Let the Fun Begin!

We are at a point in our adoption process where we just get to relax and have a little fun. Our home-study is completed and we are just waiting for our referral so we can take it easy for a while. We had planned on purchasing one or two items a month over the next several months so we don't have to buy everything all at once. After last week, we especially felt like we should start getting prepared:

It's a long story, but we almost ended up getting a baby the week of Christmas. In the end, the birth-mother chose a family who lived closer to her geographically (she was in another state), but we were thisclose to welcoming a baby into our family. It would have been amazing and I still wonder what life would be like with that little girl, but I definitely feel like it worked out how it was meant to and I feel very much at peace with it all. I will just continue to trust that God has a plan and has picked out the perfect baby to be a part of our family. None the less, it got Lance and I thinking that we should probably start getting prepared.

While we were in Ft. Collins, we got to make our first few purchases. They have a Babies R Us, so my sister-in-law and I decided to check it out the day after Christmas. BRU just happened to be having a killer sale and many of the things I liked were 40% off, so we ended up being able to get three things with the money I've been setting aside for baby items. Here are pictures of our new and exciting purchases:

This is definitely part of the experience that I don't want to miss out on. Obviously, we don't have a "due date", but we know that we will get our baby eventually, so we can just enjoy preparing for baby :)

Oh So Pretty!

We went to my brother and sister-in-law's for Christmas and had a great time. We sang Christmas Carols around the piano on Christmas Eve and we opened presents and had a beautiful meal with family on Christmas day.

Jen's Mom on the piano, and John on the guitar:

















This is my sister-in-law's magazine worthy Christmas table decor:















































Jen is just so crafty! Everything turned out perfect!!
















And Christmas wouldn't be complete without a little snow. This picture was actually taken at my parents house, but the view at John and Jen's was similar:

Thanksgiving Pics.

Quick Update

Thanksgiving was wonderful and I will post with pictures soon, but for now, I'm just going to give a quick adoption update.

Completed:
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
Completed all 3 meetings with social worker
Leslie-Physical form completed and all but one lab test done
Started 8 hour "With Eyes Wide Open" online training
Lance-got physical and lab work done
Leslie- got final lab test done

Here is what we have left:
Complete 8 hour "With Eyes Wide Open" training
Complete 16 hour Core training
Complete First Aid/CPR/Infant Care class
Get federal finger prints done
Go Pick Up Our Baby!!!

The list keeps getting shorter. We have decided to submit an application to another ministry in Taiwan (Home of God's Love), just as a back up plan. One thing we have been told several times through the process is to open as many doors as possible because you just never know what is meant to happen. I have requested the application and we are working on getting it ready to send off. It should be completed and notarized by the first of next week.