Semi-regular phone photos.

New Fundraiser!

Head on over to our adoption blog and check out our new fundraiser!

Stay tuned to hear some more exciting things coming up in the next couple of weeks :)

Busy Little Worker Bees.

My car is not clean.
It's all I can do to keep my house clean (and for a few weeks there, I didn't. At all.), but we are on the go SO much, that I really have a hard time keeping my car clean. Okay... I don't really try. I am most certainly annoyed by all the stuff that seems to accumulate- I hate clutter!- but just haven't managed to do anything about it for quite some time.

I do get embarrassed when Layla gets out at school and a hat, plus yesterday's Sunday School craft, jump right out with her. Or when I move the kids' carseats and a few random raisins, broken crayons, and a strawberry shortcake figurine free themselves from their cushiony jail. It's not all the kids' fault. There are seven pair of sunglasses in my car. Seven. Three of those belong to the children, two are scratched or broken and I haven't thrown them away yet, and the other two... well, everyone needs two. Otherwise, what would I wear when I can't find the other ones?

But Monday, Brynn wrote on the seat. Ink pen meets leather. Is it sad that my first reaction was, "Oh, look- you made a T, and O, and a R!"?  My second reaction was more related to handing her a paper towel and cleaner. That evolved into Cale ridding the car of EVERY SINGLE toy, Brynn any trash, and Layla all the stuff. And THAT evolved into washing windows and dashboards and seats and taking turns vacuuming.

And THAT evolved into changing the sheets on their beds, cleaning their bathrooms, dusting the furniture, sweeping and vacuuming, putting away laundry, and cleaning up dinner (they love that one). I think they actually had fun. Really.

Of course, they took a snack break and a lunch break... and a play outside break (or two). But for the most part, these kids WORKED from 10am-6pm.

And OF COURSE, we made homemade ice cream sandwiches (yummm) after dinner to reward them for their hard work. We ate those way too fast to get a picture.

They enjoy cleaning (for now) and I want them to learn to be responsible. It's good for everyone to do their part around the house, so they won't always be rewarded- but these kids stepped UP and worked very hard! Above and beyond what I would typically expect of a 7yr old and two 4yr olds. Was it perfect? Absolutely not, but they learned a lot and we had a fun day together :)

Phone Photos

Adoption Update

You can read an update on the doctor/immigration issues here.

Please follow us on the other blog to keep up with our adoption!!
And KEEP PRAYING!!

9th Annual Pumpkin Run

You can read about what the Pumpkin Run means to us here.

We had over 300 runners movers this year! AND 40 of those were part of our Revolution family! I was pretty dang excited about that part. I did my best to organize volunteers from the church, considering everything else that's going on in our lives right now. I am so thankful for those that showed up to paint faces, hand out water, and walk/run to benefit the American Heart Association.

THIS is why I love my church.

There weather was beautiful, albeit a bit chilly with the wind. Another gorgeous fall day! The downside to the Pumpkin Run is that it's always the first Saturday in October- and Nathan ALWAYS has drill :/ He hasn't been able to go since he joined the Air Force. Bummer since we really love doing it together and it's a big day for our family.

The Crunk and Baird families (all mine!). In memory of Parker and Sylvia Crunk (my grandparents).

This child oozes althleticism, but we've never really been sure where to point it. We may have found her calling!


She ran nearly the whole 5K. Unfortunately, she ran most of it unsupervised. When the horn sounded, little girl took off.  She ran and ran and ran (verified by Pastor K who managed to keep up with her for a while). She's a runner, for sure!

The other day, she and Cale raced to my car. She flew like the wind, blowing him out of the water (and he's not slow!), of course, resulting in a meltdown for him. When they got back in the car, she put her hand on him and said, "Cale, just because I'm faster than you doesn't mean I'm better than you... but... wow, I am way faster than you."

Next year will be the 10th Pumpkin Run! Hard to believe.

We need you to pray.

This week is huge.

Tomorrow, we will confront the doctor one last time. I will go to her office for the 7th time. I will beg and plead, if needed. I will not let Satan use her to hurt us. I will ask nicely and always do the right thing and hope she does the same. But just incase she doesn't, I'm taking Momma Stang with me. And you do NOT want to mess with Momma Stang. Please pray for this doctor. Pray that God changes her heart and she wants to help. Pray that she corrects the mistakes she made. At the very least, pray that she does the job she is being paid to do.

Also, we are in a very serious race against the clock and we just might lose. We do not know if our immigration approval is going to get back in time. Honestly, it shouldn't, but I believe in a God who can do anything. We are being encouraged to write to our congressmen and ask them to intervene on our behalf. As much as we want her home for ourselves, it breaks my heart to think of our baby girl staying in that orphanage longer than she has to. Please, PLEASE, pray with us. Pray that that we get the attention of our congress woman. Pray that she acts on our behalf. Pray that immigration processes our application at record speed. Please pray that our child comes home sooner, rather than later.

Please and thank you.
We're scared, folks.



*If anyone else would like to write to our representative on our behalf, email me for contact info.