Suckered Again

I guess as the Dad of this family, it is my duty to post on here every now and again. I like the idea of having a blog for our family and friends to come to and see the happenings of our crazy lives that we lead.

Currently myself and my pastor (Clint Clifton) are once again suckered into babysitting duties. Our wives are really quite good at doing this. They tell us they have important errands to run and that they need to pick up a few things from the store, so they ask (yeah right) if we will take the kids to make it easier for them. And as is always the case they come back to a house that is torn apart by 4 crazy boys and a little girl who can hang right with 'em. The women looked refreshed with Starbucks coffee usually in hand and the things they purchased from the store didn't seem as necessary as I thought they might be. Honey are you sure you needed that Vera Bradley bag? Just wondering?!?!?

And he scores!!

Well, again it was basketball day. Cody's team, the Tarheels, played great today. Cody scored 3 goals and played a few new positions today including point guard. He adjusted well to this and really liked it. Way to go, Cody!!

As you know the Clifton's are back!! Our boys are soooo excited!! They have spent the majority of today together and hanging out. It is really funny to hear the boys in the back with Noah talking about Iceland like little old men. They were swapping stories about this and that. My boys couldn't wait for Noah to see the new toys they had gotten for Christmas. As I type, they are building away with Lincoln Logs and Legos and Ruthe is playing with my collection of My Little Ponies.

Our agency let us know last Thursday that our papers FINALLY left the US and will be in Taiwan on Monday in Laura's hands. So, not sure what that means for when our court process starts. Please joining us in praying for a speedy court process so we can bring Chloe home. We should receive new pictures very soon of her to enjoy. As soon as we do we will post for all to see.

Upwards Basketball

Well the boys are playing Upwards this year. Cody is on a 3rd and 4th grade team and his games are on Saturdays. We aged Keegan down so both he and Kale are on the same team which plays on Friday nights.. Both teams are coached by Jonathan. (Although with Pastor Clint back, he will be coaching the younger team along with Noah joining the team.) The boys really enjoy the games and have lots of fun. Keegan scores many points but thank goodness they don't call double dribbling considering he does NOT dribble at all!! Kale guards his player very well --during the first game, it seemed neither boy touched the ball. Cody has made a few goals and attempted several. I have to say that the younger games are loads of fun to watch as they often look like they are playing football instead of basketball. Anyway, the games go into March, so maybe you all can come and see one.

Adoption

Adoption is not something we knew lots about, but when we starting thinking about it, I spent lots of time researching it. I was definitely ready long before Jonathan so I just kept researching and praying. Eventually, he also decided that we should adopt. We knew we wanted to adopt a girl of Asian descent. We also decided we did not want to pursue an infant adoption. All this was leading us towards China. Then, some very good friends of ours told us about friends who had adopted from Taiwan. I started looking there and we both felt lead to Taiwan. We submitted our applications for our homestudy and agency in July 2006. Then, there was LOTS and LOTS of paperwork. In October, we got "the call". Laura, our agency director, called to let us know they had a referral for us. She gave us lots of information and emailed more. We decided that she was the little girl for us. The boys were estactic because now they had pictures to see and show off. We were officially approved to adopt Chloe on December 20(happy birthday to me!!). We are now in the waiting stage of the courts in Taiwan. The court process is 4 - 6 months long. We will get around 2 weeks notice to travel and will spend about 5 days in Taiwan. We will all travel to bring our little girl home!! Now, if the waiting could go faster . . .

Meet All of Us

Jonathan and I have been married for almost 12 years!! Wow, where did time go?? We have 3 boys who keep us on the go. Cody, 8, is an avid reader. Keegan, 6, loves any and every sport. Kale, 5, is as laid back as they come. Our sixth addition will be Chloe, 15 months. She currently resides at St. Lucy's Orphanage in Taiwan. We hope to travel to bring her home sometime this spring. I am a first grade teacher and Jonathan is a Coca Cola delivery man.

We moved from NC to VA close to 5 years ago. It was a change, but one we have completely enjoyed. We are very involved in our church and enjoy watching as the boys learn what God has planned for them. Family and friends are a BIG part of our lives. My mom and sister both live near here. My dad and Jonathan's family all live in NC. Between our visits there and their visits here, we see each other often.

Our official start to blogging!!!

Well, I tried this before and did not succeed very well. However, not one to give up, I am going to try this again. So here goes. . .

We will use this blog to keep everyone up to date with not only our adoption, but also our lives. As many of you know we never seem to slow down, so we have lots to blog about.

Check back often as we will add more information, pictures, and soon videos:) Let us know what you think!!