Christmas Eve..Eve

Three days until Christmas!!!! i have so much wrapping to do, but at least all the shopping and baking are done. We got a call from our case worker yesterday. There were 3 things missing from our homestudy. Sad that we didn't have it all together but so happy that they have at least looked through it already!!! Still praying we'll get our approval letter before the end of the year...Christmas would be even better! Tyler got his wisdom teeth out yesterday. I feel so bad for him. He's been reduced from eating about 6 big meals a day to not being to eat very much at all. He's "starving"!! I think he actually is a little better today.

Finals

T1 and H are finishing finals at this very moment. They have 5 more minutes and then their Christmas break starts!! I'm so ready for a break from school. It's so hard to go through high school again!! Ha ha. Our background checks finally came - after 12+ weeks (from the time we did our fingerprints). We are now officially foster parent certified. Now our homestudy is off to Springfield for approval, which we're told will hopefully be approved by mid to end of January. I'm praying we can have it by the beginning of 2010. That would be such an awesome way to start the new year, considering it took twice as long as usual to get our background checks done. Patience...not something I'm good at. I'm so excited to have the kids home.

Snow

This was what was on the mind of our youngest a few weeks ago. We were in the car (where some of the best conversations happen), when out of the blue, B says, "I can't wait to see our new baby's face when they see snow for the first time." I'm not sure what made him think of that because we had not had any snow yet. But then again, I should know...B is our deep thinker. He is very sensitive and caring and is looking forward to being a big brother. He's already talking about how he wants to teach his new brother or sister how to do stuff. He also gives the best hugs - and often. At 11 years old, I'm praying he'll never outgrow giving his mom hugs. B likes so many things and is so easy going. Of course, being the youngest of 4 active kids, he's had to get used to being on the go. Right now he plays football, basketball, and baseball. Basketball is his favorite. He also loves LEGOs. He was on the internet the other day looking at different LEGO sets and found the Taj Mahal. He said, "Mom, look at this. This would probably take me a whole week to finish!" When he starts something, whether it's a book or a LEGO set, it's hard for him to leave it until it's finished. He so good about challenging himself in school. Right now his goal is to memorize and say all the Bible verses he has learned since the school year started. So far he has done that! He also plays the electric guitar. With 2 flutes, a piano, and an elecric guitar, you could say our house is a little noisy...I love it! B brings so much life into our family. Hardly a day goes by that he doesn't make us all laugh. B is also so much like his daddy - they think so much alike and have the exact same humor!!! I love him and am so proud of him.

We have some news...We got the call from our case worker yesterday. Our background checks finally came in! It took 10 long weeks - double what I thought it would. But I am so happy we are moving forward again. Final walk through is on Monday, our agency has to approve our homestudy and then it's off to Springfield. I'm praying that won't take very long but trying not to have any expectations. I got an awesome email from a dear friend from high school. She and her husband leave for Ethiopia next week to bring home their two little boys! God Bless!!