Adam

Pray for Adam please! Thursday he went to Indy to a regular check up appointment,and to talk about scheduling the big surgery to remove all the plates in his right hand and left finger.But plans quickly changed when they took x-rays and found infection in the bone of his left hand.He had surgery and they cleaned the wound,and removed the infected bone.Please pray the infection has all been removed,that it heals well,and that Adam would have peace and patience as this moves his surgery back for his right hand.Thanks friends!

"E" and "NO WAY"...

I just had to share this.As most of you know our third born Elliott has some developmental delays. He is doing so well,and has come a long way! His verbal skills are so much better,in fact,he is now putting together his own sentences not just repeating what everyone else says. Well,his new favorite thing to say is .....
"NO WAY!"

Everything is

"NO WAY!"

Clara the other day showed him her bitty baby and said "She came from Chicago" and Elliott said "NO WAY!", we all got a good laugh out of that.

Then I asked him to help clean up the basement,and he sat on the stairs,crossed his arms and said

"No Way,I too wittle (little)".

I have to admit I could not control my laughter.I did tell him through the laughter that we do not say no to mommy,and then he said "awright",and began cleaning up.It's not as though he was trying to be naughty,more like he just thinks it's cool to say "NO WAY!".

Now you should all know what I mean when I say "sometimes Elliott's "cuteness" just consumes me!!!!!".

His Therapy is going great,and he is always asking, "mmmm heaher oming daday?" (Mrs.Heather Coming today?) or "mmm Zata oming daday?" (Mrs.Kathy Bazata coming today).He likes saying Mrs.Bazata,as opposed to her first name Kathy,I think, he thinks Bazata is a cool name.So,if you two are reading,let it be known,Elliott asks for you E.V.E.R.Y.D.A.Y.! ;)

Currently he is sitting in the play room playing with his construction toys.That alone is a huge milestone,as he always needed mommy to encourage pretend play,or one of his bigger siblings.We are so thankful for our happy,sweet,funny,special needs Elliott. Really,don't we all have special needs? He just gets to claim more than the rest of us :).

Pictures and Update...

Hello All!
We had new pictures taken last week and thought we would share them with all of you.Riley is almost walking now,so that meant four little ones who can run away!Needless to say family pictures are always exciting! Hope you all like the new layout too,it was time for a change!

He Has Made Me Glad...

I love this song.Many times during long nights sleepless nights,and dark stressful days God had brought this song to my heart. I love to hear my children skipping through the house humming this song.How I want this to be our family theme song...HE HAS MADE US GLAD! May God bless you with these lyrics,I encourage you to post them around the house,great reminder.Oh,and here's the link to the music video...so encouraging! He is your very present help in times of need,he loves you,he will give you the strength,and he is your shield!Be blessed dear friends!
Verse 1
I will bless the Lord forever
I will trust Him at all times
He has delivered me from all fear
He has set my feet upon a rock
I will not be moved
And I'll say of the Lord

Chorus
You are my shield
My strength
My portion
Deliverer
My shelter
Strong tower
My very present help in time of need

Verse 2
Whom have I in heaven but You
There's none I desire besides You
You have made me glad
And I'll say of the Lord

Link...

Hey Everyone!
Here is the video slide show we put together for our family and friends share night,
after we came home from Romania last summer.
Big thanks to Dad Allen for uploading this onto you tube for us.He had to re-arrange it,because you tube would only allow for ten minutes.
This will give you a little idea of what we saw,and how God touched our hearts.
The little girl in the baby orphanage,who was blind,and lived there all of her life.Is now in a wonderful foster home! If you would like more information about going on a mission trip to Romania.Hop on over to Pathway To Joy's Website!
Enjoy!

Riley turns One...

Hello everyone!
I just had to jot this milestone down somewhere.Yesterday Riley took his first steps.Bitter sweet I must say. He was so cute about it too (of course). Brandon and I were sitting in the basement.The other kids were in bed.I set Riley up to stand.(his balance is great) Brandon is sitting across the basement,and cues at him to "walk to Dada".Riley took three whole steps,before slowly sitting back down,and crawling the rest of the way. Then today he took five whole steps,by himself.Aparently I make too much of a big deal of it,cause as soon as I say "yippee for Riley",he grins,and slowly squats down.He is growing like a weed,a happy weed though.He laughs and smiles all the time,and is just a joy to be around.How blessed we are to have him in our family.It's hard for me to believe that a year ago,he was a teeny tiny little guy,hooked up to tubes,under bright lights. When he came home from the hospital on valentines last year,he was a little over five pounds.My how time flies! Currently,he is 25 pounds! Talking saying "aw done" (all done) "hewo mama" (hello mama,while holding the phone to his ear) "paise JeJe" (Praise Jesus,while throwing his hands up in the air).And,he will dance on cue,and mercy is that the cutest thing ever! Don't worry,all you baptists out there,he only moves the top half of his body,his feet always stay firmly planted!(haha) Here is Riley's Birthday Invitation.Though,we may be changing the date now,becuase I did not know that Brandon's parents were going to be out of town. How we love you Riley Samuel! You are a blessing and a gift,and we are SO thankful God chose us to be your mommy and daddy!!!

Greetings!

Hello Dear Family and Friends!
We are ever so sorry for not updating in so long! Busy times! We will be posting soon about Kaity's wedding (Brandon's sister),Our Christmas festivities, and Our New Years Celebrations! Our sweet baby boy will be turning one year old very soon,and so we will most certainly post many pictures of his first year with us! Our hearts are heavy for so many friends and blog world friends,and we are lifting them all up in prayer,and would like to ask all of you to do the same.

Please pray for our Friend,Caleb Arnold,who was in a tragic car accident,his best friend Adam was killed in the accident.Caleb and Adam went to high school together,basic training together,and were stationed at the same army base.Caleb is a husband to Veronica,and a father to Max,Adam was in his early twenties.

Also there are two sweet babies that were born recently,that are fighting for their lives. I(Bethany) have followed their family blogs,and am praying God heals these sweet babies.Harper and Brayden need your prayers. I feel a kinship in these woman,who are from the south,as I am,and I too have had a baby born early,who had a difficult start.My heart goes out to them,and I pray that your heart will be moved to pray as well!

Also please be praying for our brother Adam.Who is heading to Indianapolis tomorrow for a check up,we are praying he gets a good progress report,and that his hands are healing as they should. Keep praying for no infections!!!

Thank you to our prayer warrior Family and Friends! More updates to come,as well as a new blog makeover!!! Stay Tuned!