Long-Awaited Update on the Home Study!

   So, my last post was over a month ago and a lot has been going on since then!  With the daily "grind" of life and working on the paperwork for the Home Study, life if busy...good, but busy!  For those who really know my personality, I am not the typical person who will just sit and post an update every day or so...sorry.  I get intimidated from time to time as I look at other adoptive families' blogs for their adoptions...how elaborate!  And, then, there is ours...I like to call it simplistic!
   In the last month, Ben and I have made good progress on the paperwork for our Home Study.  Between the doctor's physicals and TB/Drug Testing being completed, the marriage/birth certificates, and all of the other papers in between, we have made what I like to call a "paper-by-paper" progress.  It can be a little overwhelming, as I was just telling my brother yesterday; however, Ben and I try to just look at one piece of paper at a time and work through it.  That way, it doesn't seem so bad!  This weekend, Ben and I have a goal to work on our Self-Studies (lots and lots of questions) and continue working on our 8 hours of required online education for international adoption.  We then, have 2 more hours of face-to-face education with our adoption worker in about a week.  Needless to say, we have both learned so much already, and we know so much more is ahead of us to learn!  What takes the pressure off is knowing that this is God's desire for our family - to type and think again on that group of words makes me so excited!!!
   A few weeks ago, we sent in certain paperwork and our first payment towards the adoption.  That first payment was both scary and exciting at the same time.  It made the process so much more real as if in pregnancy you felt your baby move for the first time!  As a family, we are trying to live each day more conscious of how we spend money so that we have more to put into our "Adoption Fund."  Our desire is to save enough money to pay for the adoption and be able to have Brock join us on our second trip to Ethiopia when we bring home our son!  This is definitely a prayer need with the added expenses, but we believe the experience for Brock would be priceless!
   We have family and friends that will ask us the time limit question of: When will this finally happen?  Our response:  We're not really sure but maybe in about a year or a little sooner.  I am learning quickly that it is not as easy as when I was pregnant to "nail" down a more approximate date.  But that is part of the "fun" of the differences in having the two children!
   As we continue in the process, I will do a better job of keeping up with the blog information!
   Please continue to pray for our family as we journey through this process.  Please pray for stamina with all of the paperwork, and please pray for the financial reality of the adoption fees!  We know, and have already experienced, God's graceful hand is upon us in this journey.  He does provide for our needs, and we can already give praise to our Lord for provisions already!