You can read about our current family 5 or skip down if you want to go straight to the adoption update…. No Judgement Here!
Well, it has been a while since I have signed on. Our life has been full of mostly ups and some downs this past year.
I can start by saying that Justin accepted a new position at Athens Church. He is now the Upstreet Director, and he is so excited about it. It has been an adjustment for sure. He does love all of the great people that he gets to work with everyday. And, the best part is that his old teammates are just around the corner from him. This will definitely be a season of change for him.
Keri (me) 🙂 I am doing good. I am teaching 3rd grade again this next year. I love my team and am thankful to work alongside such wonderful people. This summer is full of many projects that need to be completed. I love having a checklist, so this is right up my ally. Painting, furniture building, a little bit of work, and most definitely traveling.
The kids- they are all doing well, for the most part.
Emma will be starting 8th grade this year. My sweet baby girl. She is doing fantastic in school, made the middle school cheer squad and high school competition cheer squad. I can tell you that cheer is an expensive sport. HOLY COW! However, she loves it and is working hard to raise 1/2 of her own funds through her Etsy shop… shameless plug 🙂 She is sweet & sassy. She still gets up early every Sunday morning so that she can be with her “kids” at church in the 1st grade group that she helps lead. Her heart is so pure.
Weston keeps impressing us with the way that his brain works. He is so creative and innovative. He still has the absolute best smile. This year was a challenge for him. The start of 4th grade was rough- more home than at school. In January, he was diagnosed with Lyme disease. I will go into more of that later, but lets just say it was the trial of trials. Overall, he had a good year. He finished the year winning 1st and 3rd at district in Science Olympiad, and his team made it all the way to State. He was so proud of himself. It was great to see the light in his eyes again. He is starting tackle football this fall. I am terrified. He is over the moon excited. I told him that he would have to wait until he was 10 to start playing. He has been waiting (not so) patiently since he was 6.
Ethan is finally moving up to the big school this next year. He is still the biggest ball of sunshine I have ever seen in a child. He is so full of fun and adventure. He loved everything about 2nd grade. I didn’t think it was possible for a child to love school as much as he did in 1st grade, but he was once again blessed by another fantastic teacher. Y’all, she inspires me to become a better teacher. She is loving, kind, and she really challenged all of her students every step of the way in 2nd grade. Ethan was in class with his very best friend for the 3rd year in a row. Fingers crossed it continues through 3rd grade.
Our family took a crazy vacation to Hawaii. We have been saving and with the help of our friends (their condo) we were able to go. Justin was asked to officiate our dear friends vowel renewal. How can you say no to that? It was the most breathtaking place I have ever been to. There were so many new adventures that we had, and memories that we will truly hold for a lifetime. We are already planning our next trip… 2020! Stay tuned.
 Lyme: the dirty little bacteria
That dirty little bacteria invaded our family again. It was such hard news to take with Weston, but at the same time a relief. We were literally battling it out everyday this past fall with him. His personality was changing. He was struggling to complete
the simplest of task. He was completely anxiety ridden. He wouldn’t let anyone hug him or want anyone to touch him. He would shrivel up if you got too close to him. It was a trying time for all of us. We were watching our son fall apart at home, and wondering what in the world was happening to him. We even put our adoption on temporary hold, because we didn’t think it was possible to complete it and focus on another child when our son was falling apart. But, thank God for our doctor in Atlanta. We took Weston in January and he was diagnosed with Lyme, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, and Lyme Virus. It has been a long few months, but we are seeing so much improvement in him. Even better is that he sees the difference and feels better everyday. He searches out for affection again. (insert ugly cry here) Our son is coming back, and it is oh so good. He isn’t out of the woods yet, but he is well on the road to recovery. I really need to write a book about Lyme and how it has affected our family. That’s for another day and another time. But, for now, look at that smile. He is back y’all, and it feels so good.
Adoption:
It has been a while since our last update. But…We ARE HOMESTUDY APPROVED. We were holding out sharing this because we wanted to make sure we were good with Weston and other aspects of life that hit hard in late September through the spring. And boy are we good now. God has been so good to us and has walked with us along every decision and step we have made. We have our wonderful agency in Florida that we are working with for a newborn little girl. We are so ready for her to be part of our family. We also still need about $15,000 dollars in the next 3 months. This number is so big and scary. But we know it is completely possible.
How are we are working on that number…
In the process of coming up with $20,000 for our total adoption we hit several different areas hard.
We started a furniture company, AutumnAwakening, with all of our profits going towards our adoption. Our goal is to build and sell at least 10 tables. This has been a great start for us. If you need a beautiful farm table, desk, barn doors, or special project please let us know. We are so proud of our work, and it is amazing seeing Justin shine in this new venture.
We have had several people ask us if there is a way they can give that is tax deductible. The answer is YES, there is. With the help of Adopt Together, you can donate to our adoption and have it be tax deductible. There is a link below at number 4.
We still have our puzzle going as well. We have a beautiful puzzle that we are adding names to the back of each individual piece or group of
pieces. Each puzzle piece is $10 and this will be framed in her room. This way, our friends and family can always be a part of her homecoming. We have 150/500 pieces that have already been funded. There are still 350 pieces available for $10 a piece. You can be part of this! You can go through our new Adoption Site that is tax deductible @ Adopt together
Here is a breakdown of how we are working at completing our funding. Justin and I are very open in our adoption, the cost, and the ways we are trying to achieve those goals. If you have any questions, please ask.
Financing our Adoption Goals:
- Puzzle- total $5,000 (150/350 pieces completed)
- Table goals (at least 10 tables) – total $5,000 (3/10 tables sold)
- Our own personal funds- at least $4,000
- Tax Deductible giving @ Adopt together
- Grants- $6,000 +
~Applying for (and hoping for even a fraction of the amount):
- Chosen for Life
- JSC foundation
- Show Hope
- Lifesong (matching)
- Boatner Family Foundation
Please consider coming alongside us with our puzzle, sharing our table company with your friends and family, and praying for our newest arrival. It’s going to be a wild ride to Halleck6 in 2017.
autumnawakenings 