A New Calling...

I can see that it has been quite some time since I have updated this blog, not sure why that is. First of all, I feel like I need to say that this year has gone by freakishly fast. Last I knew, I was taking down Christmas, now we're 75% of the way through the year. This has not been a quiet year for us either. In the last few months, the Dargan family has accomplished some exciting things;

- Luke turned 2 and finally passed his autism assessment. The autism suspicions were thrown out by his specialists, and it was concluded that he had hearing loss with delayed speech output. This has improved significantly with at-home therapy via Mommy. He went from barely talking and NOT answering questions at all to speaking in sentences and answering all questions very well.
- Rachel Beth (decided she wanted to go by this instead of Elizabeth) and has started homeschooling for Pre-K 3. She can write ALL letters of the alphabet from memory, all shapes, and numbers 1-10. She has also started drawing creatively and enjoys drawing her favorite TV characters and does so very well.
- I celebrated my 9-month milestone from being free of binge eating. Through CR I have discovered that self-medicating with food was just a symptom of deeper issues that needed to be dealt with. Now that I have dealt with those, I am overcoming temptation successfully on a regular basis. I have also seen huge strides in my struggle with codependency.
- Ben and I accepted a job with "Father Flannagin's Boys Town;" a ministry that provides refuge for at-risk youth that the state foster system has failed and given up on. We will be moving into a home with 6 teenage girls (I know, we're completely insane) and essentially taking on the role as 'professional parents.' This will entail transporting the girls to school, church, Dr's appointments, making sure they complete their daily tasks and prepare for adult life.The job is in Tallahassee. So, not only are we taking on a new job but also a completely new place to live, a ways away from our family. We're brokenhearted to live 4 hours away from our parents but genuinely feel led to this ministry and have a peace about the move.

Tomorrow we will fly, as a family, to Omaha for intensive job training. It will be the kids' first flights, the kids' first time in preschool, and my first time in actual job training to prepare for a full-time job. This is a season of change for us. But it is also a season we have been well-prepared for over our time as a couple, and we have peace that God is going before us into this new walk of life. Now I just need to get used to saying "Table for 10, please..."

PS. My parents got a new puppy. I could explode just thinking about how freakin' cute this little guy is. Introducing Maximus! He is sitting next to Rachel Beth's lifetime-lovey for scale. So cute I can't stand it!