A Milestone

October was a crazy month. It started with M getting a new job offer (he'd been casually applying around for a few months for a variety of reasons). This new job would be military contract work, which we have no experience with and little understanding of. His hiring process was a bit of a rushed disaster (something we were assured by family is the norm for military contracts) that had both M and I tied in stress knots. He accepted the offer under an assumption of a firm start date only to be told later he couldn't start working until mountains of paperwork were submitted. Then, an 11th hour phone call came from M's current employer. A senior level manager (someone at the corporate, international level) who had worked with M on some projects called and asked him what it would take to convince him to stay. Fortunately, M took it as an opportunity to discuss ALL his concerns, not just money. They squared away a deal that addressed his issues and also tacked on a slightly crazy pay increase. So in the span of two weeks: M was offered a new job, accepted new job, learned all the hoops he had to jump through just to start new job, got counter-offer from current employer, accepted, gave regrets to new employer. It was a whirlwind, that's for sure.

We were already on track with our adoption savings. I had worked out that it was likely we'd be able to put away the last bit of money at the end of October. With M's new pay rate, we DEFINITELY were able to set aside what we needed. And so....

We are *OFFICIALLY* done saving for our adoption!!

I am so excited! And humbled! And shocked! And blessed!

We took a leap of faith last year, moving forward with an agency even though we had very little in savings. I'd like to say that we scrimped and saved, pulled our American selves up by our red, white, and blue bootstraps and all that other self-made man talk. But seriously? This was God. 100% start to finish, God. There are a hundred ways He has chosen to bless us that we did nothing to control, earn, or deserve. But He made it happen.

I feel so unworthy. Money actually scares me a little. The verse in the bible about it being easier for a camel to fit through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get to heaven is never far from my thoughts. Money binds you to things - material, worldly things. It twists your mind to make you think you "earned" your financial security. I never want to be so beholden to something that is so far from heaven. We are building up our non-adoption savings (cause apparently it costs money to raise kids? That's what I hear!) and paying down/off some debts so that if and when our financial situation changes, we can live with less without worry. No expensive new car. No bigger, better house. No shopping spree for all new clothes, electronics, what have you. It's too scary. If you adjust your standard of living up, then it's hard to adjust back down. We're going to try very hard to keep living the same as before, just with more money going towards our loans, into savings, and to charities.

We are three months into our wait and we're ready for a baby any time now. We have most of what we need already supplied from my sister and her best friend (they saved nearly everything from their last babies for us). We'll work on turning the "craft (and cat) room" into a nursery this winter and plan to have it furnished and ready by late spring. Hopefully next summer or fall we will get the call. We're ready.