Its only been 5 months...;)

Let's catch up on the last 5 months. If you'll stick with me I'll let you in on a surprise at the end.

I guess I should start with our adoption. I honestly hate this part because while I know progress is being made, it feels like it's taking forever. I have been asked (a lot) if we were quitting and I try not to take offense. When God calls you to do something you don't quit because its hard or it hurts or its taking too long.... I wonder how things would have been if Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David, Paul....had just quit. They would have missed out on the great rewards at the end of their journey whether here or in Heaven. So no, we are not quitting. We move forward in faith toward the redemption of Captain and Sister because we know that He who called us IS faithful and works all things for the good of those who love Him and are CALLED according to His purpose.
That said, we ask for you prayers as we continue.

Spring was BUSY! This was our first year to have 3 kids playing baseball

 

Melo and Joshua made lots of new friends on their teams, Isaiah turned out to be a pretty good catcher, Daddy learned not to make bets and poor Caleb just wanted to get out there and play so bad!

...and of course we made time for the Rangers

Somewhere in the middle of it all I managed to run my first (and last) full marathon. The lead car took the runners on a wrong turn at the start and we ended up running 27.7 miles! That extra mile and a half felt like eternity. My sweet husband surprised me at the finish line with the kids! He always knows just what to do.

May and June are really busy for Jacob so I decided to take the kids on a 7 day road trip by myself...

 We spent a lot of time in the car.....a lot

 and ate way too much McDonalds

 We stopped in Austin and spent time with Papa Phil

and got lots of sunshine!

Then we headed to Houston to see Peyton

If you've never been to Kemah it's a fun and inexpensive place for younger families. The kids and I have made it our yearly tradition.

Of course we found some time for fishing

I was so excited after days of sleeping on different floors to finally have a bed....

...well I found some room at the end to share with 8 little feet



When we got home I literally pulled in the driveway, left the kids with Jacob and went straight to the car wash....for obvious reasons

                                                                      Car floor - day 7
The rest of the summer has been full so far. The kids went to VBS at Willow Park (best one around). Isaiah and Melo went to Noize Camp at New River and Pine Cove Base Camp.  I finally understand how my parents felt when we got home from camp!

Joshy brought home a new pet which he cleverly named Guinea Pig.

It turns out that Guinea pigs really aren't great for families with dogs. Now I have 2 cages, plenty of toys, bedding and even food FREE to anyone interested.

A couple of weeks ago I got to run the Jalapeno Half Marathon with my friend Natalie. It was

Hot Hot Hot! but lots of fun....Ok, my friend Tiffany was there too but her 6 month pregnant self must have gotten tired waiting on us to finish. Its ok, I make a habit of finishing behind pregnant women...and the occassional wheelchair...true story


Alright, I promised a surprise...and trust me-no one is as surprised as me! Looks like the Holts will be growing even more than we thought this year...in more ways than ever imagined. When we chose the path of adoption we knew that meant no more newborns and that was ok. That season had ended for us and we were embracing the next. Well God (who is not surprised by anything) had a different plan. Baby Holt #5 should make his/her appearance in March...but probably April cause we know these Holt babies like Mama's belly.

Catching up

I've been putting off posting for a while now. I wanted some BIG news to share but that just hasn't happened...yet. I think its coming though, tomorrow actually!!!!
So before tomorrow I guess I should catch up a little.

First a huge THANKS to everyone who helped with the fundraisers for Beatrice! Not only were we able to raise over $2,000 but Sweet B has a committed family coming to her rescue! Hopefully she will be safe at home in Mama's arms this summer. They still have a ways to go so keep them in your prayers. I'm going to leave the link on my blog (ok, partially because I had to get someone else to add it and I have no idea how to take it off ;)) so if you feel led please continue to support them. Adoption is expensive but these children are in desparate need. You have been called to help and if you can't adopt please give!
Here is the link to her amazing family's blog if you'd like to follow their journey.

and second....a little bit of Christmas! This year we were able to visit Grandpa Don and Grandma Gail in Virginia. It was beautiful and we had a great time

The kids got to meet their new little cousin Lilly

We got to see some SNOW!

It was wonderful!

Of course the trip home....well, it will always be a great story

Our flight was extended by an hour because of weather. Normally no big deal but there was this baby...
I'm pretty relaxed with noise. I'm used to crying and I completely understand how hard traveling is on a little one but this was crazy! Literally 4 hours of non stop screaming. I was so impressed by the kindness and patience of everyone on that plane. It was truly remarkable. Still it was a great relief when we landed. We got our bags and waited for the car seat...and waited...and waited. Finally Jacob pulled the car up and me and the kids loaded while he when to figure out where the car seat was. I loaded the last bag and closed the back hatch...and it popped right back open. It was broken. Would not latch. So here we are parked at the airport pickup, 30 degrees freezing, back door open and Jacob comes with the news that our carseat never made it on the plane! He decided to work on the door while the airport found us a loaner seat. Unfortunately the key he used to try and fix the door was also the one needed to start the car and it BROKE! At this point we had to just laugh and face the fact that we would never leave that airport! We made the most of it. Ate a delicious vending machine dinner, bundled up in our freezing van and watched movies on the IPad while we waited for my awesome dad to come to our rescue.

We also enjoyed some much needed playtime with our California cousins. Kristy and I even managed to get a few hours away and discovered these FRIED AVOCADOS!

We had our annual group anniversary date (minus Hannah and Daniel who were home with their new Bundle)

A night out with the sisters

And finally our own little family Christmas. Melody has turned popstar

And the family gift was the best gift ever. They have not gone a day without a Nerf war since!

 In other news Caleb is now only referring to himself as BatBaby

My newest niece is here and we are ALL IN LOVE!

Miss Peyton is a doll and we can't get enough of her!









After Christmas we were able to Celebrate Sweet Sister's 5th Birthday. Praying she'll be here with us for #6!