What a weekend we’ve had – full and great! Friday evening was pretty routine except that we chose to dine out at the best fast-food restaurant on the planet – Chic-Fil-A. Great food and a great study in marketing if you’re into that like I am, but I digress…

Saturday started off pretty good. A trip to Wally World with the kids while my wife stayed behind to vacuum (kids present doesn’t make for ideal dirt-nabbing conditions). Normally, I like to go to the store, but normally, it is just me and the boy. Add one 14-month old to the mix and you’re all of a sudden trying to play a zone defense in a store that acts like a third opponent. By the end of the 90-minute ordeal, I was just about done and it wasn’t even 10:00am yet!

Sound familiar? Yes? That’s great, but more on that in a minute.

Saturday was also host to one of TWO birthday parties for the boy because trying to cram everyone into one big party at our house would involve a paddy wagon for me and the Mrs. This party was just for family, and the cousins were the main attraction. Before they arrived, we thought it important that the kids take a nap. No problem for the little one – she’s a great sleeper, but the boy fought it the whole way. He was simply too excited to see his cousins and couldn’t wait to run and play like banshees. I’m sure you can relate…right? That’s fantastic!

The party came; presents were ripped open; and grandma’s cake was eaten (mostly just the icing) while I watched with pride. All of this was very normal for a family that has its roots in some very abnormal beginnings. Adoption is anything but normal, but my kids and the relationship we have with them is just like any other and that makes me swell up even more.

God is the great normalizer – taking the absurd and changing it to the amazing and making it feel like it should have been that way all along. I’m grateful to my Father for my family. I couldn’t have designed it any better with a million years time. Oh, we have our encounters with the world where we are reminded of the special DNA of our family, but that only keeps us grounded and ensures that He gets the credit for it all.

Some friends of ours told about a day of celebration they did with their adopted daughter and son called “gotcha day and big brother day” that represents the day they received their daughter and their son became a big brother. I thought that was an incredible idea and we’ve decided to make it a part of our yearly celebration schedule as well.

September 16th represents the day we got the call from Bethany about our daughter’s existence. She was 13 days old and the risk of the birth parents changing their minds had passed – no take backs this time! Today, one year ago, our life changed forever. I now had a daughter. A black daughter. Both things I have no experience with as I grew up with a brother. And our son had a sister and his journey as a big brother started and from day one, he’s cherished his little sister.

So, today we celebrate God’s goodness to us – a gracious and merciful outpouring of His love to his hurting children (Heidi and I). We celebrate the end of a long trek through the valley of longing for a second child and sing about the mountaintop that God has once again given us the privileged of experiencing. Our family is a miracle and not a day goes by that we aren’t reminded of this fact.

Adoption is a weird deal – as you’ve no doubt gathered if you’ve read any of the adoption posts on this blog and it’s the little things that make the biggest impact. My wife is the best about making sure these things are captured in print and photo. She thinks about such things all the time and I’m so thankful for her heart.

With a humble heart, I ask you to help us celebrate our family on this very special day. Thank you all for your support and love – we’ve felt it all and it has been good.

For those that get a daily reminder of the dream that has yet to be fulfilled; who are struggling to lead their wives and explain to their friends and family the heartache they feel; who are not giving up and are willing to fight to their last breath for what they KNOW deep down is meant to be – we say hang in there and keep putting one foot in front of the other because it is SO worth it!

Fatherhood:  where the holes and voids inside are filled to overflowing and the dreams are fulfilled beyond imagination – a true resting of the spirit that has been in turmoil for so long.  But let us not rest just because the Wait is over – if anything, we must find new energy to lead, love and serve or families like never before.  We are reminded internally of the valley when we want to complain about dirty diapers because there was a time when we would have given anything for the smell of a dirty diaper to fill that pristinely prepared baby room.

We still dream big, protech proactively, instruct lovingly, encourage boldly, lead courageously and hug incessently.  Our love is fueled by the sacrifices made along the way and nothing will prevent us from giving our all to take advantage of each and every minute.  We stand strong against the gates of hell and the forces that want to steal the joy of fatherhood – too much has been overcome to give in and settle for ordinary.  Passion and zeal are the expressions of the blessing; strength and courage the weapons of choice; and the knowledge of potential greatness is the fuel that will keep us fighting.

We are leaders, mentors, servants, guides and meant to be the solid rock in the lives of our family.  At times, we fail and sputter and even need help getting back up, but we DO get up with renewed determination – asking to be kept in the game because we know our absence is of far greater detriment than anything we do wrong while present.

Fatherhood is a calling and not to be taken lightly.  May we not allow the pull of passivity to be the response when the job gets hard.  It is time for a new generation of fathers to own the future – real men taking responsibility and fighting for their family’s lives.  Success is defined as long-term steadiness and is achieved in the midst of others.

Please take time to encourge (give courage) a father you know – especially those adoptive dads.  Their intentional journey into the valley is nothing short of astounding!  Do you have a dad you want to brag on?

My bio-dad died when I was four.  He and my mother were separated headed for divorce.  Eventually my mom remarried and my step-dad ended up being daddy during those formative years until he went to work one day and never came home – divorcing my mom via a postal carrier.

All of those events were cataloged and noted and my mind and heart were being changed to ensure that I didn’t ever repeat the ills done to my family by the figure most important in a son’s life.  Fast-forward to my wedding day – a glorious day and one decision that I recall being the most sure of ever.   The starting of a family with my wife was another dream that I had held on to diligently – partly because it provided the basis for children.

Several years into our marriage, we decided it was time to start trying for kids and month after month ended in disappointment.  Finally, we sought medical help to try and diagnose what was happening.  Needless to say, things weren’t working right – in fact, a 0% chance of children naturally was the exact news.

All of these memories flooded back into my mind in a matter of seconds in the conversation with my friend and were almost immediately replaced with the astounding grace and blessings of my two children.  I’m amazed at the feelings I have daily when I get to love on my kids and hear them learn and grow – there aren’t words to express my gratitude to the Father for such a blessed home.

A wife who loves me, is proud of me and respects me as a man/husband/father and then two wonderful children that fill my heart to overflowing.  While the dream I had growing up of being a dad was something I used to deal with the dysfunction in my own family, it wasn’t nearly big enough to have prepared me for the life I’m living.  My wife put it THIS WAY on her blog.

I guess God has a way of blowing us away with Himself.  When looking at it from the perspective of an earthly dad wanting the world for his kids, how much more does our Heavenly Father want us to experience His dreams for us.  One thing for sure – He has “Blow’d Up” my dreams for sure!  Want proof – head over to my wife’s blog – http://aimingarrows.wordpress.com – to see what I’m talking about.

How has God “Blow’d Up” your dreams?