death, and resurrection blows me away.  I love the justice in it: we sin, we deserve punishment, God loves us and provides a replacement person to take our punishment.  God remains a just God and we are saved and brought to reconciliation.  It is the most amazing of love stories, a story of redeeming love and I love to read it again and again.  I enjoy reading Paul's letters in Romans because he is so clear, logical, and honest:

 Romans 5:1-8

1Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we^a have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we^b3Not only so, but we^c also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

6You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Happy Resurrection Day dearest family and friends!  Our Savior is mighty, merciful, and loves beyond measure.

Look inside the mystery,

See the empty cross

See the risen Savior,

Victorious and strong

No one else above Him

None as strong to save

He alone has conquered,

The power of the grave

Glorious, my eyes have seen the glory of the Lord

Glorious, He stands above the rulers of the Earth

Look beyond the tombstone

See the living God

See the resurrected

The ruler of my heart

No one else above him

None to match his worth

The hope of his returning

Fills the universe

Glorious, glorious
Lord you  are glorious

The contract is here!!!

Today we got a little present in our email inbox!  Our contract has arrived and is ready for signing.  We will find a notary on Monday or Tuesday and get it sent back to Snowflakes this week.  I am hoping our donor family is able to sign the contract quickly so we  can get those babies shipped to California!

It has been so fun to celebrate with our family and friends this great answer to prayer.   So many encouraging comments, hugs, congratulations, and even a sacrificial financial love gift from dear friends- we feel blessed.