10 months old and big sister's birthdays

Yesterday Eliana Joy Lin was 10 months old! On her 10 month birthday we celebrated Davie Anne's 4th birthday, which is actually today, the 25th. We had a big celebration at Cypress Grove Park with lots of friends and beautiful weather. After that we headed to Deland to celebrate my grandmother's 90th birthday. Lots of fun and family there. Always a treat for me. I continue to experience a lot of sadness mixed with joy these days. One of my precious travel mates who was referred an adorable little girl from the same orphanage as Ellie found out 4 days after receiving the notice of her daughter in China that she has rectal cancer that has already spread to her lungs. My heart is so grieved over this. It just brings me to tears again and again. It is hard to be joyous that travel is coming, when that sweet lady won't be traveling with us. It also looks like we will be traveling to China to get Ellie(joy!) during the time of Sarah's debut as Catherine in the "Taming of the Shrew" up at school(sadness). Ugh! I can hardly stand it. I have never had to miss anything my kids have been a part of and yet this is totally out of my hands. Joy and sadness.....over and over again. This is an interesting time in my life. I don't remember a season like this one before. Intense joy and intense sadness. David's dad continues to hang on, though we so wish him Home. God is good all the time, and His ways are right. His timing is perfect.....in all this joy and sadness I do not question His sovereignty or His Holy character, but I do wonder how to process all that is happening and sometimes I just tell Him that this is too hard and too sad. Carrying sadness around as a part of myself and still feeling all the joy that God intends me to feel as He blesses my socks off is my calling these days. I am praying that I will do Him proud as I continue to surrender and trust in His unfailing love. What a journey!