life as best as i remember it...

Super nice speaker’s cabin!

danscott77 — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:25:28 +0000

My little artists… My kids are AWESOME! #parenting

danscott77 — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 22:08:28 +0000

Mobile Office | I do my work at the Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids

danscott77 — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 03:52:20 +0000

The cafe at the Meijer Gardens is my new favorite office space. This afternoon the weather was warm enough that I spent some time working outside. I noticed these trees in the landscape. All I had was the iPhone… But with the Photoshop Mobile and Shake It Photo apps, well you can see for yourself.

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Ellison | My five year old ballerina princess!

danscott77 — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:40:19 +0000

She’s five! It’s amazing to think about how time flies. Seems like just yesterday that we were putting finishing touches on her room and prepping for her arrival. Little did we know who we were in for!

From the start this girl has been full of drama. Sure, she looks just like her mother; but inside she’s all me. (For better or worse I guess.) Everything is beeeeautIful or LOOOvely! I’m just waiting for her to use “fabulous” in a sentence any day now.

No matter if she’s singing along to Hanna Montana or dancing to her FAVORITE(!) “Once Upon a Dream” she is always on stage. She lives her life as one who doesn’t want to miss a thing.

And we LOVE her!

Happy Birthday, Ballarina Girl!

(Cue cheesy Lionel Richie song in the backgroud.)

Happy Birthday, Ellison!!

danscott77 — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 21:13:40 +0000

10 in 10

danscott77 — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 23:43:33 +0000

Disclaimer: I wrote this post on an iPhone. Please excuse any errors you might find.

This weekend is Jenna and my TEN year reunion at Cedarville. In… Um.. Celebration I guess of this momentous occation I figured that I might recap the past 10 years in 10 bullet points. (After all, I need to be prepared in case anyone asks, right?)

1999: Jenna and I were married in Princeton, New Jersey at the most elegant wedding that we’ve ever attended. I also had my first (and last) teaching job where I realized that I’m just not cut out for 7-3 life that requires homework not only for my students but myself too!

2000: Jenna and I made one of the hardest decisions in our marriage and desided to move out to Grand Rapids, MI where I enrolled in seminary. I’m pretty sure that we moved never thinking that we’d fall in love with this place and stay.

2001: We decided (perhaps impulsively) to buy our first home in the Alger Heights neighborhood in Grand Rapids. a little known fact is that we did this without telling our parents that we were even looking! (I said this was rather impulsive, didn’t I?) I was in school.

2002: We lived the life of D.I.N.K.s and traveled all over from Cape Cod to the Dominican Republic to Chicago to New Jersey and Oklahoma as well. I was still in school.

2003: Liam was born on a snowy day in May. (Yes, you read that correctly.) And yes, I was still in school! But there was hope as I began working at Ada Bible Church in the family ministries department… Little did I know that this is where I’d stay.

2004: I surprised myself and my entire family when I competed in an adventure race with a good friend. God also decided to give a surprise. A BIG surprise: Ellison was born in November. We also moved closer to the church where I was now full time. The stress of it all was stressful, but God sustained us through it all.

2005: Most of this year is a blur. And I took a year off from school.

2006: I took a trip to remote villages in Tanzania. I read Donald Miller’s Searching for God Knows What. Both combined changed my life. I couldn’t live the way I was living. Addison came into our lives. And I finished seminary!!

2007: Jenna and I travel sans kids to Mully Children’s Family in Kenya. We came home completely impacted for the poor and disinfranchised. I knew that setting our sights on expanding our family would stretch us radically. We began settlng our house in order and settled into the crazy life of three kids!

2008: This was a great year for us. God gave us a new found clarity. We were loving life after making some significant changes (mostly mine but that’s a story for another day!) Finally we wouldn’t have a baby who came as a complete surprise! We began the process for Taye to join our family.

2009: We went to Ethiopia to get Taye. God is shaping us everyday. The adoption process taught us so much about ourselves. Mainly throughout the past year, God reminded us that we are richly blessed with more than we could ever hope or imagine (4 kids and a great job at a growing church: WHAT?!)

Reading this back over I see that this post took a serious turn along the way. Sorry about that. Well, maybe not. Ten years ago I never thought I’d be where I am today. The ups and downs and ins and outs have brought me here. Sometimes those moments were laugh out loud funny, while others would make you cry your eyes out. But that is the journey of faith to which we’re called. I wouldn’t take back a minute lived – OK, yes, maybe I would. But all of that brought me here. And I really like here.

Taye | Making Faces

danscott77 — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 20:00:51 +0000

Yes, it’s been a busy week with little time to write, not to mention post. Yet, we have had enough time to make faces.

Taye. Is. Awesome.

Life | Taye Day!

danscott77 — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 20:15:22 +0000

Today is Taye Day in the Scott house.

What is Taye Day?, you ask. Well, let me tell you.

When we accepted Taye’s referral for adoption, his date of birth was unknown.
We chose September 18. So for us he’s 2 today.

It’s still a bit surreal to think that about 2 years ago he was born. We didn’t know him. He didn’t know us. But God knew that he would someday be part of our family. It is amazing how God works in this world. To think that he had a child born on the other side of the world to be part of our family blows me away.

We are beyond thankful for, Taye. He is a joy…

even when he’s not…

Here are some pics from today… looks like Jenna and the kids are having a blast!

Taye | SHHHHHHH!

danscott77 — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 23:22:46 +0000

Photo Booth | September 14, 2009, originally uploaded by dcscott110.

Watching your child sleep peacefully is one of the true joys of parenting. Waiting for your child to sleep is not… usually.

My evening routine now includes snuggling with Taye for a minute while he hugs my neck for dear life knowing full well that he will soon be in the dreaded…. CRIB!

Then I spread out a blanket next to his crib and plop myself down, try and keep Liam quiet, and wait. And wait…

And sometimes I wait so long that I’m pretty sure I fall asleep on the hardwood floor before he’s out for the night. Other times, I swear that Taye is sleeping only to stand up and make my way into the hall before I hear his signature whimper and impending scream.

Lately, however, he’s been asleep fairly quickly, and not having to do this every night is in our sights. Soon, I’m thinking that I’ll be able to put him down and walk right out of the room without so much as a peep.

Until then… here I sit.

Life | A Blur

danscott77 — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 12:25:35 +0000

In the past week, we’ve done a lot. In fact, much of it seems like a blur. Starting school, a ministry year at church, and miscellaneous projects that need to get done take a toll on everyone. Thankfully, we’ve got the pictures to prove all of it!

My family has been amazing during the start of this ministry year. It is definitely hardest on Jenna who is often left home with the four kids. I’m SO thankful for her constant support and reminder that I need to take breaks and have fun! Jenna, love you so much!

Enjoy some of the fun the Scott Clan has had in the past week…

Liam started First Grade:

Elli started Ballet and Young 5s

(Yes, those are Hello Kitty tights.)

Taye got his first state-side haircut:

We hung out with the families with whom we travelled to Ethiopia:

We re-landscaped our front yard:

We’ve been CRASHING at night and watching TV.
(Don’t worry I’ll spare you the picture of that! Yikes!)