A Little Woozy...

Today, Lance and I went in for our TB Skin tests which is one of the requirements when adopting. I don't do well with blood-tests, etc. and today was no exception. For those of you who have not had the pleasure of getting a TB Test done, they inject fluid into the top layer of skin which makes a nice little bubble in your arm. I chose to go first because I knew it would not be wise to watch them inject Lance and then have to step up.
Unfortunately, there were a couple of decisions I made that caused my body to fail me. The first mistake I made was not going to the appointment on a full stomach; the second mistake was looking at the previously mentioned bump. Needless to say, I turned as white as a ghost. Lance knows that I tend to get queezy when it comes to these type of things, and was chuckling at my pasty, clammy, nauseated self. He knows that I will regain my color eventually and there's no need to worry. I did give the nurse a scare however. She was rushing around to find an ice pack and juice in hopes of keeping me from ending up on the floor(yes, this has happened to me before, but I'll save that for another time). After some time passed, I decided to try my luck at walking. I made it as far as the waiting area and had to sit down again to avoid involuntarily laying down. After another few minutes, Lance and I made it to the car and things started to get better. I feel fine now, but I can tell you that it wasn't the most enjoyable experience I've ever had. The good news, Lance and I can both laugh about it and maybe you will too :)

'Tis the Season

Well, the holiday season is officially upon us. This is a very busy (and sometimes stressful) time of year, but it is definitely my favorite. I have been trying to make any preparations I can ahead of time since we are hosting Thanksgiving this year. Today, I am going to buy the rest of the supplies I need for the place-cards and I made a practice apple pie last night since it's been awhile since I've made one. I am anxious about the preparations, but so excited to have most of the family together.
From time to time, I start to feel sorry for myself because we've been through a few holiday season's hoping for a baby only to be dissappointed. I realized, in light of recent events, that I need to be thankful and cherish all the blessings I have received. And also, I need to keep reminding myself that God has a plan. I may not always understand his plan, but he knows best and he loves us all very much and only wants the best for us. Please pray for the Fleener family as they deal with the loss of their little boy. And, please pray for all of the orphans around the world who do not have a family to share this season with. There are so many who need our prayers; let's not forget about them.

"He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment." Deuteronomy 10:18

Adoption Update

We had our home visit last week and I feel like we are finally getting close to having the preliminary steps completed.

Here is what we have accomplished:
Applied with agency (this was a lot of work in itself)
Applied with His Hands Taiwan
Requested extra copies of birth certificates and marriage license
Mailed copies of birth certificates and marriage license to agency
Colorado Fingerprinting/Background Check
Child proofed house
Made any changes to house necessary to be acceptable to social worker
2 meetings with social worker
Leslie-Physical form completed and all but one lab test done
Started 8 hour "With Eyes Wide Open" online training

Here is what we have left:
Lance-get physical and lab work done (11/23)
Leslie- get final lab test done (11/23)
Complete 8 hour "With Eyes Wide Open" training
Complete 16 hour Core training
Complete First Aid/CPR/Infant Care class
One more meeting with social worker
Get federal finger prints done
Go Pick Up Our Baby!!!

So, we still have a few things left to do, but the list has gotten so much smaller. There will actually be more to do once we have all of these things done and our home-study completed, but it will mostly be handled by the agency so we are almost out of the woods.

I am getting to the point now where I feel like it is really happening. For a while, I was hopeful that it would work out...but worried that something would come up that would somehow not allow us to adopt. I know we are good people, but it is still a scary process to "apply" to be a parent.

Other than the adoption, we have been busy, busy, busy! We had two of our nieces (Jessica-14 and Alexis-13) over Friday and Saturday night. Lance put in some extra time at work so that we could have girl time at the house. We baked cookies, did some scrapbooking, and played lots of Wii Fit. I feel like I don't see my nieces and nephews often enough, so it was nice to have some special time together. I'm hoping to have them all over from time to time in the future.