1 more step down

We just received word that all our legal documents have been scrutinized. We now just wait on the Judge to sign the guardianship papers. At this point, we don't know if we lucked out with a court date this week. I would certainly doubt it. If we didn't, then we're looking at some time in November. Still faster than we thought. Once this is done then just a few last strings to tie up

1. Get passport for Dreyden to enter the US (about 3-4 weeks)
2. Get ICPC done (contract between our State and Oklahoma) (done while passport being issued)
3. ONLY when 1 & 2 are done - Make hotel and airline reservations.
4. Finally bring Dreyden home :)

Pray that things continue to move quickly - - I really want my baby boy home by Christmas!!!!

surprise!

We got new pictures today. He is changing so much.... Looking more like his 5 month pictures than his 7 month. Good and healthy with baby fat!!!! (not that you can see it on these pictures) Gotta love it! We found out that a family that filed and received their NOC right before us has had their legals scrutinized and are now just waiting on the Judge. Hopefully, our scrutinization will be right behind them too now. Should would be great to travel this year yet :)

Totally hear him saying "Hello, I'm right here - what's the hold-up????"

catch-up time

Now that we have received NOC and are beginning the loooong wait for guardianship, I thought I'd take the time to post some pictures and update on the last two weeks.

First, our little angel started pre-school - - where has the time gone. As you can tell by the pics it started out great and then she got nervous Now we've also been doing some camping and got a few nice pictures of Ahly building her first sand castle.

And lastly, we decided that our bedroom needed a makeover - so out came the paint and our little helper too!

Things are moving......

We just received word that our NOC (No Objection Clearance) has been granted by CARA (Central Adoption Resource Agency). This is the first step of the 3 step process. We are now on our way for scrutinization by the court, followed by a guardianship hearing with the Judge. It would be really nice to have this done in the next 3 weeks, because the courts are literally shut down for the Month of October.(for religious holidays) THIS IS NOT LIKELY. The Judge has been known to take 4-7 months for these next two steps. We are praying that this is not the case for us. Maybe he'll feel like leaving October 1st with a clean desk !!!! Oh that would be so nice :)

Please pray for a speedy process - it would be the best Christmas present ever!

Update - new pics

OK, things here have been hectic. As you can tell since it's been 3 weeks since my last post.

My '2nd job' is taking off and keeping me busier than I expected. Lucky for me a girl can never have to many purses - bags or accessories :) This is great - since we're hoping to earn enough to cover our airfare. We are just about 1/2 way there - (taking longer than expecting, considering the fuel prices) We have been busy getting in the last of our camping for the year. Just this weekend yet and then maybe once in October if we're daring..... Can get pretty cold in the Northwoods :) In addition to that we had to have our home study redone because it is expiring in September. Before we can travel it needs to be updated. In addition, our fingerprints will need to be redone since they are only valid through November. Odds are we won't be traveling before that so we'll be making another trip to Minneapolis. (darn another trip to Mall of America - - hehehe)

As for good news - we got another round of surprising pictures. He's our little guy at 6 months!