"Give Us Clean Hands"

UPDATED 12/22/2011

It's only been a month and our entire life has been changed!  No, no baby YET (I'll get back to that later)!  The week before Thanksgiving, Z asked if she could come live with us.  She arrived on Tuesday, November 15 and started school the very next day!  It's definitely been a change but one that we welcomed with open arms!  We love having her here and we love how she has enriched our lives. She is a ball of energy and we are quickly learning boundaries and rules.  I think we have finally figured out a routine that seems to work out great for all of us! She's a great kid, though, and she is doing AWESOME in school!  She's already made a few friends and her teacher said she is doing great! Softball registration should be coming up in the spring and there is a fall soccer group so we are excited about getting her (and us) involved in some extra curricular activities! 

The other night I told Chase I never realized how boring my days had been until now! I am busy from the moment I wake up to the moment I go to sleep and I truly love it! I never knew how much I was missing! Not only are Z and I having a great time bonding and growing together, Chase and I have experienced a new side to our relationship! I love watching him interact with her and I'm so proud of him for being such a great daddy!

In OTHER news....we are done! We have completely finished everything we needed to do to update our home study and transfer to Buckner.  Now it's in their hands.  They entered all of our info today and sent it to the state for approval.  They are telling us we should be approved (again) in the next week...or 2!  EEK!  It has been a YEAR since we began this process and we are sooooo ready to be done!!! I know the placement may not be fast and I definitely know the placement might not be permanent, but I'M SO EXCITED!!!!  With all of the hoopla going on with Z we lost sight of how quickly we may get ANOTHER child in the house! With that being said, I want to ask all of you to continue praying for us and our journey in growing our family and overall patience as we wait for the call.

One more note...STEFANIE COMES HOME TONIGHT!!!  I'm so excited to see her and hear all of her wonderful stories of how she shared the love of Jesus with those who may not have known Him!

Before I go, here are some quick pics of our beautiful tree and stockings!  I love decorating for Christmas and proud to announce that my shopping was done weeks ago! Zoren is with her mom for Christmas, but we will definitely be thinking of her and can't wait to see what Santa brings her!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

A stocking for each family member - Chloe, Chase, Zoren, Baby To Be, Lisa, Preston