An Exchange of Energy

I feel like a lot has happened in the last week since my last post. There?s been good news, fun photos, and some new projects. We started out by taking a little trip to the ER to tackle an allergic reaction Nate had to an antibiotic. Not fun for him at all. Poor guy hates needles. And the one attached to his arm, and then the IV bag full of a lovely cocktail that made him all loopy, was not a small needle by any means. But it did work, and he started feeling better shortly after.

At youth group (Nate and I get to spend our Wednesday nights with a bunch of 9th graders during the school year) we talked about collisions. How in a collision the things interacting are often changed forever. I like the nerdy, scientific definition that says a it?s an ?encounter between particles resulting in exchange or transformation of energy.?

So I?ve been thinking a lot about collisions this week?

I keep thinking about the collisions that brought us to Nashville?Nate is in a band. They record in Nashville. Their PR lady is in Nashville. Band breaks up. Nate goes back to school. We get married. He does an internship with his former PR lady. Gets job in Corpus Christi at PR firm. While in Corpus we fall in love with our church family, and see what God?s love really looks like. We decide to move closer to home. Nashville is on our radar and we choose it.

Then all the collisions that have happened since deciding to move to Nashville?We meet a realtor in town and become friends with her and her husband (thank you twitter). They invite us to lunch where we find out their adopting, and we tell them we want to adopt someday. They invite us to church, and tell us it has an adoption ministry. We visit church a few times. Love it. A couple of months later we decide to start the adoption process. Meet with the adoption minister. Which leads us to our agency. Where we have to take adoption classes, and meet the couple that is RIGHT in front of us on our AGCI wait list. Awesome.

And then more the collisions that have happened since we started the adoption process?We become members of our church. Are put into a newly formed ?community group.? And meet three of the most awesome, supportive couples ever. And thank God for putting them into our lives, because when things got crazy with the ET program in March we needed them. Badly. Through one of our friends in the group we are introduced to Nina and Frazier, who live near us and are in the process of adopting from Uganda. (Nina is the one in the pic below making flowers).

And finally, all the collisions that have happened since getting on the wait list?Our Family and friends are able to become more of the process?fun!! We join the wait list and become an active part of our agency listserv and facebook group. Once on the list we ?meet? the families near us on the list and several other families either waiting or home with their kiddos. Friendships are formed with several of the women (thank you facebook and cell phones). Our support system is quadrupled in the matter of a few short weeks. They introduce me to a conference called Created For Care. Which I signed up for this week. And now I wait to meet all these wonderful women in person!!! Hurry up January! Looking forward to that collision?

When I think about the starting point. Way back when were teenagers. And I follow the path all the way to today it blows my mind?

?

So, a quick note about Created For Care. I am looking SOOOO forward to this. It?s an adoption conference taking place in January and since their little bio is better than anything I?d write I?ll just show you what they say about themselves?

?Christian families all over the world are being called to grow their families through adoption, foster care and love from afar through orphan care. Throughout the journey, different needs arise?some times, we just don?t know where to start?and other times we are just tired from all that is required in these callings filled with new approaches, lots of healing and much required extra love. While your hearts have been called to care, YOU were also created to be cared FOR. We want to not only support these families by equipping them with adoption resources, but most importantly provide resources to encourage them in their walks with their Heavenly Father who led them to this amazing calling.?

There will be at least 400 of us adoptive mamas all at the same hotel for a solid weekend. A lot of us from the AGCI ET program. Which is why I am SOOOOO excited!!! To finally get to meet these women in person is pretty awesome. Of the 400 spots 220 filled up in the first hour (at midnight) and the whole thing was sold out in less than 9.5 hours. I?ll most likely be going to the breakouts on African American Hair Care, Domestic Adoption, and Attachment. Below is the quick little video they put together of photos from some of the families that have attended.

?

Nate?s sister and her boyfriend are awesome. And fun. And hilarious. Baby Rippke is going to love hanging out with them, I?m sure of it. His mom sent them some coffee from our?Just Love Coffee?shop and they sent me this photo of them enjoying it. Perfect.

And check it out! My pink Ordinary Hero tshirt arrived (see previous post for explanation)! I?ve had it five days and worn it three times. Clean of course. But I love it. It?s SOOO soft and it reminds me of Baby Rippke. Nate wanted to try it on because it?s so soft but I didn?t let him. I can?t let him go and stretch it out! Geesh. : ) He?ll just have to get his own boy version. Thanks again mom and dad Rippke! Nina, seen above making fabric flowers, is a friend of ours and a waiting mama too. We?ve decided that it?s way more fun to do crafty stuff and come up with fundraising projects together than alone, so we got out our sewing machines and got to work. Not exactly sure what all we?ll be making, but we?ve got a pretty long list of ideas, so we should be able to keep ourselves occupied until our little ones come home.

She (Nina) also made this for me for my birthday and it is awesome. Made it! Like stained and burned the paper and everything. It was such a thoughtful gift and I love it. I can?t help but study the map and wonder what area of the country Baby Rippke will be from.

And lastly, in exciting non-adoption news one of our pieces from our wedding invitation shop (arippke.etsy.com)?has been published in the September issue of BRIDES magazine!!! This is huge, exciting news for us, and we are so thankful that their staff found us and liked our work! Pretty pumped.

Source: http://www.liftedfromthewater.com/adoption/an-exchange-of-energy/

tpm gordon ramsay washington nationals federal reserve korea steampunk steampunk