Most of the family...we were missing a few though...can you believe that we got almost everyone in the picture. This was taken in one shot with Mom's camera on a timer sitting on a shelf in the living room. Too funny! I think the guys in the back were hiding on purpose.
K and me....isn't she cute :)We were living in the western end of the state. I was pregnant with Big J and we were preparing for the first of many moves in the upcoming decade. Adoption was not on our radar at all. During this decade between the two of us, we have....
moved away from our hometown
birthed one son
adopted a daughter and a son
started and completed seminary
watched Crossings Ministries grow and grow!
lived in ten houses (yes, that means we moved ten times this decade alone)
built two of those houses
been to Portugal, Spain, France, Trinidad, the Philippines, the Bahamas, Ethiopia, Germany, Sudan, South Africa, Zambia
entered the realm of parenting teenagers
praised the Lord as He saved four out of our five children
had the privilege of watching David baptize each of them
began sponsoring two children overseas (one in Ethiopia, one in Haiti)
watched our firstborn go overseas on his first mission trip
If you would've told me all of that ten years ago, I would've had an anxiety attack of mega proportions! I am so grateful that the Lord gives us the mercy that we need for each and every day. While we were sitting on the couch last night I told David that in just two more New Year's Eves we would be preparing for our children to be 18, 16, 14, 13, and 10. It is crazy to think of how quickly the time passes these days.
I am prayerful that this year we will each grow in our walk with the Lord...allowing Him to work in our lives without fear or apprehension. I pray that our marriage and our children will glorify Him each day.
Blessings for your new year!
Can you tell we've been studying poetry and working on our writing recently??? Here is another blog worthy poem :)
12-01-09 Tuesday 8:00PM (Mark Wilson)Brad is still at home and we are settling into our new lifestyle a little better. Brad started chemo again yesterday and is doing pretty well overall. Today, he surprised us all when he stood to his feet from his wheelchair unprompted and unassisted. That is the first time this has happened! He sees the progress and so do we. He is sleeping in his bedroom in his own bed - just as he wants. I carry him up the stairs each night and down them each morning (and yes, I am very careful - even though I did slip and fall when I was carelessly popping down them without Brad this morning). We have moved next door to the guest room where we can hear him if he needs anything. Stacey is taking him for IV chemo each morning through Thursday, even though we were supposed to be doing this with Home Health. I think his doctors still want to get a look at him as much as possible for a while to make sure everything is OK. He's been off blood pressure medicine since Sunday and is holding up well so far. Tonight was the first night in over 13 weeks we were able to sit down as a family at the dinner table uninterrupted (except for Buck, our lab, who was actually pretty well-behaved himself). Brad was more himself than I've seen him since all this began. We get a little more of him back each day. We have ups and downs, but he is moving forward. Please continue to pray with us that he avoids infections and bugs as his immunity falls over the next 4 weeks. We really want to see him gain some weight too. It seems like too much to ask, but this is a small thing for God compared to what we've seen so far.
Money cannot buy some special things in a person's life. Although it can buy many things, it can't buy everything. Here are three things money cannot buy; a relationship with Christ, love, and an imagination.
One thing money cannot buy is a relationship with Christ. You cannot buy this because it comes out of faith, trust, and love which draw us near to Him. You can't buy any of what I have listed. They aren't for sale.
Another thing money can't buy is love. Love is something that is a gift from God. Besides, love is something you can't purchase from a clerk, or waiter, or anybody. It is a great thing to have.
One more thing that money cannot buy is an imagination because it comes naturally in a person's head. You can't buy something that God gives people.
To be sure---money cannot buy important things in life. Those who think it can are extremely mistaken.
Daily, Big J re-enacts his history lesson with Legos. This is General Cornwallis and General Clinton. Look closely and you'll see a campfire....I will miss these days when they are over...
Thanks to our friend, Mark, we were able to wear our Waffle House camo to meet A at the airport on his return from Haiti. All six of us wore our shirts. It was quite comical. Since it 
