Epic fails and fat lips

First of all, just let me say that I have had some very strange physical problems in the last two months.  I have been breaking out in hives multiple times per week and I have random facial swelling.  I don't mean my eyes swell or my lips swell.  I mean random parts of my face swell.   For example, one half of my bottom lip will swell up or one eye lid will swell.  Even one nostril will swell.  And when I have random swelling its never the same place twice.  U never know which part of my face will swell.  Lucky, it only lasts for a few hours.  I have been to the dr twice to try and figure out what is wrong with me.  The Dr says its due to stress.  I am going to an allergist soon to make sure these are not allergic reactions.  However, Im pretty sure i'm just a freak. 

Well we tried to Skype with our birth Mom tonight.  Let's just say it was an epic fail.  She could see us but we could not see her.  We were in a loud place so we could barely hear the translator.  We were all sweaty and things were chaotic.  Elijah was wiggling and acting silly as usual.  I felt like a crazy person smiling and waving at the iPhone without being able to see the people who could clearly see me. They were talking but I was not responding to everything they were saying because I could not hear them well.  

Our attorney told us it would be good for our birth Mom to see us and hear about our intentions to return to Arkansas yearly and allow our baby to keep in touch with her/his heritage.  He thought it would help her be confident we were the kind of family she would want to raise her baby.  

Well, we didn't get to tell her any of our future intentions.   I don't know what we said.   Who knows what she is thinking About us. I can only imagine.   She saw us as we really are.  She did not see the cleaned up, quiet, impressive family that I imagined she would see the first time we skyped.  We did not engage in a deeply meaningful conversation with her.  She saw the real, everyday, a little bit crazy Frederick family.  Hopefully we did not scare her.  

I was really bummed when it was all over and guess what?   The bottom left part of my lip started to swell. 

But the truth is, adoption is not a cleaned up, quiet and impressive situation.  It's messy, chaotic and crazy.  But God can make it into something beautiful.  God and onlyGod  is growing our family into  something beautiful through adoption.  On our own we are sweaty, chaotic and crazy but God, through His Grace, makes us beautiful, fat lip and all.  

Thank u LORD for this beautiful adoption journey.