Children are a blessing!

Wow! I can’t believe how long it has been since I last wrote. Honestly, it has been good for me. But I do want to do a quick little update and share some exciting news.

Of course a lot has taken place in the last ten months. Each of the kids has grown and changed in a variety of ways. To be honest, that first year with twins was pretty brutal but we learned a lot and are thankful for the Lord’s faithfulness and that we are past that blur. The boys are babbling and climbing and crawling and becoming good buddies. Kaylee is enjoying them as well. She is learning good lessons about loving others and treating them how she would like to be treated. We continue to share gospel truths with her and see the Lord working in her heart. I’m reminded that we don’t just want a “good” girl because there is really nothing good apart from Christ. Our children are a blessing indeed and we are enjoying this season!

Our time in Alabama was good. It was a surprise to find a Christian ministry awaiting us to pour into our family. They know that 5-7 years into your career and marriage is a hard time and they used our 5 weeks there to strengthen us in the Lord. It was a sweet time as a family. Kaylee loved having a pool within walking distance.

This winter, we have just been enjoying fellowship with friends and family and have continued to work on fixing up our house. Emily had some challenges with her health that the Lord gracious brought her through, providing a great gastro team to work with at Fort Carson. We also made the decision for Brandon to leave the Active Duty Air Force and transition to the Reserves. He really has a desire to be more involved in “home life” and work with his hands, instead of behind a desk. We aren’t really sure what is next, but the Lord is faithful and we aren’t worried. We just want to be intentional and faithful to what He calls us to.

I shouldn’t say we aren’t sure what is next, because we do know what the immediate next step is. This summer, we will be hosting 4 siblings, ages 7-11. They will be coming from an Eastern European orphanage, with the goal of loving on them and showing them what it’s like to live in a Christian family. I’m so excited to be partnering with Brandon in this. We love kids and even though it will be one full, crazy house, we can’t wait to see what the Lord will do in all of our lives.

Growing up, Brandon’s family hosted children from Belarus, and off and on, we have talked about doing this as a family, but knew the organization his church worked with was only in North Carolina and Georgia. As it came to mind again this year, I began looking into other options and was lead to a Christ-centered group who works with families nationwide. We began to pursue the possibility of hosting with them, and things just began to fall into place. As we prayed about what the Lord was leading us to, we couldn’t get this sibling group off our mind. It seemed so crazy, but the Lord just kept bringing them to mind and we kept being called to having a deeper faith. There were lots of daunting factors and other things that didn’t make sense, but through the counsel of others, and lots of prayer, we agreed to open our home to these precious children. We trust Him and pray earnestly for Him to continue increasing our faith as we journey into the unknown of loving on these little ones who don’t know they have a good, good Father who loves them relentlessly. 

So here's a glimpse into our last six months in pictures...



Kaylee turned 3 at the end of May! My, has she changed this year. She enjoys doing "school" and has been learning a lot. She is so fun.

On our way to Alabama, we swung through North Carolina so Mimi and Poppi could meet the boys and get in some snuggles.




Kaylee got her first hair cut while we were there too



Fun picture at our apartment in Alabama



All set for the pool!




Once we got back from Alabama, Mimi and Poppi came to visit, and we sure had a great time! Splash park, penny arcade, and all!



Every once in a while, we sure enjoy going out to Schriever for our lunch dates with Papa




In September, to celebrate our 6 year anniversary and all my parents have done to help us, we took a trip to Mexico. We had such a nice time together with many fun memories.



The boys doing their head stands... They had a couple face plants when learning to crawl, so they both started putting their heads down as a safety precaution : )




Another fun blessing this fall... the addition of our new kitty, Mango.
She joined the fam right in the midst of my health issues, and was a sweet gift in the healing




I love these kind of mornings... it's so fun now that the kids interact and play together



The fall also brought the blessing of officially welcoming our nephews/cousins into the fam! We love these boys so much.




The nephews kept coming with the arrival of sweet little Easton. So fun to have 3 boy cousins less than a year a part.



Winter called for another trip to North Carolina, where we were able to celebrate birthdays!




Back in Colorado, we had a Broncos themed first birthday party for the boys (and their Mama).
We enjoyed cheering on those Broncos all season long.



In fact, for my birthday, Brandon surprised me with tickets to a game! It was so fun!



Another fun thing we got to do this winter is teach Kaylee how to ski. We only got to hit the slopes twice, but she has picked up on it pretty well and seems to enjoy a new activity in one of her favorite things... snow!


The boys were quite supportive as Mama and Papa helped Kaylee on the little bunny hill



It's not all fun and games... we still have to eat, and there's still the mundane days where you have to pile everyone in the grocery cart to get some shopping done... but even that can still be pretty fun : )