S-T-R-E-T-C-H! Am I ready for this?

I have about dozen topics I'd like to blog about, but the one that is most pertinent is my new volunteer position teaching parenting classes at a local pregnancy center. For years, I volunteered at our local Birthright running pregnancy tests and offering counseling. I quit when I was pregnant with my son. After becoming familiar with the Pregnancy Resource Center through a recent walk-a-thon, I decided I would like to be more involved in helping out there. I was asked if I would be interested in teaching parenting classes, so I jumped on the opportunity. I thought, "I have 5 kids, so maybe I'd be good at that." My thought was that I'd be teaching the moms after they gave birth. I was wrong. I attended a meeting this morning and I am now the 2nd and 3rd trimester teacher. I feel like this is a stretch for me and I wonder if I'm ready for it. I think I'll do fine, but there will always be the breaking through things I have yet to face post-miscarriage--pregnancy videos, listening to the moms talk about their babies and their feelings. I do feel like this is where I'm suppose to be, though. I think it's another facet of healing for me. One of the classes that we offer is miscarriage support. I told them I would be interested in teaching that since I have knowledge and empathy for those who have suffered that kind of loss.
Christmas is almost here and I'm almost ready! I am finishing my shopping today. Then, I only have a few cards to make, some baking to do, and packages to wrap.
A few minutes later...I just looked in the paper and saw that my birth attendant with 2 of my kids died. She was only 49. I worked with her at Birthright and she was such a help when I was in labor with my 2nd and 3rd children. Needless to say, I'm very sad right now and reading about her death made me cry. I hadn't seen her in years, though when we'd see each other, we'd always say, " We need to get together." We never did...
The last thing I'd like to write about is my niece McKenzie. Her birthday is December 23 and every year, I think back to her birth day with very fond memories....
It was Tuesday, December 23, 2003. I was 6 1/2 months pregnant with Sean and as I waddled into my laundry room with a basket of clothes, I had a thought. "The adoption agency said M and BJ would probably have a baby by Christmas. Yeah, right." It was a fleeting thought. After 4 months of active waiting and 2 false "the birth mom might pick M and BJ" alarms, we had all settled into a rut of waiting for "THE CALL". M and BJ began to pursue the avenue of adoption about a year after losing the triplets. At first, they looked into international adoption, but as new teachers, they weren't able to do that financially. So, they decided on domestic adoption. More specifically, the adoption of a bi-racial or black baby. At first, we all had our doubts about them adopting a baby of a different race. We aren't racists by any means, but we all wondered how a black or bi-racial baby would fit into our family....
At 5:15 p.m., I was putting on make-up, after my husband offered to take us out to dinner. I was exhausted, so I gladly took him up on it! The phone rang. I answered. My brother said to me, "Are you sitting down?" Immediately, my eyes teared up and told him yes. He said, "We got a call from the adoption agency. A baby was born this morning to a mom in Sikeston. She's a little black girl and we go on Friday to pick her up." We were expecting them to have to fly someplace to pick up their baby, but Sikeston?! That was so close!! I knew it had to be of God. Well, when I hung up the phone, I was floating!!!!! We went out to eat and trudged through the next 3 days hoping and praying that the birth mom wouldn't change her mind. On Christmas eve, my devotional passage was Galatians 4:4-5, which talks about us being adopted into God's family. I took it as a sign that things would work out and we would get her. Friday morning, I got another call from my sister-in-law telling me that they were now the proud parents of "the most beautiful baby girl". We anxiously waited at my parents' house for them to come home. Wow! What an incredible feeling it was to see M and BJ with a baby of their own after such a long, heartbreaking wait! It never has mattered to us that she's black. She's just Kenzie and we are so thankful to have her!!! Happy 4th birthday, Kenzie Wenzie!
Merry Christmas!
Paula