Sorry for Slacking

Yes I know it's been a long time since I've provided any sort of an update.  So I apologize for slacking.  Our lives have been crazy and I'm honestly not sure where the last 5 months have gone.  Sometimes I still think we are crazy for they way we decided to move, but I know it will be better and seem a little more real once we have our own house again.  We are currently in the process of buying a house in Findlay and hope to close in a couple of days.  I've been slightly hesitant to share this info simply because it's been a bumpy road, but as we get closer to a closing date I've realized the more prayers the better!  We are very excited to get back into a place of our own!  Unfortunately our old house hasn't sold yet so we will be making 2 mortgage payments until our house sells :( 
Caleb is growing and impressing us with something new on a daily basis.  He is a great baby, almost always happy and smiley.  He loves books, loves laughing and loves to cuddle.  We have been working with him on sign language and he does really well with "more" and "please".  He also blows and gives kisses which absolute melt mommy and daddy's hearts.  It's absolutely amazing how much love your heart has for your child.
On the adoption front we plan to start updating our homestudy soon after we move in May.  Our current homestudy expires in September and since we have moved we have to update our homestudy anyhow.  Once our homestudy is complete and updated we plan to wait to put our books out until the fall or winter.  But as Zach says if you want to hear God laugh, just tell Him your plans, so we will see what He has in store for us.
So I guess that's a real quick update of what's happening in our lives.  Hope the next update is from our new house in Findlay!
Blessings and Love,
S&Z&C

Still here...

No new news on our end, just wanted to update and let anyone or everyone know we are still here!  I have been working full time now for 4 weeks and Caleb has adjusted well to the new sitter.  We are still hoping and praying that our house sells soon, as we are ready for a space of our own again.  We are very grateful that our families have been so giving in letting us stay with them for the last 12 weeks, but we are ready for some sense of normalcy in our lives.  I think Zach even said yesterday he was ready to do chores around his own house again!!  I about fell over when he spoke those words. 
We have been in contact with our adoption agency about starting a second adoption and we plan on updating our homestudy starting in May so it will be completed by September when our first homestudy expires.  So we have to be settled by May in our own place, but hopefully something will pick up and it will be sooner than that.
Much love,
S&Z&C

Happy Birthday Caleb!

It's been almost 2 weeks since Caleb turned 1 and I just realized I never posted any pictures!  I made his Elmo cake and he LOVED it!!  He successfully destroyed it and made a giant mess.  Here are some pictures of our little blessing tearing up his cake!!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!  This is a very special season for us since it is our first as a family of 3.  We hope you all have a blessed holiday season!
Much Love,
S&Z&C

We're moved....sort of....

Well it's been 2 1/2 weeks since we've moved and I wish I could say it's been all smiles and roses, but to be honest with you it hasn't.  It's been a little harder than I thought.  I've struggled with my patience (I know that's not a surprise to some of you ;)) and I'm not gonna lie, up until today I was somewhat questioning this decision we had made.  Maybe it wasn't the right thing to do.  I mean I have had a much harder time finding a job than I thought, our house in Troy hasn't sold, was this God's way to tell us that we had made a mistake??  But today while I was in Findlay running errands I felt God's reassurance, that this is where we are supposed to be.  I know that He will provide for us exactly what we need.  He has blessed us abundantly, and to that we give Him thanks and praise.  
I've also struggled a lot with exactly what we are supposed to do next as far as establishing ourselves again.  Zach and I have decided that we want to be smarter in buying our second home than we were when buying our first and so we feel the best way to do that is to live with our parents for a few more months.  Hopefully by spring our house in Troy will be sold and we will have saved up a decent amount of money for a house in Findlay.  More than anything I want a place to call our own, but I know the short term sacrifice will pay off in the long term.  We believe in Dave Ramsey's principles and want to be debt free ASAP, so that's what we are working towards.  I know I will struggle with this over the next few months so if you know me, please remind me of the long term benefits this will have in our life.
Anyhow on to the good stuff.  Yesterday I received and accepted a job offer that starts on January 2, so things are moving in the right direction.  Zach is happy with his job and definitely has his work cut out for him, but I know he likes a challenge every once in awhile. 
 Overall I would say it feels so good for us to be back.  It's nice to run into old friends and see lots of familiar faces.  It feels just like home which is exactly what we were hoping for when we decided to move. 

That's all for now. 
Much Love,
S&Z&C

.....and we're moving!

Well I am thrilled to announce that we are moving back to Northwest Ohio!  Zach got a job in Findlay, so we will go.  We have always said a lot of things would have to fall into place to make a move happen, and so far only 1 thing has, but we feel certain this is where God wants us to be.

The big  things that haven't worked out yet are me finding a job and our house selling.  I took a leap of faith 4 weeks ago and turned in my resignation at my current job.  I was and still am confident that God will provide exactly what we need, however with only 1 week of work left, I have no job!  So I wish I could say that I am cool as a cucumber, but I would be lying.  I'm more than a little nervous about the possibility of being unemployed and feel a little irresponsible for the decision I've made.  This is not a decision that the responsible, have all my ducks in a row type of woman that I am would have made, but it is a decision made by a woman of faith...a woman who trusts in the Lord.  Now most of you know that Zach and I have been through some pretty tough things in the past couple of years, but in the end, it always works out....God always provides!  So why wouldn't He provide now?!?  He has created a large amount of faith in both of us with all the struggles he has put in our lives and now is my chance to put it back to use.  (But please God, human Sarah is hoping things will fall into place sooner rather than later, otherwise she may develop an ulcer from all of this stress and worry.)

Oh yeah and about the whole house thing, which seems to be the least of our worries at this point.  We plan on moving in with our parents in the interim.  More details will be ironed out when I get a job and hopefully that will get the ball rolling on all of this craziness we call life.

Prayers for a plan to be revealed and our faithfulness to be rewarded are greatly appreciated. I promise I'll keep you updated.
Much Love,
S&Z&C

Contemplating a Move

For quite some time now Zach and I have contemplated a move that would take us closer to our families and for as long as we've wanted to move, we've felt for one reason or another the timing wasn't right.  Now that our adoption is finalized we feel like the time may finally be right.  We have taken some steps (such as putting our house on the market and starting the job search) and we are praying that God give us a sign, that He make this work if this is what is supposed to happen.  Of course now that we've decided this is a possibility in our lives, I want it to happen yesterday.  It's crazy to think that last year at this time, God was using adoption to teach us patience and here we are (or should I say here I am, because Zach is pretty patient) and God is using another life changing situation to try again to teach me patience!   We continue to tell ourselves that God's plan will be revealed in His time and I get a reminded of that each and every time I look at our precious son!