BIG NEWS!!!! 

It is with great excitement that we would like to announce that baby #2 is coming soon(ish)! After seeking God’s plan for our family, He has opened a door to adopt from Africa! We will be pursing an adoption in the Democratic Republic of Congo. A great friend of ours, Tresor Yenyi, runs an organization called Mwangaza International (http://www.mwangazaint.com). They partner with orphanages in the DRC to bring hope and healing to those affected by the tragedies going on there. We will begin the Africa portion of the adoption in January and we are already done with the US side of things (homestudy, i600a, fingerprinting). God is so good and we can’t wait to see what exciting things he has for our family! We can also use your help along the way. Please continue to pray that God will bless us with a smooth and quick process as we bring our baby home. Also, be looking for Bless You and Keep You shirts coming sometime next week. Thanks for all your support as we continue on this amazing path called adoption!

Kings & Queens

Great song and video for all children.

First Steps

Evan and I got to witness her first steps together! This is only the beginning... So many more firsts ahead of us, but this one was so precious to witness.  She walked to her puppy dog , the one we sent in a care package to Taiwan.  I love our girl from her nose to her toes.

St. Vincent Preschool Project

My dear friend Maddie Keller and her husband EK have moved to St. Vincent to do ministry with WISE, and the Wurdemans.  Maddie is teaching at a preschool to connect with the community for Christ. 

The WISE PREPATORY PRESCHOOL would love to have you join and partner alongside this great ministry.

Brice and Amanda Wurdeman moved to St. Vincent with their three children in December 2011. They are missionaries on the island and the directors at Windward Islands School of Evangelism.
They have such great love and hearts for others. 

They have now started a preschool to reach more for Jesus.
Despite living the island life, some of these children come from poor homes. And some of these homes are without electricity and running water.

Your $25 monthly sponsorship, your love, and your prayers will help with many things each day including:
*Help pay a helper teacher. She is from St. Vincent and this is her very first job. It helps provide for her family.
*Help children receive education and to be able to learn and play with other children their age in a safe and loving environment.
*Help children hear a Bible story and hear about Jesus’s great love for them.
*Help feed a snack to each child.
*Help pay for their school uniforms.
*Help pay for the fans and lights in the classroom.

Contact Me or Janna Conklin for more information. 

Janna Conklin is the mastermind with this project.  Her family has already sent Bibles to WISE. 

Join them and WISE in helping make a difference in the hearts of the people of St. Vincent. 

To read more about WISE:
http://www.windwardislandsschoolofevangelism.org/

To follow along Brice and Amanda's heart and love for others:  http://briceamandawurdeman.blogspot.com/

To follow Maddie and EK's adventures: http://kellersinthecaribbean.blogspot.com

Our World

The world stops when Eden laughs.  We have to work for it, but when her giggles spill out we drop everything.  Her smiles and laughter are the highlights of my day.

Her nicknames (so far)

Sugar... Sugar Plum, Sugar Cube

Miss E, 

Love Bug,

Snuggle Bug,

Wiggle Worm

Favorites:

Food: Avocado, Pears, Sticky Rice, and O's

Toys: Stuffed animals with long ears

Guilty Pleasure: Nibbling leaves

Past times: Clapping and dancing to music, and crawling after Addyson, and snuggling.

Books: Emma by Jane Austen and Anne of Green Gables... 

Yep, we have read both and are ready for another classic.

Words: Mama, and recently Dada! 

(He claims it was her first word, but I think she first knew who Mama was)

Eden's Coming Home Video

Eden's Coming Home Video

Long in coming, but well worth it. We are so blessed to have gone through this journey to become a family of 3.

Love at First Sight

After a long, long flight we met our daughter Eden the morning of April 19th!  We have been in love with this little girl since we saw her first picture, but holding her in our arms filled our hearts greater than we could've imagine.  Here are some of our favorite photos from our time in Taiwan.  I was finally able to narrow down the huge selection of photos.  I hope you'll enjoy a taste of our adoption adventure.

Our daughter is finally in our arms, April 19th!

 This is Mark, Sarah, and Benjamin.  We became parents on the same blessed day.  

They will forever feel like family.

Eden has her daddy's cheeks!

"For this child we prayed," and will continue to pray over.

Chiang Kai-shek Memorial

   

This bridge was the scariest part of the whole trip, for Evan and Mark.  The swinging bridge was over a river through Taroko Gorge.  Evan was so brave crossing this tiny bridge.  I laughed at the guys the entire way, I am short enough that it didn't bother me a bit.

 

Here are a few pictures from around Plum Blossom Lake.

Wild flowers, icecream burritos, and pink meat all  made for a wonderful day. 

Oh, those cheeks!  One of my favorite things in the whole world is kissing those cheeks.

First sleep over with little miss.

 

The road of palm trees to The Home of God's Love.

 Taroko National Park adventure.  From the mountains to the marbled valleys we were in awe of God's creation all day long.

 These three lovely ladies cared for our precious baby girl for 5 months, 

we will forever be grateful for the love and care.

 All dressed up for our AIT appointment.  We passed with flying colors.  

We finally landed in America! 

We took over 1,000 pictures and 3 hours of video.  Every smile and cheek squish does not do this experience justice.  We are blessed beyond measure to have gone on this journey 

to become Eden's parents.  This is truly just the beginning... the beginning of life as a family of three and the beginning of oodles of pictures.