The spring was a pretty wild one this year - lots of bad weather and storms. Thankfully, the only damage done was to trees and yards. Summer was better, a little warm, but nice. Adam and I got to take a vacation in late August, the first we've had since we were first married. We went to Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge, TN for a week. We had a blast! It was absolutely beautiful! We got out and hiked a few different places, one of them was the highest point in Tennessee - Clingman's Dome at 6,600 ft. We actually drove about 90% of the way up and then had to hike the last 1/2 mile up. It was very, very steep and cold! And there were people in sandals and t-shirts. :0 Crazy people! We also went White Water Rafting - awesome!!!! Although we were both a little scared before we got started, it was almost over before we realized it. Thankfully (if you can say that), our guide was the only one who fell out. It was actually funny, and he was pulled safely back into the raft (and apparently had to buy drinks for all the other guides later that night b/c he fell out). We also got to see a couple bears in the wild, which was neat (a little scared, but neat). It was amazing to see God's creation. I'll add a few pictures to this blog (if you have Facebook, I also have several of our pictures there, too).
In September (roughly), we also switched churches. There were a lot of things going on at the one we had been attending and instead of taking a chance that we would get upset and say something out of anger, we left. We started attending Crossroads Baptist Church in Girard, KS and I have to say - wow! Talk about a man on fire for God! We absolutely love it there! The people are so friendly and we have already learned so much in the short time we've been there. We're so thankful God allowed us to find this church. In fact, Adam's parents have even started going there and really like it, too.
Thanksgiving was really good, but I only got 1 day off for it, so it felt a little rushed. We made 3 out of 4 (well, I guess technically we made all of them, we were just fairly late to one of them). All of Adam's cousins were able to come for his mom's side, so it was really nice to see all of them. I also got to see my dad's side, which we hadn't seen for awhile. Since I didn't get much time off for Thanksgiving, I took a personal day the Monday following Christmas. So, I got a 4 1/2 day weekend. We got to spend a lot of time with Adam's siblings, who were here (Ashley and her husband Farzad are in Nashville and Aaron is in Midland, TX). It was very nice!
November 14, 2009 marked the 1-year anniversary of Grandma going on to heaven. I still can't believe she is gone. Grandpa started going downhill a little faster after she passed away. But, long story short, shortly after his 92nd birthday (October 13), he accepted Christ (I will blog more about that later). He passed away December 29th. His funeral was very good though; I do hope it brought glory to God. Several of the cousins got involved in the service; all 10 of the grandkids were there, the first time we'd all been together in over a year, and we sang a couple hymns. I played taps at the graveside service. It was all very nice. My cousin's husband Brandon did a very nice job of preaching the service! We all miss him very much, but know he is in a much better place! And we will all see him again one day!
For our anniversary this year we went to Branson for the weekend. We took the trip a few weeks early b/c a girl I work with got married on our anniversary. It was nice to get away, although it was slightly cold. :) But it made for some nice cuddling. :) We went shopping and ate out at a few of our favorite places, one of which is The Farmhouse in the older part of Branson. We watched the new Twilight movie on the IMAX big screen, which was cool. We also went to a dinner show, The Circle B Chuckwagon (http://www.circlebchuckwagon.com/). I wasn't sure what it would be like, but I think we were both pleasantly surprised. The food was excellent and the show was really good. It was a family plus 2 other men and they sang and did some comedy as well. When we walked in the door they asked us what brought us there and we said we were celebrating our anniversary, so during the show the recognized everyone celebrating either that or a birthday. And since we were sitting front and center, Adam also got picked on during the show (the guys remembered his name, too, which was impressive). :) And we didn't know beforehand, but it turns out they were a Christian family, so they prayed before the meal and talked a little bit about being forgiven and what it meant to be a Christian, which was really neat.
Unfortunately this year we lost several friends and family members, so I will take a moment to list them:
Bob Hopkins
Betty Selvey
Bob Adams
Newton Covert (Grandpa)
Roy Yokley
Ronnie Engle
I know all of these people will all be missed greatly by all their families and friends. But I am so happy to say, I do believe they are all in heaven. And I know that we will see them again.
Well, this year ended and Adam and I are still missing the one thing we have been wanting so badly - children. But you know what, the Lord had really been working on my heart and I am so at peace about it. In fact, He has been showing us another way we can have children - adoption. Instead of having to be on drugs of some sort to not only get pregnant, but to sustain a pregnancy right now, this will allow me to get my body healthy again, so that pregnancy will simply come naturally in time. At first, Adam did not want to even talk about adoption though and I only wanted boys. But, after a lot of prayer and discussions, I am very excited to say that we will be adopting a little girl from Taiwan!!!! (We have indicated on the application that we want a newborn girl.) We are soooo stoked to enter into this new phase - as parents! We can't wait. We are almost through with the application and I have sent off to get a passport w/my married name, so as soon as those few things are done, it's just a matter of time. We are praying that the whole process (which could take up to 13 months to complete) will only take 6-8 months and that by next late summer/early fall, we will have our baby girl. We have already picked out a name for her and have bought some baby clothes as well. :) Any and all prayers would be greatly appreciated as we prepare for this new addition. :)
Well, that about wraps up 2009. We also continued our annual Christmas tradition of watching a Christmas movie. This year we watched a couple of them, the first was, "It's a Wonderful Life" and the second was "Four Christmases." They were both pretty good.
All-in-all, although 2009 may not have gone like I would have liked, I would not go back and do it again. The Lord has shown me so much and brought us so far and for that, I am thankful. I'll end this post with a few quotes I have found in the last few weeks:
"God's truth is what we build upon; His faithfulness is what we count upon; His love is what we lean upon." Roy Lessin
"Hope fills us with confidence, assurance, and expectation - confidence because God will not forsake us; assurance because God will not forget us; expectation because God will not fail us." Roy Lessin
"So often, only in weakness do we reach out to God, and only as we reach out to God do we find the strength He always intended for us, the strenght for whatever comes next." Karen Kingsbury
May 2010 bring you and your family many blessings! God bless!
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