Pictures Galore!

Things are good at the Boyd household. Very busy as usual but we continue to thank the Lord for all our blessings every day. I haven;t posted in a while so I have a lot of photos to share.

Ayana is still growing like crazy. She just had her 18 month well baby check up. I can't believe she will be 19 months on the 16th of this month. She is very healthy and totally on track on all levels, praise the Lord! Ayana is so tall! She is 90 percentile in height and weight. Who needs a boy in the house when we have our own little linebacker already. :) The doctor thinks she will continue to be a very tall girl which is funny since most of our family is SO short. Rick joked that if Ayana didn't know she was adopted she will now. (he was kidding of course)
A is getting into everything. She is climbing and exploring all the time. This is the most exhausting stage yet and also so fun! She still is a total daddies girl. She always wants to be with him. It's so cute!
She was also getting into everything at the doctors office as seen below...

Before Shots...

After Shots...

I love this age because she still lets me pick out her clothes!

1st Christmas with Ayana!

She cracks herself up, it's so funny!

Savvy has been very busy too! Competitive cheer season is on and she is also in school cheer. She is now on a senior level 4 in competitive cheer and it is very demanding. I am so impressed with her gymnastics and athleticism.

Picture of her warm up in the 1st competition.

Fun Misc. picture at home.

Savvy's cheer team and parents worked at a local shelter a few weekends ago and worked with the children. They decorated a tree and helped the kids make their own stockings. The hit of the party was the team mascot, Marty Mustang! It was a great experience. God was working in the lives of so many families and it was an honor to see.

We are continuing to pray for the funds to make it to Ethiopia in Jan. Please pray with us as we don't have much more time.

We will spend the Holidays in MO with family. Most of Rick and I's family live there so we are excited to see everyone that we miss so much!

Merry CHRISTmas to all of my dear blog buddies too! Be blessed!

Thanksgiving, Friends and Holiday decor!

Thanksgiving was great. A lot of family came into town and we ate so much! God has blessed us beyond measure! Thank you Lord!

Some Holiday pic's...

A's day in Court...

On November 18th, we had our court date in Texas for Ayana's re-adoption. In this proceeding, the state of Texas recognized the adoption we did in Ethiopia. She will be re-issued a new birth certificate and will have an official name change. It was a fairly easy process except for the fact that A wanted to keep grabbing the microphone and talking up a storm while the judge was trying to talk. What can I say, she is an active child. Anyway, we will now have the paperwork we need to file paperwork to take her from being a permanent resident to a US citizen and she will have all the privilege's that go with it. Rick thinks that she might need it so she can become president one day. :)

I am still amazed that Ayana is ours! What an amazing gift!

Africa, here we come...again!

We are excited to tell you that we are going back to Addis in January! No, it's not to bring home another child...We are going to Addis on a missions trip with a small group. The vision for the trip: We are seeking to find the Christian Solution to the Orphan crisis.

We will be spending time with children at drop-in-centers, orphanages, on the streets, and in surrounding villages. As we ask the directors of these centers what they need most, the answer still surprises me. Consistently, they answer that they need others to come and spend time with the children. The message they have received so far in life is that someone does not love them. Although this is often not true (as often parents dying of HIV/AIDS surrender them to an orphanage because they do love them), when others come specifically to love them, it is utterly life changing…for everyone involved.

We will also be spending time with one of the ministries that works to get prostitutes off the street. Many times, they feel they have no choice but to be on the street. There is a ministry that is providing hope to them. They take them in for a certain amount of time and they are given a loom. They them teach them how to use the loom to weave things that they can sell. They provide childcare and food for them and their children while they are there. While they are in the program, the missionaries who run it help them sell their blankets to Americans who want to help over the internet and the women develop a little nest egg before leaving. After they leave they get to keep the loom so that they can continue to sell products to support their families. I am really excited about this ministry because it may keep more children with their parents and provide more of a long term solution.

This trip is also a means Rick and I asking, “What does God have for us?” Are we called to do more in Ethiopia? Whatever it may be, we are excited to go and be part of the solution…and to listen for what God may have for us. Bottom line, we want to show them the love of Jesus!

We are excited to be bringing the whole family on this trip also. We were not able to bring our 14 year old, Savannah, with us when we picked up Ayana and we are eager to take her this time. I think it will be life changing for her to work with us in these situations and to see where her sister came from. We will also take Ayana. We are afraid that being away from her for 10 days after having her for only 9 months may damage the attachment we are growing. We will stay at the Ethiopia Guest house with friends that will watch her during the day while we are ministering. This is financially a huge burden for 4 of us to be going but I know it’s God so He will provide and make a way.

Calling all Prayer Warriors: Please be praying for our group to raise the money we need and for God to move among the ministries we will be working with.

Also, if you have good fundraiser ideas, I am all ears…Please share.

Is it really November?

I can't believe I haven't posted in so long. We have been really busy and I have been sticking to my goal of not being on the computer much at night so I can spend time with family but that has limited my posts since I am at work all day or teaching.

Everyone is doing well. Here of some pic's from the last few weeks including A's first Trick or Treating experience.

Savvy's cheer photo's....