Sneak Peak

OK, yes, I'm alive. For the 3 of you that still check in on us, I'm not even going to explain what has been going on the past few weeks. I'm even getting called out by people for slacking. November has been absolutely crazy for us ... I hope to have a picture review soon. I hope.

And HAPPY THANKSGIVING! We have SO much to be thankful for....so much! We are so blessed. I am so thankful for the family that God has given us ... and for the gift of His Son so that we could be ADOPTED into His family. Adoption is His story ... we've just joined into that story for our family.

Oh, and just a quick tidbit ... our boy is walking! If he's up on his feet, that is his choice for transportation now ... it's so fun to watch him stagger around and he's so proud of himself ... and it's not like we give him any praise for his amazing accomplishment or anything :)

A couple weeks ago, Amber met up with Angela and did pics for Silas. Angela is part of Celebrating Adoption and she does free sitting fees and proofs for adopted families ... pretty cool give-back by her. Nevertheless, we got some sneak peaks yesterday from her....he was not feeling good that day ... in knowing that, she did an amazing job. He ended up with a virus that caused blisters in his throat, fever, etc, etc. Thank GOD we're passed that and our boy is back to normal now. OK, enjoy....

"Seriously, mommy, another photo shoot?"

I think this one is our favorite picture cause she caught him in a expression that we haven't gotten previously

He's got his innocent look going on here.

See why I'm so blessed?

I really like this one too....

One year pics

I've got alot of pictures that we've taken the past couple weeks but I'm slacking as usual ... but I promise I will inform you soon of why I've been a stranger. Anyways, we had friends from church who have massive skills take his one year pictures ... they actually do amazing video work ... ever thought of your wedding as a movie? Well, they DO that. Check them out here ... pretty cool stuff.

OK, so here is a sampling of pictures we got ... I stole these from her blog ... there's a couple other good ones we like in the lot that I'll have to show you later ... the boy was pretty serious for them since 1) he was outside and taking it all in and 2) around new people. But they still got some pretty sweet pics...enjoy!

This is actually my trike from when I was his age :)

LOVE.THIS.PICTURE!

Family time

Another one of my favorites

Farmer Silas (we actually had to pull things out of his mouth a few times as he enjoyed eating leaves, grass, the pumpkin stem, etc)

Peek-a-boo

On the move

I love this picture of my two favorite people in all the world

ok, little story behind this one ... it's been like Seattle here in middle Tennessee ... has been raining constantly. Kelsey thinks this is a great picture location ... says it's a "little wet" ... let's just say I think my butt was still wet when we went to church later that night :)

his look cracks me up

Announcing...

This is a letter we sent to our family and friends in the last day or so... :)

Dear Family & Friends,

Can you believe it is November already? Where did October go??? It seems like only yesterday we were celebrating Silas’ birthday and now that’s been almost a month ago. It is unreal how quick time can get away from you…

Well, we wanted to share some exciting news with you. As God is moving in our hearts, we have heard His call to adopt again! We cannot start the process until March but the planning has begun. He has called us to Ethiopia again and we’re excited to say the least.

As many of you know, adoption can be an expensive endeavor. The cost of Silas’ adoption was around $24,000 with fees, home study, travel, etc. With his adoption, we were able to use savings and a Home Equity Loan on our house to help cover the cost. This time around, those things aren’t as readily available so we’re looking for alternative ways to raise money for it.

One of those ways is a coffee store we just ‘opened’. You can access it online at https://www.justlovecoffee.com/TroyAndAmber. The store is stocked with fair-trade coffee from around the world (we’re partial to the Ethiopian coffee … that is some good stuff!) For each bag purchased from our store, the owner of Just Love Coffee donates money to our adoption fund. This could be a great Christmas gift (hint-hint) or just for your enjoyment. :)

We also want to ask for your prayers as we begin this journey again. We had so many people praying for Silas’adoption, and we would love to enlist you on our 2nd journey as well. As we have not formally communicated it to anyone yet, this is our announcement of our next adoption. We will post it on our blog in the near future and try to keep you updated on the status of it (along with the cute pictures of Silas, of course). Our blog address is http://luchtadoption.blogspot.com.

We apologize if you get this more than once as some of your names may accidentally be duplicated between our two contact lists.

Thanks again for your prayers and participation in our adoption journey to our next Ethiopian miracle. Please let us know if you have any questions and if there are any ways in which we can be praying for you.

Blessings

- Troy & Amber