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!

Thanksgiving Holiday

Lisa and I celebrated Thanksgiving on Saturday, Nov. 17th. We had to celebrate early because we were going on vacation over the Thanksgiving week.

We invited my mom and dad, Lisa's mom, my Uncle Junior, my Uncle Willard and Aunt Colleen, and Rod, Corrinna, and Hailey. It was a full house for us. Even Jacob was with us (in spirit anyway...since he probably hasn't even been born yet)!

We had a great menu: turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, broccolli casserole, green beans, rolls, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, apple pie, and lots of Cool Whip! It was a great dinner and everyone ate way TOO much...but that is what the holidays are about.

As I sat watching everyone eat, I wondered what it would be like to play the role of DAD at the holidays. That is something that I haven't done yet...but I look forward to it so much. I can imagine that the holidays at this time of year take on a whole new meaning when you have kids around. I can't wait!

Here are some holiday pics to enjoy!

On the adoption news, Lisa and I are still waiting for our I171 form. When we get it, we can fax it to Children's Hope International and get on the waiting list. Sigh..such a long process!

My Aunt Colleen and me

Hailey with a Thanksgiving Pumpkin!

The Three Amigos (Uncle Junior, Uncle Willard, and Dad)

Hailey and me in front of the tree

Uncle Junior

Adventures in Fingerprinting

Hey everybody! Well, we have the fingerprinting phase of our adoption over and done with. It went smoothly...sort of. We left school early on Wednesday, Oct. 10th so that we could get to Charleston, WV in the daylight and find the CIS office. The trip wasn't too bad...it took aboout 3 1/2 hours to get there from here. When we got to Charleston, we kept passing up the exit we needed to take! First we were going one way on the interstate...then the other...then we turned around again. LOL! We finally got off at the right exit. It turned out that the CIS building was one that I had been looking at each time we passed the exit. It was so easy to find.

We were there the next morning bright and early. We had stayed at the Ramada in Charleston. I will have to say that I slept very well there...the beds were wonderful. They also had a great breakfast...eggs, sausage, biscuits, gravy, fruit, cereal, danish, and even waffles. It was delicious!

At the CIS office, I was sneaking around taking pictures for our scrapbook of the adoption. I just knew that the security guard was going to think that I was up to something no good...a terrorist or something...LOL. I snapped a few quick photos and stashed the camera.

My fingerprinting experience was uneventful. They don't use ink anymore. They use a computer. The little lady in the room washed my fingers with water and put them on the scanner. It was a little uncomfortable when she was rolling them to get a complete print, but it wasn't painful or anything. I was out in about 10 minutes. I told my wife that it was nothing.

My wife went in the room to have her fingerprints. I kept waiting and waiting. She was in there for almost 45 minutes! Finally, she came out. Everyone in the room was staring at her. I even joked with her later that the security guard had gone for his gun...LOL.

It seems that they had a hard time getting her fingerprints. The little lady in the room finally started using stuff like witch hazel, corn oil, and even Windex on Lisa's fingers in order to get a good print...LOL! She was finally able to get a good set of prints.

That was on Thursday the 11th. On Saturday October 13th, we had our final homestudy visit. Michelle, our social worker, came to our house and took the grand tour. Everything was fine. Of course, we had been cleaning like crazy...but I think that everyone does that. You just want everything to be perfect.

We also finished up our Because They Waited DVD set that weekend and took the final online test. We just got the results back...we passed. Now, we just sit back and wait for the forms to process. Soon, we will be getting our form that gives us permission to adopt internationally (171). I can't wait!

We will keep you updated! Keep checking in!

Lots of News-----

Sorry we have been so busy and have not updated our blog. A lot has happened since our last post. We had our second homestudy visit with our social worker Michelle. We met with her on Saturday, September 15th. I think it went really well. We have our last homestudy visit scheduled for this Saturday, October 13th here at our house.

Also, we finally got our appointment for our fingerprints. We go this Thursday to the USCIS office in Charleston, WV to have them done. Then we have to complete one more module in our DVD Course and we will have that done. I can not wait to have this part behind us and to finally get on the waiting list. Then the long wait and the nail biting will begin.


I want to thank everyone who wrote a letter of reference for us. This is such a long and stressful process and to see our friends and family really get behind us and give us such love and support is wonderful and a great help.


On Saturday, September 29th, Hailey, our best friends' little girl, had her 3rd birthday party. She is such a doll and she had a great birthday party. Her birthday is really September 30th, but Corrinna and Rod had her party on Saturday when everyone could come.

Hailey and Me

Hailey and Alonzo

Lastly, on a happy note, Jacob's room is finally starting to take shape. Jacob's room (formally our office) is now empty and ready for painting. Really we just wanted to get the office moved so that we would have a place to keep things that people are giving us for him. I'm trying to keep myself from doing too much to his room too soon. I will need something to do to keep myself from going crazy while we wait for our referral. I have bought some clothes and different things but Alonzo is keeping me in check. Alonzo and I have also picked out the paint color for his room but will not start painting till spring. Right now it seems like we have such a long time to go before we see our baby for the first time. It's like everyone says, it will be worth it in the end when we have Jacob in our arms and are finally a family.

I will let everyone know how the fingerprinting and the last homestudy goes this weekend. Everyone take care.