Taking the road less traveled: Wrapping up 2012

Happy New Year to all our dear family and friends. As we are now wrapping up our two week vacation I am anxious to get back into our routine. I worked on lesson plans today and that always gets me excited to start school back up. I asked them tonight if we could start tomorrow, but I got a bit NO. Jeff went back to work last night after having nine days off with us. Other than our furnace going out Sunday afternoon (thank goodness for friends that let us borrow their portable heaters) and having to scramble around to find the part Monday morning, it was so nice to have him around without any work planned on his schedule.

As we go into 2013, our biggest hope and wish is for our adoption to be God's will and to take place. It seems we have been on this journey so long, but we can truly say it has deepened our faith and realized that we are not in control of anything. For me personally, I will continue to look for the gifts that God has given me with open eyes to see them. As of today I am on 330 and counting. As I continue in this journey I will try to share some of the blessings through pictures. As I am beginning to see the smallest gifts He has given me there are some words that can't describe them and only a picture can do it justice.

Here are a few from last month I thought I would share.

#292-Making Christmas cookies with them.

#260- Livy making necklaces for the kids at the CAM Christmas party #259- Watching the excitement on a homeless man's face as he opens a new pair of boots as he points to his old worn out ones. #261- Listening to a woman at the CAM party tell me about her eleven sons and how all of them but four have passed away. Even though she has lost so much she had a smile on her face and was serving.


#261- Josh and Nate helping a little boy make a craft at CAM (coordinated assistance ministry-for the homeless) Christmas party #263 Being brought to complete humbleness as I was shown a room of used toys, and being told that these were going to be presents for these less fortunate children. #265- Hearing Josh say as we leave the party that he wants to use his giving money to buy the kids at the party toys for next year

#304- Watching them make a snowman

#312- Livy having such a sweet friend like Lanie to spend the night.

#311- Pulling kids on the sleigh behind the mule with snow falling on their eyelashes.

#282- Jeff reading them about Jesus' birth, praying and singing before opening presents on Christmas morning. Then having Livy say that is her favorite part of Christmas day.