Show Hope. Nashville, Tennessee

Over the past few months, Ryan and I have been following an organization called Show Hope, that has recently opened an orphanage in China. The orphanage is called Maria's Big House of Hope which is named after the Christian singer Steven Curtis Chapman's daughter. Their cause is very close to Ryan's and my heart. The girl in the picture is one of the residents of Maria's Big House of Hope (MBHOH).

Maria's Big House of Hope from Show Hope on Vimeo.

In November, Ryan and I are going to Nashville, TN to Steven Curtis Chapman's home church for Orphan Sunday and we are going to visit Show Hope's office while we are there. Ryan and I have thought and prayed about building our family through adoption. We feel we have been called to adopt. The girl in the picture of the last post, we have expressed interest in adopting her, but we do not think she is well enough to be considered for adoption. To read more about her, go to http://blog.showhope.org/?p=424 If we cannot adopt now, we will someday soon. Here is another post from the show hope blog, The joy of laughter was a sweet gift to the Upton’s as they traveled to China to meet their daughter, Haddie. Her contagious giggle erupted even at the first tickles from Bob and Collette. While still in Guangzhou, they shot this video to share a portrait of hope with their children Noah and Hannah who were waiting in the United States. At home now, Haddie loves to sleep in the arms of her mom and dad and is bonding with her forever family! Thanks to all the sponsors and supporters who helped give this precious child such amazing joy.

Haddie from Show Hope on Vimeo.

Thank you to everyone who have been praying for us. In the recent months, people are being more positive about Vertical and we made it through the first month without my paycheck, and school hasn't been as bad but I have a tough week coming up with two papers due soon and then I have finals for this quarter. Please keep praying for our schedules, they are still crazy, and please pray for our church. Thank you for taking time to read this, and maybe to watch a few videos. To find out more about Show Hope, go to www.showhope.org . God bless.

September...

I finally found some time to update my blog. I hope everyone hasn't given up on me. School has been very very harsh and I pretty much have no life, but writing papers. I believe it will get better though, I think September is going to be my busiest month. I love that the weather, it is getting cooler, Fall is my favorite season. I am trying to make sure I enjoy it more this year. Lately, I have been missing things about Arkansas, not the humidity of course, but camping trips with my family, fish frys, my cousins(all of them, not just Arkansasans) and just familiar faces and places. This is probably one of the hardest months I will go through, please pray for me as I go through this season of my life. Ryan also needs prayer, because he is just as busy as I am, he works 60 to 80 hours a week. Life is pretty crazy around our house. I tried to find a picture that I could put on here, but we haven't really taken any lately, so I will leave you with a picture of a little girl that has captured our hearts. I will tell everyone more about what she is all about in another post and why Ryan and I will be going to Nashville,TN in November. Please leave a comment or email me!