We are blessed!

Today is mine and Derek's 16th wedding anniversary!! I started thinking about all the years we've been together and how much I love my husband and 5 daughters! We have walked through so much and have so many memories! The Lord has been the foundation of our
home and our marriage and I truly believe I have the best husband on planet earth! He is kind and gentle, but strong. He's an amazing father and a man who runs hard after the things of God. I love his passion for Jesus. He leads us well as the spiritual leader of our home and keeps us laughing all the time! Life is never dull at the Loux home! Oh the stories..........


So much has happened in the last year! The Lord has proven himself to be faithful in more ways than we could even begin to express. We are beginning a new adoption adventure and are so excited about this!!! As many of you know, we have two biological daughters, Sophia and Michaela who are 10 and 8 years old. We also have three adopted daughters from the Marshall Islands. Their names are Teyolla, Keyolla and Telma. Teyolla and Keyolla are twins and will be 17 years old in September. Telma will be 18 in February. All our girls are awesome and we thank Jesus for each of them!

We are also in the process of adopting two special needs boys from Eastern Europe. We will be traveling in September to meet them for the first time. Their names are Misha and Sasha. Misha is 4 and has down syndrome. Sasha is 5 and is crippled. We can't wait to learn more about their little lives. I know they will be pretty curious when they meet this new fella they're going to be calling Daddy, spikey hair and all! I will just be holding back tears the entire time I see these little angels. It will be so wonderful to finally get to hold them in my arms! Our 5 girls will spoil them rotten! What an honor it will be to nurture and love these precious ones. So much has led up to our love and passion for special needs children and it all started with the birth of our first child.

Our firstborn son, Josiah Samuel, passed away when he was 2 and 1/2 years old, of complications that came with having a serious birth defect known as spina bifida.
He was a beautiful child who taught us so much about what true love is. In many ways, the Lord used our little "Siah" to help root us and ground us in the knowledge of God's goodness and in his sovereignty. Some of you may wonder how God's goodness can even be seen in the death of a child? Those who have lost a child and hung on to Jesus will be able to relate to what I'm saying. God reveals a part of himself that is so precious...so tender...and even when you're walking through a dark time in your life that seems unbearable, and you feel that your spirit will be crushed, Jesus comes through in the way only he can. He is the only hope for those who have experienced this pain. Derek and I wouldn't be celebrating another anniversary today had it not been for God's faithfulness to both of us. He carried us through so much and we are eternally grateful. My heart is so full of love and thankfulness tonight.

Well, it's time for me to round up our "tribe" now and get everyone tucked in bed. Nighty night, sleep tight and as our little KK says, "and don't let the crockodiles chew on your buns!"
Another KKism we will never understand.... she's just so cute!