Already one month in to 2008. . .

Holy cow! We're already one month in to 2008 and it has been a whirlwind. Just after the New Year, Kim started back to school. It was fun for her to be off so long for Christmas but now the countdown for Spring Break and then summer has officially begun. The weekend after New Year's, and the weekend after that, Marc traveled to Chicago then Orlando on business. In Chicago, he got to see his friend Jeff from college and Jeff's wife Lauren. Then, one would think Orlando's weather would be great compared to Missouri in January, right? Wrong. It was rainy, cold, windy, cloudy, rainy (did we mention rainy?). Fortunately, the outdoor event he helped plan worked out well except for one thing. . . Shortly after the end of his event, Marc's messenger bag containing his personal camera (with photos of Jakob and the event) and company laptop was stolen. That's a nice taste of Florida hospitality!

We've been diligently giving new foods for Jakob to try and surprisingly enough the kid loves peas and squash and is just okay with green beans. Who would have thought!?!? He continues to amaze us as he grows and is quite the chatter now including squeaks, sighs, coos, yells, etc. He always makes sure we know he's there.

Right now we're anxious to get our taxes done to see how things are going to play out for us financially. We're hoping it works out for us to get a nice refund to help pay for Jakob's upcoming legal fees (finalizing his adoption in May), his current agency fees and perhaps a down payment on a newer car for Marc. We're also still praying about the two long shot subsidies through Shohannah's Hope and the state that we have filed for. Every little bit helps. Until then, Marc has taken a second job on Sunday evenings which will help as well.

This weekend started off well, but then had some ups and downs. Friday night we went out to eat and later that evening Kim started feeling more and more under the weather. We thought maybe it was something she ate, but she's been riding out a temperature this weekend and has called in sick for tomorrow in the hopes of getting better with some rest at home. In addition, our friend Leah from small group got news her mother passed away very unexpectedly and she and her husband Ben went home to be with her family. It's also Connect Weekend at Vineyard and our small group had a table up to help publicize the incredible things going on including the formation of a new small group. We are so excited about where God is taking us this year. Our group continues to grow so well that we're in a position of needing to split again! God continues to bring people to us and we're hoping that the new group we're a part of will be able to be at our house.

One week from today will be "Cheat Bowl I" and if there is any justice in the world, the New York Giants will take home the Lombardi Trophy. Sure, its most likely not going to happen, but one can hope for good things, right?

We're hoping to have a new video up of Jakob soon, until then thanks for continuing to visit our blog and his YouTube channel.

More soon.