Family Update!

Happy holidays from our family to yours!

The past 2 years have been full of excitement and change for our family.  We were able to complete the adoption of our 2 youngest boys!  They have been a great blessing to our family and have brought much joy to us.  We worked on the interior of our big yellow house and brought it up to date.  Dan was able to switch jobs and work for a wonderful man in our church as a mechanic.  And finally, and most importantly God has worked mightily in our family, through our church, and we are excited to see the future he has in store for us.  We have put our house on the market and moved to Wyoming!  This is just a quick highlight of our past 2 years.  More details to follow – so keep reading!

Dan and Tara

We have now been married almost 8 years and are so thankful for each and every moment.  The challenges have grown us as Christ followers, as a couple, and as parents.  Dan was able to change jobs June of 2011 and became a mechanic.  In doing so, Tara was able to become a stay-at-home wife and mother.  It was a huge adjustment for Tara and one she is still working on figuring out!  Dan greatly enjoyed mechanic work and doing something different each day.  We were able to travel to Ethiopia twice in 2011.  The first trip, we went for our court hearing for the little ones, and

were able to travel to numerous places in Ethiopia.  During this trip, God greatly started a work in our lives.  We were finally able to travel back in December of 2011 to bring our little ones home and finally become a family of 5!  We went through some medical struggles in 2012 – measles for most, ringworm for all, a dislocated shoulder, appendicitis for Dan, and finally surgery for Mason!  It has definitely been an interesting year.  There were many ups and downs, but we can see how God has been orchestrating our lives to fulfill His will and plan.

 

Mason, Sieber, and Justus 

The boys have done great getting adjusted to one another!  There are lots of hugs and kisses as well as lots of hitting and wrestling!

  Mason is now 3 ½ years old.  He still loves playing football, soccer, and basketball.  Everything to him is a race – from going up the stairs, to eating, to taking a walk. 

  Sieber is almost 2 ½.  He loves animals – any kind of animal is a complete fascination for him.  He rambles all the time.  We are not quite able to understand him yet, but he has a lot to say.  He is also the smallest of the three, but can definitely hold his own with the others. 

  And finally, Justus, the baby, is now 2.  He is the biggest of them all, weighing more than Mason.  He is a mama’s boy through and through.  He is fairly laid back, and wants to be just like his big brothers!  Anything they do, he is right behind them trying to do the same thing! 

  All three are just fun to be around and are very loving to each other and us.  We are so blessed to have them in our lives!

God is at Work!

God has been at work in Dan and I over this past year.  It has been exciting to follow His leading.  This past fall, Dan made the decision to follow the Lord’s call to the ministry.  We have put our home in Garden City on the market and have moved to LaGrange, Wyoming.  We would like to ask first of all, if you would join us in prayer for our house to sell.  We believe God has the perfect family out there who will love our house as much as we did.  At this point, God has led us to Frontier School of the Bible.  Dan is taking classes full time and Tara is able to take a couple classes as well.  We are unsure as to what the future holds for us, but we trust the Lord in this first step of preparation.  The program here is a three year program, and we trust that the Lord will open our eyes to the next step He has for us.   I would like to ask you to pray for our family.  Pray that we would raise the boys as he would see fit, that we would continue to follow in His steps, and that he would provide for us financially as well during this time here at school. 

Thirty-One

Tara has been blessed to have the opportunity to sell Thirty-One products.  In doing so, Tara is able to help in supporting the family financially, but is also able to get out and spend time with other ladies.  She loves the products and using them daily around the house.  Thirty-One is a Christian based direct sales organization that is named after the Proverbs 31 woman.  If you have time, we would love you to hop over to Tara’s website (www.mythirtyone.com/tarasimmons) and look through the products.  If you would like to place an order, you can do so directly online.  If you would like to be added to our mailing list, let me know, and I can email you when there are specials and other great deals.  Also, if you would like to host a party and earn some awesome incentives, let me know!  Even from a distance, we could hold a catalog or online party to get you some great free stuff! 

Would you please join us in Prayer?

• Pray for our house in Garden City to sell.
• Pray for our finances for school and living.
• Pray for Dan to find employement.
• Pray for the boys and our new routine.
• Pray for Dan and Tara to keep up with studies.
• Pray for us as we seek the will of God.
• Pray for success for Tara in Thirty-One.