Here we go!

I guess we're officially paperchasing - even though it's really just for this 10 day visit.

In the next week we have to:

• Go to a homestudy interview and get criminal background checks
• Both get letters certifying employment
• Sign and send a waiver saying we'll send the child back after the visit
• Send some host letter to the Secretary of State of WI which has to be notarized and apostilized (still not exactly sure what that means)
• Get the cat's vaccines updated
• It's a good thing we have our marriage and birth certificates already, because we need them too.

Also in short time we have to do our taxes, because we'll need the records for various things (grants, homestudies, dossiers, etc), Brent still needs a passport, and I have to get life insurance.

I know this is just the very most tip of the iceburg - but I'm so excited that we're moving forward.

Hosting news

I just got an email from the Lighthouse coordinator, and she said the trip is a go. I guess they got enough families. Wahooo! I'm over the moon!

Update on me

Every day when I read all the blogs I read I think - I should really updated - but then I think - but what would I talk about?

So here's what's going on in the Homer Home.

We got the application for the homestudy, which is a million pages long and we each have to write out our whole life story. We're both really procrastinating on this - I was hoping we'd have it in by last week already, but it looks like maybe the end of next week.
There is one other family that we know is signing up for this hosting program, so that makes two families for sure. I'd like to call the coordinator and ask about the other families, but I'm too afraid that she'll say that no one else signed up and they're cancelling the trip.
Also, we got our dentist to donate a cleaning for our host child, which is good because I wanted him to see our dentist and I also did not want to pay for it. I know it won't be a fun thing for him, but the program recommends it, so I'm glad we got a nice place to do it.

Brent's COMMA group is planning an all day conference in June, and also our band is going to have another live recording. That is what is taking up most of my time. Just thinking about is making my head spin, but last night I had a meeting with the other lady who's going to coordinate it with me, and now I feel less stressed about it. It will be a lot of work, but so much fun, and I'm looking forward to it.
We're hoping to hold the concert at the Stephanie Weil Center which is so exciting I can't get over it. Get your tickets right away, because we're sure it will be sold out.

I'm standing up in a wedding in March, so the we are starting to plan the shower, but that's not until next month.

So this year is full full of things and I'm so excited. We will need a big vacation at the end of all this (hopefully to Russia). :)

Heard back from the hosting place

We submitted our application for the Lighthouse on Monday evening, heard back from the director on Tuesday, and had a lenghthy conversation with the program facilitator on Wednesday afternoon, and now we need to apply and get going on a homestudy ASAP. The director said we only needed a mini-homestudy (basically background check) for the hosting week, but if we wanted to adopt, we may as well get the whole thing so we can start the adoption as soon as the hosting is over.

The facilitator said that if they didn't get enough families, they would cancel the March trip, so please, please pray that they get enough.

10k by Labor Day

That's our saving goal. Yikes, this one is going to be tough.

I submitted our goal to the NCN Netowork so it should be up soon.