Merry Christmas to Everyone

I just wanted to tell everyone a late Merry Christmas. I was planning on posting before now but I'm sure that everyone can understand how busy you get at this time of year. I also wanted to share a picture of the Christmas ornament that we got for Jacob. I got the idea from the Yeatons blog -Our Journay to Emersyn Grace - the ornament came from a web site called Mandy's Moon. It has lots of great stuff.

I also wanted to share a couple of Christmas pictures of us. We are so happy to finally be on the waiting list but I just know that the first Christmas with Jacob is going to be one of the best of our lives.

Alonzo and I with our baby Sassy.

And here with our best girl - Hailey

So, Merry Christmas to all of our family and friends and hope that you have a great last few days of 2007.

We Are Now a Waiting Family

Lisa and I got our Christmas wish! We came home on Monday and there it was.....THE letter! I grabbed it up and waved it at Lisa.....it was FINALLY here! Ripping open the envelope, we saw what we had been waiting on for almost 6 weeks....our I-797C form....Notice of Action.

The form was a notice of favorable determination concerning the application for advance processing of orphan petition. We were so excited to have it in hand!!!

We have now sent a copy of it to CHI...our adoption agency...and have been placed on the waiting list for a referral. We are number 251 as of today. That means that 250 others are waiting to adopt before us. Of course, that counts for boys, girls, special needs, etc. We are wanting to adopt a boy, aged 0-6 months and healthy.

We have taken another step toward having Jacob in our lives. This little baby has so much love going out to him...and he hasn't even been born yet!!!

The wait is going to be long...but at least we have a number to work toward. Let's hope that there are lots and lots of referrals in the coming months. Perhaps our magic number will come up faster than we think!

In Loving Memory

I have some very sad news - - On December 8, 2007, we had to put our beloved dog Pepper to sleep. Pepper was 16 years old and had become very sick. As her loving mommy and daddy we had to do what was best for her. We would have had her 15 years this February.

Trip to Nevada

Hey everybody. The Thanksgiving Holiday 2007 is now just a memory....but Christmas is on the way. Lisa and I are hoping for a great present...our 171 form! Hopefully it will come in the mail anyday so that we can get on the official waiting list. We are ready to be parents...and Jacob is getting closer to us each and everyday. Keep us in your Holiday Wishes and pray that we get our form before Christmas. Thanks!

Anyway, as the title of this blog entry suggests, I would like to tell you about our recent trip to Nevada over the Thanksgiving Holiday. Lisa and I traveled with our friends Rod and Corrinna Middleton of Morehead. We flew out of Lexington, KY on Sunday, Nov. 18th. We had a brief layover in Atlanta where we had a great breakfast at Chili's...yes, they serve breakfast! Our flight to Vegas was great. We had a flight attendant who was a laugh riot! She was saying things like "Welcome to Vegas. You will find slot machines right in the airport so that you can lose...um, gamble...your money at the earliest possible moment." Of course, I never play the slots at the airport as they are supposed to have horrible odds.

We rented a car and quickly drove to our hotel...the Excalibur. It was a very nice place...all made out to look like a medival castle. We loved it. The rooms were comfortable. I guess that the only thing that we didn't enjoy was the fact that the pillows were too fluffy! Usually hotel pillows are flat as cardboard....these were so fluffy that they bunched up around your face...LOL. I guess that you can't please everyone...people complain if the pillows are flat and if they are fluffy. Other than that, the hotel was nice. How often do you stay in your room anyway?

We did lots of neat things on our vacation. We drove out to the Grand Canyon one day. It was amazing beyond words. Just seeing it was breath taking! We also went to Hoover Dam. It was great. Of course we had to catch the Follies Bergere show. I love the 10:00 PM showing....wink wink. We were also lucky enough to get great floor seats to a showing of Mamma Mia at Mandalay Bay. It was one of the best shows that I have seen. If you love ABBA music, you will love this show. I hear that there is a movie version coming out starring Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnon. I can't wait!

We gambled a little and caught some of the free shows the Vegas offers...like the fountains at the Bellagio and the volcano at the Mirage. The pirate show at Treasure Island was being repaired so we didn't get to see it....maybe next time.

We went to Freemont Street....and it was GREAT! I loved the whole atmosphere...like one giant party.

We really enjoyed our adults only vacation. It ended way too soon, but we wanted to get one last one in before Jacob arrives. Once he is here, we will be devoting all vacation time to him. I can hardly wait to take him to Disneyland, Kings Island, Universal Studios, Gatlinburg, etc. There is a whole wide world out there just waiting to be explored.

Until next time, here are some photos of our vacation. Enjoy! Check back soon for more updates!