So, we have had a lot of time while on the road for the holidays to talk about everything that has happened this past year and get excited as we think about what the next year may hold for us.

As we think back over the last year we realize how much our lives have changed. A lot of exciting things have happened and we have also had our share of difficult times as well.

-In January Erin lost her job at the church because of some major budget cuts that needed to happen for 2009. As difficult as this was, we are thankful that this past summer Erin was able to start working again at the church office doing her old job as a Ministry Assistant!

-During those same budget cuts the youth minister at our church also had to be let go. Micheal Thiele and his wife Jen are our closest friends and having to say goodbye to them in February was one of the hardest things we had to do this year. We miss them a lot but have loved the times that we have gotten to see them over the past year. Their departure also meant us moving out of their house and back into ours.

-In September Erin was able to go on a mission trip to Rwanda and absolutely fell in love with the country and the people while she was there. Getting to visit the orphanage and the Ministry of Family and Gender while she was there has helped her a lot in this process. It is comforting to her to know that even though our children can't be here with us right now, she can picture where they are and she has met the women that care for our children daily. Once Erin got back from that trip we decided to adopt two children instead of one, something that God really showed to Erin during her time in Rwanda.

-Which leads us to the big thing that God has done in our lives in the past year. At the start of the year we committed to praying about whether or not God wanted us to adopt. In May (while in Colorado) we decided that God was calling us to adopt from Rwanda. The road to adoption has been quite a ride so far! There have been many ups and downs but we feel like God has stretched us and taught us to trust in Him completely through this whole process. We continue to trust Him as we head into this next year unsure of the timing of everything that is ahead of us. We are so excited to know that by this time next year (hopefully) our lives will look completely different because our children are finally home with us!

We are excited as the next year begins to think about what is in store for us. Knowing that there will be hard times but also amazingly exciting times, we enter into this year with great anticipation of what God is going to do in us and through us in the year to come.

Thank you all for all of the love and support that you have showed to us through this whole adoption process. We would not be where we are today without all of your prayers and encouragement, and we are blessed to have you all in our lives!