Funny

Baby News!

So it has been a very long time since I have updated our blog. Most of you know that we received a referral for our little Titus on Sept. 4th! He is just over 4 months old now, which is quite a shock on our system, because we were expecting a 4 year old or someone around that age. We are thrilled beyond belief and can't wait to get our hands on him! He has beautiful big, brown eyes and tiny little fingers. He reminds me of Alex and Vince in a way! I remember last Christmas being depressed, wanting our son to be home, and praying (for the past year) that by the next Christmas we would have him. It looks like it could be a possibility! Can you all please pray that we will get a court date soon and that it would pass the first time. If it does, we will be able to pick him up 4-6 weeks later. It is so hard not being able to hold him; so I hold his picture and rock it. (Kinda silly, but if you're a momma, you know you would do it too!) I can't post any pics of him until court passes. Also, Pam is traveling to ET to check on her humanitarian projects and the new HIV orphanage/house that they have begun. How cool is that?! We hope to see it all when we travel to pick little Titus up. Be praying for safety for her and the 3 other women traveling with her.
In Bible study, we have been in James and this week, we examined James 2, about partiality. James 2:5 "Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?" It has been sobering thinking about what God values vs. what I value. I am so thankful our Father does not show partiality. Money, possessions, status and beauty do not matter to him, just the heart. So I can't wait to experience Titus' birthplace and see what God has to show us! We'll be busy preparing---we were done with babies, so we are being blessed by the body through "loaners". I'll be better about updating when we get a court date! Thanks for the prayers!

Lila's First Day

Today was a very special day. Lila went to the Giving Tree! Dad took us out for donuts and we took her to school. It is amazing to see my baby in Pre-school. Haley went to the Giving Tree and Miss Kathy is such a blessing to us. They love God and praise Him all the time! Here are some pics of our big girl!

Bike Safety

So we've been meaning to go to the fire station and get the girls some free bike helmets. Their old ones are too small for their big hair! One day, I was outside and Lila came running up screaming "Haley's hurt, Mr. Brad's got her!" I ran over to the Minnick's house and Haley was being nursed by Brad and Heather. I took one look at her ear, without thinking said "Oh NO! Haley...!!" Her ear looked like raw hamburger. It was horrible and I thought I was going to get sick. Needless to say, I didn't let the girls ride their bikes until they got the helmets. Here are some pics. The pic of Haley's ear was taken a few days after the accident. The firemen were so nice and showed us their trucks and gave us stickers and coloring sheets!

Starving Ethiopia

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-08-17-ethiopia_N.htm

This article was on USA Today. It is so heartbreaking to hear and see what is going on over there. I pray daily that my son gets enough food, that the children get enough food. I couldn't imagine not being able to provide food for my child. What the parents must be going through... There are ways to help!

1) Buy Saint's Coffee
2) www.tomdavis.typepad.com and the 5 for 50 campaign.
donations marked Ethiopia will go to providing food.
3) Sponsor a child through www.compassion.org

I know giving is hard in this economy, but if it was our child that was starving, what is $30???

Princess Haley

So we were at Famous Footwear on Sat. with our girls and Haley had picked out some vinyl high heal shoes and was walking back and forth down the aisle. Alex was quite impressed and said "Haley! You are walking so well in those shoes. I couldn't walk in high heals like you can." And Haley simply said "Well Alex, that is because you aren't a princess." Haley didn't say it meanly, just as a statement of fact. Alex is our Tom-boy Army girl and Haley is a princess, and she really believes it, hence, the song to the birdie in our garage. Alex and I jsut looked at eachother and chuckled silently. She is precious! Here are some more pics of animals I ran into on my trip and one of our Haley.

Malibu Moments

So this past week, our family was separated. Vince was in Charleston for training, the girls were with grandparents and I was in Malibu! We were blessed by some wonderful people through the use of their condo (on top of the mountain on Pepperdine Univ.) and the use of their car. This was the first time I have ever had this much time away from my kids...and it was a nice break. We would have fresh fruit, yogurt and granola every morning out on their porch, go hiking through the mountains that were right outside their garage. There was a vineyard and avocado tree farm filled with animals on our hike. We went to the beach, with no luck of seeing Matthew McConahey (sp), but we did see some interesting swim attire and beautiful views. It was truly a gift from God. While there, I read a good, convicting book called "Crazy Love" by Francis Khan. Then in church today, it just really hit hard with what the book was saying...lots of things to think about. For example- Am I radical in my love for Jesus? Has his gift to me made such an impact, that when people see me, they see a Christ-follower? Do I blend in with the culture and is life pretty much all about me and my comfort, or do I put myself out there for people, even if it is hard and painful and might cost me time, energy and resources? It is a lot to chew on. A really cool thing happened when I was laying outside on the porch alone late one night...I was trying to memorize what the stars looked like in the sky and I prayed that God would show me a shooting star (since I had NEVER seen one). Well, He showed me one and so I prayed that he would show me another one and He showed me two more. It was beautiful. Here are some pictures. I miss Malibu already!