The Call...Finally!

On Friday, we finally received word that the kids were coming for Christmas!  YEAH!!  5 long months of prayer, paperwork, more prayer, lots of phone calls, and a few bureaucratic mountains and they are finally going to be in their own beds for the holidays!  I'm still pinching myself...EEK!  

That also means that things just got real.  Today (Tuesday), I was able to spend some time on the phone with one of the children's agency workers who knows the children well.  My excitement quickly turned in to anxiety as we were finally also able to identify what the kids have.  Or in this case, mostly what they don't have.  They have no Christmas presents for them, no winter coats, no hats, no gloves...pretty much nothing.  Most of their clothes are too small and made for the warm desert climate of Nevada.  Argg...it is definitely part of being in the system (which is another post for another day...  With the kids arriving on Friday, we have much to do.)  

So...We need your help!  We need you to go through your closets, your attic, or your garage and see if you have some of these things that you are no longer using -- I guarantee that there are 6 beautiful kiddos who would be so grateful.  Please take a look at the list below and if you have gently used items that you would like to part with, please let us know.  Again, THANK YOU...to the moon and back again!

Proud Mama...

Man, for a week that started on a Tuesday...it was sure LONG!  Anyone else feel that way??  :)  We literally had something to do every single evening last week, including hosting a party for nearly 60 people from our Ward (Friday), Cheer Competition which started at 5am (Saturday), and this was all on top of our normally crazy life the other days of the week.  It's a good thing I'm young-ish...

Boden had a basketball game on Tuesday and sank a three pointer....and I got it all on video!

And, of course, 5am on Saturday morning was bright and early for our cheerleader whose team kicked off cheer competition season at Bishop Kelly.  They did fantastic!  And I also got it all on video!

This week isn't starting off nearly as crazy busy, but I sure hope it will be filled with more fun like this.  Proud mama right here! 

If Nothing Ever Changed...

I have heard that the only thing you can count on is change.  I don't know why I have such a hard time accepting it when it comes...it's not like it has never happened to us.  Perhaps it is because life is so busy that when change comes, it's usually just about the time I am catching my breath.  Sometimes change is like being pushed back underwater and sometimes it comes as a refreshing morning in the Idaho mountains.  Whichever way it comes, I am working to not be resistant to change but to rather embrace it with my whole heart and enjoy it.  Easier said than done. 

2014 will be a year of change for the Barrus family.  I am excited and petrified all at the same time.  Some changes I can share with you and some we are waiting on the Lord to guide us through before we share them.  And no mom, I am not pregnant :)  Just getting that out of the way...

So what is in store for 2014??  

• Ben is preparing to take the CPA exam this year.  We will miss our daddy while he is studying but it will be an amazing blessing to our family once it is completed.  For those of you that are not familiar with the CPA exam, it has a low pass rate for first time takers and will require hours upon hours of preparation.  It is broken in to four sections and he must pass all four to become certified.  His company graciously agreed to cover a portion of the cost for the materials and testing (which is very expensive) and over the next 12 to 18 months, Ben's head will be floating in tax code, auditing, and Sarbanes-Oxley.  My head hurts just thinking about it...GO BEN!

• Very soon we will have two teenage drivers.  I feel like Mel Gibson in Braveheart -- "FREEEEEDDDDOOOOOOMMMM".  Well, not really.  I'm sure I'll be a mess when they are out and about on the road.  But, I can say that I will be happy to have an errand driver, a taxi to and from school, cheer, and practices.  Oh boy howdy, think of how much time I'll have on my hands?!!  When you multiply that by a crew of busy kids, you can imagine that I spend a lot of time in the car. 

• I start a new job today.  Since September, we have limped along waiting for the Lord to show us what He wanted me to do.  It was a hard time...I have never NOT had a job in our entire marriage.  But it was a good time, too.  I took time to focus, rest, breath, hug my babies, and just be a mom.  It was splendidly horrific.  I am so grateful that I waited for the right position and timing.  Oh GOD IS GOOD!!  And so smart...

There are more changes coming, but for now these three are keeping us very busy and grateful.  We are well, afloat, and embracing change wholeheartedly.  

"Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest." Joshua 1:9