Process Update...and a moment of irony. :)

Hi friends!  It has been forever since I've posted on this blog!  No bueno!  Between Isaac's and my trip to NC to visit family, then Stan's parents coming to visit us, and my health being not the greatest for the last 6 weeks or so, I have just not had much time to write!  We have had great times with both sides of our family though - so fun! :)

So... to catch you up on where things are at with our adoption process...

-About 2 and a half weeks ago we finally FINISHED the big chunk of paperwork that we had to complete before we could start our home study, along with all of the online adoption education training hours that we had to complete.  BIG accomplishment.  Almost 2 months of virtually ALL of our spare time being devoted to that stuff are finished! :)

-In the last couple of weeks, our parents and several of our close friends have received communication from our agency asking for reference letters for us...so those are in the process of being written and sent in.  Thanks guys! :)

-We have continued to receive monetary gifts for our adoption from family and friends who have partnered with us to bring our baby home.  Thanks to all of you who have given!  God has been incredibly faithful.  Check out the thermometer to the right to see where we're at.  After all of our placement fee is in, we will still need to raise our attorney fees, court costs, etc.... But we have no doubt that God will do this. :) He is very big and highly committed to adoption!

-Our garage sale is coming up FAST (starts a week from tomorrow!) and I have been working my booty off to get ready for it.  We have received lots of donations and will be picking up lots more between now and next weekend.  Thanks to all who have donated items to sell and to those who are volunteering during the sale!

-BIG news:  We finally start our home study interviews the week after the garage sale!  Totally stoked about this!  Feels like our process is finally really getting rolling.

A quick ironic moment in the life of Dana:
You probably remember that we all have to have physicals done (Stan, Isaac, and I, and Jerusha too!) to determine that there are no serious contagious diseases in our home and that Stan and I are healthy enough that we'll likely be around for a while to raise our adopted baby. :)  My physical was today.  Irony: I went in to my dr.'s office to ask him to fill out paperwork that says I'm healthy enough to adopt, and I am sicker than I've been in almost 3 years!  Argh... I got the flu about 6 weeks ago and my lungs never quite recovered completely....and THEN I got a cold, which turned into a sinus infection, got bronchitis....and NOW, this morning, my doc diagnosed me with pneumonia!  HA!  "Oh, please fill out this paperwork that says I'm healthy!"  Lol... Thankfully, my doctor is awesome and super laid back, asked me a few questions about my health PRIOR to all of this (like during the 3 years that my asthma was TOTALLY under control with ZERO major issues), and filled out the paperwork for me to be mailed in to the agency.  AND.... he prescribed me a seriously awesome antibiotic (I know, I'm not a fan of them either, but ya do what ya gotta do) that, in 12 HOURS, has made an INCREDIBLE difference in the way my lungs feel, my ability to breathe normally etc.  WOW!  Thank you Lord!  And thank you Dr. Brooks. :)  I am finally getting better, I think! :)  Which is a good thing, considering that our garage sale is coming up soon, we have a wedding this weekend to participate in, I have a dear friend in town from Colorado for a few days starting tomorrow, etc, etc.  Life is busy and GOOD. :)  (Side note: Stan took most of the day off work today to be with Isaac so that I could rest and get better.  Thank you, amazing husband!  He took Isaac to the zoo. :) )

And that..... is that.  I am now going to take NyQuil and hopefully go to SLEEP with minimal coughing. :)  Good night all..... Thanks for reading. :)