I'll Call Him Duckie

My mother is out in the middle of "Timbuktu"in the wilds of Africa managing things at the school she's carved out of nothing with God's help for the young people there. There's not much chance of wishing her a Happy Mother's Day, or a Happy Birthday, or to tell her how proud I am of her. It will have to wait.

My mother -in-law is an old English woman to whom everyone is "Luv" or "Duck". "So glad to see you "Duck"... She's earned the nickname Mother Duck and I can see her chuckling and enjoying the warm fuzzy memories the name has garnered her over the years every time she hears it.

New little baby coming tomorrow has a name I'm not fond of. Not too many people are, I think, at least not amongst my friends. I looked up it's meaning in hopes of salvaging some sort of sweet connection... Alas, the meaning is worse than the sounds of it. Way off at the bottom of the list of origins and languages and primary meanings was mention of a mallard. Okay, we'll go with that and "Duckie" he will be, (at least on here, and I know that's not how you normally spell it, but if I'm making up the name, I can make up the spelling, too.)

We've been blessed with gifts already from generous people that will make taking care of the little Duckie much easier. A beautiful, new fan-dangle swing (I had one of the crank up ones for Vanessa), itty bitty, cute clothes, blankets and burp clothes, stroller and other things.

We're getting excited to meet the little fellow. I pray the Lord will give me wisdom and strength and patience as the appearance of a new member of the household is sure to bring on some upheaval in the life of a certain little girl.

I was able to meet the father of the Buddy and his new little brother. It was a good thing. This family is very positive towards us. They only express gratitude and actually, our home was their first choice of placement if they could not keep the newborn themselves. I was able to share with the father how we are lifting them up in prayer and to encourage him in the journey of the recovery of his family. He's not a hardened, or bitter man. He's found himself at the bottom of a pit with many, many regrets and tears. I have not met the mother yet, but I spoke to her on the phone. I think her challenges are overwhelming . . .  However, we do believe in miracles.

It does scare me that things could go in the right direction, they could pull it together, and meet the expectations imposed on them by DSHS and they get the children back only for things to go bad and the suffering of the children would be worse the second time around. I have to trust that God cares more about these babies than I do and He will be there for them. Children get hurt. People do stupid, selfish things that destroy innocent lives so it's hard to wrap my mind around the faith that the Father in Heaven will see these kiddos through. I can't think about it too much, I believe we have a part in their lives for a reason, though.

TODAY I'm planting tomatoes...   Blessings to you this mother's day.