Last Thursday was Jonathan’s Birthday so we left Tennessee and drove to Atlanta to see the Braves play some ball. Jonathan has been wanting to go to a game for 2 years but we never have been able to go. Jonathan got some coupons that were B1G1 free so we all got into the game for a really good price! Jonathan LOVES baseball so this was a special and fun treat for his birthday! It doesn’t take that long for us to get to Atlanta so I hope we can go a little more often since its something he likes so much and especially when we can get in for as cheap as we did this time. 😉

Loving us some Braves baseball!

Even though the kiddos didn’t know what it was all about they loved looking at everything there was to see there. Dane was fascinated by the jumbotron and Kyeli went nuts when she saw the big Chick-fil-a cow they had there! ‘Moo’ as she calls them is her favorite animal so anytime she sees a cow she gets very excited. 😉 She loved clapping and cheering with the crowd even though she didn’t know what it was all about. They were both very good and surprised us with how well they did at the game. Bless their little hearts though, they both got a little tuckered out and fell asleep for the last few innings. It was amazing to me at how they could sleep through all that noise. LOL

Dane wearing his silly hat!

We had been wanting to get away for a few days so after the game we drove to Pigeon Forge where we stayed for a couple days. On friday morning we woke up, grabbed some breakfast and headed for Dollywood for some fun! This was why we didn’t have a blog post last Friday. I thought of it late Thursday night but then with everything going on Friday morning I just forgot all about it. We had a good time at Dollywood though. When we got inside the park we took Ky to their measuring station so we could see what all rides would be available for her to ride. She is not even 36″ tall yet so she was a little limited in what she could ride but she didn’t mind. Of course we couldn’t ride any roller coasters 😉 but I was actually surprised at how many little rides they do have that she could ride. She was as happy as could be riding the carousel, ducks, dumbo, bumble bees, little pigs, and the shooting star. We could have also ridden the ferris wheel but decided not to. Its funny how time flies when you’re having fun cause we had been there for several hours but it didn’t feel like it.

J.J. and Kyeli on the carousel

We also went to see the Wings of America show cause Ky also loves birds and we listened to the Kingdom Heirs sing. These were both fun but gave us all some time to rest up a little bit between rides.

Jonathan says he thinks we are raising a monster when it comes to rides with Kyeli cause she was not scared of anything and was even begging me to take her on the little kid roller coaster but she was still to little for it so we were not able to ride that one. I have NO DOUBT that as soon as she is big enough she will ride every roller coaster available. Even the shooting star ride I thought would scare her but it was right the opposite. She laughed so hard she was cackling and as you can imagine this had me and Jonathan rolling with laughter too. Its going to be even more loads of fun when she is old enough to ride the big rides too but for now I kinda like riding Dumbo! 😉

Later that evening we were looking for something to do inside and that would’t cost a fortune so we went to the Titanic Museum. I’ve heard a lot of people talk about it. I’ve heard its great and then I’ve also heard its not worth the money. So we decided to form our own opinion and go see what it was all about. Dane and Ky got in for free because there is absolutely nothing for kids that little to do in there. They didn’t mind though and rode around just looking. It is a little bit pricey but I still enjoyed it. While I do believe the story of what happened with the titanic was very sad I still enjoyed learning more about its history and seeing some of the artifacts they had at the museum. It really was a beautiful ship and the architect that designed it must have been brilliant until his very popular phase that “Even God Himself Couldn’t Sink It”. I can’t help but wonder if he had sealed his fate after such a statement as that and then learned a very valuable lesson on that sad day. If you are a history buff or just love the story of the Titanic then I would definitely recommend this museum to you.

This was taken right after she saw the first fish tank and she was so excited!

We were planning to come home on Saturday but decided to go to Ripley’s Aquarium first. They have a deal going until Sept. 1 that if you show a Tennessee drivers license you can get in for $10.00 which is awesome because otherwise their tickets are very expensive. On saturday morning we started telling Kyeli what we were going to do and she couldn’t hardly wait to see the “shish” as she calls them! Since we were coming home that day we went ahead and decided to check out of our hotel room so this made things take longer because of having to pack up the car. Every so often she would ask Bye Bye… shish? It was so sweet to see the look on her face when she saw the first tank. I wanted so much get capture a picture of that first moment but wasn’t able to get one. I did take several pictures while we were there though. I think this one is my favorite from that day!

We came home to quite a bit of work to do in preparation for church on Sunday, and also had to go grocery shopping since there wasn’t much in the house from our trip. This picture was taken after we got home from grocery shopping that night. This position for her is not lady like at all but it must be comfortable because 90% of the time this is how she sits in her car seat so I wasn’t too surprised to see her asleep that way too. The day was done and she was out like a light. We were all so worn out but we all had a very good time on our trip and we made some awesome new memories together! I hope this post didn’t bore you but I just thought I’d share about our vacation!

As far as our progress towards our IVF procedure… We now have over $10,000 saved! How AMAZING is that?! We are thrilled and can’t wait for that special day to finally come! If you have it to give today $5.00 goes a long way in helping us reach that goal. 🙂

It was refreshing to wake up this morning and see that it had rained some through the night. It made for a cooler morning, and things just look a little more fresh after a nice little summer rain. It also made me glad I got the yard mowed last night!

It’s also been refreshing, exciting and humbling to see how God has worked in this area of our lives. Becky and I are amazed when we look at the bank account where we’re putting our IVF money and see over $10,000! In fact, we are now just under $4,000 needed to reach our goal. We are thankful to God and to all of you for your part in helping us.

Please continue to share our story and encourage others to give. Even just $5 will be a help and a blessing to us!

Last week we passed $10,000 raised! We now have just over $4,000 to go to reach our goal. God has been so good to us! We feel like we’re on the home stretch now, winding things down.

But we still need your help! If you are able, please give – just $5 will be a help and a huge blessing to us! Please share our story with your Facebook and Twitter friends and help us get the word out!

Some of you probably noticed we didn’t get to do a blog post last Friday. That was because of a situation that arose that forced us to buy another vehicle. So we spent most of last Friday dealing with that new purchase.

Meet our new (to us) 2010 GMC Terrain. It’s much bigger than the Prius and will be much easier to get everybody into when traveling around with the kiddos. It’s a very comfortable ride, and the extra weight smooths out the bumps in the road that we could feel very distinctly in the Prius. Don’t get me wrong, the Prius was a great car, and we loved the gas mileage, but God was so good to us in allowing us to get this vehicle. Holly Davis at Jerry Duncan Ford got us a great deal on it.

So while that’s a pretty big change for us, not much else has changed. We’re loving taking care of Kyeli and Dane…in fact, Kyeli just brought me a seat to fix from her dollhouse that had come apart. So she was pretty tickled that it was back together, but now she’s already moved on to something else. They sure do keep us on our toes!

We have $50 left to make it to $10,000. Would you consider helping us as we press forward to having an IVF procedure done? We still feel the Lord leading us in that direction, no matter how long we have Kyeli and Dane with us. We love them completely and are enjoying having a ‘full’ house, but we still seek to follow His will for us.

Happy Friday everyone! In about a year and a half, we’ve raised nearly $10,000! It’s hard to believe! As of this writing, we only need $60 to make it to that point. I’m amazed at how much we’ve been blessed. God has worked in a great way!

Last Wednesday night, our pastor preached from Psalm 100. It’s long been one of my favorites. It’s a Psalm of praise, the only one labeled as such in the Bible. God is always worthy of our praise, in the good times and the bad. It’s really kind of obvious why He’s worthy in the good times.

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. -James 1:17

But why is He worthy in the bad times? Well, who’s to say they’re bad? Don’t get me wrong, there are definitely times where things are hard, there are struggles, there is pain, there is loss. We would definitely classify these things as ‘bad’. But you know what? God is in control of it all. He knows what’s best for us.

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. -Romans 8:28

So yes, even in the bad times, God is still good. He’s using everything in our lives to work good in our lives. Yes, God is worthy!

We’d like to say “thank you” again to those who have given. Thank you to all who are praying for us. We could never express what it means to us that you’ve given of yourselves to be a help to us.

Please help share our story. If you have even just $5 to give, it would be so much appreciated! I was looking today at the list of names of all who have given…I’m so overwhelmed! Thanks to all of you, and thanks and praise be to God!

Good morning world! After Dane’s 5:00 bottle I couldn’t go back to sleep so it’s an early start to this day and its still very quiet in my home with everyone asleep. I suppose if I was a coffee lover you might hear the sounds of a bubbling pot of coffee, but since I’m most definitely NOT a coffee fan the only sounds to hear for now are the chirping birds outside the window and the clicking of the keyboard as I type.

It’s Friday again so that means another week has come and gone. As I laid in bed for a bit  thinking about today’s post and praying on what it should be about the thought that kept coming to my mind is ‘thankful.’ I have SO much to be thankful for….

Thankful for my salvation. I can’t imagine living day to day without the Lord. I don’t know how so many people do it!

Thankful for my church and the truth that is taught and preached there. There’s nothing like a church family. The love of God’s people is wonderful!

Thankful for the Lord’s mercy and that each day is fresh with no mistakes in it. I fail daily at being all that I should be and yet He chooses to love me and use me anyway.

Thankful for my home. Its nothing extravagant or fancy. Its got a few dings in the walls and stains on the carpet. Most of the time there is a mess in every room. It’s not brand new any more and it is most definitely lived in, but it’s ours and I wouldn’t have it any other way because it’s home!

Thankful for all of my family. What more can I say there except that… but for the grace of God it could all be very different.

Thankful for all of you. The love, prayers, encouraging words, and financial support that you have given to help make our desire come true has been one of the greatest blessings in my life! I pray it never goes unsaid just how much it means to us! I’m thankful for the idea for this blog and what it has represented for more than a year and a half. Every time I think back to when we first started with nothing and then I see where we are now I am reminded again of God’s goodness. What once seemed impossible to us has instead become a miracle for us. I hope that every time you read another portion of “Our Story” you will not only see our hearts, but that mostly what you gain from it will be that we want God to get the glory through our home!

I’m thankful for Jonathan! While I don’t say it as often as I should… He is a wonderful husband. He works hard to provide for our home and I’m spoiled and blessed because most of the time he gives whatever I just ‘want’ too. 😉 I’m thankful for how he loves the Lord and wants to keep Him at the center of our home. I don’t have to worry to much about important decisions that have to be made because I know He faithfully seeks God’s will and trust Him for wisdom on how to lead our home. I’m thankful for what I see in him as a father. I know Dane and Kyeli are not our children, but when I see him with them I know that someday he will make an AWESOME Daddy to our own baby! I know he’s not perfect but he almost is 😉 and just in case you haven’t figured it out yet… (outside of the Lord) He is my world and I love him more than I could ever begin to tell!

I’m thankful for Dane and Kyeli! I believe with all my heart that their coming to stay with us has not only been for them, but has been for us as well. They have filled our home with SO much joy and I love the laughter that rings through these walls. Sure… its not always a bed of roses around here. Like Jonathan said last week.. there have been some tears shed, time outs and discipline given, and bumped noggins, but for every ‘owie’ there is a simple kiss that can seem to make it all better! After SO much waiting I’m finally starting to know what all we’ve been missing out on! Sure, I’m slightly sleep deprived, my feet must be getting tougher cause it doesn’t hurt quite as much when I step on match box cars or legos anymore. I learned a while back that making sure there is a bottle ready and waiting in the fridge for Dane before we go to bed is a smart decision because when you are suddenly awoken by screams of a hungry baby in the middle of the night your brain can’t think about the math for making a bottle. I’ve found myself still watching Dora or Barney 15 minutes after the kids are asleep. I know that most of the time ‘no’ means ‘yes’ and mick for Kyeli means chocolate milk. I’ve even figured out that while 9 month old Dane doesn’t care for his baby swing anymore, 2 year old Kyeli LOVES it, and will stay there very happily for the longest time! 😉

I’ve learned that while dishes in the sink, messy floors, piled laundry, dusty furniture and dirty bathrooms drive me NUTS, it will still be there tomorrow if I can’t get to it today, those things will keep, but special moments and memories made with these two precious babies don’t. Potty training, crawling, pulling-up, and teething victories can easily be missed.

Reading books, playing with Ky and her little kitchen, pushing trucks and cars (while making truck sounds is silly, it usually makes him laugh really big) around with Dane, playing  “This Little Piggy” and Singing “The Itsy Bitsy Spider,” just because bear hugs and night time kisses, sitting in 6″ of water in the kiddie pool, going for walks, giving horse back rides, bed time stories, and singing Jesus Loves Me. All these things…. are rare and priceless. If you have it…. Don’t miss out!

I’m SO thankful that the Lord has placed them in our home, and I hope that somehow, even though they are so small they can still know that they are loved so much. In just these few short months we have been given a precious glimpse of what it will be like someday when we have our own baby!

Will you help us reach that goal?

Last week, I learned a few things… I learned not to pretend I was 20 years younger than I am. I learned that you really ‘can’ hit your head in a bicycle wreck. I learned that stitches on your ear are really irritating.

I’m recovering very well, thanks to all for your prayers. I’m going today to get those pesky stitches out. Most of the road rash has healed up pretty well. I still have some bruising in my ribs, but otherwise I’m getting back to normal.

In VBS last week, ‘Tracker Jill’ (In our skits every night) had an injury to her finger. Everywhere she touched, she hurt, so she was all bandaged up from head to toe. I asked her to try and see if my shoulder was hurting (This was before my wreck!), and sure enough, when she touched it, it was! She said, “I feel your pain!” Of course, it was just the paper cut on her finger causing her pain everywhere she touched, but since my wreck, I’ve thought a lot about that line.

Most times, if I’m not careful, I’ll see somebody get hurt and my first thought is, “Rub some dirt on it and keep going.” Most ‘injuries’ I’ve had haven’t really crippled me that much so that I couldn’t do things for myself. This wreck changed that though. There wasn’t much at all I could do for myself for a couple of days. Becky has been awesome during this whole thing, catering to my every need. (and most of my wants!)

So now, when I see someone hurting, I may not know all about what they’re going through, but I can feel their pain. Zidane was cutting his bottom two teeth shortly after we got him. I knew he was hurting, but did he have to be all that upset about it? Well, to him, that’s probably the worst pain he knows. Once in a while, Kyeli will find a door to smash her fingers in. Though she’s been told ‘no, leave that alone,’ you can’t help but feel compassion for her because that hurts! Of course neither Becky or I took the attitude, “Rub some dirt on it, you’re alright.” We comforted Zidane and kissed Kyeli’s fingers. My point is it changed my perspective on it a little bit.

Are we perfect? Far from it. But sometimes God allows things to happen to get our perspective back on track. Looking back, I would never choose to do it again, but today I say it was worth it.

I pray that God won’t have to teach me these things over and over again, that I’ll remember them when He blesses us with children of our own some day. I look forward to that day. Will you help us reach our goal to see that day?

This week has been SO busy at church with VBS in full swing! I LOVE having the opportunity to be involved in VBS every year. It does make for a tiring week, but it is SO worth it to see all the sweet little smiling faces and I think sometimes the adults have more fun than the kids! We are all kids at heart and love being able to not only have fun with the kids, but try to teach them about the love of God and what He has done for them.

Tonight is the last night and they will be having the big service for all the kids. Then it will be time for a big meal to end the night and then they can take home their crafts that they’ve worked on that week.

This is Kyeli’s first time to be involved in VBS and she has been loving it! I love that these babies are getting to be in church at such a young age and small seeds are being planted into her tender mind and heart about our great Savior!

Every year for VBS Jonathan teaches the 9 & up boys and I love working in the craft area! Jonathan is involved in so much of what takes place every night from helping teach the boys class to playing the music for all the songs, running the slides, and he is also one of the characters in the skit every night! I love his heart for the Lord and how he wants to be involved in every part that he can be. 🙂 I love watching him with the kids and even get to hear him teach his class for a few minutes from time to time when I’m not working in the craft area.

There are so many little things that I see him doing everyday that makes me know even more that he is going to make a GREAT Daddy someday!

On another note…. Please be praying for Jonathan. Yesterday morning he was riding his bicycle and had a horrible wreck. I ended up taking him to the ER because he hit his head on the road and then passed out for a few seconds so I wanted to make sure that he didn’t have a concussion. He is scratched up really bad and very sore. He has three stitches in his ear but we are so thankful that he does not have any broken bones. Doctor wanted him to be treated as though he could have had a mild concussion even though the CT Scan showed that he was ok. While i do not want to make light of the severity of what did happen to him I am also very thankful because it could have been a lot worse.

His biggest concerns were the expense of the ER visit and would the blood come out of his pants! He was also really disappointed that he ripped his shirt. (It was one of his favorites) 🙁 Needless to say…. we were not able to go to VBS last night and I don’t expect for us to be able to go tonight. Please pray for quick healing and recovery for him. He will be starting antibiotics today to also make sure there are no risks of infection and to also help him get over a sinus infection that the CT Scan showed that we had no idea he has. Poor Guy!

Please continue praying for us as we are anxiously awaiting what the Lord has planned for our future and that we will have the money we need to do our IVF procedure soon! We know the Lord’s timing is best but we can’t help but still be excited.

If you have it to give today would you please help us get a little closer to our goal?

Then…

Wanted to tell y’all some more about this sweet, beautiful little girl. Her name is Kyeli and she is such a good little girl! She started staying with us on May 19, 2014 and turned 2 shortly after.

She is a good big sister and most of the time she loves to help. Although, sometimes when she thinks she is helping Dane doesn’t appreciate her “help” so much. LOL 😉

Kyeli loves going to church and recently started going to Sunday school class with other kids her age. If you ask her what she learned about in Sunday school she always says play-dough! I think she mostly likes to eat it rather than actually play with it and her teacher has even warned me that I might find colorful specks in her teeth. 😉 We love that she likes going to church and she is learning from an early age about being faithful. She often asks if it is “Church Day” yet and when are we going again! How precious that is?! Sure, she has no idea what church is about yet but that’s ok because she is learning.

She has the cutest, curliest hair I have ever seen and everyone always comments on how pretty it is. Its longer than it looks but it’s so curly that you can’t hardly tell where the ends are, and to see what it looks like in the mornings is also amazing! I’ll have to share a picture of that someday so y’all can see. We always get a kick out it! LOL

She has always been such a tiny little girl, but she is no stranger to food. She is not a big meat eater yet and she doesn’t like eggs but other than that she will eat most anything else we give her… Even BROCCOLI!!!!

She likes: eating, reading books, watching little cartoons, eating, playing outside, drawing, playing with Dane, eating, music, helping me with laundry, doing dishes, eating, cuddling, playing with her little kitchen set and baby dolls, and that’s just to name a few of her favorite things to do.

She doesn’t like: nap time or bed time, taking a bath, or having her face cleaned.

As you can see her list of likes far out weighs her dis-likes. She is a sassy, funny little thing, and I think she knows it. 😉 She is very active and keeps me on my toes for sure but she brings so much joy, and laughter to our house! She is so much fun and even though she doesn’t know it she is such a little blessing.

She always loved sitting in this little swing and was very content to stay there as long as we would let her. In fact.. sometimes she would cry if we did make her get out. 😉 This was of course a baby swing that was bought with the intent of being used for Dane but Kyeli loved it far more than he did.

Kyeli is very smart! She started learning shapes and colors a while back. She loves watching Barney and she has picked up on most of it from there. I didn’t even realize how much she was learning until one day as I was getting her dressed and she said to me that her socks were pink! (They really were) I started asking her what other things were and she was giving me the right answer. It’s been amazing to see this little one learn. She still does’t say much but I know there is a lot going on in that little head of hers.

She LOVES to clean! I can’t seem to keep a dish towel or cloth in the kitchen and if I go looking I usually find that Ky has it in her room using it for a baby doll blanket or it might be buried at the bottom of the toy bin. 😉

She is a girly girl through and through! She loves dresses, hair bows in her hair, shoes, jewelry, and purses. She usually has a purse on her shoulder and shoes on her tiny feet. (sometimes my shoes, but that’s ok cause it just makes it even cuter!)

The thing she is most attached to is a stuffed cow. She calls it her “Moo” and for now she carries it around everywhere. We can’t leave home without it… In fact, we did leave home without it once and she cried for the longest time so for all of our sanity I must remember “Moo” from now on… or at least for as long as this attachment last. 🙂

She loves to be tickled and laughs big belly laughs before you even touch her! I love her tiny self and her chubby cheeks and chunky legs. She is an amazing little girl and we are loving every moment with her!

Now…

Kyeli is 3 now and is eagerly awaiting her 4th birthday and her “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse” birthday party. She has been telling us for a very long time now that is what she wants and she has yet to change her mind. I suppose we shall see in the next few months. 😉

The phrase Time Flies When You’re Having Fun has been so very true with Ky. I often find myself wishing that I could make time stand still or at least slow it down a little. What a difference in just a short amount of time. Ky is a little fireball of energy and is constantly on the go. The only times she stops are to sleep and eat. I love her busy-ness and how she is always looking for something to do. Of course at 3 years old she is always finding something to get into that she shouldn’t. She is always curious and is very watchful to what is going on around her. She has a heart FULL of compassion and is quick to respond if someone gets hurt. She may not know what to do to help but she wants to try her best. (Maybe we are raising a doctor or nurse?!) Anything that she chooses to do with her life will be just fine with this Mommy as long as it’s what God tells her to do. 😉

She is a very smart little girl…sometimes more than I give her credit for in fact. I see her do things all the time that surprise me, and she often asks intelligent questions, like, “Why did God make Baby Jesus?”

She still loves going to church. She’s beginning to retain some of the things she is being taught. We once asked her what she learned in Sunday School. Her reply was, “I learned about Joseph and he has a rainbow jacket!” We also recently began keeping her in the church services rather than sending her to the nursery because she will soon outgrow it. It’s been such a blessing to watch her in the church services as she listens to little tidbits of the sermons. She also loves to sing the songs as best she can – and she’s beginning to actually learn the words! We pray she always keeps this love for music. We also want to be a good example for her to follow – she’ll already say ‘Amen’ or ‘Praise the Lord’ and raise her hands. We love her little heart and her desire to be involved in church. Kyeli is still too young to be involved in everything the older youth get to do, but one thing she really looks forward to is Youth Meetings every other Thursday night.

Kyeli loves her little brother to pieces, and will often smother him in hugs and kisses. She’s learning patience in how to play with him, because his idea of play is definitely not the same as hers. While I have no doubt there will be brother/sister squabbles from time to time, I can only hope that they will build a good relationship as siblings while they are children so that they can have a tight bond as they grow older.

Kyeli is such a great blessing from God, an insane amount of fun to have around, and a complete joy to hear her giggles in our home. As our family has grown and we continue our journey that God has allowed us to travel, we’re more than thrilled that Kyeli is such a huge part of it.