Coming along!

We are swimming in paperwork!  Not to mention, this is only the beginning and there's still PLENTY more to come. Ha! I have about 80% of it done and we are just waiting until after the 1st of the year to get started on the actual tasks we have to do to further move through the process.  (I just realized how much I hate using the word "process;" it does no justice to describe what we're actually going through) Either way it's going to be so cool when we finally get past all of the legal hoopla and get started on finding our boy and preparing a place for him to come home to.  What completely blows my mind about the concept of getting ready for him is the fact that before we started officially working with Gladney, when Bobby and I would talk about it we would make a point to only say things like, "could adopt," "if it's possible," "if we have a son," because we were so afraid of getting our hopes up and then being let down for whatever reason.  I guess everything changed the day that Gladney accepted us into the program because that is when we both realized that we needed to start referring to him as "our son" and only speak of him and the whole adoption process (there goes that word again ::eyeroll::) as if it's already complete. Bottom line, Bobby and I both feel that speaking positive words over a situation can make a difference and with that, we now choose to speak of him as if he's not only just a hope in our heart but that he has always been there and is coming home. 

Since then it's been amazing to see how far we've come in our thinking about being parents and having him here. It's also been really fun to dream about what it will be like all the way around. We seriously can't wait to find him so we can pick out the colors, paint his room, and buy things to go in it; furniture, toys, clothes, all the fun stuff!  Don't get me wrong, we  both realize that becoming a parent  is no cakewalk, even more so for becoming parents of an "emotionally" challenged child.  Hardships at any rate are par for the course for what we're doing.  In actuality, all of this is apart of a learning process that has many stages of which we are only at the beginning.(Did I seriously use that word again?!)  We just really want everyone to trust that not only are we taking all the necessary steps to prepare ourselves mentally and emotionally, but that God has been and is still preparing us for that day when it is all said and done.

All in all, every bit of the hard work and effort we've had to put in so far really pales in comparison to the excitement Bobby and I feel in our hearts when we think/talk about our son. Though the road will be mighty bumpy, we are up for the challenge because he is worth it.