It's Wednesday, January 11th and another trip around the sun has begun.  The past year has definitely been a year full of changes and milestones.  We look forward to seeing what God has in store for us this next year.  If you would like to read our Christmas letter, click here. 

     Our wonderful holiday season climaxed on Christmas Eve when Anisa and Gilma Evans came home from Albania.  They were very excited to meet all their new siblings and to see the place that they would now call home.  And we were equally thrilled to meet the girls who had recently been added to our family.  Patti--who had spent the past forty days finalizing the adoption over in Albania--was happy and relieved to be away from a third world country. 

     The past couple of weeks have been a mixture of trials and blessings for the Evans family as the girls settle in to their place in the family and everybody struggles to learn to communicate.  Every day is an adventure and they are all taking things one stride at a time.  This coming year will be an exciting journey and we look forward to watching as this chapter in God's story of their lives unfolds. 

     Eli and I are counting down the days until our baby's due date. We have 7 days left and we're definitely getting anxious.  The house is all clean, I've made food for the freezer, we bought diapers, I washed the baby's clothes, and his room is all set up.  Every night we go to bed and think, "Maybe tonight!"  Of course, the baby could decide to wait another three weeks to come, so I'm trying hard to be patient.  That's the hardest part of this whole thing: we have to be ready in case he comes early, and yet we might have three weeks still to wait!  Patience is a virtue, but not an easy one to attain.

     Well, that's the newsflash for the next few weeks. Check back once in a while to see if I've gotten around to writing any more updates, but don't expect them too often. Feel free to e-mail me to ask any other questions you might have or to just say hi. My e-mail is "amanda@exodusbooks.com".