If you've been wondering...

Dun dun da dah....Yes! Our big prayer request has been about moving! Some of you are super sleuths and guessed it right away! Kind of a big build up for not that exciting news, but it is pretty exciting for us. What!?! You have more questions? I'll try to answer a few.


Yes, we will still be close enough to visit friends! We'll be in the same state, just 85 or so miles away.


No, David is not changing companies. He'll be working at another office within the same company. We're not sure of his exact start date yet. That's something he's working out with his current and future office. Probably around the beginning of the New Year.

Yes, we know this may not be the best time for a move. Our biggest concern and prayer request, is bringing Josiah through such a change again already!

Yes, we know the market is not kind right now. Our other big concern is preparing and selling our house. (Who knew five years could be so tough on a house?) Thankfully, we don't have to be in a rush to sell the house. Though a two hour drive each way is not ideal, David can do that until our house is sold.



We are asking God to fully lead this process! We've been desiring to move for a while, and we absolutely believe that in God's design, everything can work out incredibly. We are asking God to prepare Elizabeth and Josiah's hearts. David and myself, too! Even if it's what we want, it's not easy to leave what is comfortable.

It started out as a great day

I know it's been a while since we've posted...and look now, two in one day! We've been a little busy--trying to get the house ready, talking to Realtors, Josiah meeting Great Grandma and Grandpa Smith and Aunt Demarie for the first time, Mommy and Daddy being sick, Thanksgiving, cousin AJ spending the night...and so on!

Today we had a fun day! We woke up and drove to a gorgeous house to have breakfast with three BCS families adopting from Ethiopia! The kids had fun playing, and we bored people with our trip photos for the first time (amazing that it's just now happening!). It's exciting to meet the future families of precious children, and we're glad to be able to follow along their journeys!

On the way home we stopped at Chick-fil-A because it's been just ages (maybe a month??) since we've been to one. Can it be true??? Elizabeth was such a great big sister helping Josiah climb up the playplace! He is really starting to love slides!

We came home to find our Netflix movies in the mailbox. YAY! We settled in to relax and watch Kit Kittridge...Elizabeth loved it!

Unfortunately, our great family day hasn't ended on such a positive note. In the middle of the movie, Mya started the most heart-wrenching crying. Thankfully she was in the back of the house, away from the kids. Based on the situation, David took her to the emergency vet. Elizabeth was a upset at first but has been okay. We'll see how she does at bedtime. Josiah did ask where Mya was a little bit after David left. Mya joined our family the day after Thanksgiving last year, and left our family two days after Thanksgiving this year. We're sad to have lost such a fun sweet kitty.

Thank You!

Thank you all for your Birthday wishes! It was a good day, and Josiah did great staying with friends! (Thanks again Jenkins!)

Also, not meaning to keep you guys waiting...we do have news about our prayer request to share! But I've been asked to wait a bit. I even have a post pre-written. So, I'll share with you as soon as I'm allowed!

Happy Birthday Demarie

Demarie's birthday is today. She's catching back up to me. Now if I could just stop time so she can pass me =)

We've got a normal Friday going on with David working and everyone else going to MOPS. Friends have graciously offered to keep the kids for a little bit while Demarie and David go get a bite to eat and celebrate her birthday.

Please feel free to leave a comment, send an email, or give Demarie a call and give her some Happy Birthday love and a prayer of praise that God has given her another year with us.

Information Gathering Week

This is a week of gathering information about possible changes in our lives.

Today, David is talking to a counselor at a college to determine if he should again change schools. He has been dilligently working toward his degree, but has recently hit some snags with administration. There has been a serious lack of communication on their part, causing a stand-still. Please pray that David would make a wise, informed decision rather than one based only on emotion.

If you have been praying for our "BIG" decision, Wednesday is the day we will hopefully have the information we need to evaluate the options. As with any change, our greatest concern is for Josiah and Elizabeth's adjustment. I believe they would do well. But any change involves some loss, and Josiah has already had so much loss in his life. We have a few other concerns, but we absolutely believe that if this is God's direction, He can make everything work our just as it should!

Trip Beginning

I can't think of anything spectacular to post today...because, of course, all my other posts are so spectacular. ;-) And I'm remembering that we never really shared details of our time in Ethiopia, so I'm going to try to add a few snippets along the way here.

One nice thing about our flight into Ethiopia (besides no layovers!) was the timing. Just as we crossed into Africa, the sun began to rise. "Beautiful" doesn't even begin to describe it! It was breathtaking! It was a masterpiece that could have only been painted by the One True Master!

The pictures don't do it any justice, but the beginning of the sunrise looked like a perfect rainbow spread across the horizon. Here are a few pictures to document our first views of Africa!

Once the sun was risen, it was amazing to see the huge sand dunes beneath us! I tried to take pictures, but between the dirty airplane windows and the bright sun, they didn't work. (This was one of the many times I wish I had an amazing camera and knew how to use it well. Some day it will be in the budget. :-))

Half Birthday!

Today, is Josiah's Half Birthday! He is 2 1/2 years old, and growing so much!

Today also marks two months home...CRAZY!

More Peas Please

I felt like I was in an alternate universe this evening during dinner. Elizabeth cheered that we were having peas. Seriously, whose kids do that? The amazing thing is, this is not uncommon for her. She loves peas! What totally surprised me was that once I gave Josiah a bite of peas, he gobbled them down AND asked for more! I don't think he has willingly eaten anything green (or any vegetable, other than corn, for that matter) since we stepped off the plane! Maybe it was the tomato sauce...I'll have to remember that for the next time.

On top of that, they excitedly ran to the tub for a bath. They played VERY well together in the tub, even helping each other get their hair wet for shampooing. Now they are are kissing and hug-tackling each other. Elizabeth didn't even get that upset with Josiah accidentally knocked over her Lego creation! This is an extremely welcome change--it seems like arguing and screeching is all I've heard from them the past three days. Thank you, God, for an evening of fun and family enjoyment! This mommy definitely needed it!

It's worse than we thought.

Poor Mya just had blood drawn for the third time this week. And we still don't know what is wrong. We know she is anemic (very very rare for a cat!) However, we have no idea what is causing the anemia. She tested negative for feline leukemia. Our vet is a at a loss, and has been searching for possibilities, even contacting specialists. They say it could be in one of three directions, any of which would be very expensive to travel down. And, while I HATE to have money be an issue in taking care of her, it is! (I'm so glad the Vet is very understanding of this!) We're waiting for test results to come back tomorrow or Monday. Then we'll make the next nearly blind decision about what to do.

So, we have a poor little kitty who has been mad at the vet. She even nipped today when David went to put her in the crate. I don't blame her at all! If people kept putting me in a box to take me to have someone stick me with a needle, I'd be pretty mad, too!

Problem Child Scratches...err Strikes Again!

So, our sweet free little kitty has had more trips to the vet since we got her--just under a year, than any kitty should. She is overdue for immunizations. What can I say, we've been a bit busy. But lately she's also been scratching her face mercilessly! We though she had some kind of rash in her ears and on her face, but it's bruises and scratches!!! This prompted a quick visit!

Turns out, she had swollen lymph nodes and pale gums. The Vet gave her an antibiotic and wanted to see her after the weekend. Well, today her lymph nodes were less swollen, but her gums are totally white. And her temp is slightly elevated. Also, she scratched even more. So, she received a steroid shot and had blood drawn for tests. Almost $300 so far, don't know what's wrong yet, and still haven't had overdue vaccinations. (They're not a good idea with a probably compromised immune system!) At least she was given a free pedicure out of the deal!

We are thankful to have a Vet who cares so much for the animals, but is also very up front about the affects (cost!) to us. Any probable treatments are going to be rather costly. We're not sure what we're going to do yet. We should hear back about her bloodwork tomorrow.

Elizabeth: Why did you rearrange your room? So you could fit the crib?
Mommy: Yes. But Josiah isn't using it anymore, is he?
Elizabeth: Well, then you can take it down. Or leave it up in case God tells us we can adopt another little brother or sister!

Halloween and more

Yesterday, we decided to take the kids to "Trunk or Treat" at a the church where Elizabeth goes to pre-school. It was small, but cute. They decorated the cars in order of the creation story. Some people went all out! Elizabeth decided before we went that she would rather change costumes, so she dressed as Snow White. (We didn't see any others last night, but on other blogs, I see that Snow White was a popular costume this year!) She kept asking, "Don't I look beautiful in my costume?" Of course she did! We did our best to convince her that she looks beautiful all the time...whether she is in a costume or not!

Today, somehow the temperature was up in the 70s! So we decided it was a good day for some haircuts outside. Josiah wasn't so sure at first (neither was Mommy!) But once we started Daddy's hair, he was excited to have his done. He kept wanting me to do more and more! It's not the best job, but it works. I didn't really want to do it. I love his curls! However, he's had some scalp issues that we figured would best be healed if we cut his hair short. I think it makes him look a lot more grown up :-( What do you think?

After haircuts, we put up the bouncy house for the kids. We figured Josiah would LOVE it since he was jumping on the couch this morning! He wasn't so sure at first and wanted to get out.

With a little bit of help, he had some fun :-) Elizabeth had a so much fun her hair was even jumping! ;-) Okay, maybe it's just static.

Tonight we had a pizza and game night. Elizabeth loves games,and Josiah is learning to take turns.