A Quick Update on Our Lives.... Finally

Hey all! Sorry it's been soooo long since I've written! It's been a busy season!

Here's what's goin' on:

-We're getting ready to move! We are sooo excited to be getting OUT of our 3rd floor apartment and into something with more room, and something that we don't have to walk up a gazillion stairs to get into! :) We are renting a townhome that's only about 5 minutes from where we live now. It's a total answer to prayer because we didn't want to be much further away from the neighborhood our church is in, and we were afraid we were going to have to go 15 minutes further south to find what we were looking for...but God is good and faithful and has provided us the perfect place! The backyard even backs up to a beautiful park with a playground - perfect for our (future) kiddos! :) We move the 18th and my mom is going to fly in this Saturday, the 11th, to help with Tali as we get ready to move. Thanks Mom!!!! :) We are so excited to have her come.

-As far as things with Tali go.... There isn't really any "official" new information. We have court again later this month (waiting to hear back from her caseworker on the exact date.). Will let you all know when I find out the date so you can be praying. I have no idea WHAT to expect this time. Every time we've been convinced we were going to lose her, we haven't.... and I've given up trying to figure out what direction things are going to go. On one hand, things are definitely becoming more difficult for us in this arena of our lives because we are so much more in love with this girl than before...and growing more so each day. She is so much fun and brings so much joy to our lives. She is 18 weeks, 2 days old today....she is laughing up a storm, talking, talking, talking....did I mention TALKING? She has lots to say. :) Unfortunately we can't understand most of it at this point... but she's definitely expressing herself! :) So much fun. She's started rolling over (front to back) and is beginning to have some control of her hands. She pulled my hair for the first time yesterday - lol! :D She's such a fun baby. The more in love with her we fall, the more our hearts are on the line...and the more we are forced to press into Jesus and choose to trust Him to take care of her, and to take care of our hearts in this process. We could not walk through all of this apart from Him. His grace sustains us. We are so thankful. Pray for us as we continue to lean on Him... We are continuing to ask the Lord daily for Tali, and yet, we want whatever outcome will bring HIM glory. We know that THAT is the outcome that will ultimately be what is best for her and for us as well. For now, we cherish these moments that we have with her....and hold onto Jesus for dear life.

- We have just finished the first quarter of our leadership training class through our church... We have LOVED it. We read through 2 books by A.W. Tozer: Knowledge of the Holy (which I quoted from in a previous post), and The Pursuit of God. These are excellent and if you haven't read them, I HIGHLY recommend them. Get a hold of them if you can.

-I can't remember if I've mentioned this before, but our church is divided up into house churches that meet in homes during the week. Our house church meets on Thursday nights and we have been having a great time digging deep into the Word together (We're doing the One Year Bible reading plan together), as well as exploring strategies for simplifying the way that new house churches are started so that they can be reproduced in other cities and other nations. It's been a fun and exciting season.

Okay... I think that's the gist of our lives at this point... Life is GOOD, and God is so faithful. We are enjoying Him, one another, Tali (of course!), our natural and spiritual families, and our friends. Oh, and Settlers of Catan. It's become a regular part of our community life with our church family. :) Fun times!!

Thanks to all of you for being our friends and for caring about our journey. We love you and appreciate your prayers more than we can say....and...we'll keep ya posted. :)

PS - Stay tuned for pics of the new place in a few weeks. :) I'll be sure and post them once we get moved in and get it set up.