Merry Christmas 2011

Yes, yes, I’ve been terrible about keeping this blog updated. I’ve had, I think, two people mention that they checked and I hadn’t updated in so long, so, for those TWO people, I’m going to attempt to fill you in on the last six months!

Well, picking up from the last update, our house DID sell, and we DID close on our new home. We knew we had two weeks in between closings . . . basically 2 weeks of homelessness, when we planned to spend a week at Joe’s parents’ and a week with our wonderful friends, the Hulls. So, almost through our first week of homelessness we got a call and found out that the 2 weeks was actually going to be six. Hmmm . . . a big hassle at the time, but looking back, it was worth it for the house God provided. Seriously, I still can’t get over the blessing of the home God has given us – 3 yr. old home, 4000 square feet, for $128,000 . . . seriously!! Now before all of my east coast family and friends start hyperventilating, this is a GREAT price even for Indiana. Once again, I am amazed at God’s blessing to us! We have enjoyed SO much being able to have big groups in our home, and are so thankful for the space, now, to be able to expand our family through adoption, if that's God’s plan for us!

Since this is now turning into our “Christmas letter”, the kids seem to be doing well. Top question answered: Isaiah seems to be adjusted. We get that question still, and it kind-of surprises me, I guess, because it just seems like he's always belonged. He's one of us, he's a McDaniel. I can almost forget sometimes that there's even had to be “adjustment”. We are thankful for God’s continued grace to us and to him!

Joey is in 6th grade this year, Gracie in 4th, and Madie in 2nd. Madie started piano lessons this year. Josh started K5, and he really is a lot of fun to teach – he loves to read and gets so excited about the things he’s learning :o) Isaiah is watching and can’t wait until it’s his turn next year.

Joey and Gracie participated in a local church’s flag football league this fall, and they had so much fun. It was really fun to watch them, too :o)

Okay, well, I guess that pretty much brings us up-to-date . . . not nearly as hard as I thought it would be! As we close out 2011, I am amazed once again at what God has done – what He has taught, the blessings He’s given, the mercy He’s shown. I look forward to seeing what He’s got planned for 2012!

A Long Overdue Update

I guess that's the story of my life lately. I know many who check my blog are family, family, or friends via Facebook, so this is old news. But just to get it officially blogged ;o) As the last post stated, we officially put our house on the market on March 9. We had several showings, and then, less than two weeks later, on March 21 a buyer accepted our counter-offer and a purchase agreement was signed for the sale of our house. Wow. I'm amazed at what God's done, and then, I'm amazed at my amazement . . . surely I should know by now that God is capable of unfathomably greater tasks than getting our house sold quickly??

Of course, nothing's final until those closing papers are signed, but closing is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon, so it's looking good :o)

Now the more "fun" part of the story. I'll just admit it right now . . . YES, I did buy a house all by myself, while Joe was out of the country, a house which Joe had never seen prior to his leaving the country! Joe was scheduled to travel to Guyana in South America to visit our missionaries and help teach/train local pastors. We had a signed purchase agreement on our house on a Monday night, and he was scheduled to leave Thursday afternoon. So we called our real estate agent and scheduled to go house shopping on Wednesday a.m. We saw four houses, three of which weren't options - one was too far away, and two were stench issues. So, we crunched some numbers and our agent got an offer done for the fourth house, we signed it, and she submitted it just before Joe left for the airport . . . then 20 min. after he left for the airport I got a call from our agent . . . the house was bank-owned and had had an offer on the table for a week already and had just accepted it that a.m. Hmmmm . . . so the craziness began. I spent the week house shopping from scratch, planning, trying to communicate with Joe as much as possible, which was not very much - he could call a couple of times, but the connection was bad. Email worked when he could get online, but that didn't always work, and there was usually 12-24 hours between an email and a response. Praise the Lord for His guidance, His peace, wonderful friends and family who helped all they could (even if it was just to try to put out my "crazy" when I needed it), and an awesome real estate agent (and now friend) that I know God lead us to for that week - He knew I'd be house shopping without my husband (aka my sanity)! By the end of that week, the Lord allowed us to have our offer accepted on a great house that we believe will work very well for our current and future family. He is so good, even in the temporal little things!!

I'm also very thankful that we know the buyer so all of the work we put into getting it ready for sale will be for her benefit . . . again, the little things!

And so we're almost all packed up and ready to be out of this house. We have two weeks between the closing on this house and the scheduled closing on the new one . . . again, nothing's final until the closing papers are signed . . . so we will be "homeless" for a little while. And, again, we are so thankful for family and friends who are willing to put up with us during our time between houses.

So, we're excited, and we're ready to go!

Change of Plans and . . . Waiting . . .

Haven't been doing much blogging lately, but it's not like people are waiting on the edge of their seats waiting for a post ;o) It's been a crazy busy season for us (and continues to be), but for those who are following and praying for us, I wanted to give a quick update.

So, in a nutshell, we still feel God is leading us to continue in adoption. We're not sure when and where that will be, but we know that, in order to adopt more children, we need to have more bedroom space. This is a state of Indiana requirement. So, if you've read previous posts, you know the options we entertained, and the way we thought God was leading - toward renovating our current home.

Well, after much more prayer, research, and the necessary numbers coming in, plans have changed. We spent the last two weeks in February and first one in March working what felt like 24/7 to get this house ready to go on the market. And, on March 9, it was officially put on the market, sign's in the front yard. (If you're interested, you can click HERE for a virtual tour of our house.) And now . . . we wait. We've had one showing so far, but no feedback or additional showings. We don't know for sure what God's going to do, but praying for strength and patience to "trust and obey" while we wait. If you're like me, even in light of the hardest work, just sitting still can be much harder! Fortunately, our God cares for us in the work and in the wait!

One Year!

One year ago today, we passed court in Ethiopia and Isaiah officially and legally became our son. Of course, God knew that Isaiah would be our son before he was born. And we knew he was our son from the moment we first laid eyes on his beautiful face. But this day made it legal! What amazing things have happened in our lives since this time last year.

God took a "stranger" and made him our son, and in unexplainable ways, He has knit our hearts together as a family. And through it all, He has given us a deeper knowledge of and love for our indescribable Heavenly Father! Words are not enough . . . words are never enough . . .

Our video announcement from
January 21, 2010


Isaiah Tamrat McDaniel, today,
January 21, 2011

Happy New Year!!!

"Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation."
~ Psalm 95:1

"What heavens are laid up in Jesus! What rivers of infinite bliss have their source, aye, and every drop of their fullness in Him! Since, O sweet Lord Jesus, You are the present portion of Your people, favor us this year with such a sense of Your preciousness that from its first to its last day we may be glad and rejoice in You. Let January open with joy in the Lord, and December close with gladness in Jesus."
~ Charles H. Spurgeon, Morning and Evening