Adoption Update

We have been accepted with the new agency to adopt from Colombia, South America! We are both very excited about this and have to decided to request a sibling group of two or three as they often are the children that wait the longest. Colombia tries to keep siblings together as much as possible, and not many people wish to adopt more than one at a time. The scary part is that this could really reduce our waiting time, which means we have to come up with the financing a little quicker. We have stacks of paperwork to get started on, birth certificates and marriage certificates to order. I have already ordered 5 copies of my birth certificate and should have them in about a week to a week and a half. Mike's is a bit more complicated as he was born in Guatemala (also a lot more expensive) and could take up to 8 weeks to receive. We hope to get the first round of papers and money turned in this week. It's a big step, but we are trusting God to work it all out!

Valentine's Weekend!

Since we both work long hours, doing something fun on Valentine's day wasn't really an option, so we went to our favorite place in Lancaster for the weekend. The second photo is my Valentine gift! Looks great in my Living Room. I love it! Before we left Mike was starting to get sick, so I told him we could just stay home, but he insisted on going anyway. He was rather miserable most of the time, but he really tried to act like he wasn't! Poor guy. He's so sweet!

Smudge Update

Smudge is now 6 months old and is almost all grown up. She still loves to play and loves to sit in the windows behind the blinds to keep an eye on the neighbors!

Christmas with my family!

Since most of my sisters posted Christmas pictures, I tried not to duplicate them. These are mostly random snapshots.

Christmas with the In-laws!

We were all able to get together at Susie and Wesley's house. Had a great time except for getting sick and sharing it with everyone!

Christmas at our House!

A little late I know, but hey it's not as late as Christmas in July!!

There's still hope

Thank you to all who left kind comments on my last post. I spent some time crying and praying about all this and then spent several hours online the other night checking out different agencies, countries and requirements, etc. I found an agency I think is for us and another country. I requested an info and application packet and received it today. The agency is in PA, not far from the other one. I also talked to someone at that office yesterday and she was very kind and very helpful. Sooo... we are going to fill out this application, send it in and see what happens. I must say I am even more excited about the prospect of adopting from this country than China, and so is my husband. The country requirements are not near as strict, so Mike being one handed should not be a problem. The lady I talked with at the agency said she was sure it wouldn't be, but she would double check with that country for our peace of mind. This adoption could possibly go even much quicker than China, provided we can come up with all the fees in time. I'm not sure whether to say which country or not until I find out if we'll be accepted or not. So hang in there with me and I will let you know!!