It's about time Maria

I know it has been forever since I have blogged. During the holidays things just get away from me. But it's a new year, and new opportunities everyday!

Let me begin with the best news that Steve and I have received a referral of a little boy that we are going to be naming Silas! He is the most adorable little guy ever. I am choosing not to share any pictures of him on here at this time. Since he is not yet officially ours I would like to protect his privacy... but believe me, he's cute! He is only a couple of months old, and we have already sent him a package of items, including his first University of Kentucky baby beanie.

Since we got the phone call that we had a little boy, things have been a whirlwind! Along with the holidays, we have been working on paperwork. We received all of our paperwork from Taiwan on the 20th of December, and were leaving for Seattle on the 22nd. So we couldn't do anything until we got home. So on New Years Eve, I made the long and very snowy trip up to Chicago by myself. It was a long day. I walked about 3-4 miles in Chicago 30 degree weather. First I went to the Secretary of State to have everything apostilled (a notary of a notary). One of the documents was not done correctly so I had to walk to the nearest notary to have it renotarized. Then I walked back to the Secretary of State, and had everything apostilled. Then I walked to the Taiwanese Economic and Cultural Offices (TECO)... which is on the 57th floor. I hate heights... scariest elevator ride EVER! But they needed copies of all of the documents for their file. So I went downstairs to Kinkos, which was of course closed because it was New Years Eve. So then I walked quite a ways to the nearest Fedex... which was open! Then walked back to TECO, and handed in all of my paperwork. Then ran to my car so that I would make it back in under 3 hours and not have to pay extra parking fees. Then drove three hours home and went to our youth group all-nighter. Fun day (note the sarcasm).

So now we are waiting for the documents to be mailed to us from TECO, then we will turn around and mail them to the orphanage in Taiwan. Once they receive them they will be able to file for a court date for us. We hope for a court date in February and that will be our first trip.

Anyway, wanted to give you all an update! I hope you have a terrific weekend!