Updates

Hi everyone! Once again, it has been too long, but so much has changed since the last time I wrote! First off, we just got back on Saturday from an amazing vacation out to Arizona to see the Grand Canyon and a number of other amazing sites of God's creation. We were so blessed to be able to enjoy this with my (Jess') parents, sister and brother-in-law while knowing that our fur-baby, Scrumpy, was safe in Lowville with his grandma and grandpa Zehr. It was a wonderful and refreshing week that was much needed by all.

Second, last time I wrote I was really struggling with the fact that we felt as though it was time for us to begin transitioning but that doors hadn't opened yet for us to do so. Elias and I have felt for awhile that we are supposed to move back to Lewis County in the semi-near future. He has been working up in Lowville with his dad since January, so it was me who needed to find work up there. I had one potential opportunity open up for massage, but I never heard back as the woman wasn't quite ready for me so I began looking at other options. In a short period of time I had an amazing opportunity come up to rent space in Croghan, which is a location that I have wanted to practice massage since I was in school. So, beginning tomorrow, I will be officially opening my own practice out of a room at the Hair Cut Co. in Croghan and I couldn't be more excited! We will still be living in Poland for a time, but we are hoping to move to Lowville by this fall. So, if you know any places that are inexpensive, at least 2 bedroom and pet friendly, feel free to let us know ;).

Now onto adoption related stuff, which is why most of you are here! Nothing real new on the adoption front. I have been told summer is slow for adoptions, so we will keep waiting. However, we are going to be doing a few fundraisers while in the waiting. We are having a yard sale with items from us and a number of other people who have generously donated items to help us out. This will be in two weeks on the 18, 19, and 20 of July at my parents house on East State St in Lowville if you are interested in checking it out! Also, we are going to be doing a Both Hands fundraiser on August 3rd. This fundraiser consists of us donating a day of our time to work on a widow's house. The widow we will be helping is in Martinsburg and the work we will be doing will mostly consist of yard work and possibly painting. We are still looking for a few volunteers so if this is something you think you may be interested in, please contact us as soon as you can! We still have a long ways to go with our fundraising so any help is appreciated so that we can provide a home for a child in need when the time comes! Thank again for all of you prayers, love and support and please keep them coming! Also, I am attaching a video to help explain our Both Hands project a bit more. Have a great day!

http://bothhandsfoundation.org/videos