It is that time of year again; a time to look back and reflect on all the things that God has taken our familythrough. We believe this will be one of those years that will go into our record books.The year started out with Joe’s dad passing away. This was something that was expected to a degree since his dad hadbeen battling pancreatitis for a number of years. It was a long trip to Michigan. While it was sad to say good bye toJoe’s dad it was good to visit with so many family members.Just a few months later our world was upset with a number of adoption opportunities. We prayed and asked for acouple of different children but were not selected due to us having not waited long enough. Just a few days after beingdeclined for a little girl that we thought for sure we would receive; we were given a referral for who would become ourJada. We struggled for weeks in seeking the Lord’s will, as she had some needs we just hadn’t thought of considering,and in the end felt that He was indeed calling us to bring Jada into our family. After deciding yes the marathon waitsession began. We had delay after delay, what should have taken just a couple months for approval turned into six longarduous months of waiting for paperwork.We traveled in September to Shanghai, Nanjing and Guangzhou China. It was an incredible trip. We are so thankful tohave Jada in our family. She is a daily blessing. She turned three last May so that is a whole new adventure for us! Wehave our struggles but we are thankful for the added joy she brings us.Micah is growing like a weed. Just a warning, if you call our home and a man with a deep voice answers, it isn’t Joe it isMicah. Often people get Joe and Micah confused and then say, “I should have known it was Micah, his voice is deeper!”Caleb is growing and maturing as well. He is hoping and praying to enter puberty. He keeps practicing to see if he canget his voice to crack like Micah’s. He is pretty proud of his extra fuzzy upper lip. He tends to think he is growing amustache.