IT'S A BOY!!!

We just came back from the doctor where I had my 20 week ultrasound and found out it's a BOY! We are very excited over here! Well, it took quite a bit of convincing Kate to get excited, but I think we've finally convinced her that another little brother might just be alright. Everything looks great!

Florida Here We Come!

It's official! We're moving to Florida in August. We're moving to Boca Raton, which from what I gather is a bit like the Irvine of the East Coast. It's also fairly far South in Florida, between West Palm Beach and Ft. Lauderdale. Mark got a teaching position at a prep school there and we are eternally grateful for the opportunity and of course, for all of the prayers!

We have known this for a long time now, but with all the moving craziness, it's just been a bit too busy to blog, not to mention I had a very hard first trimester and Mark has been working like a mad man! Please pray for Mark as he finishes his dissertation (working at least 12 hour days, no less). And please pray for us as we prepare for this new chapter in our lives! It's very exciting!

We are also planning on shutting our babyhomepages site down in a few months. This blog will become our family's main blog. I will spend the next few months figuring out how to have a picasa or flickr link, so that we can still post a bunch of pictures!

So, I haven't posted in FOREVER because....

We've basically been sick over here since the beginning of January. Not to worry though - I'm updating lots of pics over at our babyhomepages site. In the meantime, a couple of quick takes to bring us up to speed:

1. We celebrated Mark's birthday by going to the San Diego Wild Animal Park on Saturday. Sunday, we watched football (Go PACK!) and had an impromptu German themed birthday party complete with brats, potato salad, beer and of course, a German chocolate cake . I think it's safe to say it was a rocking time.

2. Kate told me the other day that the blinds were, "trembling in the breeze." They were indeed blowing - pretty cute, huh?

3. We are very excited about the Packer win! Pretty sure we're the only ones out here though, so in that way, it's all a bit anti-climactic.

4. Both Kate and Luke have eye infections, ear infections, fevers and the like. Poor little ones, they've been sick so much lately.

5. Mark is getting ready to attend a Conference in DC called The LINK. I can't remember what it stands for right now.... Anywho, it's a conference for hiring at independent prep schools nationally as well as internationally. Slowly, it's come to our attention that there does exist opportunities beyond the world of academia!!! Mark and I both feel good about the decision to pursue this possibility and believe that the Lord has a plan for us. Please pray that opportunities will open up for Mark and that the Lord will place us where he wants us.

6. For some reason I have been thinking about adoption a lot lately. It's all so new that I won't say much yet besides this: I know that we won't adopt (if we do) for some time. I think what has really been pressing on my heart in prayer lately is that there are 147 million orphans in the world. That is A TON of kids without moms and dads to love them. Often, these orphans live with hunger and disease, they don't have medical care or someone to hold them when they're hurting. Many of these children die from starvation and neglect. I know that adoption is a special call, a ministry really, but Christ calls us ALL to care for orphans.

There are so many stories gripping my heart, but one thing I have learned in the past few weeks is that in the Ukraine, there are many babies with special needs, especially down syndrome. These Down Syndrome children have until they are 4 years old to be adopted. If they are not adopted by 4 they will be place in a mental institution where 95% of them will die! I also found out that many orphanages in the third world separate children with special needs. The children in the special needs room might get little to no care and be drugged (often on adult sleeping pills! around the clock!). In China, there exists a stigma with children diagnosed with Autism. They believe that you can "catch it" by touching and interacting with them, so autistic children are left alone with no one to care for them... All of this touches me to the core. It breaks my heart and causes me to ask what more I can do to help. If you're interested, here are a couple of wonderful blogs on the topic:

Katie at Amazima Ministries in Uganda

No Greater Joy Mom

147 Million Orphans You can buy those awesome magazine bead necklaces here. Check em out!

Hello Kitty + Spiderman = True Love

Today we celebrated Kate's 4th birthday and Ethan's 5th birthday. There was a pinata, bounce house, pizza, cake and plenty of merriment to go around! Here are some pics of the event.

Kate's First Christmas Concert

Christmas Fun!

And so I try again... ;)

Decorating Christmas Cookies

Trimming the Tree

At The Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade - it was awesome!

Luke Turns Two (A Month Later...)

Here are some pics from Luke's 2nd birthday party, which included a "choo choo" train cake, many friends and lots of presents. Luke had a great time!'