A Quick Silas Fix

OK, I know we don't give you enough pictures of him so thought I'd throw one out real quick - here's a picture of Silas before church this past Sunday -

He is growing up WAY TOO FAST!

February Number

We received an email from our caseworker tonight with our official number for February.  We are now officially #:

 

It feels great to finally be in the TOP 3!  We are just praising God that there has been some movement this month, and we are encouraged by positive things that are happening in general with Ethiopian adoptions right now!  Day by day we are getting closer to seeing our daughter’s face, and I will be thrilled when I have no more waitlist numbers to update you with:) 

The one calls you is faithful, and He will do it.  1 Thessalonians 5:24

take time to dance

Troy and I were blessed to be able to attend a Steven Curtis Chapman concert with good friends last week.  Josh Wilson and Andrew Peterson also performed during the evening. This concert had a little different feel to it as the style was more intimate.  Each singer shared the story behind each song that was performed, and I think I enjoyed the music even more knowing the story behind it.  Towards the end of the night, Steven Curtis Chapman, shared the events that led him to write his song, Cinderella. He talked about how he was giving two of his daughters a bath one evening just prior to getting them to bed.  After their bath, the girls kept wanting to show him their dancing, but he had work to do and was hurriedly trying to get them to bed.  It was only later that he realized he missed his chance to just be in the moment with his daughters, and thus came the inspiration for this song(get out your kleenex before listening):

 

I have to admit that I, too, am guilty of rushing through life without taking time to stop and just be.  My mind is constantly jumping to the next thing I have to mark off my list, and I think I often miss memorable moments with Silas.  My prayer is that I will learn to be more intentional with the time that I have with Troy and with Silas.  I don’t ever want Silas to look back on his childhood, and say that his mom and dad didn’t have time to truly be present for him.  I have recently felt God calling me to pray and fast on Fridays until we receive the referral for our daughter.  I also want to use these times of prayer for God’s wisdom in both my marriage and mother/son relationships.  Thankfully, the God I serve graciously extends mercy in every area of my life!  I am looking forward to what He reveals to me through these times, and I look forward to the memories that will be made in those everyday moments(like the ones in the pictures below) with my family.  I am blessed!

We take many walks to the park(Silas rides in the jogging stroller) on my days off work, and Silas always wants his picture taken in this guard rail on our way back.  I remember when he was barely able to see over the top!

Silas got play-doh for Christmas, and the sillier he can be with it…the better:)

3 Year Referral-versary

Three years ago today, Troy and I received a phone call that forever changed our lives.  We officially became parents for the first time, and we were thrilled!  Our caseworker informed us that she had a little boy she wanted to talk to us about, and I don’t know that we heard much past that:)  Here are a couple of the first pictures we saw of our precious son:

I think I nearly wore our computer out looking at his pictures over and over.  Of course, we had prints made to show off to everyone as well!  Needless to say, we are so humbled that God chose us to be the parents of Silas Abrham Lucht.  He fills our lives with such joy, and I can’t imagine my life without him in it.  In honor of his referral-versary, I thought I would share five of the many things we love about our son.

1. his smile – it is infectious and can light up a room in a second

2. the fact that he is all boy– he loves to run, jump, and makes lots of noise as well as all things motorized, especially trains

3. to hear his sweet prayers – I have had back problems on/off for 3 years now, and he faithfully prays for it to feel better very soon:)

4. how he gets SO excited about small things in life – string cheese with his meals, popcorn and movie night, reading time at the library, or getting to go to the park

5.  the love he has already developed in his heart for his new sister – Just yesterday he asked when she is coming home, and I said I don’t know buddy that will be up to God.  He replied “ but mama, we have ALL of our paperwork done, and I really want her to come soon”.  Neither Troy and I have directly had a conversation with him about paperwork but obviously his little ears have been listening.  He tells nearly everyone we meet he is going to have a sister, and I pray this love will grow even stronger once she is home

 

 

Silas, I cannot put into words the amount of love daddy and I have for you.  I pray that God will grant His favor and wisdom upon you all the days of your life, and that you will grow up to be a man that centers your life around Jesus Christ.  We are extremely blessed to be your parents, and thank you for the past three years of joy that you have brought to our lives. 

Love Always,

Mama and Daddy

Official January Number

We got an email late last night with our official January number(with a follow up call today since January was supposed to be our call month).  We knew what it was going to be based on other families so we weren’t too surprised.  We continue to pray and trust in God’s perfect timing.  We received our referral for Silas in February of 2009 so we are praying that February 2012 will reveal our 2nd little miracle from God!

This & That

Last Friday, we got a dusting of snow, but where we live you would think it was at least 12 inches!:)  I think it’s because I grew up in the North where they rarely called school off for anything that I find it so comical that they will call school off even at the prediction of snow here.  Nonetheless, I am sure the teachers love it, and Silas is thrilled to have snow…regardless of the amount.   I am glad he got to play in it a bit that morning because it had all melted by the afternoon.

He had already tossed the gloves here because he couldn’t eat the snow as well with them!

The next day Troy spent 1/2 the day taking apart Silas’ toddler bed and the bed in our guest bedroom.  We then switched them and converted Silas’ bed back to a crib for our daughter.  Silas got to sleep in his big boy bed for the 1st time at nap that day.  He has done great with the transition, and he seems to be more comfortable with the extra room so I think it was perfect timing!

One last picture(posed) in his toddler bed

 

 

Our big boy that looks so small in this bed:)

 

The sneak peek at the nursery.  Actually, this is all that is completed, but I think it’s a good start.  Troy helped me put up the wall words and my mom sewed the bedding.  I love it so far.  We just need our beautiful daughter to make it complete!

Silas got the opportunity to play with one of his good friends when I had a Thirty-One party at my house this week.  I just thought this picture that Troy captured was too sweet, and it just so happened to be on Martin Luther King Day.  On Facebook, Troy posted the picture with this phrase by Dr. King, and it made me smile to think that at least part of his dream was coming true.   "I have a dream . . . that one day little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sister and brothers." Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

 

Finally, it was 9 years ago today that Troy proposed to me at Indiana University(where I received my undergraduate degree), and of course, I said “yes”.  So, I have to share the legend about the gazebo where he proposed. “One popular belief is the promise of matrimony for Indiana sweethearts, as long as they kiss under the gazebo outside of Maxwell Hall at exactly midnight. A fairy tale-esque tradition, this legend inspires many proposals and romantic evenings under the gazebo. It’s kind of hard to refuse your man when IU has destined you together for all eternity.”  No, he didn’t propose at midnight, but I do believe we’re destined together for all of eternity!  I am blessed!

Birthday Fun & Thirty-One

We got to attend two different birthday parties for some of Silas’ buddies this past weekend.  I love birthdays at this age, and it is always great to celebrate the miracle of life! I honestly think Silas’ favorite part at both parties was the cupcakes.  We do give him sweets(monitored of course), but he ate cupcakes like they were going out of style.  I think he gets that from me:) 

First up was a monster themed party for these good friends, Bates and Harrison, who turned 3!

Bates is ready to dive in!

Silas gets overwhelmed in larger crowds so he stuck pretty close to Troy and I for the majority of the party

Everyone coloring their monsters!

Next up was the pirate and the princess party for Silas’ friends, Elijah and Ryann.  Silas loved the eye patch!

Silas with the birthday boy, Elijah!

Birthday Princess, Ryann

Silas and Lucy Lane.  Doesn’t she look thrilled to have her picture taken:)

All the kids got to participate in a ‘treasure’ hunt as part of the party, and then they got to spend the afternoon playing(the party was held at a local children’s museum).  All in all, we had a blessed weekend enjoying time as a family and celebrating good friends turning one year older!

I also wanted to share with you about a recent opportunity we have been presented with to help raise funds for our adoption.  We are at the point where we are currently saving for our travel expenses, and we were so blessed that our friend, Dovota Courtoy, said she would be willing to share a portion of her proceeds(~25%) from her next Thirty-One Sale.  I don’t know if you are familiar with Thirty-One products but they have super cute bags as well as numerous things to help ‘organize’ your life.  I love to organize so this got me excited!  For my local friends, we have a few house parties being hosted around town; however, I didn’t want to leave my non-local friends out so we are having an online sale as well.  The orders for the online sale need to be placed by 1/27/12 if you are interested in helping us bring our daughter home.  You can go here:

www.mythirtyone.com/dovota and click “Place an Order”;then choose Shop Now for Amber Lucht’s Thirty-One Party

Please feel free to share the link with family and friends.  Thanks!

Melkam Gena and New ‘Do’

In America, we celebrate Christmas on December 25; however, in Ethiopia the celebration is held on January 7 and we are delighted to celebrate Christmas on both of these dates in our home.  We started our celebration last night by inviting some friends from church to try out a relatively new, local Ethiopian restaurant.  It was our first time to try this one out, and we loved it!  I didn’t get any pictures at the restaurant, but I did manage to get one of Silas once we got home; however, the pictures reveal that he was less than thrilled about getting his picture taken.  Also, check out his new ‘do’!  I had planned to have someone else do his hair, but she had to go out of town SO…I watched a YouTube tutorial on finger coils and I didn’t think it turned out too bad for my 1st real attempt.  It took me about an hour and a half(Silas watched a movie and required some bribery with a candy cane), and my client was a little on the squirmy side at times:)  I included a few pictures of the top and back.

Today we continued our little celebration by making an Ethiopian ‘snack’.  I was looking for something simple since Silas would be helping me, and these little Ethiopian fried snacks were pretty easy. 

This is the official name for what we made

Ready to put in the pan

Ready to eat!  Silas liked them so that was a plus(he has a ways to go with developing a taste for Ethiopian food….right now he primarily sticks to injera and chickpeas based dishes!)

We can’t wait until our daughter is home to join in some of these little celebrations with us.  Melkam Gena!

Christmas 2011 & Official December #

Wow! It is hard to believe that 2012 is already here.  I don’t know where the last half of December went, but it seemed like a bit of a whirlwind.  We spent the majority of our Holidays traveling, and we were able to visit both of our families even though they live in two different states.  We really desire to start some of our own Christmas Eve/Day traditions at our house, and we’re praying about the best way to accomplish this. Overall, we had a very blessed Christmas despite our entire family getting hit by the dreaded stomach virus.  I didn’t get nearly as many pictures as I would have liked to due to our being out of commission for a few days, but I have a few to share below.

All smiles on Christmas Eve

Silas with his forced smile…all ready for Christmas Day Service

Quick family photo at Grandpa and Grandma Lucht’s house

Grandma Lucht opening one of her favorite gifts…jewelry!

 

Ready to play with some of his new gifts

Not sure about this smile!  It looks like he is in pain.  He loved his new monkey hat he got from Aunt Connie!

Silas was thrilled that it snowed at Grandpa and Grandma Lucht’s house, and the snow passed his taste test!

It wasn’t too deep so he enjoyed running through it..

Grandpa Lucht assisted with finding more snow to eat:)

Car entertainment as we traveled from Troy’s parents back down to see my family

Sadly, this is the only picture I have from visiting my family.  It was mid 50s and sunny one day so we decided to take advantage of the weather and go to the park.  Silas loves swinging and his Mamaw was happy to oblige his request to be pushed. 

More car pictures as we traveled back home….we always get creative in finding ways to pass the time( yes we’re probably the only family that doesn’t have a portable DVD player for the car)

Silas was happy to discover that Santa had indeed made it to our house when we got back home

As you can see, our family and friends did not forget our daughter this Christmas either.  We were so touched by their generosity. 

This was a good Christmas but also a difficult one for me personally.  I think both Troy and I had in our minds that our daughter would be spending Christmas with us this year, and I am confident God’s timing is perfect;however, it doesn’t always mean it’s easy from a human standpoint.  As I lay there recovering from the stomach flu, I kept looking over to a picture that my mom has hung in her guest bedroom which says “ Thank God for what you have.  Trust God for what you need.” This was a good reminder for me that I am so blessed, and it will not produce any fruit to dwell on something that is out of my control.  So, I vowed once again that I will continue to trust God to reveal our daughter to us at exactly the right time.  With that being said, I am excited to say that we had some movement in December, and our new official number is:

 

We are thrilled to see what 2012 has in store for us, and rejoicing that we serve a God who is faithful!

God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful. 1 Corinthians 1:9