August 27, 2015

We're still rolling along!  We may be sweating bullets in this Southern summer, but overall, life feels good.   Like Psalm 16 says, it feels like the boundary lines have fallen in pleasant places for us. :)

Backyard party!  When the sun went down it was *only* 85, and the mosquito spray worked enough to make them bearable! :)  

Slip-and-slide party after church at the Zieber's.  This day was actually only in the mid-80s and had lower humidity.  I'm telling you, when someone plans a party, God smiles on us. :)

Sunday mornings feel great - I've loved the churches I've been apart of over the years, but I've never felt as energized by a Sunday service as I have these past few months.  Not because they are so perfectly done, but because it feels like the Holy Spirit meets us (or at least me!) on a weekly basis.  It feels like a big family breakfast every Sunday, followed by some really genuine worship.  Karl and Lindsey and our other worship folks (Jason and Kyle) are doing an amazing job.  And then... I have to brag... I love hearing my husband speak.  He may not agree with this all the time, but he's a REALLY GOOD communicator.  And when he gets to talk about things he's passionate about, look out folks. :)  (We have a few other guys who preach here and there too, so Ben isn't overwhelmed.)  If you ever need a sermon to listen to, you can find (most) of our's on the website under "Sundays"... http://rockhillvineyard.org/  (They don't always get recorded... like I said, Sunday mornings don't always go perfectly) :)

Sunday mornings at the YMCA.  

(We never know what the room will look like when we set up on Saturdays.  The Y used this room during the summer for kids' summer camps that had a Star Trek theme.  So we had Star Trek decor and streamers and stars hanging from the ceiling these past few months!)

The BEST news about our church, however, is that we are planning our first baptism!  Sarah, who Lindsey befriended several months ago, has been really consistent about coming Sunday mornings with her daughter, and a few weeks ago I had the privilege of praying with her as she decided she wants to be "all in" with Jesus.  I love her testimony... she said that as a kid, her Mom would sometimes take her to church and it was the one place where she felt like everything was going to be okay.  So years later, when Lindsey invited her to church, Sarah felt like she wanted her daughter to experience that same thing.  Sarah felt like she "belonged" with us even before she fully believed, and when Ben preached his first sermon in a short series on the gospel, she said, "I want that!"  The power of the gospel is a beautiful thing!  We have lots of other friends who haven't decided to follow Jesus yet, including some friends who come every Sunday, but we see the Holy Spirit at work, and we wait to see what He will do next.

Sarah (on the left) and Lindsey.  This is a horribly blurry picture, but I took it right after Lindsey and I went with Sarah to get her driver's license!  We went out to lunch to celebrate and none of us could stop smiling. :) 

On the Ganson homefront, we are totally done with our home study for the adoption.  Woo hoo!  I've sent off three applications to different grant organizations, so I'll hopefully hear back from them in the next couple of months, and we're slowly working on our dossier.  We met with a psychologist today to be interviewed so he can write a letter stating that we are competent to care for children.  Good news!  Turns out we are!  (I know that's a relief for our current children.)  :) We're planning a yard sale for October, and I have a sweet friend who is doing a very cool fundraiser for us right now through her shop, http://melodyjoy-designs.com/.  From now until October 1, using the promo code "gansonfamily" gets the shopper 20% off their purchase AND Melody is donating the same amount to our adoption.  I love that she's doing a fundraiser for us when so many of her products are about parenthood (mama bird nest jewelry for women and leather arrow cuffs for Dads - like "arrows in the hands of warrior are sons born in ones youth")  Here is a link to the event page about the fundraiser if you want more info or want to help spread the word!  (You may have to cut and paste it - I'm not sure if it's linking right)
https://www.facebook.com/events/1468761036759955/

AND...  Ben passed his Series 7 test with flying colors!  Big YAY!!!!  So many hours of studying and concepts that I can't even begin to comprehend... and now he's done!... well, sort of.  He actually has to take another test (The Series 66) by November to pass all the state requirements, now that the federal requirements have been met.  But that one shouldn't be as much of a doozy as the test he just took.  THEN he will be a "Registered Representative" and can actually take on and advise clients.  (He will NOT be a Certified Financial Advisor as I stated in my last blog post... that's laughable now that I understand more of how it works.  There's a lot of experience needed there - and a much harder test to pass - before he would have that title.  But he doesn't need it as long as he's working under Mike, who is a CFA.  Ben may someday tackle that years down the road if it's beneficial, but that's not on the radar screen anytime soon.)  Anyway, we went out to eat last night to celebrate.  I posted this on facebook, but I'll share it here too.  Our kids like to party... and they did NOT get their dance moves from me. :)

And while we're on the subject of our kids, I'll go ahead and post their "first day of school" pictures.  Actually, this was something like their 29th day, since we worked some over the summer, but this was their first day of our homeschool co-op for the year. 

He wants to be in business with his Dad. :)  Last year, he said he wanted to be a farmer when he grows up.. sorry, Grandpa Bender and Uncle Kenton!  You've lost a future employee.  (This is what happens when your children are actually clones of your husband...)