A few thousand diapers later

My daughter will be ten months old soon, and I bought diapers for her for the very first time this week.  (Okay, technically I recently bought a box and then she outgrew them before she wore any, so I'm not counting that time.)  Ten months!  Do you know how amazing that is?  I'm not even sure I do.  I did some quick math, and assuming that Piper goes through an average of seven diapers per day (a conservative estimate), that's 2,100 diapers and $550+ over the past ten months.  We never paid a dime.

When I drop off Piper at her preschool in the mornings, her teachers always comment on her cute outfits and extravagant hair bows.  "Where do you get all of her clothes?" they ask.  Well, let's be honest.  They come from her grandparents.  They come in big brown boxes on the porch from her family in Texas.  They come in little pink bags, tied with fancy ribbons and a note that says, "Just because," from coworkers and friends.  I rarely buy her clothes, and her closet is still overflowing.

I was humbled as we began the adoption process, when money would literally just show up on our doorstep or in our mailbox.  There were days when I would find myself in tears, unsure how to respond to such generosity but very sure that we didn't deserve it.  Almost a year after bringing Piper home, I once again am overcome by the goodness of our loved ones.  I know diapers are seemingly insignificant, but I also know that most parents don't wait ten months to buy them.  We are so blessed.

The night that Piper was born will always stand out to me above all others for many reasons, but one thing is still particularly striking.  My parents had already waited for hours to see her, and when they finally got to come upstairs at the hospital, my mom burst into tears.  In fact, I don't think she really stopped crying all night.  At one point, I said something like, "Mom, this is a happy day!  You don't have to cry!"  She responded, "I know.  I have prayed for so long that I would love her just as if she were your biological child, and I really, really do."

She was always meant to be part of our family.  I knew it during the adoption process, I knew it the moment she was born, and I knew it as I was checking out at Target on Friday, buying diapers for the first time in ten months.  As her parents, we would always love Piper regardless of any circumstance, but the continual outpouring of kindness from those who are dearest to us has proven to me that she belongs.  She's our daughter, but she's also a granddaughter, a great-granddaughter, a niece, and cousin, and a friend.  I know she is partly loved by others because we are special to them, but she is also loved because she is special to them.  Piper Anna Fenrick, you are so cherished, and you don't even know it yet.

  

Remember.

I decided to change up my Bible reading plan this year and go through the Scriptures chronologically instead of picking and choosing my favorite passages to read for nights in a row.  I’m so glad I did.  For the most part, I’ve historically seen the Bible as a moral guide for my life with a few awesome stories, but I’m slowly beginning to realize that all of the Bible is actually one big story pointing to one main Character and one redemption plan.  Parts of Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy have not been exactly “riveting,” but I’ve already learned so much in my attempt to read the Bible as a whole instead of fragmenting it and skipping over some parts entirely.

Many things have stood out to me as I’ve been reading, but perhaps the most striking one is God’s repeated call to his people to remember.  Continue reading here.