Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Hiatus

I'm going to be taking a bit of a break from the blog for a couple of weeks.  There are a LOT of changes going on in our house, and I really don't have a ton of extra time to write posts.  Layla will be a year old in less than a month and I want to spend as much time as I can focusing on her and Ryan in the itty bitty amount of spare time that I have.  We're hopefully only going to have about a month of crazy and I should be back with billions of updates in August. 

In the meantime, we would really love your prayers this month.  We're going to be logging a lot of travel/moving/studying/working hours and can only hope that we come out unscathed and still mentally stable on the other side.  Alas, it is better if we push through. :) 

See you in a month or so!

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Adoptable Tuesday (on Wednesday): Dakota!

Have you ever seen a picture of a child that just makes you want to smile back at him?  When I first saw Dakota's picture, that's that I did.  This kid has a terrific smile and some seriously kind eyes.  Any USC dad's out there? 

Meet Dakota W (Born 1998)n 1998
Dakota likes football so much that he wants to be the quarterback for the USC Gamecocks. He describes himself as an awesome, cool, and smart guy. Dakota’s favorite subject in school is Math but he also enjoys Reading. His favorite movies are Red Tails and Terminator 3. Dakota would like his future family to know that he wants to be loved and adored. He also wants his family to have a dog.



Monday, June 18, 2012

As of Lately

I haven't posted many updates on the new house lately.  Honestly, our current house has been for sale for 5+ months and we were beginning to think that maybe we weren't meant to move at all.  We started wrestling with what that reality meant for our family.  I started doubting if God really wanted us to have a larger family.  After all, we really don't have much room to put any other children in our current home. 

But of course, in His perfect timing, we got a bite.  Just as we were about to throw in the towel and say that it wasn't His plan for us, an offer came through.  As of Saturday morning, our house is under Contract!  If all goes well with the inspection, we'll be moving out on July 21st. 

This is how far along the new house is:
They've been taking their sweet time in building it because of our current house situation.  If we were unable to sell our house, then the builder would have to put this one on the market.  Now they don't, so they'll be speeding along.  Originally, we were told it would be done in July.  They are still saying that an end of July closing date is realistic.  We'll see.....
The house has been sided (mostly) and the inside has been sheetrocked.  Cabinets, painting and base molding are next.  Then flooring will go in along with countertops. 
This is the view from the dining room into the den.  My favorite thing about this house is how open everything is, while still keeping rooms seperate.
This is the view into the kitchen.  That random wall will be an island.
The rest of the weekend, Layla and I hung out at home.  We kept the dogs for the weekend, and needless to say, Layla was sooo glad to have Maddox home.
Layla bought Ryan a rocket for Father's Day.  We scooped up a friend's little boy from down the street and shot rockets after dinner on Sunday.  Yes, we are nerds.

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

DIAPERS!

My home church decided to take on a diaper drive for TFI last month.  I'm proud to say that we collected over 3000 diapers and a TON of wipes.  I love how the body of Christ is stepping up and taking responsibility for helping the fatherless in our area. 

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Adoptable Tuesday: Shiquasha!

Well Ryan and I just got back in the country, so I'm a bit late when it comes to our featured child in foster care this week.  My apologies!

Father, these kids are YOUR kids. They were created perfect and beautiful, in your image. Work as only you can: Give them homes and give them love.  Heal their wounds and bind their hearts.  Give them a miracle.....


Meet Shiquasha!

Described as intelligent, talented and funny, Shiquasha is pondering becoming a singer or a dancer. Her favorite school subjects include Image Editing and Chemistry and she enjoys Chinese food. Shiquasha’s ideal forever family would only consist of a mother and a puppy.