Well, folks, it is with excitement that I tell you that this baby continues to grow in our hearts -- we have yet one more step almost down toward bringing him/her home to live with us! I spoke with Amy a few minutes ago, and she received Nathan's official ABI/FBI letter on Saturday...she's having childcare issues today, so she anticipates being able to go in to work tomorrow to get her supervisor to give the final go-ahead to send our homestudy report to DHR! She's supposed to call me as soon as she gets it off in the mail -- so as soon as I hear something, I'll let y'all know!

It's amazing what patience I am learning in this process. I am a worrier by nature (y'all should know that by now!) and it has always been difficult for me to just completely turn things over to God without keeping a string attached for me to continue to have something to worry about. But I truly am learning that He can do wonderful things, if we just let Him!! I continue to pray for our baby -- because I know he (or she) is out there -- whether in utero right now, or already born. I pray that he/she is being taken care of...that the birthmother has been able to live a healthy-enough lifestyle and that there are orphanage workers who will be able to hold our baby and give him/her plenty of love till we can get there!

This process is unbelievably long and tiresome, but I know that God has a plan, and we are trying to patiently allow ourselves to be a part of that plan. I also know that prayer is powerful, so if you have a few spare seconds in your prayer life, please continue to pray for us and pray that things happen smoothly and as quickly as possible.

Well...lunchbreak is almost at an end, so I need to wrap this up. Sorry if I've been a little scattered today. :)

Oh -- I'm sure you'll want to know this... once our homestudy goes out, we can expect to wait 3-4 months before having ALL documents needed to send our dossier to Russia. I am hoping and praying that it will not take quite THAT long, but with the waits at DHR and the CIS, right now, it's quite possible..............but then again......anything is possible...right? ;)

Love to you all!