I'M HAVING A BABY!

I wish I could describe to you all how excited I am over here about our home study being done. I had no idea I would feel like this, I even knew it would probably be done today. So I'm practically bouncing off the walls over here, not getting anything done, and pondering why I'm so giddy and happy. And then I figured it out: "I'M HAVING A BABY!" This is the exact same feeling I had with Little Buddy. Not before the first doctor's appointment, though. Before that first appointment, I knew I was pregnant, but I didn't feel pregnant or look pregnant. It wasn't until I heard the heartbeat that it finally hit me that I was really, truly going to have a baby. So this home study being done is giving me that exact same feeling. It just hit me that this is all so real and that at the end of this process is a little person - a little person who belongs in THIS family! And if I was giddy over the heartbeat, I don't even know what word to use to describe how I felt when we found out he was a boy. I remember walking through the halls at work, trying not to smile. (Because people who walk around smiling to themselves really seem a little crazy.) So when we get the first picture of our little peanut, you might see me out in public, Meijer or the gas station or something, and I'll just be smiling. I'm not crazy and even though I don't look pregnant (I don't, right?!?!), just know that I'm crazy happy because "I'M HAVING A BABY!" Here's my crazy-happy, crazy person smile:

HOME STUDY DONE!!

The photo has nothing to do with anything. I just felt like the post needed a picture. So here's a picture of Little Buddy eating Jello. :) Our home study is done! Our home study is done! Woo hoo! That felt like an eternity and it's probably one of the shortest, easiest parts of the process. So tomorrow we'll be sending off a request for immigration for a non-specified adoptee. Then we have to be fingerprinted, and then wait for something else (its all very confusing to me), AND THEN we can send a big, fat packet of paperwork to China. We're working on that big, fat packet right now where every document has to be notarized, then stamped with the "Great Seal" of Michigan, and then authenticated at the Chinese consulate. Phew. After all of that, THEN we can start the matching process. Stand by... :) After being matched (and then approved by China for that specific child which takes some time), we were told to expect 3-4 months until we travel. (I usually can't remember how long each step takes until I'm about to take that step, so all I know is we are still on track to have this kiddo home by the end of this year if all the things take the amount of time that they regularly take!) Many people have asked us what age our child will be once we bring her home. Our agency has a policy about preserving birth order and prefer the adopted child to be at least 9 months younger than the youngest child. They said the youngest kids on the list are usually around 10 months. So if we're bringing her home at the end of this year, I'm guessing she'll probably be between 13 and 24 months (ish).

When it rains, it pours...

So you probably already knew this, but international adoption is not cheap! So far, we've been doing ok and have made all of our payments on time. I knew this would be a trying experience and we're trusting God for our finances. But this week was a little frustrating, a little stretching. Left to go to the store this week and the heat in the car was not working. The next day I attempt to leave in that same car and it will not start at all (unrelated to the heat problem). The next day, I preheat the oven and 30 minutes later its not even warm. Skip a day...and yesterday our computer died. *insert deep breathing exercises* The good thing is I'm typing this on a shiny new computer; although, I think I'd rather be typing on the archaic one we had before. Stay tuned...we owe a big chunk of money in a few months and its going to be interesting how it shows up. It HAS to be interesting because we don't have it yet! Here's Mark counting and rolling our change. We had more than $300 in change - not too bad!