New Post!!!

Amazing, isn't it??? A new post! Life is busy, busy, busy. I desperately want it to slooooooooow down. We are shorthanded at work so.... it means lots of extra hours and stress.
On the adoption front, we received a "previo" in November 2009. A "previo" is a request from Colombia for more info. We also discovered that our agency failed to include our FBI clearances in our dossier and that they are expired and must be redone. So we were refingerprinted and sent in our request in November and still have not heard anything. C'mon our "rap sheet" isn't that long !!! Last I knew there was nothing on it:) We also have answered many questions in great detail about our parenting views, skills and experience... Experience???? Uh, hello people, that's what we're working towards here - BECOMING PARENTS. We turned in the first set of info in Dec. and were informed that it wasn't enough, so our Home Study agency prepared many essay questions for us. Sounds like a test from college days! We answered those and had an interview with the social worker and I think that part is finished. Now, if only those FBI clearances would get here, we might could move this slow boat along.
We actually managed to get away for Christmas. Planned to go to Nebraska to Mike's parents, but a snow storm and a sinus infection, ear infection and bronchitis put a stop to that. When all conditions improved we journeyed to Indiana to the home of my dear "oldest"sister, who I might add, will be celebrating a milestone birthday this year! The entire Weingard clan was there, all 27 of us cosied up in Dixie's beautiful home for 3 days. A good time was had by all! I have no pictures to include because I have been remiss in getting them on to my computer. I rarely get on the computer at home any more. I think that may be in direct correlation to the fact that I am on one all day long at work and I never was a big "computer person." Though I must say, my computer skills have improved greatly in the last couple months, by default. Someone quit, I had to learn said someone's job!
Oh, I almost forgot to update you on Peanut. She has grown like a weed is 10 months and is approx. 90 lbs. She had surgery 2 weeks ago and will never be the same again. Some parts are missing now. But we are all fine with that! She has recovered beautifully, goes to work with me and snoozes at my feet under my desk. Well, it felt good to write all that, even if there is no one out there reading this!! I now have officially updated my blog and my "lack of readers" on my status.

Peanut!!

My puppy is growing! No, she doesn't sleep on our bed, but she does visit on occasion!

Happy Birthday in Heaven!

Today you would have turned 65! But you're in a place where you will never get older, you will never have pain and never cry. Here on earth the pain is still great and sometimes I don't know if I can stand it. The pain of knowing I'll not hear your voice on the telephone again, I'll never hike another trail with you, never go camping with you, never have another lesson from you about the stars. It's hard knowing that Mom faces lonely nights and weekends. Sometimes we thought you talked too much, but now I just wish I could hear you one more time! Every holiday that comes around brings thoughts of you and what you would have done to celebrate, how you would always point us to Jesus, for without him we wouldn't have any holidays. The tears still come and the pain is still there but there is a peace knowing you are safe in Heaven. I love you and miss you, Daddy, more than I can say, but someday I'll see you again!!

Our new baby!!

Just a few pics of our new baby - Peanut! She's absolutely adorable!! She is a South African Boerboel (mastiff family) We just got her today and she already follows me around. She is 8 weeks old and a little over 10 lbs! The cats don't know what to think!

Ravi Zacharias - "The Problem of Pleasure"

Ravi Zacharias spoke at Brooklyn Tabernacle on Sunday, May 17 @ 3:30. I've heard him many times on the radio and have read many of his books. My sweet hubby was kind enough to take me 2 and a half hours to hear him.
The message was awesome. I would gladly have skipped some of the music there to hear more preaching. He spoke on "The Problem of Pleasure" and gave 3 principles for choosing our pleasures. He first encouraged everyone to write out a personal mission statement to help us apply these principles. Principle #1 "Anything that refreshes you without distracting from, diminishing or destroying your ultimate goal is a legitimate pleasure." #2 "Any pleasure that jeopardizes the sacred right of another is an illicit pleasure." #3 "Any pleasure, however good, if not kept in balance will distort reality and destroy appetite making it an illicit pleasure." He also referenced Susanna Wesley's definition of sin - "Whatever weakens your reason, impairs the tenderness of your conscience,obscures your sense of God, or takes off your relish of spiritual things; in short whatever increases the strength and authority of your body over your mind, that thing is sin to you, however innocent it may be in itself." What a lot of food for thought! He preached over an hour, but it sure didn't seem that long. I had taken my copy of his book "Jesus Among Other Gods" and was able to get it signed by him. Mike had never heard him on the radio or otherwise, but he's hooked! He downloaded two of Ravi's books to his ipod and was listening to them as he mowed today.

My Perennial Garden

Just a few pics of my favorite flower garden behind my house! All perennials - I've been working on it for four years, buying and adding a few perennials at a time. Oops, the hanging basket isn't a perennial!

Immigration Approval!!

I haven't posted an adoption update in a long time. Not because there has been nothing happening but because... well I don't know why! Our homestudy was finished the end of December and sent to USCIS (Immigrations) in January where it would be closely scrutinized to see if we met all requirements and could be approved to adopt. Our agency told us it would take 60-90 days to hear from them because they (USCIS) were backlogged. We got our approval in 30 days!! Just a few more papers to finish and our part will be done(for a while, until everything needs renewed!) Once our last paper goes to our adoption agency La Vida International, they get all documents authenticated, compile everything and send it off to Colombia. Our dossier should be in Colombia by April. Once there it gets translated into Spanish and then sent to ICBF (Colombia's social services division) where it gets scrutinized once again to see if we meet all requirements. Once our dossier is approved (this usually takes a few months) it is put in line for a referral. Our agency is saying that wait time for siblings 0-4yrs is approximately 16-18 months after approval. I'm seeing light at the end of the looooong tunnel of paperwork and I am very happy!!