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All of us!


 I am so excited to finally have all of us in a picture!  Eli got

me a new camera for Christmas and I couldn't wait to get a

picture of all of us.  My dear, dear friend from Indiana came

down for a visit this past week with her two very little ones

and spent an entire day taking pictures of us. She is so

creative and I am so thankful to her because these pictures

are priceless to us.  Not to mention she was extremely patient

with our little crew and lets just say Max was in no mood to

take pictures.  We still managed to have fun.  I included some

of my favorites.  I love that I will always be able to look back

at us because some days life just seems to fly by and I don't

want to forget all of this.




Have I mentioned that my husband is an amazing percussionist {grin}







I love this one of the kids running free. 

I am hoping this is how life will be for them very soon at our

new house.  Thanks to all of you who have been praying

about our moving situation.  We decided not to move this

summer because it would be to much of a rush.  We are going

to start building our house in Indiana in the fall {if all goes

well} and then next year at the end of the school year when it

is time to move we will either sell or rent out our house

depending on the real estate market.  Oh we are so praying

someone will just knock on our door sometime in the next

year and want to buy our house {but not holding our breath}.


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Busy

I know I haven't posted in a while but we have been soooo

busy.  I have had doctor appointments, lawyer appointments,

school activities, lots of playing and big decision making.

It has been so nice these last few days we have actually gotten

to go to the park a couple times and get some fresh air. 

Hoping to get a zoo trip in sometime this week if it doesn't

rain.






Have I mentioned how much these two love each other? 

Seriously they are inseparable and they were perfectly made

for each other. 


I always wanted more then one daughter.  I have two sisters

and I always wanted that for Ayla. I never would have

guessed that God had two beautiful daughters out there

waiting for me.  I couldn't wait to get them all matching

outfits.  I happen to think it is the cutest thing.  Ayla already

had a few of these poppy dips made last year.  I love them

they wash so well and the fabrics are beautiful.  They are

made with love by Sallee who is raising money to go get her

third child from Ethiopia.  Go to her blog. Encourage and

pray for her as they are being held up by paperwork.  You can

look at her pictures of her beautiful boy Samson Jude that

they are anxiously waiting to bring home.




Here is Zoe in her Poppy Dip with me, nervously watching

her brother's and sister's go down the slide.



I know, I know I said we have been doing some big decision

making and didn't offer an explanation.  We are praying

about moving.  A lot of things need to happen for it to work

out.  We want to move back to Indiana where we lived 5 years

ago.  We have been ready to move out of this house since we

first moved in.  It is really expensive to live here.   Property

and state taxes are ridiculous here and in Indiana they are

much more affordable.  We moved into this house with only

Jackson who was 18 months at the time and obviously our

needs have changed.  I don't want a larger house but we need

a different layout with more space for coats, laundry and

shoes.  My parents are thinking about moving back there and

Eli's family already lives there.  We have some very dear

friends that already live there.  I call them my

soul mate friends.  They have prayed for me through good

and bad and have always been such an encouragement for Eli

and I.  We had a realtor come out yesterday and the house

values have depreciated so much around here that the huge

chunk of equity that we once had in our home would be

almost gone if we sell our home for what it is worth now

{ugh}.  That would really affect our down payment for our

next house.  On a positive side my parents have some

beautiful land there that they are wanting to build on.  They

said my sister's and I could build houses on it also.  It isn't

a for sure thing though because it will take time to see if the

county would approve of the land being subdivided.  I really

want to move in the summer so that it doesn't affect the kids

school year so we would need to list our house soon since it

will probably take months for the house to sell.  We also need

the adoptions to be finalized before we can move out of state. 

We could finalize as early and March and as late as summer. 

Eli would have a few things to do with his business to get

things settled for the move.   We would have to find a rental

house to live in while we build and of course we would have

to sell our house now before we could do this.    We all

have such a peace and excitement about the move.  How fun

would it be for my kids to grow up right next to their

grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins with lots of land to

run and play on.  I know God's plan is always so much better

then my own plans, so we a busy praying, praying, praying

the God guides us and lets us know if we should stay put, sell

our house or rent out our house.


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Ice



Do you see that?  We have been iced in for the last couple days.

I am kinda bummed that we didn't get tons of snow because then

at least the kids could have played in it.  Oh what to do? 



As you can see the kids have lots of energy that they need to

get out.  We have lots of dance parties.{with dinosaurs}

 



We have had to cancel several play dates because it seems

one of them is always sick.  We have had this horrible cold

pass through us one to many times. I know  a good dose of

sunshine would be just the cure.   

Some good has come out of this winter though because we

got our newbies at the end of November so the cold weather

has been nice because we have been able to bond with just

our family unit and really get to know each other.   But now

there are so many things we can't wait to take them to do. 

Parks, Zoo's, trips and swimming. 

So many firsts that I can't wait to experience with them. 

Plus there will be the added benefit of

not having to put all the extra layers on just to get out the

door.  I am starting to think our next move

needs to be south.

On a side note Zoe has this cute little poof on the top of her

head and the rest of her hair on the sides is starting to grow

in.  I think her little curls are quit cute.  A couple people have

suggested that I cut the poof so that her hair can all grow in

at the same length.  And I guess new healthier hair is

supposed to grow back in its place.  Any suggestions? 

Anyone out there have any experiences?



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Are you his family!

Please Join Me in Praying Riker HOME!! EMERGENCY!!!!!!!!

Emergency: Riker Needs a Family!

Could this handsome boy be your son?

This is 13-year-old Riker.  He was adopted from Ukraine in 2003 by a family living in Illinois.  Riker's adoptive mom recently found out that her triple negative breast cancer (a rare and aggressive form of cancer) has recurred and spread and the situation is critical.   Riker's family does not have the energy to walk through more chemo and cancer treatments and help Riker with his RAD (reactive attachment disorder) issues.

Riker's adoptive family is desperately seeking a new family for him.
Riker is currently in respite care in Illinois.  The family is not interested in finding a different respite situation; they know Riker needs a permanent home, a forever family, ASAP.  The family will need to be experienced with RAD issues (see Riker's profile below).

If you believe God may be calling your family to adopt Riker, please contact Jeff@JeffElson.net.

Please broadcast Riker's story on your blogs and Facebook and any other way you can get the message out that this precious boy needs a family immediately!  And please keep Riker's adoptive mom in your prayers as well.  Thank you!

Here is the info that was posted about Riker last summer on the CHASK website:


We are looking for a family to adopt our son Riker.  Riker was adopted from Ukraine 6 ½ years ago and is now 13.  He is in the 7th grade.
Riker is very bright and does well in school mostly A’s  with little work involved.  Unfortunately he has not attached to our family.  Riker loves to read, draw, play sports and video games.  Riker is very athletic, football and basketball are is specialty.  Riker is very healthy.   
Riker craves positive attention but does not like to be called on area of weaknesses.  Riker would benefit from a very structured environment, our house is very chaotic and is not a good fit for someone who needs a routine.   He does great when school is in session and benefits from the routine.  He is a little lost on weekends when that routine goes away.  Unfortunately my wife has been battling breast cancer for the last 2 years and the additional stress of caring for Riker has taken a toll on our family.
Riker has a problem with stealing and then lies to cover up being caught.   He realizes stealing is wrong but cannot seem to stop. He has never been arrested as most of the stealing involved money from us. He also shows no remorse.  He can be impulsive but has shown improvement in this area.  
He plays well with other children and is very personable but does not seem to follow through on making friends of his own.  Riker has been diagnosed with RAD and needs a fresh start.  If you feel Riker would be a fit for your family please contact us at jeff@jeffelston.net


***This has been reposted from THIS PAGE  with full permission for all of us to spread this on FB & BLogland.  PLEASE LIFT THIS young man up in prayer!  

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