New Lease on the Blog...

So I guess I just need to post something here, to let the blogging community know that we're still alive.  It's been almost two years since I last posted.  Not that we haven't had anything happen, but...I just haven't made the time to update our blog.
This won't be a long post, just something to say hi (and update for posterity's sake...if we want to go back one day and read through our life...).  Once we get our referral from Ehtiopia, I will begin posting again.  Lots has happened in the last almost two years since I last posted.  Let's see...

1. I went back to work full-time at Doerre Intermediate School as the choir teacher in the fall of 2010 (however, this year, I've only been half-time and teaching some private voice lessons - hoping to go back to full-time next year).
2. My sweet, sweet grandmother, Helen O'Donnell passed from this life, and I was honored to take part in her memorial service in April of 2011.
3. We moved into a new [amazing] home (I'll try to post pictures at some point soon) in April of 2011.
4. We switched our adoption from one child from Mongolia to two children (boy and girl) from Ethiopia in June of 2011.
5. Gary started school again, working on his master's degree from Lincoln Christian Seminary.
6. We got another dog, Miriam (Mimi, for short), who is right now about 7 months old and the thorn in Moses' side.

Currently, we've got our dossier in Ethiopia waiting for our referral.  Once we get that, it'll be a matter of months until we have a house full of laughter, crying, and temper-tantruming.

Other than that, Gary and I are always on the go.  Crazy crazy times.  I'd like to start blogging again.  We'll see.....  :)

Until next time...  

Five Blissful Years

Yesterday was our 5th Anniversary, and what a beautiful experience it was.  Gary really out-did himself by planning it as a surprise for me.  I teared up several times.  Yeah, I know...I'm a cheese-ball.  Anyway, yesterday began with us leaving the house at about 10:30 for a place that Gary would not disclose to me.  I was able to fall asleep in the car on the drive, and when I woke up, we were driving through San Antonio.  Gary asked me if I would like to go see a movie, and where the closest one would be.  I said that we could just wait until we get to Fredericksburg because surely they have a movie theater there.  For some reason, going west in my mind means going to Fredericksburg (we've been there three times for bed and breakfasts, so I just kind of assumed...).  Anyway, he had this look on his face like, "Ha! You think you're so smart, don't you..."  So I was wrong...big deal.  ;)  
We pulled in to the Huebner Oaks movie theater and went to see a matinee showing of "Inception."  Very cool movie.  Will probably like to see it again once it's out on DVD.  It was very much a "mind-bending" movie kind of like "Beautiful Mind" with Russell Crowe.
Anyway, when we left, I figured it out, and this time I was not wrong - about the hotel.  Gary took me to the Omni Hotel, where we spent our first night as a married couple.  It was absolutely beautiful, and we felt like royalty.  The room was filled with rose petals, and the bed was turned down, with two bathrobes laying there.  Very sweet.  We changed clothes for dinner, and someone brought by a chilled bottle of champagne for us, as we were leaving to go to dinner (of course, we didn't drink it right then...and still haven't).
Ah, dinner...it was probably the most romantic place one could imagine in the hill country of Texas.  The Vineyards.  I would recommend it to anyone willing to make the drive.  It is located outside of San Antonio close to New Braunfels.  Nestled in the hills, and just a quaint little building, it's surrounded by, of course, vineyards.  They make some of their own wine, and have an extensive wine list and delicious food.  Our table was upstairs, and Gary had made the reservations specifically at the time of sunset.  The meal was relaxed and our waitress was sweet.  Afterward, we went walking through the vineyards, passing by other private tables located among the vines, that people made extra-special arrangements to have.  Extremely romantic, indeed.
Then this morning, we slept in late and were able to make it to the absolutely beautiful and extensive breakfast buffet.  The people were just wonderful to us, and the food was absolutely the best hotel food I've had in a very long time.  Reminded me of some of the 5-star hotel breakfasts I've had the privilege to stay in around Europe and in China.  We were so pleased with our stay there, and didn't want to leave.  But check out time came all too soon, and we were gone.  Heading back to reality in Spring.  So I'm writing this note, in order to keep the memory fresh and share it with friends.
I am married to the most wonderful man, and am so thankful for how he treats me like a precious gem.
I love you, Gary.  I always will.

The Holidays Have Come and ... Almost Gone...

It's that time again when I make my blog posting after way too much has happened to do the stories justice..Oh well, when I have more time (HA!), perhaps I'll get better at this thing. I am realistic enough to know that life will never slow down as much as I wish it would.

So, the last time we posted, I shared about all the stuff up until October. I guess two months isn't THAT bad...

First things first, our adoption. We sent off the dossier toward the beginning of November, and when they received it our agent, Jimbo, said that everything looked good. I think that is not normal because everyone we've talked to along the way (our social worker who did our homestudy and Jimbo regarding the whole process) has said that it's very highly likely that they (meaning the powers that be) will probably need something else or that we may not have everything in proper order, etc. Well, I'm proud to say that, yes, we did have everything, the first time through, and the dossier should (hopefully) just now be in the translation process.

Jimbo also told us that the Mongolian adoption committee has put a "pause" on all incoming applications for the time being, in order to clear out the pipeline of those who have been waiting. They're hoping to open it back up sometime in February or March, and have a "tweaked" plan in progress to speed up the process on their end. Jimbo said not to quote him on this, but I'll just say that when Gary asked him if he had any idea of how long it would take, once the new process was in place, he said that he hoped it would be closer to 6-12 months. (Here's hoping and praying!!)

Please be praying for us in this waiting time. I have been telling people all along the way that the waiting isn't "that bad" mainly because Gary and I are staying SOOOOO busy. But what I really want to say is, "Yeah, it's hard. It's hard to see these other babies and not want to go up and love all over them, without their parents thinking we're psycho. Yeah, it's hard when I am around a group of women and the topic of conversation goes on and on and on about their kids and horrible or wonderful things that they are experiencing with them. Yeah, it's even harder when I'm around another group of women who are sharing all their woes or joyous experiences about being pregnant or their birth stories." Yeah, it's hard. But you can understand why I usually just stick with the, "It's really not that bad...we're just staying really busy" (*looking off to the side...*) So, in order to not make anyone feel uncomfortable in asking me how the adoption process is going, please don't feel bad, but understand that overall, it's an AMAZING journey. But it's not without just a small taste of despair. I watch the Adoption Stories show usually bawling my eyes out the whole entire time, thinking, "That's gonna be US!! We're gonna get there someday."

We recently got U-Verse installed in our home. It's been good, but I'm honestly having second thoughts. If we're not busy enough, add on to it the "need" to catch up on our recorded shows. We haven't gone to bed this late in a really long time, and I honestly think that watching TV has just added one more thing to our busy lives. That sounds strange, but I just don't multi-task very well, so watching TV is watching TV, and nothing else. I'm just not sure if I want to keep it... Those of you out there who are used to watching TV, bless you. I just don't know how you do it. Plus the fact that I just despise commercials, so if it's not recorded, it's torturous for me. I usually change the channel and flip through other shows while the commercials are on, which, I KNOW bugs the crap out of Gary...

I'm supposedly on "vacation" now...which means I'm still working...don't know what I think about that. Having gone from 16 years of being a student in school, to teaching for 6 1/2 years now, I'm used to having my summers and a couple of weeks at Christmas off. I don't know what I think about this "working" up until Christmas Eve, and then hitting the ground running as soon as I get back from vacation...I've spent the last few months being so tired after a long day's work, and I just don't know if I want to do it again next semester. Hmm...pray for me in that, if you could. I think I'm beginning to know what "running on fumes" really means. I have no idea how I survived college. Really.

Let's see...in November, we went camping with two other couples, the Dowdens and the Coles, and had a blast. The weather was absolutely perfect for the entire weekend, and it was just nice to hang out and do nothing for a couple of days, while still catching up with good friends.

We spent some time Thanksgiving weekend with both of our families. This was a very special time with the Luedeckes. Gary's brother Craig and his girlfriend Amanda were there in Cuero with us, and it just felt nice and cozy with all six of us there. Then spending a couple of days in San Antonio, shopping with my little sister and hiking with her and my mom was fun.

Next week is Christmas. Gary's off for the week, which will be really nice to be home together. We're spending Christmas Eve/Day with his parents and nephew Ashton, and then we'll have a couple days alone together, and then we'll head to San Antonio. We're leaving for Hawaii with my folks for a week, and then will be back to start it all over again at the beginning of January. Gosh, I know I'm overworked because I can't even enjoy the fact that we're going to HAWAII!! Sheesh. Yeah - a trip of a lifetime, good quality time with my family, and just a time to get away from everything here...okay, so it's sounding so much more positive. I've really struggled with the reality that I'm going to have so much to do when we get back. But I know that it is going to be SOOOOO good to be away from the craziness of life as I've known it for the last four months. Praise God for respites like the one coming up.

Alright, here are a few pictures from the last couple months.

I went with some girls from church to Canton, TX. If you've never heard of it, you've gotta look it up. It's a big up-scale flea market type place. Good stuff for low prices. It was such a blast going there, but it was absolutely freezing. That was the weekend it snowed in Houston, but the snow took a detour around Dallas and missed us. However it was still in the 30's while we were there. We got up and left Spring at 5am, got there as the sun was coming up around 8, shopped all day (with numb faces and fingers, mind you), went out for Mexican that evening on our way to the hotel. The next morning, we went back to another section of the Trade Days (the name of the market) for about an hour and then ran out of gas on our way home. Made for a very exciting trip and such a fun time away with friends. I look forward to doing it again next year (perhaps a little earlier in the year)...

This past Sunday, we took a group of singers to the downtown Methodist Hospital. We carolled in the hallways of the Cancer wing and the digestive disorders floor. It was a good way to spread the cheer to those in need, and a good reminder of how blessed we truly are to not be there during this Christmas season. Thank you, Lord.

Here's a picture of my family (the Kruses) the evening after Thanksgiving. Good times with beautiful people.

Here's another picture of the Luedeckes in Cuero. This was a wonderful time to spend with our family.

Through the First Trimester

Krissy writes:

A very close friend of mine yesterday put it that way. I was talking with her about the adoption process, and she asked me where we are on the timeline. There are 26 steps, and we just completed step number 8. She exclaimed, "Well, that means you're through your first trimester!!" Couldn't have put it better myself! We've been at this since January when we chose Small World as our agency, applied in February, had our homestudy done in April, and then have since been collecting all the needed documents for our dossier, which we just sent off yesterday!! YAY!

Here's a list of stuff that we had to collect (doesn't seem like a lot, but in the grand scheme of things, making all the appointments and applying for things with the government agencies takes a LOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNGGGGGG time.

1. Application letter

2. Copies of passports

3. Birth certificates

4. Marriage certificate

5. Autobiographies

6. Pictures of us and family members and our home

7. Certificate of Residence

8. Economic status form

9. 2008 Tax Return statement

10. Physicals

11. Criminal Record Inquiries

12. Copy of Homestudy

13. Copy of the approval from from the USCIS (immigration services)

And had to get them all notarized. We got my physical form from the doctor yesterday, and sent it all off!! Yay. It's just so relieving to be done with that step. Now it's just a matter of keeping all of these applications/documents updated over the next couple of years while we wait for our child. From this point, our agency says it will be about 2-3 years of waiting (good time to try to save up the money it will take us to complete the adoption). Long time... :( But we are hopeful, and are resting assured that it will ALL be worth it when we can wrap our arms around the beautiful child God has picked out for us.

Here are some pictures and events that have happened in the meantime.

We attended the commencement at Dallas Christian College in May (don't know if I posted any pictures about that). Congrats, Gary.

For our fourth anniversary this summer, July 23, we went to Galveston for two nights and two days. Spent some time on the beach, went to Schlitterbahn, had a fancy dinner at Willies and an amazing lunch at Luigi's on the Strand. It was a wonderful weekend.

We had the opportunity to go to Venezuela in September to visit some missionary friends. We had a wonderful time, and look forward to possibly making it back in the future.

Here's our little guy. Not that dogs grow much bigger, but I just couldn't post after such a long time without putting something about Moses on here. When we went to Venezuela, Gary's parents watched him for us. He is such a precious dog, and both Gary and I are so extremely thankful for him.

A couple of weekends ago, we went to the Houston Zoo. Just decided to go, out of the blue. (That does NOT happen very often around here - I am a PLANNER!) But it was such a great day. We got there at around 1 in the afternoon, and all the animals were out, it was overcast (sprinkled a little on us, but nothing that drenched us). Just a perfect day to spend together, just the two of us - and a couple of cute fuzzy animals. Here's a picture of a giraffe. He was trying so hard to get to the trees and bushes that were outside of their cage. So funny. I'm always fascinated with the monkeys.

Last weekend, I flew up to Omaha, Nebraska for a much-needed family reunion. It was so wonderful to see everyone there, and great to spend time laughing our heads off with each other. Here's a picture of a long-lost cousin, Jess, and her mother, Cay. Cay and her husband Dennis adopted Jess from my aunt Suzy (far right) back in 1978. In this picture: Cay, Jess, Annie, Grandma, Suzy. Everyone is astounded at how similar Annie and Jess look. They were born only months apart, but they're both just as pretty as the other one. When I first saw her, I really had to do a double-take. My mom brought baby pictures of Annie to show to Jess and Cay. They were also astounded at how much their baby pictures looked alike.

Here's Grandma (4'10") cuttin' a rug with my cousin Ryan (6 feet something). Just had to get a shot of this.

Here's my cousin Katie with her husband Chris and their newborn girl, Ella. Precious family. I had a marvelous time holding the 3-week-old baby.

Here's the three girl cousins, Katie, me, and Annie, holding the babies, Ella, Mollie, and Luke.

And here's cute little Mollie with her "goggie" she recently named Moses. She was getting ready for bed in preparation for the long ride back home to Texas with her Bubba and Nana.

August is not over yet!

(Gary Writing)
So Krissy wrote about how time flies, and I kind of wish it would fly faster this month. With small groups beginning next month, I have a lot of stuff to do: getting people plugged in, organizing groups, training new leaders, and on and on. Then add to that that I am gearing up to do a special small group with a few select couples in the church, I am going to start learning Greek this fall, and I am preaching on Sept. 6th, and it makes for a crazy next few weeks and months. Nonetheless, I am very excited about the opportunities that have presented themselves for the fall. Doors are opening that I have been praying to open for a while. Thank you, Lord!

I so look forward to the upcoming sermon series and small group series on the book of Ephesians. I think it is going to be so good for our church. Hopefully we can really capitalize on this series to really help people grow in their understanding of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus, and what Christ calls us to do because we are in Him. To the praise of his glorious grace!

I find myself learning how to hear the Lord. I have really heard his voice lately, and it makes me wonder why I haven't heard him so clearly before. I heard him tell me to pray for one of my good friends the other day. I don't know what was going on with him, if anything, but it was clear to me that God was telling me to pray for him. It is good to hear his voice like that. Then again, it gets really scary when you want to hear from God on something important, and you are not sure if you heard him right. I guess that's why they say to wait on the Lord...

As I have been studying this week, it has been really challenging to find a clear and concise command from the Lord to be in Christian community. Though it may not be commanded, it is surely implied that everyone in the early church was in community. It may not have been called a small group, but it was tight-knit fellowship and accountability as each person learned to walk with the Lord. How can we miss this? How can we become so infatuated with ourselves that we don't submit to other believers like Paul told us to (Eph. 5:21)? It is a problem in our culture, and we really need to wake up and snap out of it. We were saved for the body, not ourselves.

Sorry for the rant. Maybe I should get some sleep. Again, to the praise of his glory!