Update

It's been a little while since I have had a chance to update everyone on everything that is going on.

The Adoption: Many of you already have heard that we have finally been approved by Ecuador! So now we have an "idoneidad". We also found out that our dossier has been sent to 3 regions in Ecuador; Quito, Cuenca, and Riobamba (I think Riobamba is the 3rd region). Normally dossiers were being sent to just one region. I am not sure if they changed this for everyone or just for us. This all means that we are officially waiting for a referral. We were also told that they just got a new referral for one of their regular program families (same program as us). So things are SLOWLY starting to move again. They reiterated that still no family has waited longer than 18 months for a referral.

My Dad: I took a flight to St. Louis late last Thursday. I was able to see my dad the following Friday. He seemed to be having a very good day. In the late afternoon when I returned for the second time with my sisters, he was all dressed and asking if we were going anywhere. We asked him if he wanted to go get something to eat. We ended up just doing to Stake 'n Shake (some thing kind of fast). When they brought him his food he had the look of 'what the h _ _ _ is this!' Although he ate very little, it was good for him to get out. He had been in bed for over a week. He was pretty good on Saturday too. It was a nice day outside so we were able to sit outside and enjoy the weather. The last couple of days he has started going down hill again. Very tired, staying him bed, confused, and not eating. He still seems in good spirits and will crack a joke every now and then. The hospice nurse said his good days could have been because of the excitement of having everybody back home again. Tomorrow we are hoping he will be well enough to make it to my sister's house for Thanksgiving dinner. If not we will take Thanksgiving dinner to him.

New Job: On Friday I was finally offered a new position at work. I have been working temporarily in this position for the past month and absolutely love it! I will be teaching kindergarten -2nd grade students with Autism. I am so excited for this opportunity! Even though I will have to go back to school once again to get an endorsement in Autism. But this is definitely what I should be doing and were I belong.

So even though things are difficult with my dad and our adoption journey has had many twists and turns there are some good things happening for us. We will continue to try to stay positive and be thankful for all the blessings we have.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!