The Bristow’s dot COM

Today Jaime and I had an absolutely amazing day. Today we met the boy and girl that we are hoping to adopt. And the meeting today was so much better than we had hoped or imagined. We are so happy to have spent the day with them. And can’t wait to see them again! We feel so blessed to be going through this process right now. It is truly amazing to look back and see how God has brought us to where we are today.

I don’t want to share too much about our day for the entire world to see on this blog (since this is still an ongoing process), but it was a very fun day, and the only disappointment for me was that the day had to end so soon.

Tonight I am heading up to Tampa to see the Tampa Bay Rays fight it out with the Chicago White Sox. I will of course be wearing my Chicago Cubs cap even though they won’t be in town until June 17th. (Which I plan to also come to Tampa to experience.)

This should be an exciting evening, and the rumor is that there are $1 hot dogs at the stadium tonight.

6:43 am - I am heading out to work this morning. I am very excited to see you for the very first time. I know that the next few hours are probably going to drag, and I likely won’t be all too productive at work. It is crazy for me to imagine how small you are, and that a Doctor is going to be able to show me a picture of you today. Well, I had better head out to the car so I am not late to work.

8:14 am - As I had predicted time has slowed to a crawl. I think this is how time seemed to pass for me when I was 5 years old. Everything took forever when I was younger. I keep think that time speeds up as you get older. And since you are so young maybe that means the past few hours have felt like years to you?

10:15am - Well, I am getting ready to jump out of work and meet Jaime at the Doctors office. I can feel stress building up as I process the excitement of seeing you and learning about how you are doing. I tend to always begin thinking about ‘worst case scenarios’, maybe this is from my Boy Scout training to ‘Always Be Prepared’. I am praying for you constantly, that you are healthy and doing well. I will soon know more, and will see you soon!

12:42pm - Jaime and I just left the Doctors office. It was so amazing. We were able to see and hear your tiny heart beating and even see where your head and even your arms are right now. Your heart rate is 167 beats per minute, which is good and you are 1.53 cm long right now. You are healthy and growing just as you should. And Jaime and I were right, you are 8 weeks old right now. We are so excited to have seen you today, and we will see you again on May 13th!

Your First Pictures

Although Mike Huckabee did not win the Republican nomination, he has decided to not simply be silent. He is now building an effort to help campaign for and support like minded candidates. Candidates that believe in tax reform, the sanctity of human life, strong national defense, real border security, less government, and individual liberty. Essentially, people who could help bring the Republican party back to its conservative roots.

Although I do not like that this movement is designed to support Republican candidates exclusively. I would truly prefer that Huck PAC be focused on simply the principles outlined above, because I don’t believe the majority of Republican candidates adhere to those principles in practice, but only in speech. When I look at politicians from either the Republican or Democratic Party I often see very few differences in how they govern, but hear plenty of differences when they give speeches.

I also recognize that for Mike Huckabee to have a real shot at the White House in 2012, he needs to develop a stronger and better relationship with the Republican Party. He was treated as an outcast, and a nobody during his entire campaign. If he can help the Republican Party come back to its roots, and get solid people into office, he will have a much stronger chance at gaining party support for a future bid at the Presidency.

So, I am a supporter of the Huck PAC. I will not support a Republican that does not follow the Huck PAC core values simply because they are Republican, but I will certainly do what I can to promote candidates that follow the core principles of the Huck PAC. I believe that the idea behind Huck PAC is to begin reforming the Republican Party from within, rather than attempting to build a new movement or a third party.

Don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.

If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless. Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.

James 1:22-26 NLT

This verse has been very meaningful in my life the past couple of days. Jaime and I have been faced with a huge decision. The choice to adopt two children and have a baby or just have the baby. There are a number of things that we have thought about, from ‘coincidences’, to the process that we have gone through the past 6 months. And this verse from James has been on my mind these past few days. Last night I believe the full weight of what we are doing landed on me, and I don’t mean this in a negative way. We had an initial visit with the kids last night, and although it was short with little interaction I feel very energized that we are following God and doing the right thing. I believe I also grasp how huge the responsibility is, and also how huge this will be in the lives of the Children.

James says that “Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.” And this is not because the person helping an orphan or helping a widow is somehow a great person. The greatness has nothing to do with the person helping, but with the obedience of that person to see a need and step in to help. Verse 22 says “Don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says.” And helping orphans and widows is part of making God’s words real and active. Allowing His words to not simply be theoretical or good ideas, but real and active and meaningful in our lives and the lives of others.

I honestly believe that if Jaime and I were to step away from trying to adopt these children right now, that we would be guilty, that we would be sinning. It is our desire and our responsibility to be agents of the Father in the lives of these children. We know the road will be long, and difficult. Probably far more difficult than we actually think. But we know that God is great and that when we follow Him, we are always in the best situation possible.

So, we are excited to be taking steps of faith that others may never understand because our Father is with us and preparing the way before us.