The Adventures of Mark and Emma!!: Catching Up

DeAndre moved in with us in September!!!! He is such a joy. We love him being here. Love is quite the understatement. He and Izaiah have a bond that cannot be described. I found myself loving DeAndre with such an intensity that it was shocking. I think it is called motherhood. The moment I saw him for the first time, I was so taken aback with just how much I loved him. It was as if my heart, without my mind's knowledge, finally found something it had been searching and searching for.

DeAndre has been visiting with his father about once a week. The goal is for him to move in with him eventually. Please pray about that, that that will only happen if it is what is best for Dre. Please also pray for me; that I will stop being a basketcase about it.

Izaiah's other set of grandparents recently decided they would like to have a relationship with him, so we are very happy about that. Izaiah loves them so much, which I think has been sort of the redeeming quality of the whole situation.

Our back wall of our house finally collapsed. Insurance said they will not pay for it. We were able to get part of it fixed, but will probably be in debt the rest of our lives. Ha! I wish I could laugh at this situation already.

Still looking for a church. It's frustrating to feel like you're at church at the Gap, or at a funeral, or a political pep rally. I don't get organized religion. The most horrible people I have ever known or known of have been big participants in it. It's a struggle trying to teach the boys about Jesus while still protecting them from church people. If you are a church person, please understand that I don't mean to be offensive. If your actions are in line with your beliefs, you love Jesus, and are humble, kind, and loving then I am obviously not talking about you.

We are adjusting to Mark being a stay-at-home Dad. We love it most days! It is definitely a sacrifice, but our family couldn't function without one of us being home. An organization bought some gifts for the boys and gave us a laundry basket full of cookies, toilet paper, paper towels, trash bags, etc. I cried at the thoughtfulness of such a simple gift. It's a good lesson to be the recipient of "charity". Definitely humbling. Definitely restores some of your faith in mankind.

I am loving my work, as usual. I love how hard it is, and how much it challenges me. I love my clients and all the ways they teach me. As stressful as it is, I never have a dull day!

Izaiah is doing great in Kindergarten! It is so cool to watch him want to do homework and sing little songs he learned. He is so precious. Dre and I ran into Izaiah's siblings' father at the mall. Wow. We found out they live very close, so we all went over the next day. It was soooo great to reunite the kids, but that might be something we will deal with later. Sorry I haven't posted in forever. Here are pictures from the last 5 months.