Ringing in the New Year

Ah, new beginnings...

2006 is laid to rest, and 2007 has begun. A New Year with new happenings. What do we expect in form 2007? A baby girl, for one (no we haven't heard anything, yet), Keith starting his Master's, a trip to China, an Eagle Scout Court of Honor for David, a trip home this summer, Jeremiah turning 12 and starting 7th grade, David starting his JUNIOR year of high school (how in the world did he grow up so fast?), college aptitude tests, college applications...a year of growth and praising God!

Sadly, we know that 2007 will go by as fast if not faster than 2006. When I was young, I remember feeling that it took FOREVER for my birthday to come, and even longer for Christmas to come. I spent my teenage years waiting for spring break, or even better, summer break. My mom, in her wisdom, told me that time would fly by when I got to be her age. Of course she had not idea what she was talking about (since, I , the ever smart teen, knew everything). Yet here I am, her age...and wishing that I could go back and relive those moments that I wished away. Oh how life just speeds by.

OK, enough of the nostalgia...now for a baby update. Referrals for December have not been received by the agencies yet. Yes, I know that in a few moments it will be January. No, I am sure that they are not skipping a month. Occassionally, referrals get sent out late enough that they arrive early in the next month. There is still a VERY SLIM chance that we will be inccludedin the December referral batch. Most likely, we are still looking at the late January batch to see Hannah for the first time. As usual, we will know more once they actually send out the referrals.

Good news, we finished the nursery (except for the screws for the dresser knobs, which are, of course, not available in Germany).

Keith and I made these shelves. Most of the dolls are ones that I had growing up.

A crib fit for a princess!

See the knobs on the dresser? They are not really attached...we need longer screws!!

Her name, painted, varnished and hung!!

The finished product...of course Brutus is keeping the window seat nice and warm.

Now for our baby girl to come home and put this room to use!!

Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone!!

Today we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. How wonderful that we have a God who loves us so much that He sent His one and only Son to earth, to be born as a babe, grow to a man, then take on the sin of the world, be crucified and then raised from the dead! Our God is so gracious!

We know that God is watching over Hannah today. It is hard to think of her lying in a crib, thousands of miles away while we are celebrating here at home. It would have been so nice to have her here, where we could care for her, provide for her needs, and share this time of joy with her. But we know that she is not alone. We pray for her, the other children of the orphanage, and their caregivers today that they will all feel the love of Christ.

We have saved her presents...they are still under the tree. We still have the ones that we bought her last year, too, when we thought that she would be home in early summer of 2006. Her ornament (a family tradition) is not hung on the tree, but is also waiting for her. What a celebration there will be when she finally makes it home...many celebrations!!


Hannah, know that Daddy, Mommy, big brothers, David and Jeremiah, grandparents, family and friends are all praying for you today. We wish you a Merry Christmas and promise that the next one will be even merrier. Stay warm, know that you are loved, and that we'll be there soon!

Referrals still have not come in for December, but we have resigned ourselves that we will be in the late January batch anyways. At least then, if we get it in December we will be thrilled, but if it is January, we will not be disappointed.

Soon...I hope

December or January? That is the question. We will see Hannah's face soon, though...real soon. Referrals (picture, birth information, health history, etc.) usually come at the end of the month, so Hannah's face will either be a Christmas present, or a late Christmas present :) I'll take either one knowing that my God is in charge of her arrival.

We received our travel packet from our agency last week on Sunday, the 3rd of December. I did not even know that our post office had special holiday hours that included Sunday, until we went in to check our mail box. What a surprise! We know a little more about what to expect once we get our referral, and have a stack of forms about an inch thick to fill out between now and travel time. We have even more forms to fill out if Keith cannot travel with us. :( But we are hoping and praying that he will be able to go. If he doesn't, I still have to take an adult travel companion...any volunteers? (Valid passport, Chinese visa, and endless patience and energy required.)

Keith will be home soon, and in time to celebrate Christmas with us. He's been playing in Denmark of all places (His location is no longer classified). We are all going to be so happy to be back together.

I praise God for each of you and your support for us through this adoption. We cannot wait to share our good news with you.

Oh yeah, and leave a comment or 2...I know you come to visit this site, so let us know that you have been here. Someday we will be able to share our wait with Hannah, once she is old enough to understand, and we would love to share with her your thoughts and prayers, too. You can either click on "comments" at the end of the post time stamp, or over on the right, under "links", you can click on the "guestbook". Either way...just do it!