WOW! Trying to catch up on this weblog!!

Happy 2009! Can't believe Christmas has now come and gone, and we are beginning 2009. We are excited that this is the year, Lord willing, that we will bring Lilly home to her forever family.

Let me catch you up on our comings and goings since November!

We were thrilled to have a string of visitors through November and December. After Doug and Judi's visit here in early November, Jeremy, Emily, and Peter joined us for Thanksgiving, which was lots of fun. Peter is only 6 weeks younger than Lilly, so it was fun not just to spend time with this funny and sweet little guy, but also to see what 2 1/2 year olds are up to in order to prepare us for Lilly's arrival! The kids had a blast with Peter here, and we managed to find all sorts of fun things to do--including the Air Armament museum, some hikes in the woods, a local playground, the beach, and swimming in our pool.

"Auntie" Gracie stayed for a quick week in mid-December, and helped me not to lose my mind as we frantically baked and made candies to give to friends, neighbors, and co-workers, wrapped presents, assembled fruit baskets, finished up last-minute Christmas shopping together, and all the other pre-holiday to-do items on my list!! She got to enjoy Jared's winter band concert and Anna's Christmas party at school. She got the quick and dirty look at my daily life (even sharing the kids' bathroom for a week--yikes!) and she still kept smiling all week long!

Finally, my whole family was here for Christmas (sadly, minus my sister-in-law, Ollie who was home working). We rented a large beach home nearby and stayed together for a week, celebrating the birth of Christ, enjoying time together, playing with the new Wii Nana and Pap Pap gave the kiddos, jogging, walking, and playing on the beach, and eating lots of yummy meals together (note to self, however, fondue night doesn't work with a table filled with 13 people, 6 of whom are minors!). It was nice for us to have a "staycation" and not be the ones traveling over the holidays. We recognize what a task it is to travel, and appreciate our family's willingness to come down here all that much more. We did, however, miss our time with the Cantilina clan this year...tomorrow we will join them via skype to open presents "together."

Enjoy the photos...if I were more tech savvy (or at least "blog savvy") I would know how to attach labels to each photo. But you're all very smart so I'm sure you'll figure out who is who!!

It has been a whirlwind few months, and we have LOVED every minute of it. All the excitement has helped the time to pass very quickly. Which is a good thing, since I might have lost my mind without all of these divine distractions!

So, the next major event in our lives--hopefully--is our trip to China to meet and bring home Lillian Joy. Stay tuned here as I plan to keep the blog updated as things unfold and as we travel. Just 3 approvals left to get, which will come one by one. Once we have our final travel approval (TA) will will likely travel 2-3 weeks later. Pray with us that Lilly would be kept safe and healthy as she waits for us. Praise God with us for her foster family who is caring for her now.

Happy 2009!