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?