2008 Family Update

As I was thinking over 2008, the word that came to my mind was "wait". Waiting on God, for our daughter to arrive, waiting for a house to sell, for a new direction for our lives.
And instead of complaining, or allowing our patience to run dry, we instead choose to be thankful, and here's our reasons why....
~Connor, turned 9 a few weeks ago, but in 2008 had several firsts. First time riding a 4-wheeler, playing baseball in the spring, how to read music and play "Ode to Joy" on the piano. Tubing behind a boat on Lake Chelan, and experiencing summer day camp at Camp Berachah. He built and launched his first rocket, and then stepped into a 3rd grade class in September. He loves to build legos, ride his bike, and play with friends. If you know and love Connor, he's always going, always has something to say, and tries his hardest to do the best he can do. In 2009, he wants to continue saving for his dirt bike, learn karate, and play baseball again.

~Dave, continues to build and design decks for his company (Distinctive Deck) and is praying for what lies ahead in the new year, and beyond. He served on the youth ministry staff at our church this past year, and went to Tennessee last March to help a friend repair their home so it could be placed on the market. He loves a great laugh and a good cigar with friends. He's recently hooked up with some old friends from high school (thanks, Facebook), which he's enjoyed. He started his 3rd tattoo, a 1/2 sleeve on his L arm, which still has a few sittings to go to be complete. His goals for 2009 are to learn guitar, and is considering going back to school.

~Renee, enjoys life as a wife and mom. She works part-time as a nurse at an urgent care (mini-ER), and is challenged and grows more in love with nursing every day she's there. One of the true highlights was a fabulous trip to England with her friend Karen in August, 10 wonderful days of touring the countryside and coming home (officially) with the travel bug. She will continue back to school next quarter, and is hesitant about the balancing act once again with work, family, and school, (so just a head's up if you don't hear from her until March!) :) She loves time with friends, has recently reconnected with long lost family, and is anxious for the next season of life to start! Her goals for 2009 is to ride the STP (Seattle to Portland bike ride), try to curb her awful habit of procrastination, enjoy the small moments, and become better at keeping in touch.

The Adoption is moving along at a snail's pace, which has proven to be disheartening, discouraging, and a test of our patience and faith this past year. When we started the process (3 years ago this month), 'wait time' for a match was at 9 months. The wait has now stretched to 32 months, and continues to climb, for reasons no one seems to understand or can explain. We continue to be hopeful and pray for our daughter, whom we wonder if she is even born yet. We do not know what next year holds, but our (selfish) desires are to have her home with us. While we don't know what this looks like, all we can continue to do is pray for direction and continued perseverance. What joy it will be to someday meet her and from what we've been told, the wait will be worth it.

Our labs, Coda & Sophie, provide our nightly entertainment of wrestling, goofy looks & noises, and laughter. They add so much to our family and we take them where ever we can, camping, or to the lake in the summer. They are good dogs, we're thankful for them both.

As mentioned at the start of our update, "waiting" has been our theme this year. We welcomed January 2008 with the thoughts and plans of moving south to Oregon, to start a new season of our lives, only to sense God gently pulling us away from such a move as the year moved on. The confusion and grief was tough to process, but we are convinced that God will use us as He sees fit, and our only requirement is to be willing & ready. We are praying for where we are to go next, and are anxious for a change of scenery, having celebrated 9 years in our home this past year. Our goal for 2009 is to wholeheartedly seek HIM, and embrace all of the joy, and heartache, that may accompany what lies ahead. We are thankful for 12 years of marriage this year, which seems to get better as the years go by. :)

We are so thankful and continue to be blessed by our friendships & our family. For the joy of experiencing Connor's 'firsts' with him this past year ~ and all those 'firsts' to come this next year. We hope you know how special each one of you are to us, and how very much we love you.

May 2009 be overflowing with JOY and full of God's goodness for you and your family! Our hope is that you will experience the peace of knowing Jesus, and the eternal love that only HE can supply.

Many hugs & love,
The Gardenhires
Dave, Renee, Connor, Coda & Sophie
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