One Year Later...

As I sit here dog tired from a long week of Thanksgiving joys and staring into the busy weeks of Christmas ahead, I realize that we have made it. We have now officially been in Cottage 6 for one year. We have now been here longer than we were at C&C, how crazy is that?

I was able to talk to the young man for whom the Oceans blog was written the other day. In it I describe how his story was what partly gave me the courage to step out on faith and trust God to lead us into this new journey at C6. He has been struggling here and I covet your prayers for him as he tries to keep pressing on toward the end of his senior year. The Lord really miraculously worked out the details for me to be able to tell him how instrumental he was in our staying here and I am praying that my sharing that with him will continue to encourage him. 

Thanksgiving really was a very nice time with just the right amount of rest, family and friends gathering near and, of course, good food! 

We celebrated Leo turning 18 with his request of his favorite meal that Cliff makes, chicken alfredo. His sweet girlfriend got to come over and we watched "The Grinch." He and Jeremiah, who also stayed for the break, helped us begin to decorate the cottage for Christmas. We used last year's Tour of Lights decorations to put up a Waller and Georgia Bulldogs tree and I love it! 

This morning I added pics of all my boys to it. They are just snap shots of our lives this last year, but to this mommy they speak volumes. 

 Leo in his #1 Senior year Varsity Football jersey, posing with the Texas flag in the background, and in another walking down the field--it was a long season, full of heart breaking losses and hard fought wins. It is not lost on me how this rings true of other aspects of his young life as well. We have finally, with much work and long hours, (thanks so much to Kristi for her help with this!) gotten his citizenship applied for. He is cautiously excited about his future although I suspect, even though he would never admit it, he is also trying to soak up as much of this time that he can. He is learning again to trust in a lot of things, in a future, in himself, in God, and hopefully in us, as well. We ask for your prayers for him as he finishes up his senior year and tries to make decisions about what he will do next. 

Marcus in his scrubs, posing with Selam, his clinicals partner--he has finally, I think, found something he can do that makes him proud of himself. He is coming into his own and he really is such a good young man. Its hard sometimes to step out from the shadow of older siblings who shine so brightly, but he is learning to make a way for himself that is all his own and that is wonderful. We are so proud of him. We are praying for him to finish up his senior year strong on the academic front so that he can move on to bigger and better things at College and Career.  

Jeremiah in his football gear and in his band uniform smiling behind the drums--God has truly taught us lately that sometimes you have to be made to fight for things in order to see how important they really are. J is trying to figure out what is really important to him this year as he weighs his future sports dreams and his talents on the drums. We ask for your prayers for him as he tries to balance both of these things with his academics as well as with the burden of a heavy past. 

Erick in his ghee, posing before his Brazilian Jiu Jitsu class--there is so much accomplishment in this picture. For this precious young man most things in life have not come easy, but he is a fighter through and through. We have been so blessed by his encouragement, his heart and his passion to succeed. He is going to do great and mighty things, we claim it over him and we believe it because we have seen glimpses of it already! We ask for prayers for him as he finds the drive to keep going, pressing on toward his prize of graduation. 

Nick outside playing football with Bug and teaching him a few things--Its been a good first few months for Nick but not without its disappointments. But this kid has heart and a good attitude that will propel him forward if he keeps trying. We are thankful for his kind demeanor and zeal for learning. We ask for prayers for him to keep up the good work with grades and with his weight loss. We hope to see him accomplish many great things while he is here and know that God is just getting started with what he is going to do with him. 

The boys with their licenses and permits--I had to include this on the tree because it truly is an accomplishment for these guys and for us as a team!! Please pray for us as we finish up getting these three all driving!! 

And finally my sweet, sweet Bug--who would have thought that we would look back a year later and see that he is even happier now than he was at C&C or maybe even in the girls cottage before?! He truly loves being a little brother and having big brothers to look up to. He wants to be just like them! We are so thankful for the blessing that he is in all our lives and know that God has big things in store for him as well. Please pray with us for him to continue to grow strong in stature and in mind as well as in heart. 

I finish this post by adding a picture from last year's Tour of Lights that is still one of my favorites of Cliff with our guys. We were unsure then as to what the future would hold for us, but we truly can look back and say that God was just beginning his story here for us in C6. I know that this time next year, with seniors graduating and new guys being added, this cottage and our stories will all look very different again,
but for today I am thankful for the chapter that this last year has been!