Time & People Warning very long post!

I have been thinking a lot about how people make an impact on our lives. How sometimes, even an acquaintance can help you make a decision that will change your life. Once such instance happened to Daniel and I back in February.

First, my sweet mom started visiting a family in our ward and encouraged them to start coming to church. It turns out that my mom had a HUGE impact on them coming to church. A few months after that, their son decided that he wanted to serve a mission. The mom of this family had placed a son for adoption many years ago (which is now a very open adoption) and he came to his mission farewell. Dan and I were also at the farewell and noticed this couple with their cute little black boy. We decided to go and talk to them. They told us about their adoption experience and about the agency they went through....it was once that we never heard about before. We did some research and ended up adopting our little Sophie Anne from that agency. I wonder if my mom knew what a HUGE impact she was making when she decided to go visit that sweet family?

Another example that I always like to think about is all the very dear friends I made from our decision to move to Coalville after Daniel's mother passed away. First of all, I never would have met Kaelea who became one of my sweetest and dearest friends and who donated her kidney to Dan. Also, I would not have made such great and cherished friendships with some of the kindest and charitable people.

I have been reading the Anne of Green Gables series. I read these books many years ago, but they always seem to speak right to me and make me feel happy. In the second book, Anne of Avonlea, Anne takes a wrong turn on the way to visit some friends and ends up meeting a very special friend. She also is able to help this friend get married to her childhood sweetheart!

I often wonder who I am going to meet and how that person will influence me. Now that I have Sophie, I meet new people everyday...because she is so beautiful and people always want to meet her and hear her adoption story which I am very happy to tell people.

The older I get and the more life experiences I have, the more I know that there is a very kind and loving Heavenly Father who wants the best for His children. He is the ultimate planner and knows us so well!

Last week, Daniel and I had to make a very important, life changing decision. It was a decision that would impact many people and it made my heart ache. Our case worker from the agency we adopted Sophie called us and said that her birth mom was pregnant again (12weeks) and that she wanted to place her unborn baby with us and her 17 month son who we grew to love when we were in Kansas. My first reaction was pure joy and excitement! I had been secretly hoping this would happen. My second reaction was sadness for this little boy....I felt so sad for him! My third reaction was how in the world are we going to come up with the funds for this adoption?

The next day, I spend the day trying to figure everything out....and praying. When Dan got home, we went to the temple. On the way to the temple we talked about what we were supposed to do. We got to the temple and we both had an overwhelming feeling that we should not go through with the adoption. I have to admit, a part of my heart was crushed. At the same time, I knew that Heavenly Father was protecting us and those little kiddos from a situation we were not supposed to be in. The next day, I called our social worker and told her our decision. She said that they had a back family who would adopt both children and were excited to have their family grow!

I have one more thing I want to talk about...this little thing called TIME! I often think about how time can heal a heart or mend a wound. Time sometimes makes me feel alone and angry. At these times, it is so important to have an eternal perspective and know that Heavenly Father knows what He is doing. I recently read the book and watched the movie The Help. I am so thankful that I came to this Earth when I did. I often like to imagine myself living in a different time era...say the 1800's? Anyway, I realize now that we Each came to this Earth when we were supposed to. Even if I had been born 60 years ago, my husband would not have survived birth and I don't even want to think about what kind of life Sophie would have had! I am thankful that Heavenly Father has beautified and blessed my life in so many ways!

Sorry that this post was so long, I just had to get all this stuff out of my brain!

Much Love,

Emily