ANNOUNCEMENT!!!

She's pooping :)

Hang on to your hats, some big announcements are heading your way:

But first...

Oh how the days come and go, one day hot the next is cold, leaves fall, sun sets and rises, we sing, pray and tuck Grace in to bed and it seems moments later she is calling to me to "Open a door momma!" About once every couple months I get what I call the "stay at home mom blues" which just means I wake up each morning with a sigh and wonder how to make today different and exciting. I'm there now...fighting to keep my almost 2.5 year old (going on 16) busy, educated, entertained and thriving. Don't get me wrong--being a mom is the best job EVER! But sometimes...I'd like to talk to an adult, watch something other than Dora on TV and not be a playground for just a few minutes. I realized a while ago that if a stay at home mom got paid, she'd need to be paid the salaries of the following jobs: teacher, counselor, nurse, chef, housekeeper, personal shopper, youth minister, receptionist, accountant, activities director, chauffeur, hair stylist, Pastor, coach, personal assistant, handy man, and so on...that'd be some good money :) But when it comes down to it, being a mom is a priceless job and I wouldn't change it for anything. And speaking of money...we had a meeting with our insurance agent this week to make sure we aren't paying for things we don't need...RIGHT, cause we all know insurance agents #1 concern is us not wasting our money. Anyway, the one thing I learned from that meeting: it is DARN expensive just to live. Life insurance, health insurance, car insurance, homeowners insurance, umbrella policies, mutual funds, IRA's, and child's education funds. And that's all just if you want to live "responsibly." Not to mention mortgage, groceries, gas, cell phone, Internet, student loans, clothes, haircuts, toiletries...all the basics. SHESH! I wonder why there are so many people in financial trouble. K, that was a joke...I figured it out :)

In other news, in case you didn't catch it on Facebook...we signed a purchase agreement for a new house in Gilbert. It's about 3x bigger than ours, 20 years newer and I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!! The house wasn't even for sale yet but we got word it was going to be and made our move. The house was being completely updated and so there a lots of little projects to finish: tiling bathrooms, trimming, closet shelves, basement carpet, painting and there is no kitchen. Luckily, Seth is a carpenter and we can do all that stuff. So we signed this purchase agreement and are "renting" the house from now until Feb 1, which we set as the tentative closing date. We get the keys Monday and will be spending our free time there working on projects. We haven't sold ours yet, but Bob (the current owner) is very willing to work with us and make sure we can get the house, as we need the money from this house for down payment for the new house, etc. Plus TWO mortgages MIGHT, just MIGHT be more than we can handle :) I'm interested to see how the timing all works out, but thanking God for this opportunity and Bob's flexibility. Please, please, please pray we sell our house ASAP! And spread the word about an awesome house for sale in Gilbert :) Anyway, we are really excited and clinging to God to work out the details.

This Wednesday, is October 27th and the day we had picked to be induced with Zion...a flood of emotions fills me just thinking about it. It's weird to think how different life would be right now if things had gone according to plan...MY PLAN :) We'd be packing our hospital bag, making sure we had proper arrangements for Grace, I'd be frantically finding the perfect placement for each baby item and lie awake each night with anxious excitement. We certainly wouldn't be singing off on a new house or making plans for trick or treating. But alas, God's plan prevailed and here we are...wondering what could have been. The pain of losing Zion (and Elijah) still fills our hearts and always will, but the joy of knowing they are constantly wrapped in the arms of Jesus overpowers the pain now and we can more easily see God at work through our losses. Nonetheless, this will be a tough week. A few weeks ago we were in the car and all the sudden, our of no where, Grace says, "Zion up there." as she points to the sky. I thought she said Sonya so I asked her to repeat it and again she said, "Zion up there." I said, "Oh yeah! Zion's in heaven isn't he?" She continued to look up to heaven and chant, "Zion! Zion! Zion! Miss my Zion. Zion my favorite!" I was in awe. A 2 year old can generally only think about what they see or repeat things they have recently heard. But this was out of nowhere, it blessed my heart to know that her brother meant so much to her and still impacts her life. Proof that he lives, he lives in our hearts and through the Holy Spirit. And as we face the days ahead we grasp that knowledge and the promises of God.

Shortly after Zion passed away Seth mentioned he thought maybe a small "for the better" about losing Zion was that God had a house for us and we were supposed to move before having more kids. You know, the twins. Wait! You don't know about the twins? Well my mom has twin brothers and my dad has a twin brother/sister and Seth's dad was a twin so it was always assumed we'd have twins. But just to up the ante...

WE HAVE BEGUN THE (long) PROCESS OF INVITRO FERTILIZATION w/A GESTATIONAL CARRIER. Translation: a surrogate mother. The mother: Amanda Jennings (Seth's sister). We have spent countless hours praying, talking, researching, seeking guidance and joking around, of course about Amanda being a surrogate mother for us. There sure is a lot of information out there, shesh! On Monday, September 20th Amanda, Jeremy (her husband), Seth and I went to Mid Iowa Fertility for a "consultation" about surrogacy. We were all pretty "for" the idea, but we still had some questions, LOTS of them, actually and prayed before we went in that God would lead the way. And He did. All our questions were answered and any doubts put to rest. We knew it would be a lenghty process and wanted to get moving, but we still were missing 1 piece of the puzzle...the cost. The woman that does all the insurance stuff was gone so she'd have to email us about the cost, etc. Finally, the numbers came in and according to information we were given the cost will be comparative to adoption, including insurance for Amanda, medical bills, etc. We were painfully aware that we do NOT have $30,000 at our disposal and the painful truth is that had to be considered. Would we seriously not be able to have more children because of that? After talking with our parents we were assured that the money could not stop us. They were willing to pull money out of their retirement or whatever needed to be done. So...we took another step out in faith and took the first of many steps. See (beware of graphic material, to come) the sperm has to be frozen for 6 months to check for STD's, etc. before you can do anything else, so we figured we should at least get that started. The whole thing is a little funny to me, because we know for 100% that we have no STD's but thanks to the rest of slutty America :) we have to comply with FDA regulations and freeze sperm too! :) Next, comes the psychological testing. All 4 of us have to meet with a psychologist to be evaluated. We are pretty sure we won't pass that portion :) Then there are legal forms and lawyers, then later this winter Amanda and I will have to be on injections/medicine to prepare our bodies. We are hoping to be able to transfer 2 embryos to Amanda's NON hostile uterus in April sometime. We are hoping for twin boys. Not that I think twins would be fun, but at $30,000 a pop...we're gonna have to start doubling up here! :) Anyway, we are excited about the adventure and praying, above all, God's will be done! Also, that it would start raining cash :)

So there, you have it...the big announcement and all the extras. Can't keep up with our life, eh? Me neither.