Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Does anyone feel like gagging with me?

We moved to our new house in Alexandria.....the house is wonderful....other than a few issues.....
The people who lived here before us had 2 big dogs. Even though they shampooed the carpets before they moved out...their was an IMMENSE amount of dog hair in the carpets. And this house is carpet throughout. This one picture I am sharing (sparing you the many) is of what came off of the carpet in the master bedroom ALONE. :( Dog hair and dirt. Gag. I have pictures like this after vaccuuming EVERY room in the house. I guess it is true with your pets also - that "Love is blind!"


And even worstestestest (if that can be a word) - the back yard was COVERED in huge dog poop! Covered! The waste guys can't come clean it until this week - so since it was frozen the other day - BRAD and I got out there and picked up as much of it as possible. GAGGGGG. Wearing rubber gloves of course... And a lot of it we could not get up b/c it was frozen to the ground. But better picked up frozen than when mushy after rain! We got 3 bags of it and there is still more out there.

I just want to be a blessing today by sharing this joy in my life! And Billy R., I am NOT making this up! Another poop story!




Saturday, December 27, 2008

WHITE HOUSE!!!

During the chaos of moving - I didn't have a chance to post about our visit to the White House! On the Wednesday before we started packing up the house to move, (last week) we went with Floyd and Rutha on the White House Christmas Tour! Since Floyd works with the White House Communication Detail (or something like that??) he was able to bring guests....and WE were officially on THE LIST!

It was kinda like in all of those movies where people stand in line to get in to a big party...and if your name is not on the list - you don't get in.....except I think our approval process to get into the White House was much more rigorous! We had to provide our SS #'s to Floyd for FBI clearance earlier during the week, he had to show his military ID to "The List" people, Brad and I had to show photo ID, and then we were "in"!

As we were walking thru the White House we would run into different military/government people who would proclaim...."Oh, Seargent Major! How are you!" to Floyd....made me feel like we were in the "inner circle" of the mafia or something! LOL! I wonder if Floyd really works for the Army?? Maybe he is really a secret service person.....or a spy....hmmmm...things to ponder... :)





This is one of my favorite pictures....taken from INSIDE the White House....looking through the window towards the Washington monument....pretty cool.

Floyd and Brad hanging out while the wives take pictures of everything! Rutha is an AMAZING photographer...especially of flowers and intricate things....

Here is our gang! Rutha, Floyd, Brad, me, Macy and Mia! This is taken outside the White House on the North Portico.....of course I grabbed a stranger and asked them to take our picture! :O)
Mia posing outside the gate to the White House.....so sweet.

The wind was REALLY cold this day and we ran out without jackets. Daddy shared his with Macy. So cute!




Sunday, December 21, 2008

Exhaustion...

I am just now getting the chance to get online to update since our move yesterday. There is no way we could have done it without help. What a blessing that God has destined us to find such a friend in Floyd Hepler. He drove the moving truck for us, and he even paid for it. Sniff...

Floyd is definitely a go getter, get 'er done guy. If it was not for Floyd and his son Adam, and our friends from NCC - David & Sharon and Dave & Kate.... I don't think we would have survived. Not to mention that Brad's mom and dad had GREAT timing in coming to visit for Christmas! We have worked their tails off since they got here Monday!

We finished paperwork on the new house Wednesday, packed the entire house up on Thursday and Friday, moved the entire house on Saturday, and went back to clean and show the old house today (Sunday). Whew!

Pray with us that God will send a new renter for that house...pronto! :)

I am thinking I should probably spend the day tomorrow....unpacking?! I did take the time to put the tree up tonight - it is Christmas week afterall! Now I hear something calling me....I think it is ....sleep....

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Chaos again...

OK. So some will call us crazy. We are moving to a different house.
Moving twice in 4 months.
Maybe we will be crazy after this! Or maybe I already am??? Hmmm...??
The house we are moving to is 19 miles from this one...across the Potomac River on the Virginia side of DC.
Brad will have to take the subway/metro in to work here in DC, about a 40 min commute one way.
BUT - Macy will be able to attend a great school that is 5 miles from our new house.

Overall, we have prayed much about this over the past 4 months....and feel total peace that this is the right move for us.

But why would God allow us to be in the wrong house in the first place??? We have asked ourselves....

But I really feel that these 4 months have been part of the plan. As agonizing and frustrating as it is to move again - these 4 months have taught us much about living right in the heart of DC, and much about ourselves.

Also - the church we are working with (www.theaterchurch.com) is planting a new satellite church right down the street from our new house! That is a big reason why we chose this area! So we will be on the team for launching the new church in Kingstowne. What a neat opportunity! We wouldn't have known to choose Kingstowne 4 months ago - and could be living anywhere in the metro area....but knowing what we do at this point - Kingstowne becomes a perfect location for us!

We are still going to be in the DC Metro Area - remember 5.8 MILLION people live in the DC Metro area!!!!

It is about like moving from Huntsville to Goshen in distance....or West Memphis to maybe Olive Branch?? (maybe not that far)

None of this could have happened without our friend Floyd going to bat for us. And our new realtor friend Sam Jones. Since we are poor and don't even have a salary, someone has to convince landlords that we really are good people! :)

Please pray blessings on him and his wife Rutha this Christmas season. They are treasures.

Sunday, December 7, 2008

That's My Girl!

Macy was talking about "Zach" from Disney's Zach and Cody the other night. She said he 'kissed' a girl.....and then she giggled about it. I thought...hmmmm....what perceptions is she getting about kissing....this could be a teachable moment...

I wrinkled my nose and said, "People don't always do the right things on TV shows, do they?" She said "Noooo".

I told her, people are not supposed to kiss until they are married....like me and daddy....but on TV they don't always make good decisions." (We will keep telling her this until she is 30...by the way!)

I then asked her (role play here!) .."what if a boy came up and said...'Let's kiss Macy'?
She said..." I would say NO and run away!"

To which I pressed it further...."But what if he said "Macy -everybody is doing it - let's kiss!"
She then said, "I would say NO! And then PUSH HIM DOWN!"

I pondered for a moment....should I correct her about this seemingly violent reaction to a boy's advances for a kiss? Should I teach her..."No, don't push him...just tell him no...."

But I decided to say...."Good job!" :)
That's a mom for you! LOL!
By the way - it was such a deep conversation...she was looking deep into my eyes and we were REALLY talking. I loved it!

Saturday, December 6, 2008

Macy & Mia Story

I can't believe I haven't told this story yet:

We were taking the subway to China Town right after we moved here....and when Macy heard me talking and saying we were going to "Chinatown"....she looked up so inquisitively...and said "But we already have a baby sister!"

Soooooo cute!

By the way - they are playing better together than they ever have. I think it is because all they have is each other now. (But on the other side of the coin they are also still having more skirmishes than before....b/c of ALL of the time together!)

Friday, December 5, 2008

Being the New Kid on The Block

I have always heard that people on the East Coast can be "cold". I never really understood that.

Even though I would not say that the people I have met in DC are cold, (or at least not as much as what I have heard about further north)...there is definitely a LACK of warmth. People are polite. They smile and talk. But many of them have no warmth. There words are sweet...but they don't seem to really LOOK at you. Sure their eyes are on you while they are talking...and they are being nice...but they really are not interested in YOU....not interested in who you are as a person....in KNOWING you. Maybe people don't really realize they are being distant. Or maybe many people are just BUSY and have no idea that they seem standoffish. Or maybe there is so much on their plate that their brain doesn't have enough room to take in the wholeness of a new person more than a quick smile and moment of chit chat... (oh...that sounds like ME for the past 10 years...)

The SCARY thing is - I just described myself 3 months ago. I NEVER realized until this move what it was like to be the new person....the outsider. I have learned through this of how TERRIBLE I have personally been at reaching out to new people and really taking interest in them. I have always been so BUSY. Wow. Really looks different from this side of the fence.

Thursday, December 4, 2008

I am thinking of joining the Schizophrenic Support Group

:)

Some days I love this DC adventure. Some days I hate it. Some days I love the open possibilities before us. Some days I want to go back to Egypt.

Some days I am amazed at what neat people I have met. Some days I am so homesick I could cry.

Surprising. I am normally such an outgoing, gung-ho, attack and overcome person - that this up and down stuff has thrown me for a loop. I have to wonder each day....is today a day I feel like climbing the mountain to the top? Or would I rather crawl in a dark hole today?

Just being real and transparent.

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Why Am I Not Blogging?

Seems like some of YOU keep asking this! :) Well, there are SEVERAL reasons:

1. The adjustment to being with my children 24/7 - along with the transitional stuff that is taking an ETERNITY.... keeps me from having much "quiet" time to form my thoughts into blog posts! But the girls and I have made HUGE strides in the last couple of weeks towards finding a semblance of structure and "at homeness".

2. My emotions and thoughts are so muddied. It is hard to even describe what I have been feeling, observing, and analyzing about myself and this move. When I find the words and cohesive thoughts to share these things - I will. I am getting there!

I hope to start looking at my blog in "blog bytes"...small snippets of thoughts and stories, instead of the comprehensive posts I once could share on our adoption blog. It is taking a shift in my brain to do that!

So hopefully there will be at least little snippets every few days - instead of one per month! Thanks so much to all of our friends and family for keeping up with us and for your prayer and support!

PRAYER NEEDS FOR DECEMBER:
1. Please continue to pray for Macy and Mia. Pray that there will be a "settling" that takes place in our home. Pray that God will give us wisdom as parents to guide them into Godliness.

2. Please pray for Macy that she will have a strong and positive desire to learn as we continue home-schooling.

3. Please pray for Brad and I to find God's direction for our lives. When this program ends in August - we still have no idea what God is leading us towards. It would be REALLY wonderful for God to begin to open up doors and shine a light on our path! :)

4. Please pray for our marriage...that in the midst of chaos and uncertainty - that we will cultivate a beautiful marriage that reflects God's love in all we do.

5. Please pray for God's provision. December is traditionally a crunch month for everyone...please pray that God will provide all of our needs.

6. Pray for friendship.

7. Pray specifically for us emotionally. Some days we feel lost. Some days are good. All days we know we are in the center of God's will....but there are still emotions, frustrations, and disappointments to deal with. Pray for grace. God is teaching us so much through this whole experience.

Thank you...and much love. :) (fh)

Last Month in Pics

The Princess and The Bee

Seems like there was a princess and a little bee last fall in Huntsville at the Moms group costume party.....hmmm...yep. Those costumes got recycled this year.....and The Princess and the Little Bee visited Washington DC! There was a little carnival at Ebz (Short for "Ebenezers"... the church coffee house) and the girls loved it! They were just too cute walking down the sidewalk together!



I have NO idea who these guys are...I am assuming that maybe they attend NCC...but this picture was just too funny! LOL! Is that supposed to be the nun and the cowboy? :)



New neighbors and friends:

There is a family that lives 4 houses down from us that has a little girl, Niya, who is close to Macy's age. That common denominator has caused us to get to know one another....and they are a GREAT family. Dad works at Library of Congress; Mom works for ...Mitre....(sp?) Very classy yet personable people. And being personable is not even something I have found throughout the Christian community here! Mark (dad) has brought us several things from his DC garden (some plot of ground they rent to have a garden spot a few blocks from here!) - and it has been WONDERFUL! Yummy eggplant!

Me and the girls went with Gwendolyn (mom) and her girls to a soccer game a few weeks ago (they also have a 14 year old) - and had a great time!



Macy and her new friend Niya.



My new friend and neighbor Gwendolyn. She has been such a blessing to me! She keeps me laughing and definitely has a "tell it like it is" personality! Love her!

Noni's Birthday

My mom had a birthday this month...and even though we did not get to see her - we made her a birthday cake! And ate every bite! :) We used ALL the candles we had in the house and still did not have enough! :)



Sightseeing finally!
We have lived here for 3 months and not really taken the time to see much of anything! So we took a day during the Thanksgiving week to go! We were FREEZING as we stopped in front of the Washington monument for this pic!

Macy took her little camera with her into the Smithsonian...it was so cute watching her take pictures of EVERYTHING. Unfortunately she also kept taking the batteries out of her camera...and thus erasing every pic she had taken...or I would post some of her creative photography here! :)


BOTH girls still LOVE lip gloss. Or lip stick. Or paint. Or anything they can make a mess with! I heard them giggling this week...and walk into the bathroom to see that Macy has brilliantly painted her little sisters face....and TEETH...with some lipstick!

We were REALLY bummed about spending our first Thanksgiving without family. Will & Rachel hosted dinner at their house on Thanksgiving and we went there along with several other people from the church that do not have family here in DC. It was really nice and I made some new acquaintances! I learned that Jeff has worked for the government for 19 years....Scott is a Pediatric Oncologist...and Henry has a PhD... Geez! These guys are brilliant! And Henry has such a neat story...he has only been a Christian for 3 years...I will have to post a story about him soon!



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Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Brad's Wild Goose Chase

Celtic Christians had a name for the Holy Spirit–An Geadh-Glas, or ‘the Wild Goose.’ The name hints at mystery. Much like a wild goose, the Spirit of God cannot be tracked or tamed. An element of danger, an air of unpredictability surround Him. And while the name may sound a little sacrilegious, I cannot think of a better description of what it’s like to follow the Spirit through life. I think the Celtic Christians were on to something…
Most of us will have no idea where we are going most of the time. And I know that is unsettling. But circumstantial uncertainty also goes by another name: Adventure.
Introduction to Wild Goose Chase.





Wild Goose Chase is the new book that was just released by Pastor Mark. Wow. The intro describes EXACTLY where we are.

While we were at the Catalyst Conference in Atlanta last month - there was a flock of geese...and guess what I encouraged the guys in our group to do?! Chase them! While I take pictures!

This pic is of Brad....chasing His goose!

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Wow. I just checked Brad's blog (he JUST started blogging....he is SOOOO BEHIND the times!) LOL! And I just HAD to post part of his devotion he wrote on a study he is doing. It REALLY spoke volumes into my life right now. So good.
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FIG TREE MOMENTS
The proteges at NCC are studying the book of John and I'm really loving it so here's my thoughts on a passage that we tend to zoom past and ignore. By the way - the pic up top is a fig tree somewhere in Israel. Check out the people standing under it - that's one big fig tree!

47Jesus saw Nathaniel coming to Him, and said of him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!"
48Nathanael said to Him, "How do You know me?" Jesus answered and said to him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you." (J2.47.48)


"I saw you." This is a powerful statement – a reminder – that Jesus knows exactly where we’re at – everyday – every minute – every second – even when we don’t think anyone is watching us – the quiet places – the lonely moments – when we’re at home – driving to work – doing menial tasks – or even when we’re just sitting around under a fig tree – Jesus ‘sees’ us.

The Greek word for ‘to see’ is ‘eidon’ and it means to have regard for one – to cherish – to pay attention to – the word even means to ‘discover.’ Nathanael caught the Lord’s attention when he was simply sitting under a fig tree – and the first amazing thing I see here is that Jesus can step into the simple and make it supernatural.

I believe that this could possibly be one of the Lord’s favorite things to do – it’s His hobby – show up where it’s normal and splash some color on it – drench the mundane with His presence – don’t believe me? He did it in ‘the beginning’, He did it in Bethlehem, He did it at the wedding banquet when all he had was thirsty guests and 6 stone jars of plain old water – He does it all the time – we simply don’t see it. Nathanael was kicking back under the fig tree – we say, BORING – Jesus says, AMAZING! Just remember the next time you’re drowning in simplicity – look up, you might have just caught the attention of the God of the Universe.

...Now this isn’t a critical look that God gets blamed for all the time but one of love filled fascination – the way I watch and listen to Macy and Mia when they’re playing – when they don’t realize that I’m watching and listening – many times I’ve just stood there mesmerized – getting all teary eyed – thinking of how much I love them – how fast they’re growing up – how proud I am of them – how thankful I am for them - and they don’t even realize it. So that act – that emotion I experienced watching my kids has God’s fingerprints all over it – it’s like He’s smiling at me and saying to me, “see there – fun isn’t it?” Our Father does it ALL THE TIME. I’m glad He does because it shows me that He’s thinking of me even when I’m not thinking about Him.
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Wow. That was like something out of a devotional book that I would pay money for! Powerful!
Hopefully he will keep it up....you can check at http://www.bradmcmath.blogspot.com/

Monday, November 3, 2008

November 3 Update


PICNIC IN FRONT OF THE WHITE HOUSE
On the Sunday before Joyce left we had a picnic right here on this lawn on the street in front of the White House. I know we live here....but it really doesn't seem like it. Life is just flying by at it's usual pace....and I don't think living in the nation's capitol feels like a reality yet.

GOVERNMENT MEETS GHETTO
Part of the "missing magic" may be the fact that the REALITY is: part of DC (and especially the part where we live) - might be described as "Where Government Meets Ghetto". Seriously!
And that takes some getting used to. When you think of DC - you usually just think of things like the majestic government buildings....the Washington Monument...the Capitol...the White House...
But, honey, let me tell you - our neighborhood streets are NOT on the movies! Just try driving down H Street - where it seems like a bomb has gone off on the asphalt...and you will have to dodge at least 30 jaywalkers as they "mosey" their way across the street. Why did the chicken cross the road? I don't think they have ANY idea!
HOWEVER, I did have to kill some time this week - so I drove down some streets that I have not been on...and found that the more "major" streets here in Capitol Hill...like 'Constitution' are actually very pretty. It helped my perspective a little that day!
Brad and I also took the girls to the NW part of the city to the zoo this weekend...we have not really been to that part of the city - and it was BEAUTIFUL! Beautiful houses, streets, trees, etc. I think to rent a place in that part of town STARTED at around $5000 monthly ( I remember some being $9000 monthly). Now I remember why we didn't look very hard to find a place in that area! Whew!
PIZZA DELIVERY
We did have pizza delivered one night. It was Papa John's - and it was HEAVENLY. Mmmmmm.....good. I have always envied people who could have pizza delivered! Living in Huntsville for the past 11 years has made me appreciate it even more! Maybe that is why it tasted sooooooo good??! :)

SEEING A CHINA SISTER! One neat thing about living here - is that one of the families from our travel group lives about 30 minutes from us - AND they attend one of the locations for our church. (I think I mentioned the details about this a few posts ago). We don't get to attend that location (National Community Church is a multi-site church....go to http://www.theaterchurch.com/ for more info!), so we have only seen them a couple of times since being here.
However, there was a church-wide trip planned this last month to visit "Cox Farms", a big pumpkin patch/kid event...and we were so pumped to be able to spend time with Joel, Shauna, & Kylee Oswald that day! Yay! It was so neat to see Kylee and Mia together again. And of course we had to take some pics!
So precious.

PRAYER NEEDS NOVEMBER 2008:

1. Please pray for Macy and Mia. This transition has really affected their behavior (so REALLY pray for mom and dad!) - we need to get things stable, secure, happy, calm, and organized! Pray that our family will find new balance amidst new challenges. Pray that their love for one another, sharing, and kindness towards one another will grow.

2. Please pray for Brad. He wants to be learning so much this year...pray that the team he works with will have time to pour into him.

3. Please pray for God's direction in our lives...that we will know exactly where He is leading us at the close of this year of training.

4. Please pray for ME! I am attempting to tackle homeschooling a Kindergartener with no support group (yet...haven't found it yet!) Please pray that Macy will WANT to do her schoolwork and that it won't be a battle! :) (By the way she is already doing AWESOME and learning to read so quickly!)

5. Please pray that God will continue to provide for us in miraculous ways as we navigate this year in DC. Pray for favor...in all things! Thank you, and may God richly bless you for investing in Brad, Glenda, Macy & Mia McMath this year with your support or prayer! We NEED you!

Monday, October 6, 2008

One Month Anniversary Living in DC

So - how has the last month been?
Crazy. Exhausting. Exciting. Lonely. Fun. Stressful. Confusing. Frustrating. Exhilarating.
I spent today unpacking....again. As of today - our printer is hooked up and our computer cabinet is finally organized! Woo hoo! I also finished loading the pictures to the August 1st post...."Backtracking through the summer" ...be sure and scroll down to that post or click on the link at the right to see my favorite "Gangsta Girl"!

Also, if you haven't read about how we came to be in DC, you can either scroll down to the post, "Genesis of this Journey", or click on the link at your right!

Here are a few moments from the last month:


We visited the capitol buildings last week before Luther flew home. It is hard to believe we only live about 15 blocks from here!






Joyce and Luther got to go tour the White House last week with our friend Floyd. I am jealous - but happy for them! We couldn't go b/c our appointment was booked for a Saturday night and that is a night that Brad works/trains. Hopefully we will get to go soon! Can't wait!

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Arlington Cemetery. If you look closely you can see the Washington Monument over Brad's shoulder. We were standing in front of Robert E. Lee's house at AC.

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Mia at the Lincoln Memorial.


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Our first Sunday here in DC we attended the location (our church here at NCC has 4 locations) where Joel and Shauna Oswald attend. Joel and Shauna were one of the couples that were in our travel group when we went to China. Both of our families adopted little girls from the same orphanage in Guangdong Province. Kylee and Mia are 8 days apart in age...and this is the first time they had been together since we left China over a year ago! What a small world that we are now living not too far from them and even working with the church that they attend!

Monday, September 22, 2008

First Impressions of the City

As Ericka has so aptly described DC, it is like a checkerboard. Every street, and every block can be a different "neighborhood". So driving into the city - it looked like at times that we were coming right into the "ghetto" - to just go down another block and see Porche's and Jaguars sitting on the street.

EVERYTHING is a row house. Not even townhouses, but whole blocks of townhouse looking houses - but JOINED together to make one big row of connecting "townhouses". Block after block of row houses. Some look decent - some look unlivable. But all part of the "picture" that makes up the city.

On the WEDNESDAY we were driving towards our new city- I get the call from the management company saying that our application has been accepted on the house we applied to get a lease on. Nothing like last minute! And that is SOOOO not my personality to embrace uncertainty like this. That alone is a MIRACLE!

We pick up the keys to the house and we all enter it - seeing it with our eyes for the first time. The first impression was not that great. We just drove through some really sketchy looking neighborhoods to get here - and now this new home of hours SMELLS very musty and is dirty. The bathrooms are dirty, the basement smells, and the kitchen is covered in a sawdust type grit.

So I set about CLEANING while the guys start unloading the truck. AFTER the place is clean - I see it's potential and that it might just be a great fit for us. By DC standards - it is big. And we have come to LOVE where it is located - on the "V" of 2 streets - so it seems like we have "less" traffic and more of "small" feel. The house is yellow brick on the outside. I will post a pic as soon as I remember to take one!

Traveling across the country



The Tuesday evening that we left Huntsville, we drove 5 hours to Memphis. The Hurricane weather had pushed up over Arkansas and we had to drive the moving truck in incredibly strong winds and rain. It was terrible. Kinda matched our grief. ;)

My phone rings at Clarksville and it is my dad. He said Macy had just woke up and was inconsolable -screaming and crying, "I want my friend, Raegan." He said he didn't know what to do. But that Daddy and Pa drove up at the same stop with the moving truck and daddy distracted her by asking her if she wanted to ride in the big yellow truck. That somehow made it better!
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We still didn't know for sure where we were going to live.
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Wednesday we drove from Memphis, through the entire state of Tennessee, and into Virginia, stopping at Roanoke, VA. I think we drove like 11 hours. Considering we had 2 girls with us and only stopped to go through a drivethru, get gas, and go to the bathroom...they did AWESOME. I am one of those people who when I get on the road - I want to just to get where I am going. If you stop for 2 hours somewhere - that is 2 hours more you will have to drive later! So we were MOVING! We actually got seperated from the guys (Dad, Brad, and his dad, Luther)right outside of Memphis...they were in the moving truck...and me, Joyce and the girls were in the car. We talked back and forth on the cell phones the rest of the day - but never actually "stopped" at the same place or saw each other until the end of the day. We got to Roanoke about 45 minutes before them...may have something to do with the speed of a certain little gold Honda? Hmmmm...not sure.

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We got up Thursday morning and drove into DC. It only took maybe 3 hours to "get" to DC...but somehow (the guys were leading) we got off on the wrong exit and drove around DC for a couple of hours in our big yellow truck before we could finally find our house. (If we would have just gone up to the correct exit - it would have saved a lot of heartache

Mourning Turned to Laughter

As I already mentioned, as I was WEEPING driving away from Huntsville....Mia did something really incredible. She began to laugh her head off. She thought Mommy was laughing (even though it was incredibly loud weeping) and began to laugh and laugh and laugh. So much that I stopped crying and started laughing too. I would then say "I love you Mia" - to which she would reply - "wuv u". Then she would laugh again. I just had to stop and say, "Thank you God for the GIFT of Mia - that you have used her to bring joy into the midst of my grief. She and Macy are both joys in our lives...what did we ever do before we had them?

The Day we left Everything...

Well, I got through "20 Chapters" in summarizing the Genesis of this journey! I think that is probably enough details for most people! :)

The day we left Huntsville will forever be etched in my mind. We had been packing Brad's office up in a frenzy - and then loading the moving truck in the rain... Wow. What a job to move everything you own at one time. We have never done that.

We probably could have left earlier - but Brad and I wanted a last "walk-through" by ourselves in the house. I would have done better to just get out! He was reminding me of all the little moments and memories that we have in this house. The Christmas mornings....the girls learning to walk up the stairs...we were both crying our eyes out.

This is the first house that has ever been a "home" for me. As a kid I lived in a lot of different houses...then after I was adopted...and even as a preacher's "wife" - I have always lived in parsonages. This is the first house that has ever really been HOME for me. It is very special. The friends that helped us make it our home made it even more special. All of the hours that all of us put in to fix this place up to make it "ours"...

After we finally pulled it together enough to leave - Brad went to the bedroom and got one last thing. He had purposely left it for last. He kept two little "tokens" above the trim on the closet door. A plain silver cross... that was a token he gave out after a sermon he preached on living a life totally surrendered to God's purposes. And a small sea shell....that was a token he had given out after preaching a message about a couple who lived their life to retire, collect sea shells, and play softball. It was to represent 'what are we doing with our lives?' He has said ever since the day he preached that message that he didn't want to live a LITTLE life. And today, as we leave everything we know - that means more than ever. We are truly stepping out in faith to pursue God's direction for our lives. He was crying as he shared all of this with me...and tearing me up....and I was wondering at this point if I would be able to even see to drive down the mountain to get to the interstate!

We finally go out to get in the moving truck and the car to leave - and Wyatt and Rachel are still there (they had showed up to help load the truck). Raegan is crying and saying goodbye to us and goodbye to Macy. Talk about rip your heart out. Raegan and Macy have been best friends since the day they were born. I remember holding Raegan over my tummy the day she was born and telling her that she was sitting on her friend (Macy was still in my tummy)...and Macy was born 3 weeks later. The bond of friendship between these girls is special - and one that I hope will last a lifetime.

It is just me and Mia as we leave the driveway (Brad is in the moving truck and Macy is with my dad...haven't picked Joyce up yet)...and I am WEEPING. From the moment I close the car door the waves of emotion set in. As I drive up the driveway away from our home I am SOBBING. Grief. Loss. Love. Friends. Church. Family. All of the emotions I have held at bay finally come crashing in.

We make one last drive through the church parking lot...and I am hoping to catch the girls at the preschool to just hug them and let them know what incredible influences they have been in Macy's life and how proud I am of them for making this preschool such a success. I pull over to Kelly's vehicle to talk to her - tears running down my face - only to see some strange woman - NOT KELLY. So I go on to pick up Joyce and Rachel Worley calls me (Macy's teacher and also a young woman I was close to when I was her youth pastor) - and she tells me that some woman just called her and said that someone in a little tan car just came up to the preschool - and they were crying... She told her, "I KNOW WHO IT IS...I WILL CALL HER!"

We had just missed them. I start sobbing and telling her how much I love her and how proud I am of her and how much she has meant to Macy...

Good grief. Have I totally had a nervous breakdown? This is NOT me. I do not cry.
Well, today I do.

Brad was pretty emotional too. We have loved deeply here. We will cherish this place forever.

Saturday, September 13, 2008

The GENESIS of this Journey

The GENESIS of this Journey
Hey everyone - I KNOW that you are anxiously awaiting to hear that we are alive and well in DC - we just haven’t had internet at our house until now! Grrrrrrrrr....

I spent a few minutes at the coffeehouse one night this week just to get started blogging the details! For those of you who want ALL of the details of how God has brought us to this seaso in our life – this post is for you! If you are not interested in the details – just wait for me to start posting pics later this week! 
…Where do I start? So much to say. So many days have gone by.

I think my "last" post was just giving updates on how a chapter in our lives had closed in Huntsville.

Very slim details were known at that point.

We still do not know all of the details - but God is putting more and more pieces of the puzzle together each day.

Genesis 1...

Where did this journey begin? I think there are so many "little" pieces of the puzzle that have been playing out through the years - that I am not sure where the real "beginning" of this journey is.

During our years as youth pastors - Brad became so passionate about "creating" through video. Creating stories. Creating memories. Creating emotional connection with the power of video. He would spend literally HOURS teaching himself how to load and edit video....add music...caption...story.... AND then walk out of his little "editing hole" being totally STOKED!

At that point I think I was just a little confused. How could someone spend that much time "tweaking" a video and enjoy it? Wasn't that just a waste of time? But then over time I came to understand that this was a gift and a special "wiring" that God had put into Brad. It is a God thing. Jesus was the master parable teller - and in this digital age -video has become a master way to communicate story.

Brad would "dream" about doing something full-time in ministry with video - but by this point we were pastoring the church and right smack in the middle of our adoption process...any change in our employment or income would wreck our adoption of Mia. So I was adamantly opposed to ANYTHING keeping us from our little girl!

Once Mia had been home for a few months - I began to actively pursue making Brad's God given dreams a reality. As much as we loved pastoring our church in Huntsville, and loved our community and our friends....I had a deep sense that "something" was missing. And that "something" was seeing my husband fulfilled in doing what God had wired him to do.

Genesis 2....

We attended the General Council of the Assemblies of God in Indianapolis in August of 2007. We went as pastors to represent our church and to vote on matters important to the people who make up our churches. I told Brad that I, however, had an additional focus. My mission was to meet people and explore what all opportunities were out there for video ministry full-time. I met several key people.

FIRST of all - I attended the special workshops being put on by a guy named Mark Batterson on pod-casting and multi-media in a digital age. I was so stirred by the evening workshop- that I made Brad come back with me the next morning for the second one. I was convinced there was a connnection between what Mark was saying and with our "destiny" as a ministry couple........and I felt that Mark definitely shared a common DNA with us of being PASSIONATE about the role God intends for media in this current day. Little did I know where I would be sitting one year later...

SECONDLY I met Rita Ramsey and Don Scheske who both work with Network211 - a new ministry of the Assemblies of God that is using technology to reach the masses. Network211 is the brainchild of Dr. George Flattery, president of Global University in Springfield, MO. Dr. George called us shortly after we got connected at General Council and had us come up for a "chat". He was interested in us coming on with Network211 - with Brad playing a large role in creating the video they use for outreach on all of their international reaching websites. There was even an opening coming up at Global where Brad could possibly immediately start working in their editing room while we worked on becoming appointed missionaries... We were intrigued and excited about this awesome ministry - but didn't feel we had the expertise or experience to deliver the level of video they were needing. Not to mention the fact that we would have to be fully appointed Missionaries to serve in this capacity....which we finally embraced as a possibility for us - if that was where God needed us the most.

However, after much fasting and prayer - we just felt like it wasn't the right fit at this time.....And we didn't feel like it was a good time for transition at our church in Huntsville....

BUT WE DID DISCUSS...among all of the options we tossed around...that maybe we could become fully appointed missionaries - and then request to go spend one year out in Washington DC training with Mark Batterson's Church (the other guy we met in Indianapolis)....National Community Church....and that would give us the knowledge and skills we needed to accomplish whatever God had for us to do. But, just ideas. LOL. Again, who knew where we would be sitting one year later…

Genesis 3....
Brad spent 3 days alone at a condo in Branson this past January (2008) in prayer....just searching for God's direction for our lives and our ministry. During those 3 days he only read his Bible....and one other book....A book he got from Mark Batterson 5 months earlier while in Indianapolis...a book entitled, "In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day."

After the 3 days we both felt that God had some great things to accomplish in Huntsville this year - and that we were to just wait on his timing to pursue this other ministry path.

We went home and strategically planned a relationship building ministry that we ran from June - August of this year. On Sunday nights we had "Summer of Faith and Friendship"...and witnessed a GREAT coming together in friendship among the people in our church. Like anything you do in a traditional church - there were some who didn't like it - but the feedback strongly showed that 98% of everyone LOVED it. So many stories shared about getting to know other people...forming friendships where they truly cared about others..."knowing" the other people in the church intimately..... (which is TOTALLY what the New Testament church looked like: study the book of Acts….I could go on but will save all of it for another post!)

So at the end of August we were LOVING the new sense of UNITY and FRIENDSHIP we were feeling in the church.

Genesis 4....
I was sitting in Brad's office in the middle of July...July 9th to be exact….just 2 short months ago. I had not had the opportunity to read "In A Pit with a Lion" yet - because Brad and I DO NOT share books! LOL! I like to write in mine and mark them - and he likes to only have HIS marks in a book! But I did look some stuff up on it - and read the "manifesto" of the book. I will post it in its entirety in another post...

I was reading the first line of it where it says something like..." Do not live your life in such a way as to arrive safely at death." I realized RIGHT then that I have been the safe one in our marriage and ministry. Brad has dreamed of pursuing this God-sized dream for years - but I was always there to squelch it by saying - "But honey - everything has to be logical...you have to have a paycheck...you have to be able to feed your family....you have to...."

That day - in that office - I realized that I was not believing God for big things. I have so much faith for things that "make sense" to have faith about. And I realized "why couldn't God make a way for us to pursue this big dream?"

I cried. I asked God to forgive me for holding Brad back from what he was "made" for. And I don't cry often. Usually only when I am having "God moments".

Genesis 5…
THE NEXT DAY I was searching for a little more info about "In A Pit with a Lion"....and I ran across some compelling information on Mark Batterson's blog. They were starting a brand new program at National Community Church this year where they would take on 3-4 "Proteges" to invest in and teach and train....

Hmmmmmm......God - what are you saying?? I had to ask myself.

Genesis 6....

So I pondered all of my thoughts and prayers about "Protege" in my heart from Wednesday to Sunday night. I knew that Brad was preparing for his messages and preaching on Sunday - and that this "thought" could potentially be very distracting for him. So at about 10 PM that next Sunday night - as we were getting into bed - I say...." I didn't want to say anything before now -b/c I didn't want to stress you out...."

To which he immediately assumes.... "uh-oh...who is mad in the church now?"

But he was way off base this time.

I had not told him about this opportunity b/c I knew Sunday needed all of his focus.

To my surprise - after talking about it for just a few short minutes...he said "let's do it." "Let's apply and just see what God does". This was even after I told him that there would be no salary...no pay...for the year!

Usually Brad has to think on things for a while. I was very surprised by his quick response. So that week we put the wheels in motion...wrote out our testimonies, filled out apps, sent out reference forms...we probably finished it all around July 16th.

Then it was done. And all we could do was wait. The program would be starting in 8 weeks. 8 weeks. 8 weeks! IF they chose us - how could we pull it off to be ready in 8 weeks?

First of all - we felt very compelled to apply - but we both felt it would be a GOD miracle if they chose us. We felt they were probably looking for people right out of college or college age with not many additional obligations ....like kids. So we tried to hold this opportunity lightly so that it wouldn't be too disappointing if we didn't get to go.

But in my heart of hearts...I just had a feeling that this was IT. Too many coincidences.

Genesis 7.....
We went on vacation the next week in Branson. It was the week of the Blann Family Vacation! I was checking my email regularly to see if any updates had come from National Community Church.

Finally I had an email that they wanted to interview us by phone. Hmmmm....sounds promising.

So we took the girls in to my mom and dad so that we could call and talk without any precious children screaming or singing or any of the other wonderful things they do… 

They actually had several questions for ME!? Since I had marked on my application that my passions were Children’s Ministry, Discipleship, and Technology – they were wanting to know how much of my passion could I commit to Children’s Ministry for this year. Anyone who knows me – knows that ministry to Kids is one of my passions! I have often said that if I didn’t have to worry about being “pastor/pastor’s wife” to the whole church – I would love to focus on just Children’s Ministry. So that was an easy decision for me!

After talking with us - they said we would know something by the end of the week.

Genesis 8...

Two days later, on Friday, July 25, we take the girls to Silver Dollar City. It was a great hot and sweltering day down in the "hollers" of SDC where no breeze can find you.

We were in the “kids concoctions” area (Macy was making pink gak) when Brad's phone notified him that he had an email. He motioned for me to come and read it with him. It was from National Community Church. It started out with, "Thank you for applying for our Protege program" - which is usually a nice "No, thanks"....

but it went on to say, "We would like to extend to you an invitation to be in our Protege Class of 2008-2009." ...."It starts in 6 weeks."

Wow. We just looked at each other.

Genesis 9...
Unreal. This can not be real. Even though we had prayed and hoped for this - could it really be real? Could the door to pursuing video ministry really finally be opening?

Then the second onslaught of thought processes.... "What do we need to do first? We need to sell our house. Or maybe rent it. We need to resign from the church. We need to tell the deacons and our friends. Ughhh...how do we tell our friends we are moving across the country? How do we leave our church that we love so much?

Uhhhhhggggg. Oh no. We have to tell Brad's parents we are moving and taking the girls 20 hours away from here. How? When? Oh God, please help us.

Genesis 10....
We are walking around SDC in a daze the rest of the day. For the first time in FOREVER I actually have butterflies in my stomach. About an hour after we received the email - we take the girls in to see "Bob and Larry Show". Everything means something now. They sing "I can be anything that God wants me to be." And I am in tears. Charles Shultz (creator of Charlie Brown), Jim Henson ( creator of Muppets), and Phil Vischer (creator of Veggie Tales) have always been HUGE influences in Brad's life. It was pretty significant that we got to sit through a veggie tales show directly following "THE" email.

Then we are outside looking at the "live" Bob and Larry as they talk to kids - and I lose Brad. I can vaguely see Brad in the corner of the closest store and I call his name - but he doesn't answer. A little while later, Brad relayed to me what was going on...

He said, "I walked in to the store to send a text message and I heard something...I thought....no....it can't be....and I followed the sound of the music to the back corner of the store. Usually only banjo music plays at SDC. But I heard my song. The song that was played when I was in Beijing last year on our adoption trip. The song that God used to comfort me in my greatest time of fear and anxiety. The song is "You lift me up, so I can walk on mountains..."....

"And in the corner of that little amusement park store - God met with me. It was like he was saying...."It is going to be OK. This is My will for your family. I have got your back. I am going to take care of you."

Brad told me later that during the moments he stood in the little corner of that store ....weeping...that God confirmed this direction for our lives. He was scared and wondering how in the world can I take my family to a place where we don't know anyone, we won't have a paycheck, and everything is full of uncertainty? And in the midst of Brad's anxiety - God met with him. He later explained it to me as "a God moment".

Genesis 11....

That weekend as we were still in Branson - we ran into the owners of the condo. We have stayed there for a week each year for free for 7 years - and never have had the opportunity to meet the amazing people who make it available to us. They invited us down to their personal condo to visit and we shared about this amazing turn of events in our lives. As it turned out - John is a real estate guru - and he strongly advised us to rent our home at this time because of the condition of the housing market. Hmmmm...well that is one answer to our many questions.

We return home on Monday and our first stop is to go see Brad's mom and dad. Brad and I are both SICK. We were so afraid that they were going to be devastated.

But surprisingly - they took it soooo well. Luther even said that he has been feeling for a while that God was going to move us. Wow. We never saw this response coming. We saw it as miracle #1.

Genesis 12....
We spent every day and night of that week meeting personally with deacons, leaders, and staff letting them know of the changes about to take place and that we would be resigning on Sunday. It was one of the most emotionally exhausting weeks of my life. But my heart was so heavy. Sunday was yet to come.

That Sunday Brad and I resigned to the church. I had been a part of this church for 17 years of my life. We pastored here for 6 years, youth pastored for 5 years, I had moved here when MY dad became the pastor 17 years ago… I was married in this church, Brad and I dedicated both of our girls to God in this church… It was difficult. I LOVE the people in this church. I have poured my heart and soul into this church for the past 11 years of my life. Some of the most genuine and authentic Christians I have ever known are a part of this church. The best friends I have ever had are a part of this church. Some of the most amazing young adults I have ever had the priveledge of knowing were in my class here. We had shared incredible moments with teenagers that were in our youth ministry here. We had learned to LOVE deeply here…and to BE LOVED deeply.

But this chapter in our lives was closing.

Genesis 13...
I spent the next 2 weeks putting together reports and records for the deacons, the staff, and the leadership to have in order after we were gone.

Genesis 14...
I spent several weeks on the computer perusing rental sites for Washington DC - trying to find a place to live. They had told me to expect to pay around $2000 a month for rent in the DC area - and I thought....awwwww - I can find something cheaper than that...God will help me. Apparently God wants to increase my faith. He did not provide a place to live for free - but has been giving provision for the rent. That wasn't my plan. I thought I had it all figured out how God would do it...a place to live for free...flowers and happy faces floating all around.... LOL  He is showing me that "my ways" to figure out how he is going to answer prayer are not always "His ways".

We were down to 4 weeks to moving and still didn't have a home.

Genesis 15...
I spent hours going through things...what to sell...what to trash...what to take.

We needed to raise as much money as possible to help pay for rent for this year since we will not have a salary. I listed our bedroom furniture online on Craigslist and had 4 buyers within 4 hours. It was sold in 1 day. That was one month of rent.

I had a massive moving sale.

I started packing. Packing. Packing.

Genesis 16…

During the week that we were resigning to the church - we had not even told Tiffany - our secretary....and she says "Hey, did you see this email from this guy in Washington DC?"

I panic. No one knows yet. Who could be emailing here? So I ask her tentatively, "No, I haven't seen it....what is it?"

She goes on to tell me that some guy that lives in Washington DC -JUST HAPPENED to google search Huntsville First Assembly this week, found our site, and sent in lots of stories for the church blog from when he used to attend here. He has been in DC for years - he is in the military."

I left her office thinking, "OK, I have GOT to get into contact with this guy. This CAN NOT be a coincidence. Of all weeks for him to get into contact with us."

Turns out - this guy is from Huntsville and attended here in the 70's. AND he is the brother of a couple of guys in our community that we know. Wow. Never even knew there was another Hepler.

Floyd Hepler has turned out to more than just "some guy" in DC. We established a great email friendship immediately. He began looking for house rentals for us....checking up with us on a regular basis...

Then one night I opened my email - and there was a new email there from Floyd. He said that he felt like there was some bill/obligation that I had been worried about after moving to DC - and that he felt like God was leading him to take care of that for us. I started crying immediately. And remember...I don't cry easily. I told Brad to come read this email. I told Brad that I have been so worried about health insurance. How are we going to manage it with everything else? And these two little girls need to be covered...

I emailed Floyd back what was on my heart - and he replied that he wanted to take care of health insurance for us for the entire time that we are in DC. Tears. Snif. Wow. Thank you God for miracles that I can not even imagine! Miracle #2.

Floyd has become like family to us. A close friend. And it was comforting to know that when we moved to DC - that there would be someone there that we were "connected" with.

Genesis 17...
Miracle # 3…we know someone else in DC. Ericka Witt, from Huntsville, lives there. She has been an amazing friend and help to us – I think she actually looked at like 20 houses or so for us – giving us the real “scoop” on the house and emailing us pictures. We owe her BIG TIME! Can’t wait to spend more time with her once we get out there.

Genesis 18....

August 31, 2008, marked our last service as pastors of Huntsville First Assembly of God church. There was a big feast afterwards with enough food to feed an army! Mmmm it was so good! Rick McCoy and David Mahan served up some good old fashioned fish fry food! Yumm!

Genesis 19....
Spent, today, September 1st PACKING. Plan to pull out by tomorrow night. My mom and dad were here yesterday helping to pack. Dad is staying with us until we pull out and then going on with us to DC to help drive the big truck and help unload.

Brad performed a ceremony tonight for Wyatt & Rachel to renew their vows. Their 10 year anniversary is this week and they had wanted him to perform the ceremony before we left. I will try and post pictures at some point. Rachel and Wyatt had Tonya and Billy there and I took some cute pics of all of our 6 kids running around while they were crying, holding hands, and renewing their vows. 

Genesis 20...

September 2nd. Last day to pack! Brad and I went to his office in the morning to get it packed up. Moving truck to be at our house in a couple of hours and we had not even started on his office. Yikes.

It took ALL afternoon to load the truck. I underestimated what a job it would be. We would never have gotten it done without master packer and amazing man John Goodnight showing up to direct the troops. That man amazes me. We owe him big. He worked like a dog to get all of our stuff in that truck.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Monday, September 8, 2008

New Home, New World

Wow. I never realized how technology dependent I am! We have had no internet for a week while we have been moving and I am completely out of sync and out of whack! Had to go to the coffeehouse tonight just to connect and send a few emails! But we will have internet tomorrow and I will do a daily blog for a few weeks to keep everyone up to date on our adventures! :)

Monday, August 4, 2008

Journey to Washington DC

A chapter in our lives has closed.

It is a long story how it all came about - and I will post that as soon as the chaos slows down.
But the short of it is that we are moving to Washington DC in 4 weeks to work in the Protege Program at National Community Church where Mark Batterson is the lead pastor (Author of: In a Pit with a Lion on A Snowy Day).

We resigned from our role as Senior Pastor of Huntsville First Assembly August 3rd. We will remain at the church through Labor Day. We will move somewhere around September 3rd.

We have more questions than answers - but we have a deep abiding peace that this is God's destiny for us.

Brad will be training in the area of multi-media and video ministry (surprise, surprise!) and I will be connecting in the area of children's ministry.
We must be crazy. We will have no salary for one year. We are leaving everything we know.
But we are waiting and watching as God puts the pieces of the puzzle together.
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PLEASE PRAY:
I had so many friends pray SPECIFICALLY over our adoption journey - and God answered EVERY request. So it dawned on me tonight as I am agonizing over some needs we have - that I needed to ask you all to agree with us in prayer and bombard heaven with these requests!

1. We need a place to live. I have been making contacts and sending emails and purusing the rental websites....and praying for a miracle. The cost of living in DC is more than most places - we have been told to expect to pay $1200 - $2200 monthly (or more) for rent. Whew! I have been praying that SOMEONE with a house/apartment will connect with us and FEEL LED to make us a miracle deal. Free would be even better! :)

Please pray that God would give us direction and peace in this decision. We want to have a clean, safe place for our 2 little girls.

Location is another issue. Houses are cheaper further out of DC - but the commute is like an hour or more. We really need something on Capitol Hill - close to the church offices.

So please pray specifically!

2. I filled out an application for a rental and am very suspicious they were trying to scam us. Please pray that God will protect our identity.

3. We need to sell our last two puppies and sell our Expedition and sell some furniture - all money for rent! Please pray that these things will sell and bring top dollar.

4. We need people to support us as missionaries for the year. Please pray that God will direct people's hearts. Lesia is helping me set up automatic draft through our church for monthly supporters.
5. We need God's FAVOR in everything we do this year.

6. Pray that we will LEARN all that God has for us and that we will be a blessing to those we work for.

7. Pray for our health and protection.

8. PRAY that we can find someone who can help us with the girls. We need someone that can help with them on Sundays because we will have a lot of responsibilites that day. We also need childcare for 2 days a week while I work at the church office. We don't feel comfortable leaving the girls with just anyone. We need favor and direction. THIS IS A BIG ONE.

Thank you so much for praying with us. We believe in the power of our God to answer!

Friday, August 1, 2008

Backtracking

How do I try and catch up all of the months of this year? :)
I will try to do it through pics!

This picture was taken on a HOT day at Silver Dollar City in July. About an hour after we received the email that we were invited to be a part of the Protege program this year at NCC in DC. I think we were still in shock!
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The first person that can identify this flashing speed of lightning wins 1 million dollars...well, not really...but you can still guess! HINT: rookie Camp Children's Evangelist that did AMAZING at summer camps!

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What an amazing group of girls! It was even fun to bunk with them! (Other than being sprayed by Hannah's hairspray everyday!)
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Mackenzie and Taylor spent a week with us this summer while Mom and Dad and Jordan were in Ecuador. We LOVED the girl power that week! I LOVE my sisters so much! We made some awesome music videos - I will have to post them after I edit them! :) Hee Hee!


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July 4th Party at our house! We had such great seats to the fireworks show since we live right on the airport!
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Oh, precious day.
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This is the Summer Kidz Discipleship Program (aka Summer C.I.A.) -swim party! The kids LITERALLY kept saying, "Ms. Glenda, watch me...Ms. Glenda, Ms. Glenda, Ms. Glenda, Ms. Glenda watch me...Ms. Glenda..." NO KIDDING! I thought I was going to have a nervous breakdown or change my name by the end of the day! LOL! Neverthelesss, it was an amazing day with some amazing kids - celebrating our summer "togetherness".
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First "family" picture of the Ferguson family with their new children! Congratulations on the Gift of Adoption!
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My princesses all dressed up and telling secrets! Don't you love Mia's "crown"?! :)
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Brad baptizing Janice in the War Eagle Creek! What an awesome thing to be a part of! God has done so many amazing things in Janice this year...we love her!
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My brother Jordan turned 15 this year. Yikes! Must say he is quite the hottie! I think he gets that from my dad! :)
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Raegan and Macy were flower girls for Zach and Chelsea's wedding. Soooooo cute.



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Macy graduating from our preschool at church. Congratulations Jams Preschool for an AMAZZZZZIIINNNNGGG first year! Who ever knew what an amazing ministry/service this would become to our community! Huge applause to Kellie Vanover for being the go-getter to make it happen! Thanks Kellie!
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We celebrated our first GOTCHA DAY on May 9, 2008. That marked ONE year that Mia has been in our family. Wow. Has she ever been anywhere else? For those of you who are new to our story - you can read ALL about the Journey to Mia at: www.thejourneytomiagrace.blogspot.com

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Family Trip to Silver Dollar City...we TRIED to round up everyone for a group picture...but still missed some "wanderers"! Can you believe that Ms. Clydeen....who is like 75 years old...rode the WILDFIRE!? Geez! I can't even ride those crazy roller coasters anymore b/c they mess up my equilibrium! But she is my new hero! Woo hoo!
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Macy and Raegan played T-Ball this year....well, I think they played like one or 2 games?...We ended being out of town for most of them! But it was soooo sweet!
River and Mia sat in little chairs and cheered....ummm....I mean wandered.... to offer moral support.
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Kidz Fest left me with such great memories this year! Lesia...a.k.a. Gangsta Girl - and also the bestest Church Administrator in the WORLD showed off her talents for my camera!


I was soooo proud of the kidz human video team! They were AWESOME! And BRAVE! To jump off the huge trailer into the "waves" during the song "Dive" by SCC. Bravo!

Macy and Candace grabbing a hug before the day gets started! Loved the human obstacle course (in the background) - I even raced some kids and beat them! Maybe I am not so old after all! :)