New Adventures

Now that our second adoption has been completed, the blog will take a different purpose! :)  Now we will start new chapters in our journey as a family.

We would love to have you join us in prayer as we make important decisions regarding our children's education over the next several months.  For the past several years, we have been sensing that God was leading us in another direction in our homeschooling endeavor.  At first it was just a curriculum change, now we sense Him leading us to go a completely different avenue.  This past Friday, I turned in applications at a local Christian school to see if we could enroll three of our children there next year.  This is a pretty scary endeavor as we know that Christian education is not inexpensive.  We are just in the beginning stages, but will want to meet with the administrator of the school as we seek out what options are available for financial aid.  Depending on how much aid we would qualify for, will determine who and how many of our children we will be able to send to the school, should their applications be approved.  We know that sacrifices will need to be made, but Christian education is something that is very important to us for our family.  God is once again stretching our faith muscles! :)  We know that if God wants this to happen, then He will provide!  This will also be a huge change for me as I have been homeschooling since Anne was in kindergarten (she is currently in the 7th grade).  It will be so different without all of the children home with me during the day.  At least I won't be a complete "empty nester" and will still be able to have Jaydon with me. :)

Another exciting adventure will be for Skeeter this summer.  He is a counselor with the youth group at our church and this summer they will be taking about a week long missions trip to Mexico.  He has begun the process of getting his passport all squared away.   They are still in the planning stages for the details of the trip so will pass those along as they become available (besides the exact location for safety reasons).  Please be in prayer for the staff as they prepare and make the final plans for the trip.  Also be in prayer for those who will be going on the trip that they will be open to the Lord's leading in their lives.

In the more short term activities, Anne is looking forward to attending a retreat in Missouri this weekend with the Jr and Sr High girls in her youth group. We pray this will be an excellent weekend for her and that her relationship with Jesus will be deepened as a result of the sessions. Please be in prayer for safety for the group as they travel as there is some snow in this weekend's forecast.

So thankful for the opportunities for growth!

Jaydon is 6 months old!

It is hard to believe that Jaydon turned 6 months old today!  Not only is he growing so very quickly, but in the adoption sense, it was time for us to contact our social worker to give her an update on how Jaydon was doing.  I sent her some emails with some pictures and some details as to how Jaydon was doing.  I was also able to reach her by phone so I was able to ask if she had had any contact with Mommy D since we had gone down to let her see Jaydon.  Surprisingly, her answer was yes!  Mommy D has been keeping in regular contact with her about every 1-2 weeks.  She appears to still be out on the streets but has been supposedly trying to get some cleaning jobs where she can.  We are praying that someday she will let Jesus have a hold on her life.

Another important step that was accomplished was getting our puzzle put together.  If you remember this was the puzzle where on the back of the pieces were going the names of people who regularly supported, encouraged us and prayed for our adoption.  After Skeeter and I looked at this puzzle for a good week, not making much progress, we decided we weren't too good at putting puzzles together and needed some help.  Thankfully a friend from church loves doing puzzles and was willing to do the puzzle for us!  We are so thankful for Pam and her willingness to help us out!  What a huge blessing that was for us!

When we grabbed puzzle pieces at random for people to sign, I wondered how they would turn out and connect in the finished product. 

This is what the back of the completed puzzle looks like.

Would any of the pieces go together and make sense or make something really cool?  There were a couple of them that stood out to me the most:

For every puzzle piece that I signed I tried to fit a heart on there.  There was a signature on the front of the puzzle and it was 3 puzzle pieces put together so I decided that since I had forgotten to take a puzzle piece for the judge to sign that I would symbolize her signature on our adoption decree by putting her name on the back of the signature puzzle pieces.  I had no idea that my piece with a heart would connect with hers.  I do love the judge and am thankful for her part in helping Jaydon become legally a part of our family.

The other cool "fit" was how our Mommy D was connected to our social worker's name.  Our social worker shows love to so many mothers that most in the world deem unlovable.  God has given her such a special ministry to reach out to the hurting and lonely.  I was told that she even carries food in her car so that if she picks up a mom that is hungry, she can at least give them something to snack on.  So thankful for how she took care of our Mommy D and that she continues to do so, even though she is no longer a "client".

Here is a closer picture of what the finished puzzle looks like.

So thankful for how Jesus takes the time to show ALL of His children that He loves them.  May we be faithful to do the same!  This puzzle is very special and has now been framed.  However, when we framed it we wanted both the front and back to be able to be visible so the puzzle was put between two pieces of plexi glass.  Now to determine where it will go..... :)

One big hurdle that we are getting ready to overcome is being discharged from being under the care of a case manager nurse through our insurance.  Because of Jaydon's exposure to drugs the hospital turned our case over to a high risk case management program.  What this entailed was periodic calls from the case manager to check on Jaydon to see if he was progressing in reaching milestones, growing, or showing any signs of withdrawal or complications.  Praise the Lord he continues to do so well and hopefully within the next week or so, we will receive our official discharge from the "program".

We praise the Lord for the beautiful day He gave us to celebrate Jaydon's 6 months!  We spent a lot of time together as a family and was able to spend time outside, which included Jaydon's first wagon ride! :)

Even Mommy got a ride with Jaydon. :)

Lastly, those of you who know me, know that I had to mark today's milestone with some "nicer" pictures. :)  Here are a couple of them:

Once he found the football, there was no more sitting straight. :)

I love this little guy so much!!

Soon I will post another blog about some upcoming adventures our family will be having within the next several months...... (no it is not adoption related! :) )