MERRY CHRISTMAS 2011!

As we pack away our Thanksgiving decorations & prepare for the Christmas season, our hearts are filled with gratitude. Our family has experienced God’s goodness over & over again in the midst of the joys & challenges of the past year. 2011 was filled with miracles & trials. Laughter & tears. Travels & rest. This year we said good-bye to many dear friends who lost their battles with cancer, but are finally home. Their lives remind us that we are just passing through. One of our favorite verses recently has been, “The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble, He cares for those who trust in Him” (Nahum 1:7).

Jordan turned nine in March & started fourth grade this fall at Arroyo Elementary. It’s so thrilling to watch his inquisitive mind “come alive” as he loves to learn (& asks questions all day long)! He is passionate about reading & shocked our public library volunteers this summer when he completed his third twenty-hour reading chart in less than three weeks! He was recently elected to our school community service committee (“Ripple Kids”) & was thrilled to win his first election!


Aidan turned eight in June & is in third grade. He keeps us laughing all day long! He is incredibly expressive, animated & loves his new kitty (which he named Maui) & playing baseball.


He traveled with Mike & Jenni to El Salvador this summer & collected over 4,000 Silly Bandz (rubber bracelets) to give away in the orphanages. He loved serving in El Salvador & keeps begging to go back! Both boys were featured on the front cover of our local paper for their Silly Bandz project. We are so proud of them!


Jenni is blessed to volunteer in both of the boys’ classrooms. She also leads the Moms in Touch prayer group for our elementary school every week. She is honored to serve as the Outreach Director for All Blessings Intl. Adoptions & led two life-changing orphan outreach teams to El Salvador & Guatemala this year.


Jenni was blessed to attend The Christian Alliance for Orphans Summit in KY this May & oversees The So Cal Orphan Care Network. As most of you know, our adoption experience has caused us to become passionate about orphan care & advocacy. We were invited to speak on adoption/orphan care in our recent Orphan Sunday church service and invite you to listen to the message through the link posted below. Our adoption journey has been exciting, emotional, powerful & frustrating. We continue to wait for a referral of a baby girl from South Korea. Pray for our hearts as we ache for our daughter & for the millions of orphans in need of “forever families” around the world.

We are so grateful for our church family, The Village Church of Irvine (VCI) & are excited about the influence VCI has in our community & world. Mike is blessed to serve as an elder & graduated this June from a two-year biblical leadership-training course led by the VCI pastors.


We are honored to oversee the missions & orphan care ministries at VCI. We love partnering with amazing organizations & families that are impacting men, women & children suffering from HIV/AIDS, homelessness, poverty & the orphan crisis throughout the world with hope. Lives are being changed! We hosted many missionaries, friends & families in our home this year & our doors are always open! We love being a “global family” (as our license plate reads)!

Mike continues to work as a Line Producer producing infomercials for Script To Screen Productions in Santa Ana. He loves his staff & is grateful to be part of the production department. He also oversees our side business, Straight Street Production Services (production rentals). Most of the time, he can be found riding bikes or working on elaborate school projects with the boys, cooking a gourmet meal for family or friends or enjoying our beautiful yard.

We were blessed to travel on many trips this year. Jenni enjoyed her annual college girls’ reunion in Carmel - always a highlight of her year! We visited Jenni’s dad’s ranch (north of San Luis Obispo) this spring & adopted our newest pet, Maui (who was just 3 weeks old)!


We were blessed to spend time in Palm Desert with Jenni’s mom & also spent a week at a dessert time-share this August (thanks to good friends!).


Mike & the boys drove to Reno this summer to pick up Mike’s dad & drive him back to our home for an extended visit (an annual tradition).


We also helped Mike’s mom to relocate to OR this fall & got to know the 5 FWY well! We enjoyed the breathtaking drive & loved visiting with Mike’s sisters & family.


We celebrated our 17th anniv in November in a quiet house (thanks to Grandma!) before Jenni flew off to Guatemala (her sixth overseas trip in two years!). Thanksgiving may be behind us, but our hearts are overflowing with gratitude. We are constantly amazed at God’s faithfulness in the midst of every circumstance. We are grateful for each of you as we celebrate the birth of a precious baby boy, who was born in a manger, adopted by his family & changed the world forever!