Our Family

Our Family
Our Family, December 2013

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Christmas Pictures

The actual family Christmas picture

The rejected, but closer-to-the-truth family Christmas picture
Christmas is two weeks from yesterday.  I'm working hard this year at being spiritually and emotionally ready, but that doesn't make me "gift prepared." 
Whitney and Chase each want one, specific thing.  Both have asked for reasonable, useable things, but they aren't cheap things, naturally!  Dennis and I have talked about not buying for each other and being frugal with Daniel, who won't notice, anyway.  He'll be thrilled with the used WWE X-Box 360 games that are already wrapped and under the tree.  (Don't tell!)
Sunday night is our church Children's Christmas program.  Daniel has practice Saturday morning at 10:30.  He helped me write that on our kitchen message board so we wouldn't forget.  Forgetting isn't likely as he has told me "Saturday at 10:30" once a day for about a week.  The Christmas program is one of my favorite parts of Christmas.  Our church does a great job of letting the kids know that God has wired them with gifts and talents that build the church, and this is one way to use those gifts to shine a light on Jesus.  Plus, who doesn't love little girls in frilly, twirly dresses and little boys in ties and shiny shoes??? 

Adoption Timeline

  • 5/14/13 - Adoption finalized in Nebraska
  • 6/15/12 - Together in Nebraska
  • 6/5/12 - Birthparent Embassy appointment
  • 5/14/12 - Submitted to Embassy
  • 4/18/12 - Passed Court in Addis Ababa
  • 2/2/12 - Referral finalized with AGCI
  • 2/1/12 - Acceptance of Referral documents shipped to AGCI
  • 1/27/12 - Verbal acceptance of referral
  • 1/25/12 - WE GET OUR REFERRAL CALL FROM AGCI!!!
  • 1/17/12 - D. comes to Hannah's Hope
  • 9/12/11 - Notice of Favorable Determination (FDL)
  • 9/8/11 - Fingerprinting Appt. at the Department of Homeland Security in Omaha
  • 7/12/11 - Homestudy documents received from Lutheran Family Services
  • 4/19/11 - Entered contract with AGCI for an Ethiopian Adoption
  • 2/9/11 - Adoption Application sent to AGCI