Well, we would like to take this opportunity to make a
wonderful announcement: we’re not pregnant! We began the year of 2013 with several goals, and this was
one of the list toppers. After
welcoming Silas into our family at the end of 2012, we hoped 2013 could be a
year to adjust to life with multiple children before they outnumber us.
Life during the first part of the year was pretty laid
back. Abigail had some long nights
with a young Silas who had not yet learned the art of sleeping through the night. I was getting more acclimated to my new
teaching position in Special Education and Amos was getting more acclimated to
sharing toys and Mom and Dad’s attention with his new little brother.
As the school year came to a close and our summer began, we
headed out West for a Colorado vacation with Abigail’s family. Amos enjoyed every minute of his time
with Gramps and Grammy and Josie in the “mountains” we kept talking about. We had an excellent time of whitewater
rafting, climbing, mountain biking, and day trips with the family.
Upon our return home, we hit the ground running as we laid
the groundwork for launching a coffee roasting company. It has been a lot of work, a lot of
difficulty, and a lot of excitement as we have learned about business, learned
the ins-and-outs of a new roaster, and slowly grown our business. We hope and pray that this is something
we can continue to enjoy and God can continue to use to help us build
relationships and benefit others.
Amos has become quite his own little person this year. We saw him learn the skills of running,
climbing, swinging and exploring everywhere at the beginning of the year. Then, as his second birthday approached,
his verbal skills took off. Since then, we have learned so much more about him as
he explains his world to us. He’s
a sweet boy and a wonderful big brother.
Silas’ changes have been even more pronounced. That first year of life can best be
described as CHANGING. He went
from a cuddly newborn, to a content sitter, to an exploring crawler and finally
a unique, new personality in our family.
Many times, you simply take the next step that is in front
of you without really knowing what it means or what will come of it, and it is
only after you take that step that you see how God has provided for you in far
greater ways than you could have imagined. When we took teaching jobs in Joplin
more than 4 years ago, we thought Joplin would be a short stop along the way to
where we were really going, but we recently realized we are exactly where we
need to be; our church has been a big part of that. It is here that we have grown to know, experience, and have
our lives shaped by the love of Christ more deeply over the last few years.
What more could we ask for than that?
And a look back:
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