It's been a long time...I know! I'm sorry. I, like many of my friends, have been spending the only time we have posting to Face book, that I forget to write anything here for those that aren't on that website. I apologize. Are you ready for an update though?
We have all been busy so far this new school year. Mikayl is in 6th grade now, with anywhere between 1-3 hours of homework a night. Ridiculous! Her high grades have maintained and she is doing some really exciting things. Her class is learning how to play the Ukulele. They had a concert on Halloween playing some very familiar songs (Christmas songs) with a twist; they had Halloween lyrics. Very funny! She is also broadcasting as a news anchor on her school's news station! The opportunity to be a part of the "news" at school is based on good grades and ability to "perform". Well she's our girl! She has been allowed to be an anchor for 3 weeks straight. I guess they like the job she's doing reading the teleprompter:)
Jefferson has joined a band at our church, one of 11 or 12 I believe. He plays acoustic guitar and sings 2-3 songs once or twice a month during 2 Sunday morning services. So far his 3 main songs are "It is well with my soul", "You are so good to me", and "How Great is our God". He practices almost everyday and is learning so quickly. I'm amazed at how quickly he's been picking up this new talent. He has been working and waiting for this opportunity for 2 years and I"m so happy to see it finally happening. He would rather serve our church family in no other way.
I (Jen) have been really busy with Real Estate lately, praise God! The economy has taken a toll on our savings over the past 2 years, as I'm sure it has on most of you. I'm finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel though. We are just thankful to have jobs and to be able to keep our home, which I know many are still fighting for. My Wednesday morning woman's bible study is still strong with an average of about 8 people this year. We have bonded through heart ache, laughter, and learning God's word and I'm so thankful for all of them. If any of you are in the Herriman area, feel free to join us! Coffee is on me:)
We also finally have a back yard where the dogs can run free and we can all hang out as a family together eating meals and sharing with each other. It has been so nice to enjoy the fall weather our on our patio, especially rare in Utah!
Also on the adoption front...we are mailing in our application to our adoption agency today! Embraced by Grace is a non-profit Christian based agency that is run mostly by volunteers to help families adopt. They try to help by raising donations so that our out of pocket expenses are almost nothing, if at all. So far it has been an easy process, and the people there are wonderful. You can see Toby Mac talking about this organization on You Tube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xshftQ49bDA or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mc9i9vchZrM&feature=related. We are all so excited to get going on this new journey. Mikayl is especially excited to have some siblings in our home. She has been the one constantly reminding us to "hurry up already"!
I'm not sure if I've left anything out. But I will update on our adoption process as soon as we have news, i.e. getting matched with a birth mom, etc. Please remember that we would prefer any gifts for birthdays or Christmas to go directly into our adoption account rather than into our checking account for spending on ourselves. The instructions for donations are on the right side margin about how to donate to our adoption goals. All agencies recommend asking for donations to help with the cost. That is our main focus right now, and if you can be a part of it, thank you. If not financially, please pray for us to do God's will.
Love to you! The Martin's
