Kindergarten Graduate

This guy finished kindergarten yesterday.

Clearly he's listening well.

It's hard to believe he's going into first grade in just a few months. It's hard to believe that in less than six months he'll be seven. (It's hard to believe that he won the Spanish award. He clearly didn't inherit my linguistic skills . . . or lack thereof. Haha!) It amazes me how quickly the years pass. How quickly one year turns to two and three to four, and before you know it kindergarten is over. While I'm sometimes sad that my baby is growing up, more than anything I just want to enjoy each age and stage knowing that it will pass, and Andrew will be on to something new and exciting. There is no greater privilege than watching your child grow into the person God created him to be. I couldn't be prouder!

Memorial Day

Today, families and friends around the country will gather to celebrate . . . We'll barbecue . . . We'll swim . . . We'll laugh . . . We'll talk about things going on around the world . . . We'll gripe about our government . . . We'll praise our government . . . Some may even argue about our government . . .

But one thing we cannot argue about is that we're here because of someone else's sacrifice.

We're here because there are those who are willing to give all they have and all they are for our freedom.

We're here because there are those who gave their lives so that we can sit in our yards, and laugh, and play, and enjoy this great nation.

So in the midst of your fun and celebrations, take a moment to remember. Remember those who have died serving our country. Remember the husbands, and wives, and children, and parents, and friends they left behind.

May we always remember. May we never forget.

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

John 15:13

My Life in Bullets

* The last time we spoke Patrick had broken both of his feet. His right heel ended up having a small fracture, but his left foot was more serious than we originally thought. He had surgery last Monday. He is now on the road to recovery. Although, he's on crutches and can't drive. :/
* I hate driving. And I've been doing a lot of it lately.
* I've also discovered that I would make an awful nurse. The words "suck it up buttercup" have been on the tip of my tongue more times than I can count. I have a very high pain tolerance, and I dislike complaining, especially about pain. This whole thing has been a lesson in compassion. I'm working on it. Don't judge!
* Yesterday my cat rolled in something dead. And then he got on my bed. Yay! Not!
* I sent in another set of fingerprints to the FBI. Hoping these are better quality.
* School is winding down. Thank the good Lord. Between running Andrew to school and taking Patrick back and forth to the office (sometimes multiple times a day) and appointments, I can't wait for a break.
* At this point most of our plans are on hold at least until the middle to end of June.
* I'm hesitant to plan anything too far out just in case we do get a referral. We changed some of our parameters so we're cautiously hopeful. Not to worry, I'm not being naive. I realize it could still be a while.
* I have more to write when I have time. Plus I have pictures from Andrew's spring program. I just haven't had a second to sit down and put them on the computer.
* Happy Monday All!
* Hey! I just realized I did a post between this post and the one about Patrick's broken feet. Sorry about the repeats. I'm tired y'all!

Life

I have a couple posts I really want to do, but . . .

Things are crazy.

Quick rundown.

On Monday morning, Patrick will have a screw put in the navicular bone in his left foot. Apparently it's broken and displaced so . . . fun stuff. The right heel does have a small crack, but thankfully, it's small and will heal (the heel will heal . . . how do you like them homophones . . . sorry). He has boots on both feet, but it's okay to put weight on the right foot. The doctor said that should be completely healed in about a month. We're looking at about eight weeks of recovery time on the left foot, six on crutches, after his surgery on Monday. But seriously, I just want that boot off the right foot so the man can drive. I'm not the driver in the family, and playing chauffeur to Patrick is not a barrel of laughs. We'll survive, however, and this will be past us soon enough.

My fingerprints were rejected by the FBI for being "too poor quality". I'm going to redo them at the sheriff's department today. Story. Of. My. Life.

I haven't rescheduled are doctor's appointments for our home study update. They weren't too thrilled when I cancelled, but it was out of my control. Hopefully, they'll be nice when I reschedule.

Prayers are appreciated (again).

Now, I'm off to clean and prepare for our Mother's Day meal on Sunday.

Change of Plans

We didn't go to the doctor yesterday. "Why?" you ask. Well, because we went to the ER Sunday night.

Patrick was up on a 12 ft ladder at the church Sunday afternoon. He lost his balance and instead of falling into the chairs (and possibly hitting his head, etc.), he jumped back. He was about eight feet up and wearing boots . . . not the best shock absorbers. Thankfully, he rolled to the left when he landed. This prevented him from breaking his back and/or shattering his heels. But he has a small fracture in his right heel and quite a few small breaks in his left foot. So he's hobbling around on crutches. Which is no easy task considering he has no use of his left foot and limited use of his right foot. Still I keep reminding myself that this could've been much, much worse.

We have a podiatrist appointment on Thursday to find out what the next four to six weeks will look like. Until then . . .

Prayers Coveted

Each year we go through the process of updating our home study as we wait for an adoption referral. We redo our FBI, ink, fingerprints for our background checks (don't ask me why they have to be redone). We gather work information and letters. We make doctor's appointments and have our home inspected. We endure family interviews. We disclose all of our financial and medical info. And those things are just the icing on the cake.

It's getting close to time again. This will be our fourth time through the process. Fun stuff y'all!

We've already sent in our fingerprints to the FBI. They should have them four weeks on Monday. We're waiting and praying that they are legible so they don't have to be redone. "Praying a lot" would be the operative phrase.

Up until this year, the doctor's appointments were no biggie. Then in December, our family doc, who've I have seen since I was around ten, sold his private practice and moved to New Mexico. Prompt panic attack. The man knew (knows) us. He knows my parents and grandparents and aunts and siblings. He knows our personalities. He knows I'm slightly OCD, but I'm fully sane (that's a joke . . . the OCD part not the sane part . . . I would never joke about my sanity). So on Monday we're meeting a new doctor and to be honest, I'm a bit nervous. I've given it to God and tried to leave it there, but like I said, OCD.

I'm, we're, asking for your prayers once again. Please pray for our FBI fingerprints to be fully legible. Please, please, please pray for a great visit with our new doctor. And while you're praying, will you also pray, for more referrals to begin to come in from Bulgaria? We've seen some movement which is awesome, and we're believing God for more. May will mark 32 months of waiting, and while I don't love the wait, I believe that God has used the wait to prepare us for our daughter.

As always, thank you for your prayers. Thank you for walking this journey with us. It means more than you'll ever know!