Mrs. Fran and Laiken
Made new in Christ!
At this point, most of our readers here (if I have any....haha!) know our story. You know that we pretty much had two kids randomly dropped on our doorstep, with no foster or parenting training under our belts. We had so many friends and family to support us. But what I haven't written much about lately is our marriage.
Marriage and life come in seasons. We welcomed the first season as newlyweds and somehow transitioned to parenthood in the matter of hours. The next season was the "new/fun/vacation home away from home" for the kids. Then came the "this is real life" season. You know, when we were no longer the "fun family members", but the actual parental figures two annoy their kids daily. Then came the trenches. You know, when your husband works til late-thirty everyday to provide for your family and you're stuck with cooking, cleaning, baths, homework, mommy duty, family fun, bedtime, storytime....you get the point. Later, we did the season of waiting together. Waiting to see what God was planning for us. Waiting to see how in the world we could make these kiddos ours. Waiting and askin God what he wanted us to do. I'm impatient, so this stage REALLY tested me. But I promised Brandon and God, that I would wait and let them lead me. Meaning I truly wanted to follow Brandon's lead on this, because ultimately, he is the leader of our household. I'm sure there were times he was exhausted from my impatience, but we have both grown and learned so much from each other. When one of us was doubtful or anxious, the other became the cheerleader and encourager. I am so honored to be his bride, and he is a phenomenal father. He's simply the best.
Well folks, the time is now. Next Tuesday, May 12th, we will have what is probably one of the most important days of our lives aside from salvation and our wedding day. We will go before a judge to hopefully show how and why our family is the best place for these children to live forever. Please join us in prayer that we can get this done, and that we will not need continuations or more court dates. We have waited and waited, and I hope and pray that we can make this happen in a seamless manner. While we have an army of support coming with us, I pray that the judge will just see our hearts and know our intentions. We are so very thankful for every person who has supported us during our journey, both near and from afar. Know that we truly do feel your prayers surrounding us daily. There are way too many stories, and not enough words to explain what we have been through. God has protected us, and I do believe that He will provide yet again next week. So as we prepare for one of the biggest meetings of our lives, we covet your prayers. Our hope is to follow God's will and be a forever family.
"And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up." Galatians 6:9
