One late, but very important, Christmas gift

It's something so simple, and yet for us, has taken so long. BUT, we finally have it...my mom's FBI clearance!! It came in the mail today! It took 4 tries, but they finally accepted her prints :) Now we can send them off and our homestudy can be finalized!!! This is definitely the best Christmas present, a little late, but I'm okay with that! So, we are really hoping to have our dossier ready for the kid's country for February. That of course will depend on how quickly our 1-600A gets processed, but we are praying for things to move smoothly and quickly. We just can't wait to get our babies home!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! We haven't posted much because Christmas kind of snuck up on us this year. Sad, I know, but with all of the paper chasing, we just had trouble getting it all in. We did have a wonderful time with Pumpkin and with family - she was an absolute riot this year, she just looooves presents, or resents, as she says - but it just wasn't the same. Our family was incomplete and we all felt it. Three little people are missing from our lives! Hopefully, not for long though.

So, Christmas was wonderful and yet sad all at the same time. I found myself wandering through the pages of the waiting children section of Reece's Rainbow more than once. The faces kept me up at night. No matter how good these kids are, there are no presents under the tree on Christmas morning, there aren't mommies and daddies to snuggle up with, and there are no Christmas decorations. That is the sad reality of life for these children. And as uncomfortable as it may make us feel, as "un-Christmasy" as it maybe, we must remember them. Please, look at their faces, pray for them, pass on the message. And maybe, next year, some of these beautiful children won't be "waiting", they will be home.