April/May Thankful List:
-watching our friend Justis and her husband gracefully and transparently deal with their joy and then their heartache in their adoption process (still praying for them in their journey).

And a few random things that have nothing to do with adoption:
-the joy of celebrating our risen Savior with our church and children
-Easter lunch with the Whites and Grace (we missed you Withers family!)
-Party for the nations
-the life of my cousin Stephanie (and the memories I have of Christmas Eve lunches, Christmas socks, and card playing)
-Wednesday nights with the kids at our church (and the volunteers that faithfully served)

-weekend trip to Oklahoma- zoo visit, double date with the Mackey's, All Sons & Daughters concert, and visiting with our dear friends
-Tucker's teacher coming to watch him play baseball
-Libby's teacher coming to watch her play soccer
-visits with so many people we love
-big month for Libby (last soccer game, last Mother's day tea at TLC, last day of preschool, preschool graduation)
-sweet time with family, sweet time with friends
-bittersweet time visiting with my Grandma right before her death and visiting her house that holds so many memories
-so thankful for my Grandma and the example that she was in hard work, loyalty, perseverance, bravery, and quiet strength
-rain!  And the miraculous way God transformed our drought stricken land.

-our trip to Uganda... this trip deserves at least one (if not more) blog post so I'm going to just post pictures of our sweet time with our dear friends in this beautiful country observing their growing ministry. 
-and a HUGE thank you to our moms (for watching our kids), our friends who helped our Moms out, and our church family and all of the other people who contributed to make it possible for us to go... we couldn't be more grateful.
-the journal Tucker wrote in while we were gone.

-12 years of walking this journey with my best friend and love of my life.  I am truly grateful to call him my husband. 
-(and for Ashley Burkhart who gave us the gift of watching our kids so we could celebrate).
-Target employee: "Can I help you find something?"  Libby :" Yes, I'm looking for something awesome."
-and these two... and their funny conversations

Thankful list for September:
-sweet, thoughtful adoption t-shirt that Meegan ordered for me
-text from Vicki when she saw something that reminded her of Aida
-when people remind me/us in the little things that they are still thinking about us and praying for her
-Tucker's teacher pulling me aside to show me what he wrote in class.   When asked the question "where would you like your character to go?" Tucker wrote "He would take a boat to Africa to see my little sister, Aida, who is two."

And a few random things that have nothing to do with adoption:
-Libby started the 4 year old preschool program at TLC.
-how much Tucker loves first grade
-all the ways Libby entertains herself while Tucker is at preschool (including playing with Play-doh for two hours!)
-hunting for pecans
-watching Tuck play baseball
-starting BSF

-Fall retreat
-Tucker's writing The Lord's Prayer
-Western Day at Libby's school

Friday nights with Party for the Nations (and the kids' glow sticks)
The return of the kids' "pillow mountain"

-7 years with Tucker- our kind, hard working, competitive, compassionate, sport loving, rule-following perfectionist
-the sweet "night before your birthday" conversation Ben had with Tuck
-Tuck's birthday wish for bowling (my favorite moment was watching him and Libby bowl together) and a spend the night party with Noah and Aydin.
-Facetime calls with Vicki

-people from Faith serving at the BSM
-getting to go to Church without Walls

-"look beyond your children's faces and see the potential of a new generation- the families they will guide, the friends they wll lead to Jesus, and yes, even the nations they will impact." -Ann Dunagan (The Mission Minded Family)

Thankful List for May
-hopeful adoption progress for the McDurhams
-3 years of our getting the adoption newsletter from Dillon and our friends the Grubens' finally made it to the welcome home section!
-the Whitfield's open arms and open home
-new little one to love for the Houses'
-"O Lord, You hear the desire of the afflicted; You will strengthen their heart, you will incline Your ear to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed." Psalm 10:17-18
-the bittersweetness that is Libby still drawing Aida in our family pictures and still asking when she's coming home
-"God uses our brokeness for His purpose.  
   What He puts back together heals stronger.  
   Loving people is a full-time ministry.  (Title, position, and pay are not necessary).  
   There are setbacks and tragedies in our journey.  
   God plots our course for His glory." 
                                     -Kristen Welch (Rhinestone Jesus)

And a few random things that have nothing to do with Adoption:
-"Muffins with Mom" at Tuck's school and "Mother's Day Tea" at Libby's preschool... what a sweet time with both of them
-wonderful Mother's Day... with breakfast and lunch cooked for me, time playing in the park, time reading a new book, and       beautiful cards and flowers (along with a gift certificate for a massage!)
-sweet girls in new dresses having a tea party
-getting to share meals with lots of people throughout the month: the Vander Pyls, the Tiller's, Dani and Carly, the Doley's, the Ostermann's, students at a rehearsal dinner
-taking lunch to Tucker at school and how happy it makes him
-dress sales!
-family trip to Houston- getting to see Mimi and Pops, the Murphy's hospitality, Astro's game, the gift of fabric, seeing Ben's old house/church/school, Libby was safe after a scary pool incident
-commissioning service and our 14 students who are going this summer/fall/year
-a new phone
-field trip with Libby's class
-"baseball practice" with the Tillers
-acting out the Bible

-"All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before You.  For kingship belongs to the Lord, and He rules over the nations." Psalm 22:27,28
-Ben won a grill!  (which we were on our way to purchase the very day he won)
-Tuck's kindergarten graduation (and how excited he was to sing for us) and ice cream afterwards with families that have come to mean so much to me this year!
-Field day (and Krista's thoughtfulness to offer to watch Libby during Tuck's field day!)
-Tuck's "Memorial day shirt" made by him and his careful attention to make sure it had exactly the right amount of stars and stripes
-Mom's Night Out (with friends and the actual movie)
-children dressing up a dog as a superhero
-Chuck E Cheese with Libby's class (and a great preschool year and a wonderful teacher... thank you Mrs. Elizabeth!!)
-reading Rhinestone Jesus with Vicki (the best book I've read in a while)
-11 years of marriage to my best friend
-trip to Arlington: swimming, Pei Wei, the coolest tour of GlobeLife Park that made a little boy's year, celebrating Grant and Victoria's wedding day, seeing lots of students dear to us
-those sweet moments when Libby and Tuck are best friends
-"World changers don't set out to change the world; they see one need and do what they can to meet it.  They usually don't even know they are changing the world.  You might be thinking right now, I will never be a world changer... Change the way you see the power of one action done for someone else.  When its combined with the power of one big God, your small YES can change the world."  - Kristen Welch (Rhinestone Jesus)

Thankful List for April:
-conversation with Amy our new adoption coordinator
-people still praying for her (thank you Krista Tiller for telling me about your sweet boy's everyday prayers)
-stamped notes from a boy
-"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer"- Romans 12:12

And a few random things that have nothing to do with adoption:
-baby shower for Maryam at the BSM (and the students who threw it and Sarah and Kristin who so generously gave to someone they didn't know)
-5K Run for Cake... the students hard work and the people who gave to it and came to it and made cupcakes (Sharon, Kelli, Krista, and Kristen)
-The White's joining us for BSM events
-Tucker working hard and saving all his pennies for months to buy a Wii and he finally did it!
-package from Jenny
-friends and students coming to watch Tucker play baseball
-our second "StageIt" concert and being able to sit at our table as a family and watch Andrew Peterson play music in his living room with his family
-little girl's watching Frozen
-lunch at school with Tuck
-Our pediatrician

-our Crockett "playground community"
-my parents came to visit!!!  (And they cooked and painted and and built and stained and sewed an odd-shaped window seat cushion and transformed our hallway and dyed Easter eggs and played games and babysat and encouraged and loved)
-He is Risen!!  I know my Redeemer lives!
-Lenten lights (and the beautiful candle holder Ben made for starting this tradition), our Easter mound, resurrection rolls, Resurrection eggs...
-Libby getting to watch Frozen with her grandparents who had never seen it
-after a long time of sickness between both kids, we are finally through it
-McAllister's fundraiser for the BSM went great
--real mail for Tucker and Libby from grandparents
-parents watching kids so I could go to the last Refuel of the semester

-real mail from Dianna and Katie
-family walk
-Truett is better
-celebrating 34 years of Ben!!

Thankful List for February:
-hearts for Aida in the mail 
-The Whitfield's got THE BIG applicaiton #2 done!
-The Golden's getting to meet their Miles!
-News we didn't want and a God who stands with us in our darkest moments and who understands and can handle all of our emotions.
-"But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me." 2Timothy 4:17
-"Paul knew that which didn't look like anything good might yield good, all in the hand of a good God." Ann Voskamp
-Melissa showing up at our doorstep with her presence, a coke, and presents the morning after we found out (she knows me well).

-cards, texts, phone calls, emails, facebook messages, blog comments
-Meegan's Edible Arrangement
-Kristin's zuchinni bread
-Melissa and Kelli texting me constantly to check on me
-"You have allowed me to suffer much hardship, but You will restore me to life again and lift me up from the depths of the earth.  You will restore me to even greater honor and comfort me once again." Psalm 71:20-21 (know it to be true for us but mostly resting in and believing it to be true for Aida).
-getting last pictures of Aida (the ones Tuck specifically wanted- ones of her holding the gifts we sent her)
-friends who have asked questions and given me/us the space/time to talk about whats going on
-"Morning feels so far away, questions keeping me awake.  Will you sing, sing Your night song?  All these lies that are owning me, all this fear makes it hard to breathe. Will You be, be my night song?  The Truth that sings into my darkness, the melody of Love that leads me on, the Voice that comforts all of my sadness, oh even when the suffering is long... be my night song." -Ellie Holcomb, Night Song
-The Grubens are now a family of five!
-knowing Aida is prayed for by lots of people
-Tucker's prayers for Aida "Please let her have food in her belly and the people who are taking care of her have food in their belly too.  Let someone at the orphanage be really  nice to her.  Please give Aida extra courage.  And a lot, a lot of strength."

And a few ramdom things that have nothing to do with adoption:
-Katie and Andy getting engaged!!!
-snow days
-watching the Olympics Opening Cermonies with the kids
-how much Tuck loved the Olympics
-making Valentines
-beautiful weather
-dancing kids
-lunch with Vicki
-lunch with Krista
-Tuck's 100 days of school hat
-Frozen Sing-a-Long with kids
-feeding ducks with Krista and Jaxon

-family walks
-milkshakes and smoothies from the new blender
-the Frozen obsession that has taken over our house
-great check up at the cardiologist for Libby, celebratory lunch at Cheesecake Factory
-our Friday nights spent with International students
-13 Midwestern students committing to serve on mission over the next 9 months
-shops downtown
-Ben surprising me with the Ellie Holcomb cd
-Ben buying me a really unique aqua vase (?) from 922 Indie
-Ben making pancakes
-Ben taking care of me (and the kids and meals) when I was sick
-Ben (just super thankful for him)
-Grandma not being alone when she got sick
-lunch with the Mackey's yesterday  (and how gracefully they are walking a tough journey).  We sure miss them.
-Tuck and Libby who make us smile and laugh everyday.