I'm sitting here, in my big, empty house, listening to the sounds of thunder and sleet. And it's beautiful. Not the house - it's a mess. But the silence and solitude are beautiful. Partly because it means that we are all HEALTHY again (praise Jesus! This tired mama needed a break!!!) and partly because it means that I can finally focus on more than just surviving.
This past month, well actually the past couple months, have been pretty trying. Dealing with pneumonia (me), costocondritis (Ben - seriously, who even knew that this existed?!?!) and then Hunter having some unknown awful infection has just been the icing on the cake. But in the end we have survived. It may not have been pretty, but we made it. And we are soooooooo looking forward to finally having some time together as a family. Which is also kind of ironic since just a month ago, after living together in a small hotel room for a week, we would have probably been singing a different tune. Boy does time change things!
I do realize that this blog started as a way to journal our adoption story. And as much as it stinks, right now I have no idea if and when that journey will continue. It's so crazy to think that things can change so quickly, but I guess that's just life. I think I may have mentioned this before (if I did please forgive me for repeating myself,) but we have done some research and it is pretty much impossible for us to pursue adopting from foster care here in Arkansas. Not that it's impossible to do, just that the amount of time that we anticipate being here isn't long enough to do all of the work that it will take to become eligible to adopt here. Unfortunately we would basically have to start over since we have a new house in a different state (so we would need a new home study), we don't have an AR state foster license, and the process is such that it just takes a while to complete. Disappointing? YES! But we were pretty much expecting it to be that way. And unfortunately there isn't a whole lot we can do since Ben doesn't really get much say in where and when we move.
That said, we are still open to the idea of adoption and certainly don't feel like it is an impossibility for our family! The best we can do for right now is just to be patient (see, there's that awful word again!) and wait for God's direction. There are so many lessons that I have learned during this whole process and one that keeps knocking me over is that I can't rush God's timing. Abraham and Sarah waited much longer than I have been waiting, and David was anointed 15 years before he took the throne. God's timing is so much better than ours and the more that I try to push things to happen in my time, the worse it goes. So instead I'm going to focus on all of the other blessings that I have, be content, and keep waiting to see what God has in store for the Feicht family! Who knows what may happen, but I am excited to watch God write our story so that when others hear it they know, without a doubt, that God was the author.
So today I am trying to just take a little time to focus on some of the little things that I have been neglecting while I was playing patient and nurse. Like the fact that I am the assistant director for a budding non-profit. And I have a 30 page IRS Application for Recognition of Exemption Under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code packet that I need to be working on. And a few million loads of laundry. And some dishes. And a lunch date with some new friends. And... well, you get the point! It's not like there isn't anything to do!
Thank you all for all the prayers while we were moving, and sick! Our God is so much bigger than our problems and our disappointments. I am so grateful that HE is the one that directs our paths!
Love you all!
B, E & H
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Be Still
So, Ben was released from the hospital yesterday afternoon (praise God!) but we don't really have any answers. Thankfully he is feeling a lot better, but I was selfishly hoping to have some answers so that we know if this is an ongoing issue or if it's just a one time thing!
The doctor indicated that it is most likely a viral thing (potentially the same thing that cause my pneumonia) which has caused some inflammation and fluid build up around his heart. There was also a slight abnormality on his EKG which most likely is no big deal, but the doctor wants to do more testing just to be certain that there isn't any underlying cause for the abnormality. We weren't able to get the echo cardiogram that we need to confirm this because the one tech that can do it is on vacation (oh the joys of living in a small town...) and we can't even get it scheduled because our insurance will only allow our primary doctor (who Ben hasn't even met) to schedule outpatient tests. Gotta love government insurance! Sigh...
So, I'm super glad to have Ben back home and feeling better, but still praying that we can at least figure out what is going on! One thing that I'm becoming more and more scared of is that there is something in this house that really is making us sick, or at least causing our immune systems to be much more susceptible to illness. I am going to be doing some testing for mold, though I'm really praying that there isn't any harmful mold in the house because from what I have read there is no law in Arkansas which protects us and quite honestly, there is no where else for us to rent. And I really don't want to be moving all our stuff AGAIN. On the other hand, we can't keep fighting off major illnesses like this for the duration of the time that we are stationed here!
One discovery we did make (while doing a quick search for mold in the house) is that our central heat & air system was running without a filter in it. AWESOME. The dirty (and I mean DIRTY) filter had been removed and set right next to the system, but hadn't been replaced. Soooo... this morning I ran to the local hardware store and bought the best filter they had. I also ordered some of the best possible filters online so that maybe, just maybe, we can start breathing some cleaner air around here! And just for fun (and because we really don't have anything better to be doing) our toilet isn't working properly. Sigh...
The doctor indicated that it is most likely a viral thing (potentially the same thing that cause my pneumonia) which has caused some inflammation and fluid build up around his heart. There was also a slight abnormality on his EKG which most likely is no big deal, but the doctor wants to do more testing just to be certain that there isn't any underlying cause for the abnormality. We weren't able to get the echo cardiogram that we need to confirm this because the one tech that can do it is on vacation (oh the joys of living in a small town...) and we can't even get it scheduled because our insurance will only allow our primary doctor (who Ben hasn't even met) to schedule outpatient tests. Gotta love government insurance! Sigh...
So, I'm super glad to have Ben back home and feeling better, but still praying that we can at least figure out what is going on! One thing that I'm becoming more and more scared of is that there is something in this house that really is making us sick, or at least causing our immune systems to be much more susceptible to illness. I am going to be doing some testing for mold, though I'm really praying that there isn't any harmful mold in the house because from what I have read there is no law in Arkansas which protects us and quite honestly, there is no where else for us to rent. And I really don't want to be moving all our stuff AGAIN. On the other hand, we can't keep fighting off major illnesses like this for the duration of the time that we are stationed here!
One discovery we did make (while doing a quick search for mold in the house) is that our central heat & air system was running without a filter in it. AWESOME. The dirty (and I mean DIRTY) filter had been removed and set right next to the system, but hadn't been replaced. Soooo... this morning I ran to the local hardware store and bought the best filter they had. I also ordered some of the best possible filters online so that maybe, just maybe, we can start breathing some cleaner air around here! And just for fun (and because we really don't have anything better to be doing) our toilet isn't working properly. Sigh...
So, I guess the moral of the story is that God is just teaching us to BE STILL.
"Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.
The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress."
Psalm 46:10-11
One of the things that really excited us about moving here to Arkansas was the ability to take life a little slower. We have been going a mile a minute for pretty much our entire marriage, and we were really hoping that this would be an opportunity to not worry about deployments, maybe not work quite as much, and just generally have the chance to be together as a family and live a little slower paced life than we had been. With all this sickness we certainly have been moving pretty slow! Though I am hoping to keep up with the slower pace and the simpler life, I am hoping that maybe we can move past the sickness and instead simply be slow and obedient. I want to be still. I want to see God exalted in our lives. We know that He is with us, even through all of the trials, but I want it to be plain to those around us that God is exalted in our home and I want to be still enough that we can hear his voice and have the time to be obedient to whatever it is that He may call us to do.
Thank you for the prayers, we really appreciate it. And we are so blessed to have so many faithful friends who love us even through all of the difficulties. We want to be able to return that favor and be a blessing to those around us!
Love you all,
B, E & H
Monday, February 4, 2013
Prayers, please!
Friends,
I really was trying to keep this blog *mostly* adoption related, but I know that there are lots of prayer warriors out there reading this and I need your help!
If you read my last post I mentioned that I had some kind of crud. Turns out that crud was pneumonia and it knocked me down hard. It's been about two and a half weeks and I am finally feeling better, though I still have a pretty wicked cough. Yesterday after church Ben asked me to drive home because he wasn't feeling well (if you know my husband you know that this is a HIGHLY unusual request - he always drives!) By the time we got home he was extremely dizzy and having chest pains. So off we went to the ER. I need to quickly mention that in our 8 years of marriage neither one of us has gone to a Dr. for any type of illness, let alone pneumonia and an ER trip!!! Anyway, Ben had to stay overnight at the hospital and they are still trying to figure out exactly what is going on. They have ruled out the possibility of a heart attack (thank God!) but that doesn't really give us any answers. He is feeling much better, but that is mostly due to the medication that he has been given. They have run lots of different tests and right now the theory is that it could be a viral thing that is causing swelling and inflammation around his heart. We are waiting to have some more tests done to see if they can find any swelling.
Please be praying for us. This has been a TOUGH month or two. Between the redeployment, moving and now all of this sickness we are just worn out and worn down. It really feels like we are being attacked in every possible way and so we need all of you to be praying for us to get through this quickly and triumphantly!!!
Hunter has been SUCH a trooper through all of this craziness and sickness. I am so amazed at the strength and adaptability of this sweet boy. And I am even more amazed at God's provision. We have had so many people (who we barely know!) step up and offer to help in so many ways. We are truly blessed!!!
Love you all, and I promise to keep you updated if we find anything out. I'm heading back to the hospital to check on my husband and hopefully bring him home soon. For now Ben is stable, I am recovering and Hunter is doing wonderful. Praise God!
Love,
B, E & H
I really was trying to keep this blog *mostly* adoption related, but I know that there are lots of prayer warriors out there reading this and I need your help!
If you read my last post I mentioned that I had some kind of crud. Turns out that crud was pneumonia and it knocked me down hard. It's been about two and a half weeks and I am finally feeling better, though I still have a pretty wicked cough. Yesterday after church Ben asked me to drive home because he wasn't feeling well (if you know my husband you know that this is a HIGHLY unusual request - he always drives!) By the time we got home he was extremely dizzy and having chest pains. So off we went to the ER. I need to quickly mention that in our 8 years of marriage neither one of us has gone to a Dr. for any type of illness, let alone pneumonia and an ER trip!!! Anyway, Ben had to stay overnight at the hospital and they are still trying to figure out exactly what is going on. They have ruled out the possibility of a heart attack (thank God!) but that doesn't really give us any answers. He is feeling much better, but that is mostly due to the medication that he has been given. They have run lots of different tests and right now the theory is that it could be a viral thing that is causing swelling and inflammation around his heart. We are waiting to have some more tests done to see if they can find any swelling.
Please be praying for us. This has been a TOUGH month or two. Between the redeployment, moving and now all of this sickness we are just worn out and worn down. It really feels like we are being attacked in every possible way and so we need all of you to be praying for us to get through this quickly and triumphantly!!!
Hunter has been SUCH a trooper through all of this craziness and sickness. I am so amazed at the strength and adaptability of this sweet boy. And I am even more amazed at God's provision. We have had so many people (who we barely know!) step up and offer to help in so many ways. We are truly blessed!!!
Love you all, and I promise to keep you updated if we find anything out. I'm heading back to the hospital to check on my husband and hopefully bring him home soon. For now Ben is stable, I am recovering and Hunter is doing wonderful. Praise God!
Love,
B, E & H
Monday, January 21, 2013
The Good, the Bad and the Dirty!
Ok, so I promised you a post about the new house. I was really hoping to have pictures to go along with this, but I have had some horrible flu/cough thing for the past couple days and so I really haven't made much progress as far as cleaning, organizing or taking pictures. Really hoping that it's just a virus and not some nasty mold or fungus infestation in this house!!! Ha!
For ease of reading I think that I will just make lists! Here goes:
SPECS:
2200 sq feet plus a 300 sq foot glassed in porch (awesome!)
7.5 acres of land (double awesome!!!)
huge living room
dining room
den with stone fireplace
decent sized kitchen
big master bedroom
big room for Hunter
two bathrooms (one in the master)
lots of storage
one large room upstairs (guest room/playroom)
one car garage (detached)
shed
THE GOOD:
The house has some really beautiful features such as colorful (gasp!) walls, silver tile backsplash in the kitchen, a beautiful crystal chandelier in the dining room, lots of storage space, tons of windows with beautiful views and super tall ceilings in each room, crystal door knobs on each door AND (after living in a house with white walls for so long) there are colors on my walls! Sage green in the living room, deep red in the den, dark green in the dining room and grey in the bedrooms and bathrooms. Yay!
THE BAD:
The house has so many quirks! Where to start???
The master bathroom has a glassed in shower with full body sprayers (not so bad...). The sprayers spray directly out of the door and there is no way to deactivate them. Therefore, to take a shower you have to get doused with cold water in the face for a minute while you wait for the water to warm up. (I found this out the hard way while cleaning the shower as the movers were here. I ended up soaking wet...)
The second bathroom has a tub, but no shower. Kinda awkward for guests. Especially when you explain that they have to get into a freezing cold spray of water... Anyone want to come visit?!?! :)
The laundry area is in the detached garage. So I get to trudge outside in my jammies to do laundry. Bet my neighbors think I am awesome! It's certainly a bit of an adjustment, but I keep reminding myself that it is a lot nicer than heading to the laundromat!
The appliances in the kitchen are all super small. My cookie sheets barely fit in the oven and my dinner plates don't fit in the dishwasher. Sigh...
The garage door is about 5'6" high. Neither of our cars fit through the door opening. And Ben hits his head on the door. So weird! Same thing with the shed/carport. Although it is actually even shorter and I almost have to duck to get under there. Which is certainly saying something!
Only three areas in the house have overhead lighting; the kitchen, the hallway and the bathrooms. So there are a LOT of lamps in our house!
None of the windows in the house open up. The two in the living room that do open aren't weighted properly and so they slam shut as soon as you let them go. Guess I could be SUPER redneck and put a block of wood under them? All of the other windows either never opened up or have been long since painted shut. However, the windows in the glass porch do open up so that's a big perk :)
Sooooo.... that's our crazy house in a nutshell! I'm still battling all of the dirt and every time I feel like I might be almost done cleaning I find some other craziness that needs to be scrubbed (like when I tried to open the windows that slam shut and found hordes of dead bugs and an old wasp's nest IN the windows!) Really, the house is beautiful and I can't wait to finish putting all our stuff away so I can see it finalized. It seems so much bigger than our last place, and now that I'm nearly done cleaning it I can appreciate a lot of the beauty of it. It's certainly not new or sparkly, but there is something charming about an old house with character. And, let's be honest, the acreage doesn't hurt either! ;)
Love you!
B, E & H
For ease of reading I think that I will just make lists! Here goes:
SPECS:
2200 sq feet plus a 300 sq foot glassed in porch (awesome!)
7.5 acres of land (double awesome!!!)
huge living room
dining room
den with stone fireplace
decent sized kitchen
big master bedroom
big room for Hunter
two bathrooms (one in the master)
lots of storage
one large room upstairs (guest room/playroom)
one car garage (detached)
shed
THE GOOD:
The house has some really beautiful features such as colorful (gasp!) walls, silver tile backsplash in the kitchen, a beautiful crystal chandelier in the dining room, lots of storage space, tons of windows with beautiful views and super tall ceilings in each room, crystal door knobs on each door AND (after living in a house with white walls for so long) there are colors on my walls! Sage green in the living room, deep red in the den, dark green in the dining room and grey in the bedrooms and bathrooms. Yay!
THE BAD:
The house has so many quirks! Where to start???
The master bathroom has a glassed in shower with full body sprayers (not so bad...). The sprayers spray directly out of the door and there is no way to deactivate them. Therefore, to take a shower you have to get doused with cold water in the face for a minute while you wait for the water to warm up. (I found this out the hard way while cleaning the shower as the movers were here. I ended up soaking wet...)
The second bathroom has a tub, but no shower. Kinda awkward for guests. Especially when you explain that they have to get into a freezing cold spray of water... Anyone want to come visit?!?! :)
The laundry area is in the detached garage. So I get to trudge outside in my jammies to do laundry. Bet my neighbors think I am awesome! It's certainly a bit of an adjustment, but I keep reminding myself that it is a lot nicer than heading to the laundromat!
The appliances in the kitchen are all super small. My cookie sheets barely fit in the oven and my dinner plates don't fit in the dishwasher. Sigh...
The garage door is about 5'6" high. Neither of our cars fit through the door opening. And Ben hits his head on the door. So weird! Same thing with the shed/carport. Although it is actually even shorter and I almost have to duck to get under there. Which is certainly saying something!
Only three areas in the house have overhead lighting; the kitchen, the hallway and the bathrooms. So there are a LOT of lamps in our house!
None of the windows in the house open up. The two in the living room that do open aren't weighted properly and so they slam shut as soon as you let them go. Guess I could be SUPER redneck and put a block of wood under them? All of the other windows either never opened up or have been long since painted shut. However, the windows in the glass porch do open up so that's a big perk :)
Sooooo.... that's our crazy house in a nutshell! I'm still battling all of the dirt and every time I feel like I might be almost done cleaning I find some other craziness that needs to be scrubbed (like when I tried to open the windows that slam shut and found hordes of dead bugs and an old wasp's nest IN the windows!) Really, the house is beautiful and I can't wait to finish putting all our stuff away so I can see it finalized. It seems so much bigger than our last place, and now that I'm nearly done cleaning it I can appreciate a lot of the beauty of it. It's certainly not new or sparkly, but there is something charming about an old house with character. And, let's be honest, the acreage doesn't hurt either! ;)
Love you!
B, E & H
Friday, January 18, 2013
Home is where the Army sends us!
Wow, what a crazy month it has been! I feel like it has all gone by so quickly, but yet looking back it seems like an eternity has passed. Exactly one month ago (on our anniversary, happy anniversary to us!) we watched all our belongings get loaded onto a big truck and started our journey here to Arkansas. It was 7:30 p.m. before we were able to get on the road and we were exhausted, freezing (it had been snowing all day and our back door was open so they could load the truck!) and hungry. Needless to say we didn't make it very far that first night, but it felt good to at least be on our way!
Since it was almost Christmas our plan was to head to IL, see my family and drop off the cats and Ben's truck, then head to OH to see Ben's family, back to IL and finally down to AR. What a trip! We had to take both cars, which meant that we couldn't all ride together. Thank goodness for walkie talkies so we could easily communicate! I think it took us about 4 or 5 days to get to my parents house. We were chasing a storm and ran into some snow, ice, mountains, lots of BEAUTIFUL country, some bald eagles and quite a bit of boring plains as well. By the end we were all pretty anxious to get out of the car, but Hunter was an amazing traveller and the cats did pretty well too. Though it may sound crazy to travel with cats I was actually pretty grateful for them most of the time because they really helped to keep Hunter company. He and Sarge played many rounds of travel CandyLand, but somehow Hunter always won! Ha!
We had a nice Christmas with my family and headed out to OH on Christmas day to spend some time with Ben's family as well. All of his brothers made it home for Christmas and we got to meet our two littlest nephews! So fun to have six sweet little boys around for Christmas! After OH we headed back to IL to spend a little more time with my family before we headed down to AR. It was great to relax for a little bit and NOT be driving for a couple days. Plus, Hunter was able to play with his cousin Lily and he always enjoys some time with his grandparents as well!
On New Year's day we started the trip to Arkadelphia. Let me tell you, we certainly were not very excited to be driving again! I think all in all we were driving for something like 50+ hours and travelled through 10 states, yikes! Anyway, the trip here was fine for a while until late the first day I realized Ben's truck was leaking. Long story short, somehow the line for the transmission fluid developed a leak and by the time we pulled into the hotel it was pouring ATF all over the place. Ben ran to AutoZone that night and found some epoxy to try to fix it enough to drive the remaining four hours to AR. The next morning, while applying the epoxy we discovered that all but ONE of the bolts holding the transmission to the engine block had rattled completely lose! Luckily my amazing hubby had the tools on hand to tighten all the bolts back on and between that and the epoxy (and stopping every 45 minutes or so to add ATF if needed) we limped our way to Arkadelphia. We still don't really know what caused the leak, but it was a miracle since without it we would never have known about the transmission bolts until it was too late! I have never been so grateful for that darned truck leaking!
The day after we got here we contacted a realtor that had a house we wanted to see. I guess I should preface this with the fact that there are really, really slim pickings around here when it comes to rental houses. So honestly, this was the only option! Anyway, we saw the house, signed the lease and had to wait for our stuff to come out of storage. The house is... interesting? I think I will save all of that for another post though because this one is getting a little long winded already! There are certainly some things about this house that I love, and there are some things that I could definitely do without. But isn't that just how life is?
One issue with the house is that it was a disaster. I honestly can't even begin to describe the layers of filth that were in this place other than to tell you that it took me 4.5 hours to get one bathroom to a level of "clean" that at least makes me feel like I won't catch some disease while showering. Normally I have a rule that all of the boxes need to be unpacked in 48 hours so that we can just move on with life. This time it took me a lot longer because I had to scrub and scrub before I would even consider unpacking my stuff into this place. However, it is finally getting closer to being clean and I'm very excited to post some pictures to share with you all when it's finally finished! I think I only have two more rooms to deep clean before I can finally feel at home here. I can't wait!
In the meantime, Hunter started school on Monday and he is loving it. He is now in all-day kindergarten and although it is wearing him out, he is really enjoying his new school and his new teacher. I'm so glad for that! Ben started at work on Tuesday and we are still figuring out what his weeks will actually look like. It seems like he will be doing a bit of work on the weekends (bummer) and then spending a month or so at Fort Lewis this summer as well. He is still just getting settled and now has TWO university ID's to add to his collection of ID's. Heehee. Professor Feicht ;) However, it seems like everyone that he is working with is very nice and that he should enjoy his new job once he gets settled into it! The commute is also great since we are about a 3 minute drive to the university entrance for both schools.
Well, I guess that's all for now. I'll just have to keep y'all in suspense about this house of ours. I have some cleaning to get to while my boys are gone!
Love you all!
B, E & H
Since it was almost Christmas our plan was to head to IL, see my family and drop off the cats and Ben's truck, then head to OH to see Ben's family, back to IL and finally down to AR. What a trip! We had to take both cars, which meant that we couldn't all ride together. Thank goodness for walkie talkies so we could easily communicate! I think it took us about 4 or 5 days to get to my parents house. We were chasing a storm and ran into some snow, ice, mountains, lots of BEAUTIFUL country, some bald eagles and quite a bit of boring plains as well. By the end we were all pretty anxious to get out of the car, but Hunter was an amazing traveller and the cats did pretty well too. Though it may sound crazy to travel with cats I was actually pretty grateful for them most of the time because they really helped to keep Hunter company. He and Sarge played many rounds of travel CandyLand, but somehow Hunter always won! Ha!
We had a nice Christmas with my family and headed out to OH on Christmas day to spend some time with Ben's family as well. All of his brothers made it home for Christmas and we got to meet our two littlest nephews! So fun to have six sweet little boys around for Christmas! After OH we headed back to IL to spend a little more time with my family before we headed down to AR. It was great to relax for a little bit and NOT be driving for a couple days. Plus, Hunter was able to play with his cousin Lily and he always enjoys some time with his grandparents as well!
On New Year's day we started the trip to Arkadelphia. Let me tell you, we certainly were not very excited to be driving again! I think all in all we were driving for something like 50+ hours and travelled through 10 states, yikes! Anyway, the trip here was fine for a while until late the first day I realized Ben's truck was leaking. Long story short, somehow the line for the transmission fluid developed a leak and by the time we pulled into the hotel it was pouring ATF all over the place. Ben ran to AutoZone that night and found some epoxy to try to fix it enough to drive the remaining four hours to AR. The next morning, while applying the epoxy we discovered that all but ONE of the bolts holding the transmission to the engine block had rattled completely lose! Luckily my amazing hubby had the tools on hand to tighten all the bolts back on and between that and the epoxy (and stopping every 45 minutes or so to add ATF if needed) we limped our way to Arkadelphia. We still don't really know what caused the leak, but it was a miracle since without it we would never have known about the transmission bolts until it was too late! I have never been so grateful for that darned truck leaking!
The day after we got here we contacted a realtor that had a house we wanted to see. I guess I should preface this with the fact that there are really, really slim pickings around here when it comes to rental houses. So honestly, this was the only option! Anyway, we saw the house, signed the lease and had to wait for our stuff to come out of storage. The house is... interesting? I think I will save all of that for another post though because this one is getting a little long winded already! There are certainly some things about this house that I love, and there are some things that I could definitely do without. But isn't that just how life is?
One issue with the house is that it was a disaster. I honestly can't even begin to describe the layers of filth that were in this place other than to tell you that it took me 4.5 hours to get one bathroom to a level of "clean" that at least makes me feel like I won't catch some disease while showering. Normally I have a rule that all of the boxes need to be unpacked in 48 hours so that we can just move on with life. This time it took me a lot longer because I had to scrub and scrub before I would even consider unpacking my stuff into this place. However, it is finally getting closer to being clean and I'm very excited to post some pictures to share with you all when it's finally finished! I think I only have two more rooms to deep clean before I can finally feel at home here. I can't wait!
In the meantime, Hunter started school on Monday and he is loving it. He is now in all-day kindergarten and although it is wearing him out, he is really enjoying his new school and his new teacher. I'm so glad for that! Ben started at work on Tuesday and we are still figuring out what his weeks will actually look like. It seems like he will be doing a bit of work on the weekends (bummer) and then spending a month or so at Fort Lewis this summer as well. He is still just getting settled and now has TWO university ID's to add to his collection of ID's. Heehee. Professor Feicht ;) However, it seems like everyone that he is working with is very nice and that he should enjoy his new job once he gets settled into it! The commute is also great since we are about a 3 minute drive to the university entrance for both schools.
Well, I guess that's all for now. I'll just have to keep y'all in suspense about this house of ours. I have some cleaning to get to while my boys are gone!
Love you all!
B, E & H
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Live Your Love Loud
I keep starting this post over and over, trying to find just the right words to say. I think I've finally settled on an approach that is just simple. Short and sweet. Here goes:
We live in a broken, depraved, tragic world. Things happen that are beyond our control. Sad, horrible things.
I have had the honor and privilege of meeting a woman who has seen the face of tragedy and decided to truly make beauty from ashes. I am so humbled by her grace and courage and I am so blessed to have had the opportunity to work with her on this amazing project.
Today we are launching a non-profit in honor of her husband, CW3 Frank Buoniconti. I never had the chance to meet Frank in this world, but he must have been on AMAZING man from the stories that I have heard. Frank had a heart for those who were hurting and broken. Especially for the fatherless. How ironic that his own children would soon be the very ones that he had such a passion for.
Please, please take a moment to check out this website. I am honored to be working with Kryste Buoniconti as her Assistant Director for Live Your Love Loud. She is determined to "take back the 12th" and turn tragedy into triumph.
I think the website speaks for itself in explaining what LYLL is all about, and if you have a moment (and a box of tissues) click on the link to Kryste's blog and read all about her amazing story. And if you are compelled to give we would really appreciate it. Kryste (and I) want to bless the socks off some amazing military families who are adopting.
Live Your Love Loud
This isn't about a sad story, it's about hope. It's about continuing a legacy that Frank left behind.
Please keep this sweet family in your prayers as they go through another difficult day and another difficult holiday season.
Love you all,
Em
We live in a broken, depraved, tragic world. Things happen that are beyond our control. Sad, horrible things.
I have had the honor and privilege of meeting a woman who has seen the face of tragedy and decided to truly make beauty from ashes. I am so humbled by her grace and courage and I am so blessed to have had the opportunity to work with her on this amazing project.
Today we are launching a non-profit in honor of her husband, CW3 Frank Buoniconti. I never had the chance to meet Frank in this world, but he must have been on AMAZING man from the stories that I have heard. Frank had a heart for those who were hurting and broken. Especially for the fatherless. How ironic that his own children would soon be the very ones that he had such a passion for.
Please, please take a moment to check out this website. I am honored to be working with Kryste Buoniconti as her Assistant Director for Live Your Love Loud. She is determined to "take back the 12th" and turn tragedy into triumph.
I think the website speaks for itself in explaining what LYLL is all about, and if you have a moment (and a box of tissues) click on the link to Kryste's blog and read all about her amazing story. And if you are compelled to give we would really appreciate it. Kryste (and I) want to bless the socks off some amazing military families who are adopting.
Live Your Love Loud
This isn't about a sad story, it's about hope. It's about continuing a legacy that Frank left behind.
Please keep this sweet family in your prayers as they go through another difficult day and another difficult holiday season.
Love you all,
Em
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Chaos
It has been a busy few weeks since Ben has arrived home. Some of the craziness was expected, some was not. Before I tell you about some of that I first want to say how AMAZING it has been to have Ben back home. Seriously, I am so blessed to have such an incredible husband who is also the world's best daddy! I'm pretty sure that we are all guilty of taking our spouses for granted sometimes but doing life alone for an extended period will certainly remind you of how much you need him/her! Hunter has been beyond thrilled to have his daddy back and all of the reintegration couldn't have gone any smoother. So grateful for that!!! It has been one whole month that he has been home and we have been relishing every moment.
Within a week of Ben arriving back here we received a phone call from our agency about a 6 year old boy who needed a home. We agreed that we would certainly consider taking him if he was legally free. Unfortunately he was not and it was quite a messy situation as he was born and raised in Mexico, brought to WA and then his parents were deported and now he was stuck here in the U.S. as a citizen. I'm telling you, this system is SUCH a mess!!! Anyway, we had to say no since we knew that we would probably be leaving WA before he would be legally free and that would be a lot of trouble for all of us. Little did we know...
The Monday before Thanksgiving Ben got a call from his branch manager. He offered Ben his choice of two positions teaching ROTC (one in Missouri, the other in Arkansas) because he knew that we were really hoping for this particular job. Ben and I talked about it right away and we both agreed that Missouri would be great! So he called and accepted the job. God had other plans for us though and Tuesday we found out that he wasn't going to get that position but the Arkansas one was still available. The ROTC Battalion operates out of University of Central Arkansas which is in Conway, AR and we researched the area and decided that Conway looked wonderful! So we said YES! The paperwork got started and we continued doing research on the area. After a day or so we realized that not only was UCA involved in this ROTC Battalion, but there were three other schools as well. One in Russellville and two in Arkadelphia. We immediately looked at both towns and thought "I sure hope we don't have to go to Arkadelphia." God has such a sense of humor though! And so we are heading to Arkadelphia, Arkansas!
Here's the REALLY crazy part... we are leaving in less than two weeks! Because of the Thanksgiving holiday it took a little while to get Ben's orders and he needs to start the new job in January. We realized that it would actually make the most sense if we just drove home for Christmas on our way to AR so that's what we are doing. It's crazy here. Seriously crazy! We are cleaning, organizing, getting Ben's stuff together so that he can clear post here (i.e. sorting through piles and piles of camo stuff to turn in), tons of paperwork, figuring out how to turn off all the utilities, hold our mail, Christmas shop... the list is endless.
So, we are celebrating Christmas this Saturday, trying to soak up as much time with as many friends as we can and just muddle through this chaos. The packers are scheduled to come on December 17, the truck should hopefully be loaded on the 18th (happy anniversary to us!) and then we will start the LONG drive to Illinois as soon as we can. It is going to be quite the adventure.
I really wish I could write so much more about how all this craziness came to be and some of the incredible connections we have already made in Arkadoo but for right now I need to focus on all the stuff that needs to get done around here. I am so so sad to be leaving behind some of the most amazing friends here in WA, but we are also so excited to see what God has in store for us in AR!
Okay, I'm off to get some stuff done. I will try to post more soon, but no promises!
Love you all, please be praying for us as we get through the next few weeks and the many, many hours of travel that we have coming up. It's going to be a crazy ride and we have never moved before without having a house ahead of time so it's going to be interesting. We are trusting that God will be in all the details, He certainly has been so far!
Love,
B, E & H
P.S. I guess I didn't really mention what we are doing in Arkadelphia, AR! Ben will be an instructor for the ROTC program there teaching level 4 military science to cadets. We are super excited about this job as it's something that he has been wanting to do for a while now. He will also be recruiting for the ROTC program from the local high schools. It's going to be a huge change for us since it's not a military town and we will be living a pretty "civilian" lifestyle, but we are certainly looking forward to it!
Within a week of Ben arriving back here we received a phone call from our agency about a 6 year old boy who needed a home. We agreed that we would certainly consider taking him if he was legally free. Unfortunately he was not and it was quite a messy situation as he was born and raised in Mexico, brought to WA and then his parents were deported and now he was stuck here in the U.S. as a citizen. I'm telling you, this system is SUCH a mess!!! Anyway, we had to say no since we knew that we would probably be leaving WA before he would be legally free and that would be a lot of trouble for all of us. Little did we know...
The Monday before Thanksgiving Ben got a call from his branch manager. He offered Ben his choice of two positions teaching ROTC (one in Missouri, the other in Arkansas) because he knew that we were really hoping for this particular job. Ben and I talked about it right away and we both agreed that Missouri would be great! So he called and accepted the job. God had other plans for us though and Tuesday we found out that he wasn't going to get that position but the Arkansas one was still available. The ROTC Battalion operates out of University of Central Arkansas which is in Conway, AR and we researched the area and decided that Conway looked wonderful! So we said YES! The paperwork got started and we continued doing research on the area. After a day or so we realized that not only was UCA involved in this ROTC Battalion, but there were three other schools as well. One in Russellville and two in Arkadelphia. We immediately looked at both towns and thought "I sure hope we don't have to go to Arkadelphia." God has such a sense of humor though! And so we are heading to Arkadelphia, Arkansas!
Here's the REALLY crazy part... we are leaving in less than two weeks! Because of the Thanksgiving holiday it took a little while to get Ben's orders and he needs to start the new job in January. We realized that it would actually make the most sense if we just drove home for Christmas on our way to AR so that's what we are doing. It's crazy here. Seriously crazy! We are cleaning, organizing, getting Ben's stuff together so that he can clear post here (i.e. sorting through piles and piles of camo stuff to turn in), tons of paperwork, figuring out how to turn off all the utilities, hold our mail, Christmas shop... the list is endless.
So, we are celebrating Christmas this Saturday, trying to soak up as much time with as many friends as we can and just muddle through this chaos. The packers are scheduled to come on December 17, the truck should hopefully be loaded on the 18th (happy anniversary to us!) and then we will start the LONG drive to Illinois as soon as we can. It is going to be quite the adventure.
I really wish I could write so much more about how all this craziness came to be and some of the incredible connections we have already made in Arkadoo but for right now I need to focus on all the stuff that needs to get done around here. I am so so sad to be leaving behind some of the most amazing friends here in WA, but we are also so excited to see what God has in store for us in AR!
Okay, I'm off to get some stuff done. I will try to post more soon, but no promises!
Love you all, please be praying for us as we get through the next few weeks and the many, many hours of travel that we have coming up. It's going to be a crazy ride and we have never moved before without having a house ahead of time so it's going to be interesting. We are trusting that God will be in all the details, He certainly has been so far!
Love,
B, E & H
P.S. I guess I didn't really mention what we are doing in Arkadelphia, AR! Ben will be an instructor for the ROTC program there teaching level 4 military science to cadets. We are super excited about this job as it's something that he has been wanting to do for a while now. He will also be recruiting for the ROTC program from the local high schools. It's going to be a huge change for us since it's not a military town and we will be living a pretty "civilian" lifestyle, but we are certainly looking forward to it!
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