2nd trimester...

hee hee...this is about where we are at in the process! We have raised just over half of our funds and have completed all our paper work. We are now just waiting for our worker to set up interviews with us which should happen next week. We could be parents as soon as September but the average amount of time would be around the end of October. I have had some people ask about a "child-shower" and how that all works out. When we have been matched with a child we will have anywhere from 3 days to 3 weeks to get the necesseties together (we already have many people donating items to us, such a blessing). After that Karla Christy has offered to host a shower for all the church peeps with Portland First Church and Koinonia-PDX. Also, my Aunt Laurie (Ziebart) will host a small family/friend shower for people in the area. And, for all of you who love us so dearly and are so far away Aunt Brenda (Mucci) has suggested a distance shower which consists of mailing in gifts on a particular day. So, decide which catagory you fit into and feel free to join the grand celebration...oh geeze I can hardly wait!!!! If you are local I'm sure this will be a day for you to meet them:)

On a personal note, if you couldn't tell, Nick and I are going kid crazy. Everywhere we go we just gaze longingly at the child/parent interactions and get so excited for what could be someday. I still am reading books like crazy and just finished "clean eating for kids and families" and "12 things adopted children wish their parents knew." Both books were great but now I'm ready for another!

Prayer...this has been the hardest part for me. When I begin to pray for our child/ren I often pray for their current circumstances. I pray for their safety, health, protection, etc. As far as I am concered they are already ours, God sees the match that will be made and our kid/s are completely in someone elses hands. Oh how I pray they have a great care taker and they are well fed, protected, and loved where they are at.

Sorry for all the random thoughts...
Much love,
Mandy