Finally...An Update

Reformation Day...heading over to V7 Presbyterian Church for their Reformation Celebration

Here is the crew with grandma

B-2 flying over our house for the AF-Navy game...Go Falcons (Andy's alma mater '95)--we won't mention the final score :(

    Caleb watching the football practice at the park near our house

        Kimberly and Moriah at the park

        Out for a family stroll at dusk...

Moriah takes in God's snow cone

    First haircut in the US...not too sure about this

           Getting ready for the winter!

     Opening gifts from our church's welcome home shower

Moriah in a bowl!

We have been so remiss to get an update out (by about a month or so)...but finally some new photos.  October flew by as we were busy with lots of doctor appointments, homeschooling and just getting settled with Moriah. Overall, she is doing very well.  Kimberly, Caleb and Josiah love her very much. It feels like she has been with us for a very long time. It is hard to imagine that a short two months ago, we were meeting her for the first time. It has been a great joy to watch her get to know her grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. It has been hard for her to have Andy coming and going to work. She isn't too thrilled about him when he comes home at night. He leaves before she gets up, so in her little world, he is gone for a long time. On the weekends, she seems to do better. We know it will take time, but it is hard for both of them in the process. 

Instead of big shower, our church had a mini-celebration between church and Sunday School for us. Our pastor prayed for Moriah and we had cake. We brought the gifts home and had fun opening them as a family. Everyone was so gracious to us in showering Moriah with cute clothes. Kimberly was relieved because she thinks it's embarrassing that I sometimes put Moriah in some of her old clothes. I think it's fun to see her in things I remember Kimberly wearing, but Kimberly thinks they're very outdated. (They are 10 years old.)

Moriah was baptized at our church on October 26. We were blessed to have lots of family and friends at church and later at our home to celebrate with us.  Our pastor preached a wonderful sermon about baptism. It was a special day that we will always remember.  Thanks to both of our moms who helped a great deal by making chili and cookies and staying to clean up.  Sadly, we were both so busy and preoccupied, that we didn't take pictures! argh! I will put Moriah in her baptism dress again and get some pictures soon.

We had a lot of fun on Reformation Night with my brother, sister-in-law and their kids. Village Seven Presbyterian Church does a great job of teaching the kids a little about the Reformation while also having a lot of fun. Our costumes weren't all Reformation themed, but the kids had fun. Moriah's squeaky shoes from China were a hit. The place was so loud that they didn't drive anyone crazy. She had a great time walking all over. I burned off the extra candy calories chasing her! I am thankful that in God's providence this positive event in church history happened on October 31. It is a wonderful things that we can celebrate and teach our children about. We will choose Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation over witches and ghosts every time. It always gives the kids something to talk with their neighborhood friends about, too. 

We have gotten a fairly predictable school routine going. Moriah is pretty happy to play with various toys while we do school. I am trying to keep some activities just for school time for her. Her attention span is about 30 seconds, so we can go through quite a few things (and make quite a mess) in the course of a few hours. The older kids are frustrated with the added noise and chaos at times, but we all seem to be adjusting to this new "normal" for our school day. We all appreciate nap time, when we can dig out from the mess and finish up our school work. 

Our doctor appointments have included multiple x-rays, two MRI's, an eye exam, ear exam, heart exam, orthopaedic exam, and PT and OT evaluation.  We are waiting for results on some of these. Her heart is fine, though, so we are very thankful for that. Ears and eyes are great, too! She will start PT and OT to address some of her developmental delays next week. I am excited to be done with all of these appointments. She handled each one very well. She is quite relaxed and curious in each new situation. She makes everyone who meets her smile. We are so blessed to have the privilege of parenting her.

We have changed our blog name in hopes that we can continue to post occasionally about our family as a whole. The Latin words "Sola Gratia" refer to the grace of God alone by which we are saved and by which we live our lives. His grace brought Moriah into our family, and by His grace we live each day seeking to glorify Him.