Of course, everyone knows that Max and Kate are our Christmas blessings – they truly are miracles.  We are also very thankful for many of our friends blessings recently, especially considering the time of year that it is.

Many of you already know Blake and Danielle Malone.  These two have struggled through so much over the past couple of years with the loss of their daughters.  Danielle is now just a few weeks away from her due date – and baby boy is looking great!  He is truly a miracle and blessing to their lives, and I can’t wait until all three of our babies are old enough to have some play dates together.   Danielle was such an inspiration to me during our pregnancies.  She actually got put into the Predators Suite at Baptist (where I called home for 8 weeks) the day I left.  I knew then that God had brought us together during this time for a reason.  The Malone’s blog is http://blakeanddaniellemalone.blogspot.com check it out.

One of my dearest friends from college, and a coworker of both me and Chad from our days at Nissan, Jay, and his wife Amber just received an amazing blessing recently – they got to bring their adopted daughter home from the Philippines.  Camille is 5 and is absolutely beautiful.  I am sure she will be a great blessing to Jay, Amber, and Carter.  They are in the process of raising funds to bring another child, Leah May, home to America as well.  Please pray that they will be able to take on this challenge that the Lord has placed on their hearts and that they will be able to obtain the funds to adopt Leah May, as she is being taken off of the adoption lists due to her age.  Unless someone specifically requests her, she will be spending the remainder of her childhood in the orphanage.  You can donate to Leah May’s fund by contacting Jay at jay_childress@hotmail.com

Speaking of adoption – most everyone that reads this know of Chad’s and my love for the continent of Africa, and the work we do with Triathletes for Africa/ Triathletes for Hope, so it is fitting that we have taken interest in the adoptions of two of our sets of friends.  Both couples are adopting from Ethiopia.  Mike and Amy just had their court date and PASSED!!!! this week – they will be bringing their beautiful baby girl home soon.  Their blog is http://severson.wordpress.com.  Our friends Becky and Andrew are also awaiting their court date as they just got their referral last week for their baby boy.  Their website is http://thegreatestmarathon.blogspot.com Please pray that both of these wonderful couples continue to receive God’s blessings upon their families as they both await the arrival of their children.

Chad and I hope that everyone reading this receives all of the wonderful blessings God has in store for you this year!  Thanks for keeping up with our journey over the past year, and we PROMISE next year won’t be quite as dramatic!  Peace and love – K