Manor Party of 10!

Yes, you read that right. Our family is now a family of 10!!!!!

No one could be more surprised than us, but we are so happy about this special blessing that God has given to us. What's more is this special blessing will be joining us in about a month!!!!!

With all that has happened this year I was extremely stressed out and had no normal pregnancy symptoms and did not even realized until a couple weeks ago that I actually was pregnant! I am now one of those people who can say "I didn't know" and everyone can look at me like I'm crazy. But seriously everything I felt seemed stress related.

What a blessing to make it to 34 weeks without knowing and being able to just do what I need to do!

The kids are so excited about another baby, especially since they have been asking when we would be having another one since we brought Malachi home. James is regularly giving the baby hugs and kisses as well as talking to the baby. Lillian and Reuben also enjoy talking to and feeling the baby. Sometimes Nehemiah will say "Hi Baby" even though he is clearly confused about what is happening.

God is so gracious and good to us! We are so thankful for this added blessing. Though it makes little sense to much of our culture, we are so happy to be on this journey as a large family.

Things are crazy and unpredictable right now, but we know God is working in all of this. Please pray for everything to continue to go smoothly. Pray for health for both baby and me. Pray for my body to go into labor on its own and not need any assistance. Please pray for continued provision! We have gotten what we need thus far, but Jim is still in need of a job. Please pray for God to open doors for this!

We are so grateful to have you on this journey with us. Life with others is so much richer. Thank you for being a part of our life!

Our 6 Year Old Reuben

Today marks 6 years since we welcomed Reuben into our arms. How time has flown and how much he has grown. He was our first baby born in Louisville after following God's call to go to seminary. It was a blessed surprise as we found out a few months after moving that we would be welcoming our 3rd child, and life has not been the same since.

Reuben has such a sweet personality and is very mild mannered. Extremely sensitive, it takes little to hurt his feelings, but he is also very tough when wrestling with Daddy and his brothers. He aims to please in most of what he does; a true perfectionist at heart. He is such a balance to his very active, rough and tumble younger brothers.

Reuben's favorite thing to do is school work. He loves to learn and figure out problems. When he's not doing school work he loves to build/create with blocks, Legos or magnets, play Lego Star Wars with Daddy or watch a good movie. He also loves playing with his siblings and is a very caring brother. Though he loves his siblings, Reuben also likes to be alone. He can sit and build for hours alone when the mood strikes him. It is such a blessing to have a child who loves being with people and being alone. He also enjoys one on one time with people, especially Daddy!

Reuben is pretty go with the flow. For the most part he is taking this unknown season in stride and helps to keep smiles all around. We are so blessed with Reuben in our family and so thankful God has given him to us.

Father, thank You for giving us precious Reuben. He is such a blessing! I pray You will make him a man after Your own heart, saving him by Your great grace in the Name of Your Son, Jesus. I pray You show him the depths of sin and how much he needs You to be truly good. Make him humble and a man who follows You to the ends of the earth. In Jesus Name, Amen!