First off, let me apologize for the delay between my posts. I had every intention of keeping a weekly update going, but as things started moving I didn’t take the time to stop and post in the midst of all the paperwork. So this will be a multi-purpose post in that I’ll share some of what’s been going on as well as what our next steps are.

~Taking a moment to breathe~
With all that’s been going on with work, the adoption process and our extended family, we just needed a breather. We spent last weekend in Hilton Head Island with some of the best friends in the world, Mandy and Jason. There is certainly no shortage of laughter when the four of us get together. Jason works in IT as well, so it’s nice to have a buddy to “geek out” with and talk about all the silly stuff we deal with at work. Rebekah and Mandy get to talk about girl stuff…who knows what that will entail, but they seem to enjoy it. We certainly needed the weekend away to recharge the batteries, eat a bunch of great food and laugh until we cried. It was a great weekend away!

We’ve also been spending a good amount of time visiting our precious niece, Hannah! I’m actually ashamed to admit it, but she’s got Uncle Eric wrapped around her little finger. About the time she was born was around the time we found out that we would not be able to have our own biological children, and that was harder on me that I thought it would be; however it’s turned out to be quite fantastic to be an Uncle! There for a while it seemed like Aunt Beka got all the quality time with Hannah and passed her off to me just about the time she was ready to be fed, so she’d get fussy with me (thanks, dear ). The last few visits though, I’ve been fortunate enough to spend time with her before she got fussy. She’s very strong and quite a little wiggle worm, and really likes facial hair…I can only imagine what’s going to happen when she’s old enough to grab it and pull on it (might be time to shave the goatee). She’s been an awesome addition to the family, and I think it’s been very therapeutic for me to spend time with her. We can’t wait for her to have a little cousin to play with!

~Status Updates~
As of our last update we had selected our home study agency and sent in the application. Our application with Nathanson has been accepted and we’ve started our meetings with our social worker, Jennifer. Our first meeting was this past Sunday and it went really well. This first meeting was to go over the house and get some general information about it, as well as do our individual interviews that talk about how we were raised, our parents, and our views on parenting.

We’ve also been very proactive on our documentation and almost have all of it complete, which will hopefully help move things along smoothly. Right now we’re just missing medical clearance for Rebekah that was filled out incorrectly by the doctor and our reference letters. We’re very excited that everything seems to be falling into place pretty well.

~Next Steps~
Our next few steps include a couple more meetings with Jennifer to finish up our home study and then we’ll be ready to send that off to Nightlight to start our matching process. I’ve been busy working on all our documentation for Nightlight which includes our family letter and autobiography so that when the home study is complete we’ll be set to pack it up and send it to Nightlight. We’re both very excited as to how well this process has been going so far – everyone we’ve worked with at both agencies has been just wonderful.

We continue to appreciate your prayers as we progress along in this journey. The Lord has been so good and answered so many prayers for our family on so many levels, and we’ll keep going through the doors He opens!

Until next time,
-E