Immediate Prayer Request

Many of you remember me requesting prayer for my sister and her husband because he lost his job. This happened several months ago and God answered our prayers immediately and provided Jason with another job. However, I received the following email from my sister just moments ago:

"Jason and I just found out that he will be laid off...again on Feb 15th. God is really looking out for us in giving us a two weeks notice this time. Because of being laid off 3 months ago, he will not be getting vacation or severance pay. He has to have a job lined up by the 15th. Please keep our family in your prayers. The market is very slow and land development is what Jason loves to do. He is also able to do Auto Cad and Surveying if anyone knows someone who needs help. He has contacted many companies and no one seems to be hiring right now. These are tough times for a lot of people but we know God will provide!"

Becky and Jason live in Charleston, SC and hope to find a job there. Please pray with me again for God's provision! Thank you!!!!

Cindy

Musical Toddler Talk

Libby is a talker - That's for sure! But sometimes I can't quite understand what she is saying. So many of her new words sound the same. Of course, this can be a source of great frustration when she is determined that I WILL understand no matter how many times she has to repeat it. But once I figure out her toddler talk she lights up with such confidence (and relief!). It's a beautiful thing.

Here are 2 cute things she said recently that took a little mommy revelation to decipher.

Libby loves to jam on the instruments she received for Christmas and she usually wants mommy to play whatever instrument she's not playing. So, the other day she was playing her guitar and she wanted mommy to play the keyboard and sing into the attached microphone. Libby stopped playing and got really close to me and said "kicking" very sweetly. I was immediately confused as to what she was saying. She continued to repeat "kicking" "kicking" "kicking". I tried distracting her from her determination to communicate by playing the keyboard more wildly. But she kept saying, "KICKING" louder and louder. Finally I stopped playing, looked at her and said, "Kicking what Libby?" in a somewhat frustrated tone. She said, "kicking 1, 2. kicking 1, 2." And then it dawned on me - she watched me in the studio the day before testing a microphone and saying "testing 1, 2, 3" repeatedly. When I started "testing" her $19.99 Wal-mart Keyboard microphone (which annoyingly feeds back with an ear-piercing pitch) she smiled real big. She was finally satisfied.

2. At 6:55pm central time tonight (Wednesday) Libby started saying something that sounded like "mickey I dra". She has enjoyed drawing a lot lately so I thought she wanted to draw Mickey Mouse or something like that. When she realized I was clueless, she looked at me like I was crazy, planted herself on the couch, and whined the words "mickey I dra" "mickey I dra" over and over - and over. Once again, her very slow mother needed a revelation. I noticed her eyes kept wandering back to the TV when she was whining these words. I looked at the clock, saw that it was 5 minutes to 7pm and realized what she was pleading for....."American Idol!"(Perfectly clear, right?- "Amickey Idra") Yep, our barely 2 year old girl loves to watch crazy, somewhat delusional people try to "sing (which, suddenly concerns me since she always enjoys watching mommy and daddy sing - are WE delusional???) Every time a commercial comes on Libby gets all worried that Amickey Idra is not coming back on and she continually signs "more" "more".

So much fun! - C

Christmas and the BEAUTIFUL BEYOND! (you'll definitely want to read the end of this one!!! HINT!)

This was a spectacular Christmas!

We traveled to Gilmer, TX to be with Billy's family for the week. Libby was already a little sick, but she quickly got more sick and ended up with early pneumonia. It was good timing, though, because we were able to find a doctor right before the holidays who gave her some antibiotics and she started getting better after the first 24 hours of meds. Billy was sick. I had severe allergies that ripped my voice to shreds, but.....(I bet you're waiting for the "spectacular" part) we all were feeling much better by Christmas Eve and Libby was such a delight to watch! The magic of Christmas came over her like a "love at first site" moment as she pranced in her Christmas dress into the Tompkins house. Then she "rolled up her sleeves" and played like a true tomboy excitedly bouncing around with Brooke. When it came time for presents she knew exactly what to do - TEAR PAPER, GASP and SQUEAL WITH DELIGHT! Her Gammy, Papa Boots, Aunt Wendy, Uncle Robbie and Cousin Brooke all gave her such wonderful presents - pjs, lap table, educational toys, beautiful clothes, blocks, sleeping bag, Dora chair, socks, children figurines from around the world, a spanish music CD and book, cash register.... okay, the list goes on. YEP, she's spoiled. Thank you Foote and Tompkins families for loving us and blessing are daughter so much! Your kindness and generosity are overwhelming!

We had a delicious meal at Wendy's house that night and just enjoyed watching Brooke and Libby prance through the living room pushing a toddler size grocery cart and stroller. They loved playing together and we loved watching. We also had a Happy Birthday Jesus ice cream cake and we sang Happy Birthday to Jesus. This picture below was of Libby right about the time we blew out the candle. Isn't she so pretty!!!

That night Billy and I set up a fine display of toys for Libby's Christmas morning. When she woke up we took her directly to the room and she spotted the small drum set right away. She sat down with a delightful grin and banged away.

She refused to open her other gifts or even try to ride her Dora car. The drums were the only thing in her world at that moment. Does she make you proud, Kevin? Finally she opened her guitar, keyboard, house-cleaning set, and eventually test drove the Dora car (Wal-Mart rocks - we bought all her gifts there!) She loved them all and probably felt like she was finally a real part of the Billy Foote Band. She jammed with her daddy the rest of the day and we took some adorable video. Priceless!

Our time in Longview was wonderful. Billy's whole side of the family joined us in making another family's Christmas really special and that was really the best feeling of all. Crystal, Samuel and Elijah - The Lord has not forsaken you. He never sleeps. He never slumbers. He watches you continually. He knows your coming in and going out. He loves you lavishly and sees your pain. His comfort is being poured out on you. His provision is faithful. He has a plan for you - to prosper you and not to harm you. The entire world will disappoint, but He never fails to amaze, astound, and bless beyond our expectations. May this New Year be full of hope, renewal, rest, peace, and new life! We love you!

We returned home Wednesday after Christmas and spent the night taking down the Christmas tree. The next day we moved all our furniture from the living room into the breaksfast in order for hardwood floors to be put in. No one told us how messy that would get. We didn't do the work of laying the hardwood floors down, but the dust that was stirred up was like a Sahara sand storm and we spent DAYS (and still are spending days) cleaning up that mess. We could write our names on everything we owned. UGH! BUT - the floors are amazingly beautiful - so it was worth it!

On to the "BEAUTIFUL BEYOND" part of the title.... DRUM ROLL..................................................

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We have officially started our journey to adopting a baby girl from Ethiopia!!!!

We sent our application in to AWAA on-line a couple of days ago. AND - we already have a blog for her. To follow our adoption journey and read the story of how we came to that decision go to: http://www.adoptingaria.blogspot.com/. Yep - that's her name: Aria Hope Foote. Now we just have to wait for the Lord to reveal her to us!

The Ethiopia adoption program will most likely take 13-16 months. So by spring 2009 we should be home with her. But as international adoption goes... you just never know. It's a wait, trust, and wait some more adventure.

Happy New Year to all of you and may the Lord's joy be your strength the whole year through!

Happy Happy Happy!!!

Cindy