NOC!

We got our No Objection Certificate!  That means as soon as the SAA applies for the court, we can begin the court process!  This is a big step towards bringing Abha home!!!  Thanks everyone for continuing to pray as we inch closer and closer!

INDIA - Dossier time!

Hello all!  Much needed update follows!
     We are adopting this little girl we told you about earlier!  Her name is Abha, and I'll just tell you right now, she's adorable.  I hesitated posting more details because for a while it was back and forth.  Do we have her or don't we?  Can we pursue or not?  We prayed and prayed for wisdom and calm and that Abha find a safe family, as things were uncertain and thankfully God answered our prayers AND allowed that we be the family for Abha which was just icing on the cake.  I firmly believe that God is guiding Abha to a family and also guiding our story, we feel privileged that it could be us entrusted with Abha.  So far so good!  We are two approvals into the 6-step gauntlet.
     We were matched with her on March 20 after much uncertainty.  There was a system error that appeared that we could not continue with her referral, but then the region said they were under the impression we were matched, so that was good news! Then a few weeks later the central authority said no, because of the previous mistake another family had reserved her.  Then a few weeks later after our agency appealed on our behalf, the central agency granted us the reservation and matched us with her.  Phew!  Talk about a roller coaster!  So we continued on with the immigration paperwork, and one of the papers appeared unacceptable.  After about a week, and a discussion with the supervisor, it was decided that the paper was acceptable.  NOW we are ready to obtain the necessary documents to fill out the DS-260 to obtain a visa for Abha to eventually travel to the US!  In the meantime, our acceptance dossier (see following pics) is traveling through India being approved (the next two approval steps) and will hopefully end with our NOC (no objection certificate) then it's the two court processes.  Little by little, we inch through!  Also we are going to be getting more info from the orphanage about her likes and dislikes and details about her day.  Hopefully in a little while we'll be able to send her gifts and pictures.  Once we pass court, I can share pictures.  Until then, I want to show you what an international dossier looks like, in case you ever wondered. I'll give you a hint.  It looks like a mountain of papers.

Yipes!  Imagine the postage!  It'll give you nightmares!

INDIA - exciting news!

We found a little girl that we really think we should pursue adopting.  They are updating her medical exam and getting some of our questions answered but we really feel like this could be our next child. :)  Exciting!  I'll give details as soon as I'm allowed.

In other not near so exciting news but that does involve pictures, something's happening in a mini makeshift recording studio in our basement.

I'm really excited about it!  I'm trying to put together songs from all across my family as a fundraising effort for this adoption.  I'm hoping to be done with it by spring.  It's gonna be great y'all.  Just you wait!

INDIA exciting developments!

  We have come to a very exciting part of our India adoption journey!  Our agency has been looking twice a week on the Indian child listing to see if any children match our profile.  We have had several calls already about possible children.  Some have been very young and some have been older (which we understood to be risky).  We were under the impression that we had to adopt in birth order and since Logan is 4 we would have to adopt a child younger than that.  Now it sounds like we could potentially try to send a referral through the Indian gauntlet of an older child.  They told us that they have declined matches before due to birth order, but that it's not an impossibility.  We are inquiring about a few children as it is.  We are in a very exciting but a very high-pressure-feeling discernment time.  Lots of prayer would be appreciated!

My sister Annie came and painted a Mandala on our wall (see above). :)  She painted a Hindi word in the middle.  Annie suggested some Sanskrit words, but we wanted to do Hindi so that our potential new addition could easily recognize it if they decide to learn Hindi later in life.  She painted the word "family" in the middle.  The lotus blossoms represent growth and new life.  I thought it was very appropriate.  She did a marvelous job and we love it.  It reminds us every day about the journey we are on.

Gianna update: her neurofeedback is going well and we are noticing some new cognitive processing.  She can now answer the question "what are you thinking about?" and "what did I just say?"  Her auditory processing is getting much quicker.  There's still a noticeable lag, but it's not as severe.  She will be sitting there watching a video with her brothers, and when there's a joke the boys will bust up and then a second and a half later Gianna will start to laugh.  Hey, it's an improvement!  Before, she would have looked at them, maybe fake-laughed cuz they were laughing and wonder what they were laughing at.  She had such trouble processing things that had just happened so many things were very confusing to her.  Also, she has much better memory in general.  She can actually remember things that happened at school and tell me about her day.  Part of that is she is becoming more aware of her surroundings and has less anxiety.  She can move through her day awake and participating.  Most days. :)
Therapy is still hard for her, but it will be for a very long time.  The therapist says she sees a noticeable difference in her eye contact with me.  She says it's clearer and more genuine.  That's very encouraging, and hopefully means true attachment is in our future.
Gianna is officially in size 7 clothes!  And very soon she'll be in size 8!  All of a sudden she really started growing and she gained 5 pounds and about half an inch in height in just the last few months! Hopefully that means other development will follow - particularly moving out of some of the toddler behaviors. :)
Gianna is really becoming a delightful family girl and joining in with our family more and more.  She's learning and growing every day and we are so proud of her.

Gianna just seems so much more relaxed and happy these days

She was a flower for her school play and I made her a little rose skirt.  She was so proud to be in the play.

Here she is waiting for her turn to dance.  She was the cutest little flower you've ever seen in your whole life.  She just was.  It's true.

Gianna you are the coolest thing, even with leaves on your teeth.

TRAVEL - finishing up

Lots of paperwork fury happened after we got her out of the orphanage.  Then we waited in Odessa a few days and headed to Kiev to wait for her passport to arrive.  We did several appointments and paperwork before the passport came, just couldn't pick the results up until it came.  Also waited to finish at the embassy for the passport.  Nail-biting later, I'm glad we did that, because the passport was a few days later than expected.  Then we had to run like crazy to finish things up and fly out that weekend.  It was crazy, and there were lots of twists and turns in the road.  One near disaster after another, and we landed back at home all together!!!  We were crunching up to deadlines and praying A LOT.  The trip home was better than I expected, but still long and arduous.  None of it seemed to matter, though, when we were finally in our own beds tucking our children in.  All worth it!  We came home almost a week ago tomorrow.  Here's how the rest of the trip looked:

shopping together in the streets of Kiev

See that tiny door by Zack's head?  That's the SDA.  Where all Ukrainian adoptions go.  wild.

First morning as a family.

Going wild in Odessa!

exploring the Delphinarium in Odessa.

Papa.

Getting to know each other.  Very well.  In one room.  The majority of the time.  Help.

Try telling her not to drink the water.  I dare you.

Getting to be a pro on the swing!

Our delightful bunch of kiddos.

Grass!  Running free in the grass outside of the embassy.  Waiting to go in for our visa.

This is the life!

"I'm going to my new home!!!"

Yep.  I used a tablet.  Not apologizing.

Goodbye Ukraine!

TRAVEL - trip 2 begins

So the trip here was not the easiest thing I've ever had to do... There was never a time when I wanted to break down and sob, but I wasn't necessarily enjoying myself.  I had to remind myself that my child is NOT the first NOR the last to cry on an airplane!  Logan had such trouble staying confined to the seat.  We walked around some, but it's just not as nice as it seems when your kid is big and the aisles are small.  Never failed, every time we lifted off what when Logan decided he had to pee in the potty.  Kian did pretty well with the entertainment part, but he did not sleep at all which was rough.  My children, like many, get noisy and restless the tireder they get.  Like a stream of whiney nonsense-noise.  It's a lot of fun.  All that negativity aside, though and the trip was only 6/10 on a 1-10 scale of unbearableness.  And it's over, so that's a good thing!  :)  Carrie and Drew were wonderful to have along, they helped a lot.  We were afraid that some of the transport pieces were going to be difficult because we did not bring our car seats (they don't use them in Ukraine like we do in the States).  That was a non-issue, though, because we took a shuttle from the hotel to the airport, and then a bus from LaGuardia to JFK.  Then... we were in Ukraine and it quit mattering. :)  We were so so so so tired when we arrived in Belgorod after about 30 hours of travel, and the kids were beyond.  Logan had fallen into his third nap/trance and Kian was playing ADHD style to fight off his stupor.  They were in Carrie and Drew's quality care while we were taken on some paperwork tasks.  Then with those done, we were finally able to sleep off some of our jet lag.  I've never experienced my children falling asleep so fast as they did that night.  Supper and baths and books and BOOM asleep before we had the lights out.  Pretty similar for us.  We stayed up to do a few minor things to get ready for the court and then we were asleep the moment our heads hit the pillows.  This morning was court day!  I wish someone would have told me to write down some of our answers to the court questions, so we didn't have to start every question with "Um".  But with the help of our translator's briefing on what types of questions they would ask, it went pretty well.  The best part is, they concluded that we should be Gianna's parents!  We were granted permission to take her on a celebratory outing to eat and to the park.  Then we hung out at our hotel with her until we had to return her to the orphanage.  She was shy at first when we all were together (Kian and Logan included), but she warmed up to them over time.  She was so excited about the doll and necklace we gave her.  She colored a bunch while I did needlepoint and it was really sweet to see her so quiet and focused on a task.  She was also very excited when I showed her the clothes that I brought for her.  She wanted to try one of the outfits on and I was glad that it fit her.  After we returned her to the orphanage I made supper and we went on a short walk to the grocery store and Logan passed out soon after.  Kian followed soon after.  All in all a very full, exciting time so far!!!  Now starts the waiting.  In 11 days the court decree becomes final and we can sign her out of the orphanage.  We will be trying to find things to fill all 11 days and make them somewhat interesting, in between our visits with Gianna at the orphanage and to find things for the boys to occupy their days.  The adventure continues!!!

TRAVEL - back in region

We are back in the Odessa region.  We signed the book so that the paperwork could be transported to Kiev to be submitted to the SDA.  This is how we get our court date, which will probably be told to us next week.  Our next trip will probably be middle of May.  Then we will travel to do the tasks that get our little one adopted!  We will be visiting her tomorrow and the next day for a few hours.  Hopefully this endears us to her again. She was not happy to leave us today.  She got upset when we arrived at the orphanage.  Even though it was translated to her that we will be coming back for her, I could tell that she did not feel this was true.  Hopefully visiting her will be helpful.

TRAVEL - tomorrow!!!

Tomorrow we leave for Oslo.  We will be leaving for the airport mid-morning, then it's off on a jet plane for the ride of our lives!!!  Today I'm finishing a few things up, including this welcome book with picture of our house and family.  Cleaning, laundry, packing - also included of course!!!  I'm trying to squeeze in extra cuddles with the little dudes today, but just so happens they are wiggly and not receptive today.  I'll just keep trying. :)

Practicing the Ukrainian alphabet while filling out this book.  I wonder about some of these letters... I bet our new child(ren) will laugh at me.  At least it's good for a chuckle. :)

BIG UPDATE

IT'S THE BIG ONE!!!  Well, there are other big ones to come, but this is the BIGGEST SO FAR!!!  Yesterday we got word that we are traveling... IN TWO WEEKS!!!  I meant to post yesterday, but figured that my readership is pretty low and Facebook is better for simply letting everyone know.  It's so exciting to post something so concrete on this little blog of mine.  We travel April 10th (a Friday) and arrive in Kiev by Monday.  We are taking a one day layover in Oslo so Zack and I can have a little anniversary date.  We celebrate 10 years in a few months, and since it's going to be super difficult, if not impossible, to have our annual anniversary trip any other way, that's how we're going to make it happen this year!  And then our official appointment with the SDA in Kiev is on April 15th.  That will be a big day.  That's the day we receive a profile of a child (or two?) to meet.  My to-do list, like, exploded the last 24 hrs.  I'm going to be keeping everyone updated through this site as we travel, so bookmark this blog if you are interested.  It's really happening, people!!!

Another update on waiting

So here we sit.  I procrastinated writing this post because it's a little bit depressing.  Ok, that sounds worse than it is.  Come back, keep reading, it's not that bad.  We had about a month delay with our paperwork.  We were hoping to be approved late February but now we will have to wait until late this month to hear whether or not we are approved.  So that puts travel around May/June.  This adoption waiting is weird and vortexy but all told, it's not so bad.  There's lots to keep us busy.  Also, the more we think about this new timeframe, the better it seems.  There are a few pieces we can put into place before we travel.  We may even be able to take two trips which would be ideal.  So anyway, with that in mind, thanks everyone for sticking with us!  We'll keep you posted!  We're super close, and soon my posts will be way more exciting!!!

Update on our waiting

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!  People kindly ask me every so often - "Any adoption news?"  And I answer them honestly - yes, but it's still super boring!!!  Our dossier paperwork was submitted on Jan 22 to the Ukrainian government.  I tell people, "You can't tell, but I'm bulging paper-pregnant!"  Now we wait for our approval and our "invitation to travel".  The estimated time to get our approval was, at the earliest, today!  Seriously, Old Christmas and Valentines Day have been weird this year because they have been paperwork timing dates.  We should be receiving our approval soon.  If we're approved, that is!  So, rather, we should be hearing in the next week whether or not we have been approved.  *nervous twitching*  After that, it may be four days, it may be four weeks until we receive our "invitation to travel", which will then occur approximately a month after we get aforementioned invitation.  Clear as mud?  Told'ya it was super boring.  But... that's what I have for now!  Continue to keep our family in your prayers as we prepare with excited trepidation (is that a thing?) for this vague event in the unknown, equally hazy, future.  Ooh, a foggy post.  You know what else?  Today marks the 2nd anniversary of the first post of the adoption chapter of this blog!  We have been in process for 2 years now.  Wow.  Looking back on this journey, God's timing and sovereignty is evident in so many ways.  We marvel at how He got us to where we are now.  What a long, strange, paper pregnancy!

PAPERWORK - Dossier in Ukraine!

Update sorely needed!  First of all, our dossier has been apostilled and sent off to Ukraine!  I'm told it's being translated and reviewed by staff in Ukraine.  Picked apart ad nauseam.  Then after the first of the year, (Old Christmas is celebrated in Ukraine) it will be submitted with the SDA.  That is, if we don't have to redo a portion - which often happens.  If it gets submitted early in January, we may be looking at travel by March!  That's so exciting to have a clearer picture of the process.  Liiiiiiittle by liiiiiiittle we are inching our way towards our child(ren)!!!  Carrie and Drew are being updated regularly on all this, too, as they are having to plan their lives around potentially traveling with us.  Kian asks every so often, "are we going to get my sister from Mykraine today?"  I have to tell him, "No, today isn't the day yet."

I am excited and yet terrified at starting this journey.  There are so many unknowns.  It's still so vague and impalpable.

The other day we were at Once Upon a Child in Canton, and we went over to the older youth clothes to take a look.  It put things in perspective.  I bought a size 8 outfit (no clue what size they'll really wear), just because.  It wasn't as large as I thought it would be - it still looked like a little kid to me.  I also bought two extra pairs of Christmas jammies.  Just cuz.  Our hearts are more and more ready - and it feels right that our family is just about ready to expand again.  Christmas is keeping me busy - after Christmas I'm going to need to find things to do.  Until we get our invitation to travel I'll probably be pacing the floor!  I'll keep you all updated, but it might still be boring for juuuust a little longer!

Happy Holidays everyone!!!

PAPERWORK - Dossier update

Sorry another boring post!  We're having a fundraiser this weekend and so then we may have some pictures to provide.  Until then, let the snores begin.  We are working through our dossier.  We have noticed that the dossier is less paperwork and paperchasing than the home study, but it's so METICULOUS!  Everything has to be dotted and crossed just perfectly!  The wording in some cases has to be just so, and things like that.  We are trudging through, in spite.  Here's a a list of the major items and what we've accomplished so far in the dossier world:

renew Rachel passport and get passports for boys - done
employment verification letters - almost done (need one from 61 Surplus yet)
marriage certificate papers - done
apostille marriage papers and home study - need to send to Columbus
medical certificates including bloodwork - done
criminal background checks - needed to be redone - got fingerprints and papers, need to send it away
proof of home ownership - had to get a lawyer to write this one since we don't have mortgage, we are working on it

Fun list, huh?  That's where we're at, as you can see a lot of things are coming together, shouldn't be long until we can send it!

Rachel

PAPERWORK - Dossier

Update on our paperwork situation.  I mentioned in my last post that we were told to wait until our move was done to start the dossier.  Everything is time sensitive regarding the dossier.  You can't do it and then wait to send it.  You have to do it all in one small time-frame.  It all basically hinged on the processing of our I-600A (our application to be approved as adopters of orphans).  We were told this takes a couple months, but the approval letter (I-171H) showed up at our door only a few weeks after our biometrics appointment up in Cleveland.  That changed the game a bit.  Now that we would have to process the address change with the federal government anyway, our social worker said, let's get to dossier-ing!  (That's not what she said, I made that word up.)  But that's how it felt!  Zack and I breathed a big fat sigh of relief and said "LET'S DO THIS!!!"  There was high fiving and grinning, and, well, you had to be there.  It was small scale torture to wait for my parent's house to be done and to get this move on.  Plus I felt like it was pressuring my parents which isn't fair.  So this really changed the game for my parents, too.  They can be a little more relaxed with the building.
The biggest change is that we will have to prepare this tiny, less-than-ideal home for potentially 2 more children!  Zack is up to the challenge and is at his best doing things like this.  We shifted stuff around and hauled some stuff off to storage.  We have been approved to house this many children in this house, so we'll make it work to the best of our ability, with loads of God's help!  Thanks everyone for praying and asking how we are doing even though we have such boring things to share!  Someday we will be posting milestones of our new child, and we will remember this paperwork stage as "the wilderness", but important nonetheless.

MONEY - Grants

We talked to our placing agency social worker this week about all that is needed for the dossier.  It is very similar to the home study, only a little less laborious.  The paperwork is a bit more streamlined and less tedious.  The best part is... fewer essay questions!  Just a few letters and things.  The dossier seems to be more "doing".  That doesn't make much sense.  It's more going to appointments and updating things (like fingerprints and renewing passports and getting another physical and blood tests and stuff like that).  All in all, totally doable and I'm excited to get started!  However, we need to move first.  In our conversation, we talked about our life changes coming up.  The move to the bigger house looming nearer, and Zack's opportunity for a new job (it came to find him!).  She suggested we move first, then do the dossier paperwork.  That way everything reflects the new address.  Another however, we will have to move before our USCIS application is processed. That's the approval from the US government to adopt someone of orphan status abroad.  It's currently being processed, our biometrics appointment is this week up in Cleveland.  So we have to do it by the end of September at the latest.  We are going to be laserbeam focused on moving for a little while.  Ok, enough boring update stuff.  Here's a picture.

Ok, sorry, that picture is totally boring, too.  It wasn't boring to do, though.  Those are our grant applications.  It shows how I'm getting used to doing these papers, because it really didn't seem that bad to do 7 of them.  Each one is a similar size to each of the 2 applications I sweated about a year ago.  I've done so much of this that I have all the information in a folder I call "Marriage Papers and Life History" (literally, that's what's written on the folder).  I just get that out and it has all the jobs we've ever had and addresses of them, every old address, our financial items in great detail, family info, you name it.  I wish everyone had to compile something like that because it's so very handy.  What's the value of your vehicles based on condition and mileage?  What's your net worth?  How much gets taken out of your paychecks for taxes monthly?  Annually?  What's your gross income?  Hmm?  Just kidding.  But seriously.

So out of all of those grant applications, 5 are for adoption expenses, 1 is for medical referral expenses, and 1 is for after you get a referral.  We already got turned down for the medical referral expenses, but we were not expecting to get them all.  So we're only a tiny bit bummed. :)  Here's hoping for the rest of them.  It's just another way we are trying to be good stewards of our resources and utilizing all the opportunities and gifts that God leads us to - or drops in our laps!  Praise be to God, the path has been laid out for us and we are following it.  Though we get scared sometimes, we thank God that we have this gift of a purpose and calling!  I know paperwork doesn't sound like so fun a gift, but when put in this perspective, it is somewhat exciting.

MONEY - competitive fundraiser

With the large and scary costs of the dossier and travel in front of us, I can get a little panicky if I think of it too long.  This sort of thing usually occurs at night.  When I need my sleep.  Figures.  Our homestudy has been forwarded to us and to our placing agency.  We are still waiting on word regarding when to start our dossier.  Shall we wait until after we move to our new home (could be happening in the next couple months) or shall we proceed?  Ukraine is supposedly particular about the housing paperwork.  This has actually been a chance for us to think about fundraising again and two things have been happening in that world recently.  First, we started filling out grant applications.  Zack and I are pretty convinced that we are doomed to never-ending essay questions for the rest of our lives.  I feel like we're in school.  We consider ourselves grateful that we even have the opportunity to apply for these, though, so it keeps things in perspective.
Secondly, my sister and brother-in-law have proved to us that they are unending awesome ONCE AGAIN when they posted a fundraiser opportunity to their travel website.  Just read it for yourself - they paralleled a fundraiser another gentleman was doing, in which he was raising funds to travel on the world's most expensive business class seat.  Carrie and Drew thought that, in good fun, and as an opportunity for those wishing for something "more worthwhile" to contribute to, they would post our family's story and accept donations for our adoption.  Like I said, unending awesome.  They raised over $2,000 this way and we are just over the moon.
Here's the link to the original post: http://travelisfree.com/2014/05/09/who-wants-to-pay-for-adopting-kids-no-really/
And here's the second one with a video of us in it: http://travelisfree.com/2014/05/28/adoption-update-video-interview/
And here's the one they were spoofing: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1486582757/one-mile-at-a-time-the-etihad-residences

So thanks, again to anyone and everyone who has helped us in this journey, those I know and those I don't.  Onward we go!

PAPERWORK - Home Study complete!

Welllll.... the day has come that I can say... Our home study is DONE!!!!!
After we update our expired medicals... BUT... nonetheless...
The whole ginormous thing has been forwarded to our placing agency in Alabama who compiles the documents for Ukraine (our dossier).  Our medical papers really seem like no big deal at this point.  It's like, oh, you need me to print out the forms to update and call the office to fax us the originals and take all the above to two different physician offices and make sure that every line is filled in and follow up on the faxing and mailing of the resulting documents and provide addresses and ultimately send the originals and keep copies?  Noooooooo problem!  Got it.  Check.  Done.

So now we will wait on word from our placing agency on starting the dossier documents.  I'm excited to get it rolling!  I'll keep you updated!  This is a big step in a long road - it feels good!!!

Timeline... ish... (!)

We got a timeline!  It's a rudimentary one, and I'm constantly reminded that we are working in the world of adoption - in which timelines are weak at best and futile at worst.  But... suffice it to say, we are projected to be done with our home study (phew!) in April.  Maybe May.  (we really only have one more meeting which is the safety survey of our house - but.. you know... I'm just extending it a month because you never know, you know?)  K, if all that goes as planned, we could... potentially... hopefully... cross your fingers... be traveling in Sept-Nov sometime!  No really, isn't that just the funniest timeline you've ever heard?  Still, we are clinging to it because we haven't had anything like it thus far.  So... by 2017... just kidding. :)

Also, Zack has been promoted to manager at his job!  That's such an exciting thing and we really are very positive and hopeful about this change.

My parent's house is coming along nicely - potentially the move there could happen this summer.  Will that ever be a relief, because we have long outgrown this space.  Once again... making it work.  (Side note - MAN, will I miss this house!)

Lastly, this post made me cry, darn it!  We have been so ready for hard stuff that it's like, come on, let's get going with it already!  Like waiting for a shot - you know it's going to be painful so let's do this already!  For all those wondering - and for my mother - I know there is a lot to do yet and so I AM grateful for the time we have to learn even more and get even more ducks in a row, but it doesn't make the waiting easier.

PAPERWORK - Home study update

A quick home study update.  We met with our social worker a few weeks ago.  She came to our house and got to know us a little bit.  More paperwork came our way, (this is a trend I'm getting used to), and we will be scheduling a few more visits and going to training in Jan and Feb.  These are the last few steps in the home study process - we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel!  It's seemed like a long process for just our home study, but we're trying  not to compare our timeline to anyone else's and just trusting where and when God is leading us.  In other news - Zack got a new job! He will transition the end of this month to work for a local nonprofit - 61 Surplus.  Their profits all go to the aid of orphans - how appropriate!  He's excited to do something new.  The school jobs just weren't panning out.  He's working on his CDL and will take the test again mid January. He hopes to get a school bus driving job in the new school year (because the benefits at the school are just flipping awesome), but it looks like the insurance we will get on our own is pretty rad, too.  Just sayin', maybe Pat's prayer came to fruition.  (He prayed that Zack would find a job that he hadn't even thought of).  An old friend texting him randomly asking him if he'd be interested in this position sounds like just the answer to such a prayer.  We are nervous but hopeful.  Also, my parent's house is coming along - which sounds like we will be moving into our new, spacious abode sooner rather than later!  Praise the Lord!  God may have a few more surprises up his sleeve, but it seems like things are really coming together.  We spend each day ready for anything!  Buckle up, kiddo, we're comin' for ya!

Another quick update

The major components of our home study were sent off today!  Shouldn't be long now!  we have a lot of work to do, but now we can see the light at the end of the home study tunnel.  zack was just saying the other day that it really doesnt feel real.  It feels like a lot of paperwork, which, lol, it is.  When he was training and running and selling soap, that was palpable to him.  Now it's like, what's going on?  Even for me as I've been doing a majority of the paper chasing, it feels less like something exciting and more like something... I don't know... Papery?  Well in any case, we can sense progress and that is exciting!