Like any other year, 2016 has seemed to be a hard year for some and a good year for others. I feel it's been between the two for us. Ups and downs, heartaches and triumphs, financial struggles and blessings...all resulting in another year past.

I want to reflect on the good things that have happened and look to the things we hope will happen in this new year. In 2016 we:

• spent a lot of time with our nieces and nephews
• finalized our home study
• went to the Strawberry Festival
• spent time with friends in South Carolina
• had our photos taken professionally
• finished and gave our adoption profile books to our agency
• had successful fundraisers towards our adoption 
• spent a week at church camp
• went on a girl's beach trip (well Kim did)
• had a sweet godson born
• got to meet a dear friend's newborn daughter who we prayed for fervently
• were placed on the official waiting parents list with our agency
• enjoyed the holidays with family on both sides

Got a couple of updates to provide today. :) We got our home study documents in the mail yesterday. Now we can apply for some adoption grants to help with our funding so that's exciting! Our t-shirt fundraiser went better than we hoped for helping us earn over $500!! We have had so many people asking about them now that they have seen them and what good quality they are so we will probably have another shirt fundraiser later in the fall with this recent design and a new one as well.

Our social worker informed us that we are next to be put on their waiting families list and it will probably happen within the month...! They only have 25 families on their list at a time that they showcase to birth parents who are looking to have their babies adopted. When they put us on the list, that means that we could be contacted about a brith mom wanting to meet us at any point. HOWEVER, it is not likely that we will get a call right away, in fact it is more likely that we will be waiting a while. There are a lot of factors that go into being matched and the major one is how many birth moms there are that are counseling with our agency and have decided to make an adoption plan.

We are moving steadily ahead and preparing for that day by focusing on having the money available when it is time. Please keep praying with us as God prepares us for the next step!

We have a new fundraiser under way which we hope everyone loves. It's a shirt we designed to be an encouragement in any situation but is definitely close to our hearts in this adoption process. The shirt is a really great and soft material in an indigo color. The design says Love is great than Fear and has 2 Timothy 1:7 underneath : For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.