Plans have changed!

It's been forever since I have blogged but I have not been feeling well; so needless to say blogging has been the last thing on my mind. At lot has happened since I last blogged.

For those of you who know us, we have been planning on adopting for a long time now. We just recently started the process of filling out applications with Bethany Christian Services. Well plans have changed. We stopped this process because I found out that I am pregnant! We are very excited of course, but also very surprised. We didn't think we would get pregnant again without more medical help. So, for now we have put adoption on hold, but we believe that God still wants us to adopt in the future.

The due date is set around Sept. 7th. If you are wondering we aren't going to find out the sex of the baby...we love surprises...Samuel was a surprise!

Samuel is doing well and just so smart. Of course I'm a little biased. He says words like: ball, cracker, apple, up, apa (water in romanian), goal (when he kicks a ball), more, and he uses signs to accompany his words or alone when he can't say the word. So, there you go...he is smart wouldn't you say?

Lola is using her "big girl" words more and more each day. She still has problems with throwing fits, but it's a process. She loves going down to our family's farm and playing with all of her "cousins." She is a smart little girl with a funny sense of humor.

On another note, I was able to go Seattle to visit a bunch of my good friends from Romania. We had a bit of a reunion and it was great fun. I was so happy to be able to see everyone, but it was a bit hard being away from Samuel, Lola, and Scott. It was the first time I was away from Samuel for more than just a couple of hours. Also, I was not feeling so well for most of the trip and felt like I was a drag for my friends. I hope I wasn't to dull :)

Well, that's about it for now...hope this brings everyone up to date on the goings on of our little family. Here are some pics enjoy!

Here are some of the gals that met up in Seattle

Jody here's the senior picture, just for you!

Throwing fish at the Seattle Market

More fish...

Samuel walking around with his dog in a diaper :)

The old Samuel is back!

Thank you to everyone who has been praying for Samuel. He really started walking and standing up on his own again today! Yesterday, it seemed like he was still struggling to walk and stand on his own, but today he just took off. It seems like the "old" Samuel is back! Thank God for His healing! Well, enjoy the video of him walking again. For those of you who didn't see how sick he was this video won't mean too much to you, but for those of you who did see him at his worst you will be amazed. It has taken over four weeks for him to get back to this point...we are so happy he is walking around like he used to!

Hope to post the video soon.

He's Walking!!

I trust all of you had a very Merry Christmas; we sure did. The best present was that Christmas night Samuel started to walk some on his own. He has been walking around a little bit for the past 3 days. We are very thankful for this improvement. He isn't back to the same old Samuel yet. He still crawls some, lays around on his back a lot, and doesn't sit up unless prompted, but with that said he is showing improvement. Please keep him in your prayers that he gets back 100% to the old "go, go, go" Samuel. We just praise God for the way He is healing him.

Here is some video of Christmas. Samuel got a John Deere tractor from his Great Grandpa Bill the farmer. He loves it! Lola had a good time opening presents. I think her favorite is this pig car that oinks and drives on it's own.

Well, that's all for now.

Samuel Sweeping

Here is some video of Samuel's recent obsession. He loves the broom. So, we bought him a small broom and he still loves the big broom. This video makes me sad because he is walking around so good in it...I just pray that he starts walking around like this again.

Samuel's First Birthday

Look at our big boy!!

Here is the long awaited video clip of Samuel eating his birthday cake!

Adoption

Hello Everyone,

As most of you know adoption has been on our hearts for a long time. For those of you who know me, I have wanted to adopt since I was little. Then living in Romania for 3 1/2 years working with orphans there, made me realize the importance of adoption. I always knew there were children out there in the world who needed parents, but seeing their faces, getting to know their personalities, feeling their small hands clasped in mine, hearing them call me "mama," really made me realize what James meant when he wrote that pure and undefiled religion is taking care of orphans and widows in their distress. I knew that I not only wanted to adopt, but that I needed to adopt.
When Scott and I got married we talked about both of our desires to adopt. We have been married 4 years and have a 15 month old son and 2 1/2 year old foster daughter, but we really feel it is time to adopt. I guess I'm writing this because it's really on my heart and I just keep thinking about who our future child is that we will adopt. Please read some of the sites that I have posted about orphans in Ethiopia. Also, go to the Hubartt Family Blog and read Amanda's post about her recent thoughts about adoption. I think it will help you understand where we are coming from also. Amanda and Nate have two daughters and one of them is adopted.
Thanks...Oh and Merry Christmas!

Samuel's sick

Hello everyone, it's been a while since i've updated the blog, but things have been busy. Samuel has been really sick for those of you who do not know. He had croup after Thanksgiving and then about 2 weeks ago stopped walking. We could tell something was not right because Samuel is always on the move. He is into everything and likes to climb now. So when he stopped walking, started laying around on his back, and crawling now and then we took him to the doctor. He had lots of tests done and had an overnight stay in the hospital. They ruled out the scary stuff like bone infection. The doctors believe that he has a virus that is hitting him really hard and is affecting his joints. Please pray that he is healed quickly because he is in pain sometimes, which breaks our hearts. He took a few steps today, Praise God, but you could tell he was hurting.

When we were at the hospital they had to put him on an I.V. and well unfortunately it took them five times to get one in. Poor guy; he was such a big boy through it all. In the end when they got the i.v. in and wrapped his arm up, Samuel held his arm up, looked at it, and said, "Uh Oh!" It was so cute and unexpected. I wish we would have had it video taped.

Things are going well with our foster daughter. She calls me, "mama" and Scott, "tati"(romanian for daddy. She calls Samuel "bubba." She is such a smart cookie and is really making progress with her words.

Other news is that Scott and I have started looking into overseas adoption with Bethany Christian Services. We have been approved through the informal application and are now trying to go through the formal application. We are just praying for God to provide the funds so that we can get through this first step and then apply for some grants. This is something that has been on our hearts for a long time. We are looking into adopting from Ethiopia. I will put the Bethany web site link on our blog. Well here is a picture update of some things. Sorry I can't put pictures of our foster daughter on the web...she is darling! Samuel learning to use his spoon. That's tomato soup on his belly :)
Samuel and Lola "helped" make pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving this year.

Samuel playing on his back while we decorate the Christmas tree :(

Samuel playing with and early Christmas gift from his Nana