Countdown to November 25th

We have a date for Josiah's surgery: November 25th! Not only is this 1 month before Christmas, it's also the day before Thanksgiving...we'll have so much to be thankful for! Shelly, Josiah and I will travel to Cincinnati and stay for several weeks (depending on how typical Josiah's recovery is). The Toaster (Josiah's nickname) has been telling everyone he's getting his trach out...we're all very excited!

There's a chance we could get bumped up if a cancellation occurs, so we're living life on "standby" in case that happens. We're praying our family (especially Josiah) stays healthy between now and his surgery so we're not postponed. Flu season is certainly impacting our area, and we're trying to be careful with him while still letting him live a 5-year old's life. That's right, Josiah will turn 5 on November 7th. He's come so far in the past 5 years and we're so blessed he's in our family!

2nd grade is going well for Silas. He's becoming a great reader...I'm amazed at how smooth and quickly he reads out loud, and he loves to sit by himself on the couch and read chapter books. He's continued to do great in soccer (only 2 more games).

Shelly and the boys head to Mamoo and Papa B's home in Colorado tomorrow for a few days away. They'll check on all the chickens and yaks, and bring home the packaged half-steer so we can enjoy some great beef over the months ahead.

The next Rwanda adoption conference call is next Thursday (the 29th). All that's going on with Josiah has made the adoption waiting a little bit easier, but there are still so many times we as a family talk and wonder about the 2 sisters who'll be joining us (hopefully soon)!

The cold weather has arrived at Glorieta! After a beautiful fall with vibrantly colored leaves of many colors, the cold weather hit Wednesday with our 1st snowfall of the year. It didn't stick, but we can still see quite a bit on some of the mountaintops in our area.