Bethany Community Church

Brian Hallberg, Children’s Pastor

I need  more sleep.

Do you remember the last blog I wrote that started out that way? It was when we added our newborn son to our family, with one day’s notice, five months ago. This entry starts with a phone call as well.

During the month of May, the phone rang. This time it was not a social worker who changed our lives; it was a young man named Martell who I had been mentoring for several years. Early in the mentor relationship, my wife and I had invited Martell to move from his current foster home into our home. He was calling to see if the offer was still open. We were humbled by the courage that it took for him to call, and of course, we said YES!

On July 1, Martell moved into our house and became the older brother that Kaleb has always wanted. My wife used to always say before Jacob and Martell came home that “our family is not all here yet.” Within four months, we have added a newborn and a 17-year-old, and we are all home. Our house is certainly full; full of love, full of laughter, and full of true living. Jacob is five months old and sleeping through the nights (when it is my turn to watch him). Becky is five years old and just started kindergarten. Kaleb is seven years old and has begun first grade. Martell is trying not to let his senioritis start too early as he begins his senior year at Shorewood High school.

Karmin and I spend our time feeding, cleaning, doing laundry, helping with homework, giving driving lessons, changing diapers, etc., in what we call our beautiful, crazy life. We have never been so tired, but we’ve never been so happy. Thank you God that Your vision for our lives is so much more beautiful that could have dreamed. Thank you for writing such an awesome story for our family.